Marvel Comics into Film Sample file This page intentionally left blank Sample file Marvel Comics into Film Essays on Adaptations Since the 1940s Edited by Matthew J. McEniry, Robert Moses Peaslee and Robert G. Weiner Sample file McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina Sample file ISBN (print) 423-+-231/-/.+/-3 ISBN (ebook) 423-,-/211--/,,-- Library of Congress cataloguing data are available British Library cataloguing data are available © 2016 Matthew J. McEniry, Robert Moses Peasleee and Robert G. Weiner. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Manufactured in the United States of America McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com Acknowledgments The editors would like to thank Alicia Goodman and Naomi Joelle Glover, and Der- rick Holland for their help with this project. Matthew J. McEniry: Thank you to my co- editors, Robert Moses Peaslee and Robert G. Weiner, for allowing me to contribute in the journey of this volume. Thanks to my colleagues Ryan Litsey, Ryan Cassidy, and Le Yang for academically challenging me every day. Much love to my parents, Allen and Deborah McEniry, sister, Cortney McEniry, and grandparents, George and Naomi White. Thanks to my two great friends of twenty years, Matthew Gille and David Killian; you guys are the best, and I thank you for all the encour- agement. A special thanks to the community of AJB; you all are awesome. Finally, thanks to my close gaming cadre of Spectear, Tesserae, Shadowed, and Boozy. What leisure I did have during this project you all certainly made special. Robert Moses Peaslee: I would like to thank my co- editors, Matthew J. McEniry and Robert G. Weiner, for their tireless efforts in bringing this volume to fruition. Thanks also to my colleagues in the College of Media & Communication at Texas Tech University, who provide unyielding support, friendship, and mentorship at every turn. To my stu- dents, who inspire me every day to continue thinking and writing about things that “don’t matter,” I offer a hearty word of appreciation. Loving thanks finally to Kate, Coen, Hazel and Nora: my collective North Star,Sample the first and lastfile chapter of everything. Robert G. Weiner: Love to Tom A. Gonzales, Joe L. Ferrer, John Oyerbides, Sara Dulin, my lovely mother, Marilyn Weiner, and Larry and Vicki. Special thoughts to my late father, Dr. Len Weiner. Thanks to Felicity Smoak, Harrison Wells, Chuck Chandler, Phil Grayfield, Ryan Litsey, R. Cassidy, my colleagues in the Research, Instruction, and Outreach Department, Laura Heinz (for always having an open ear), Sheila Hoover, the Dean of Libraries, Dr. Bella Gerlich (you rock!), the Document Delivery Department at Texas Tech, Dr. Mark Charney, Dr. Erin Collopy, my library colleagues for their support and understanding, and Dr. Aliza Wong (for your energy, suggestions, and support). Special thanks to all my critters especially my buddy Murphey, my pal Miss Tess, and my girl Rocket. Dedicated to the memory of Little Spike. Thanks to Matthew J. McEniry for your friendship and for keeping me in line all the time. Thanks to Robert Moses Peaslee; it is always a pleasure to work with you. Your insights are always appreciated. Special dedication to the architects of the original Marvel Universe, Martin Good- man, Carl Burgos, Bill Everett, Alex Schomburg, Allen Bellmen (a true gentleman if there v vi Acknowledgments ever was one), and all of the artists and writers who created and worked on all the amazing characters at Timely. Special dedication to Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Wally Wood, John Buscema, Roy Thomas, Larry Leiber, Don Heck, Jim Steranko, and everyone else at the original Marvel Bullpen who created the fantastic universe we all know today. Thanks to Avi Arad and Kevin Feige for bringing to life those wonderful characters on film. Special thanks also to Miss Hanna Sawka, Mr. Brett Brock, Mr. Morgan Hyman, Dr. Gary Elbow, Mr. Spike Spiegal, Jack Russell, Frank Castle, Mr. Mason West, Dr. Paul Rein- sch, Dr. Brad Duran, Dr. Darren Hudson Hick, Dr. Wyatt Phillips, Mrs. Shelley Barba, Professor Ghislaine Fremaux, Miss Stephani Shagula, Jamie Maberry (love you Dr. J.), the folks at the Southwst Popular Culture Association (Lynnea, Tammy, Kelli, Anna) and the Associate Deans of the TTU Libraries (Bob, Jennifer, Earnstein, Sheila—thank you for your support). Thanks to all my Honors students, past and present, who teach me every day the importance of education and how to think about popular culture topics in new and unique ways. You are the leaders of the future: Go forth and make the world a better place! Sample file Table of Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction Robert G. Weiner, Robert Moses Peaslee, and Matthew J. McEniry 1 Part ,: Myth “Yeah? Well, MY god has a HAMMER!”: Myth- Taken Identity in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Brian Cogan and Jeff Massey 10 “The terms of the contract have changed”: How Ghost Rider Carries on Goethe’s Faustian Tradition Jacob Garner and Thomas Simko 20 Transformers: The Movie: Making Modern Mythology the Marvel Way Jason Bainbridge 27 You Can’t Stop Her: Elektra Re- Configured Daniel Binns Sample file 39 Part -: Licensed Properties Dare to Be Stupid: The Fetishization of Heavy Metal and the New in Transformers: The Movie Eric Garneau 52 Science Fiction in G.I. Joe: The Movie: Its Influence, Origin, Introduction and Development Liam T. Webb 60 Conan the Destroyer of a Franchise? Analyzing and Evaluating the Adaptive and Narrative Features of Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer and The Horn of Azoth Rodney Donahue 72 Part .: The Japanese Connection Marvel and Toei Jesus Jimenez- Varea and Miguel Ángel Pérez-Gómez 84 vii viii Table of Contents Japanese Characters and Culture in Marvel’s American Films Stephen Miller 94 Part /: Setting Up the Marvel Cinematic Universe Sowing the Seeds: How 1990s Marvel Animation Facilitated Today’s Cinematic Universe Liam Burke 106 The Death of the First Marvel Television Universe Arnold T. Blumberg 118 Frozen in Ice: Captain America’s Arduous Journey to the Silver Screen David Ray Carter 129 The Primetime Heroics of Small Screen Avengers: Finding Sociopolitical Value in Marvel TV Movies Jef Burnham 138 Part 0: The Attempt of Progressivism in the Marvel Universe Damsels in Transgress: The Empowerment of the Damsel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Joseph Walderzak 150 Elektra: Critical Reception, Postfeminism and the Marvel Superheroine on Screen Miriam Kent 165 Gods and Freaks, Soldiers and Men: Gender, Technologies and Marvel’s The Avengers Sample file Jeremiah Favara 177 An Archetype or a Token? The Challenge of the Black Panther Julian C. Chambliss 189 Part 1: Genre Studies The Daywalker: Reading Blade as Genre Hybridity Naja Later 200 Body vs. Technology: Iron Man: The Rise of Technovore and Cyberpunk Culture Vanessa Gerhards 212 On Your Stupid Earth: The De- Gerberized Duck Rick Hudson 224 Part 2: The Anti- Hero Punishing the Punisher: Can Hollywood Ever Capture the Essence of the Character? Cord A. Scott 232 Table of Contents ix Hulk Smash Binaries D. Stokes Piercy and Ron Von Burg 241 From Comic Book Anti- Hero to Cinematic Supervillain: The Transmedia Extension of Magneto Joshua Wucher 250 About the Contributors 261 Index 263 Sample file This page intentionally left blank Sample file Introduction Robert G. Weiner, Robert Moses Peaslee and Matthew J. McEniry Beginning with Iron Man (2008), the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films have established themselves as the template for the contemporary blockbuster movie. Audi- ences now expect and look forward to new MCU movies each year. Fox’s reboot of Fan- tastic Four (2015), however, which bombed during its first weekend ($62,000,000) with a plethora of scathing reviews and the director distancing himself from the project,1 pro- vides a rare opportunity for substantial speculation about the future of the MCU. Could it make audiences reluctant to see future Marvel property films? Will it encourage Marvel Studios to reincorporate its First Family by reaching a rights deal with Fox (as Sony has done with regard to Spider- Man), moving it from what we’ll call the “Cinematic Marvel Universe” into the MCU proper? Moving into its so- called “Phase Three,” Marvel Studios hopes it can continue to maintain its successful momentum. In fact, the studio is betting big on this success—with Disney’s backing—having planned releases all the way up to 2028.2 The MCU has made itself a prominent part of the popular culture landscape and there are now college classes being taught featuring the MCU.3 As one commentator pointed out recently, “Today the MarvelSample Cinematic file Universe is the blueprint for every studio hoping to follow their path to the box office.”4 Contributor Liam Burke discusses in The Comic Book Film Adaptation (in his detailed chapter “How to Adapt Comics the Marvel Way”) that many of the successful comic- related films take a page out of Stan Lee and John Buscema’s 1978 How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. The films use the prin- ciples outlined in Lee and Buscema’s text (composition and framing of shots, layout, etc.) and translate them to the screen. Sometimes this is intentional (especially in Marvel- related films), but not always.5 When Marvel decided to form its own film studio in 2005, it was tremendously risky—many went so far as suggest it was ill- advised. For example, the man who brought other Marvel properties to the big screen, Avi Arad, resigned and the risk fell to Kevin Feige, who became president of the studio in 2007.