Comic book content used to feel more niche, but now that it’s mainstream, do you think there’s a big gap between what casual audiences want and what longtime fans expect from these stories?
And if so, how does does it affect your experience?
#DC Discussion Corner #56: Do general audiences and cb fans want different things from cb movies?
fleet niche
onyx pasture
Yes. Obviously. The average Batman fan doesn't even know Bruce has like 14 kids lol
I do wonder how any Robin or Batgirl younger than 18 besides Damian and Cass would ever be justified though.
coarse yew
I think longtime fans want a faithful adaptation of any comic
ancient halo
The only thing I can think of is that a lot of comic book fans want any adaptation to be fairly loyal to the source material while the general audience probably doesn't care if it is or not.
hazy summit
Do general audiences and cb fans want different things from cb movies?
Yes
normal tartan
I think at one point the general comic book fan was just happy for any type of adaptation in terms of comic representation. As comic book adaptations have become more and more common, parts of comic fandom has become also more entitled about what and how comic book adaptations are done.
The casual audience on the other hand, shockingly, just wants to watch something they enjoy.
onyx pasture
Ironically Burton apparently was proud to have never read a comic book because its lesser art and touted his fine arts background and his films are some of the most loved by comic fans.
hazy summit
I don't think it was a snob thing I think he struggled with the panel format
with Alan Moore's work being an exception because he tended to do symmetrical comic panels, which to a movie director reads like storyboards so it's easier to follow
"just happy for any type of adaptation" was definitely true in the early 2000s
putting the X-Men in all black motorcycle gear, and giving Peter Parker organic web shooters, were compromises that fans accepted because it was just so exciting for them to get movies at all
proper jungle
Yes definitely.
I try to seperate superhero movies from comic books as much as I can and try to see them as almost different characters to optimise my viewing experience. However, if a movie says it’s based on a comic or takes inspo from xyz list of comics I am expecting a more accurate representation then I think we’re ever given.
onyx pasture
I honestly still fw organic web shooters, I think the worse change was Harry Osborn's relationship with Pete and MJ.
worldly mesa
I think that the only difference is that cb fans want more specific things. We both want good, fresh stories with strong characters and good action, but fans of the comics go in with more expectations about what will happen, who will be involved, and how they'll look and behave.
More to the point, I don't think that there's an element at play anymore of general audiences not being able to accept the more "comicbooky" aspects of superhero stories. If everyone's cool with a movie like Superman, I think we can get away with anything these days. We're past the age of "What would you prefer? Yellow spandex?"
apologies for the novel, but to answer the second part of the question; as someone who is now really into the comics, I have to remind myself of the main goal: good stories, good characters, etc. adaptations don't live and die by accuracy.
hazy summit
well said on all counts!
And in defense of general audiences, I'll add that I don't think it was ever really that general audiences wouldn't accept the "comic-booky" parts of comic book movies.
I think that was studio executives projecting their opinion of general audiences, and not giving regular moviegoers enough credit of imagination