It was revealed this week that Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire have been ejected from the Spider-Man series, and that the franchise is to again be rebooted. Several reasons have been cited. The ‘official’ reason appears to be creative difference, the general consensus has added in financial reasons. Raimi’s Spider-Man has been one of the most successful movie series of all time, making a lot of money. So is the real problem a lack of agreement on which direction to take in a post-Dark Knight climate? Is the deeper problem that the world and character of Spider-Man are losing their relevance?
Several recent attempts at superhero reboots and sequels have struggled. Superman Returns was accused of being too reverential to Richard Donner’s original movies. It was also a victim of development hell and too many writers. The Hulk has been attempted a couple of times with very limited success. The Fantastic Four movies have also failed to kick-start an enduring franchise.
These properties have similarities with Spider-Man. Primary colour spandex heroes, all with extraordinary powers, living in ordinary worlds where the populace around them have no powers. They are lifted directly from the pages of decade old comics. Can we relate to characters that struggle to relate to the universes in which they are drawn? The world has changed since their creation, so should they have changed with it? Is it possible to tell mature stories with such a black and white, almost childlike ideal of clear cut good and evil?
The X-Men movies made a concerted effort to move away from the bright, larger than life colour palette and was all the better for it. This wasn’t necessarily the reason it worked so much better than the other adaptations i’ve mentioned, though. I think the more important difference is that there is a place for them in the universe around them. They live in a world of other mutants, a whole mythology based around a jump in the evolutionary scale. The X-Men are not beyond the environment around them, they are firmly a part of it. The characters have issues, dark pasts and don’t always do the ‘right’ thing.
The reason it works for a graphic novel property like Hellboy is that although he is painted into a contemporary environment, he is not alone. A whole underworld of demons and monsters exists, so again his existence perfectly meets the logic of his universe.
The success of Iron Man was a bit of a surprise. It was the first movie based around the character, and Iron Man wasn’t very well known beyond the comic book community. It worked, however, because there was a relevance to it. Tony Stark has no powers, his ability is based around technology. He is not genetically advanced of the people around him, he is not an alien. Also, with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq on the minds of everyone, the military basis of the storyline is very much ‘of the moment’. Tony Stark has his own inner demons too, which may well come to the fore in this year’s sequel.
Batman of course works for very similar reasons. No super human abilities, all the technology has real world (albeit far-fetched) application. Crime is rife in Gotham, the law enforcement is corrupt, the authorities powerless. Again, this relates to the way our society seems to be heading. Bruce Wayne is also a very dark character, which allows for deepr storylines.
This year’s Kick-Ass, along with other ‘superhero’ movies on their way like Super and Defendor have been influenced by the shift. They all feature ordinary people, with no real ‘powers’ as the heroes. They contain characters that we can relate to, because they are no different to us or the people around them. It’s for these reasons that forthcoming movies like Thor and The Green Lantern might struggle. Thor has god-like powers, Green Lantern’s are extra-terrestrial in origin. If these projects aren’t handled the right way, they could easily suffer the same fate as Hulk and Superman.
They CAN still work though. Because for all i’ve said, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man DID work. Movie goers bought into the characters, and they bought into the world. That’s the benefit of making a good movie. If you draw the audience in with a compelling story, they’ll happily accept the mythology it’s built around. And that’s why Sony have made a huge mistake. They should have stuck with Raimi, given him a chance to shepherd the series into the new era of comic book movies. He still had the audience.
By starting again with a new team, and new actors, they open up the property to all the issues i have highlighted. They risk killing the franchise. If the new Spider-Man isn’t a great movie, it will join Hulk, Superman Returns and The Fantastic Four on the pile of comic adaptations best forgotten.
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Bazmann – You can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/baz_mann
