Author Diana Gabaldon has problems with fan fiction.
indigo_5, herself a fanfic writer, responds. She is joined on her LJ by yours truly, even as many more reply on Gabaldon's own blog in response to her rather poorly-informed views on what fan fiction is. There are many, many intelligent discussions currently going on at these two sites regarding the issue, and I don't want to duplicate or cut-and-paste excessively, so go, read.
This flare-up got me thinking about my own stance on fan fiction. No surprise, I've long been a defender of this phenomenon - even tried my hand at it once or twice, just to see if I could - and I've often taken the rather extreme position that fan fiction is as valid as the texts it's based on.
Why? Because the concept of "intellectual property" gets a bit wobbly once you consider how character archetypes and plot conventions work in literature: any tree-hugging Elf can be traced back to Tolkien, figures like Achilles and Arthur have appeared hundreds (if not thousands) of times in practically every genre under the sun... I don't know if I'd go so far as to reiterate the old cliche of "No New Ideas", but there's some weight to the argument that the execution is what counts - that you can take the familiar and shuffle it around until it becomes new and interesting again.
And I think that's what has writers like Anne Rice and Diana Gabaldon so downright terrified of fan fiction, to the point of decrying it as both illegal and immoral (the former, not even close, and the latter is such a subjective value judgment that there's no point debating it): if "intellectual property" goes the way of the dodo, and literature becomes a meritocracy where the only credit you earn for authoring a work is based on the actual stylistic, aesthetic and thematic quality of said work... well, that'll be when we separate the best from the rest, won't it?
Because you can go ahead and write a novel and make the New York Times, but then some amateur on the Interweb spins a tale that outshines you on every level, using your own characters. That's when we'll see where the real talent lies... and authors who've coasted by on atrocious writing (why yes, Stephenie Meyer, that is my fiery gaze you're feeling on the back of your neck) will find themselves in very awkward positions.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
In Defense of Fan Fiction
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37 comments:
Kazekage
said...
As much as I feel like stories are the province of an author until he's done with 'em, I have to say . . .well, there is something to the idea that at some point (and this used to be how things lapsed into the public domain but that's all legal hugger-mugger anyways) but . . .as much as I say that superhero comics need to be owned and responded to in their own way by each succeeding generation if they're going to endure.
So I think of fanfic at its best, to be an extension of that. It's other things as well, for other people, but I would like to think of it as an extension of that.
But again, my opinion is subjective, as people haven't written near enough fanfic of my stuff yet. ;)
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
The difference with superheroes, though, is that anyone who writes for Marvel or DC is seen as being an "authority figure" for as long as they're around - their work becomes part of the canon (unless, of course, they get retconned). In that sense, you still only have "one" Batman and "one" Spider-Man, even if they're spread out among thirty books a month. And if certain writers take bad turns, there really isn't much you can do about it (see: DC's current "Reverse-Legacy" trend).
Fan fiction does away the whole concept of dictated canon: there's no inherent value judgment as to which fics are more or less "legitimate/valid", so readers are free to choose whichever interpretation suits them best (and there are a lot).
The question of ownership... to be honest, I'm not sure it even comes into the equation. For all that writers like Anne Rice and Diana Gabaldon feel threatened by fanfic, it's not like they don't still own the original texts - no one's contesting that. Hell, it's not like fanfic writers earn a penny for doing what they do either. So where's the harm? Is there any potential danger at all?
Kazekage
said...
Well, you can bugger off and do your own comics (in Japan the do fan comics called doujinshi, and that's basically what they are--fanfic with pictures. They're also about 90% all porn but, uh . . .that's Japan for you) but if you want parity with the people playing in the corporate sandbox that's probably never going to happen in any contest between fan works and the original in anyone's eyes but the person reading it.
Well, there is, but it's up to the end user, which is a very democratic way of handling canon, I think.
I don't know. Perhaps they see that if someone writes bad fanfic, it somehow blemishes the original. But if a crappy movie of a great book doesn't damage the book . . .
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
Oh, Japan: you have such good ideas sometimes, and then you go and publish 300-page mangas about schoolgirls who can't stop bending over.
Not legal parity for sure, but I think most people find fanfic by being fans of the original, and on that level? Comparison's probably inevitable. I've seen people do things with "Star Wars" that would make George Lucas weep bloody midichlorian tears. :)
And wouldn't that be a revolutionary way to handle mainstream superhero comics? No more need for retcons, or patchwork Events, just tell good stories and let the reader decide what is or isn't canon. I'm pretty sure the flame wars alone would drop about 158%...
I tend to associate the Ruined Forever mindset with the overly-dramatic (ie: Shia LeBeouf has RUINED TRANSFORMERS FOREVER AND I CAN NEVER WATCH THE '80S CARTOON AGAIN OMG!) so I don't put too much stock in their opinions. ;)
Kazekage
said...
. . .and some of whom have the wrong genitalia. Stay classy, Japan!
I think every property (even mine!) has been the victim of bad fanfic, but I try to remind myself that that doesn't negate the whole endeavour.
Well, that would be the end of the complaints, but it would probably be the end of the business, as the comic companies know how to shill a new #1 issue or a new direction or a new crossover that's supposed to knock everything off-kilter, but I doubt any of them remember how to selk "quality."
Well, people who think the Transformers movie tarnished the comics or the cartoon from the 80's are proceeding from a false premise to begin with because neither was quite as good as they're remembering all the time . . .
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
I look forward to Chris Sims' take on the Previews every month just to see him recoil in horror at the latest Japanese collectibles, some of which would make Frank N. Furter vomit out his stomach cavity.
That's the best thing about fan fiction in general: you're really not bound to any particular author's interpretation of the work. There are so many alternatives, so many possibilities, that there's really no point in getting worked up over one lousy fic (or a dozen).
They either cancel the good stuff outright or give it to a writer they know will drive it into the ground, or gamble everything on a "superstar" who drops the ball so thoroughly you're looking for the next jumping-off point two issues in.
You know, I remember enjoying the Thundercats quite a bit as a child, but after seeing some episodes on Youtube... ye gods. Talk about rose-colored glasses.
Kazekage
said...
Yeah. I say this as a fan of some things Japanese, to an Occidental observer, there are many many things that make you recoil and say "Dude what the hell? What the helling hell?"
That's pretty much where I stand with it--its apocryphal nature works well in terms of allowing the reader to decide what counts and what doesn't. It's like open-source reading.
And sometimes they manage to do all three, which in all honesty should be logically impossible, but there you go.
The Berbils. The damned Ro-Bear Berbils. :)
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
Of course, being capable of speech at all is still the best-case scenario. I had the misfortune of seeing "Ai no Kusabi" the other day. Spent the next hour frozen in a catatonic WTF stance.
I think it also solves the problem of shark-jumping: if I look hard enough, I'm quite sure I can find a BSG fanfic that veers off after "New Caprica" and ends things far better than Ron Moore did. It's the same concept of "personal canon" that lends itself so well to reading mainstream comics, but applied on a large enough scale that it covers everything.
"Runaways" and "Wonder Woman" being two recent and prime examples of such...
Hell, even before the Berbils, that damn Snarf. Good Lord I remembered he was annoying but I had no idea just how utterly awful a creation he was.
Kazekage
said...
I will have to look that up! I am certain, however, that I will be just as speechless as I was when I read the synopsis of the game "School Days," wherein a perfectly normal (for Japan) porn game erupts into what could be best called "Saw with schoolkids." And no, there is no set-up to that . . .it just kind of . . .happens.
Open-source fandom? ;) It reminds me of an episode of MST3K wherein the Bots were so pissed off with the ending to the movie, they decided to write their own.
It's amazing how everything they did to inject sales life into the title only killed it faster, eh?
Ugh, and Snarf has a damn cousin who shows up later! I have never, and will never understand the love Thundercats gets, and I say this as a child of the 80's ne plus ultra. I much preferred the later riffs on the concept they did (Silverhawks and Tigersharks) I also blame them for furries.
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
What amazes me is how each time I think I'm becoming immune to the atrocities, I find some other medium where things are even worse. I couldn't think they'd sink lower than this and then those horrid statues in the Previews, and just when I'm sure my soul has shriveled up and died... rape games. THERE AREN'T ENOUGH SHOWERS IN THE WORLD TO MAKE ME FEEL CLEAN AGAIN.
I like that - "open-source fandom". Concise and to the point. And that's precisely the idea: you take the source code, do whatever you want with it, and the result is something that technically belongs to someone else but is also yours.
Well, I knew "Runaways" was doomed the moment Vaughan walked away: it was his story, they were his characters. But "Wonder Woman"... that was just one embarrassing failure after another.
Oh great Jaga I'd forgotten all about Snarfer. The only way he could've been more annoying is if he'd been voiced by Gilbert Gottfried. And now that I think about it, Silverhawks had that kid who only talked in vuvuzela whistles. Something about that period in Western animation is just wrong.
Kazekage
said...
Yeah . . .and you haven't even seen (nor would, I imagine--I know I didn't!) the worst of it. Even in manga and anime that I like, there is a rather virulent strain of misogyny that makes Women in Refrigerators look like a minor case of "girls are icky."
Please direct all credit/money to Lewis Smith . . .care of 13 Idle Hour Road, Pungo Vigrinia USA ;)
And really--"Wonder Woman," which always seems to have to prove its big gun status constantly, didn't really have the luxury of putting a foot wrong, did it?
Well, in Silverhawks defence (and despite me watching both shows, it took me ages to work this out) Copper Kid was basically Jimmy from Battle of the Planets (seriously--the whole goofy whistle-speak is pretty much similar) which made him . . .maybe 20% more useful than Snarf and Snarfer put together?
Coulda done without him trying to teach me astronomy, tho. :)
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
Oh, I don't think I have the fortitude to plumb those depths; I have enough trouble restraining homicidal impulses whenever someone mentions those Julie Strain Heavy Metal comics. Ugh.
Of course, if we got paid by the concept, I'm rather sure we'd both be moving on up to the east side, to deluxe apartments in the sky-y-y. :)
Paul and Al had some interesting comments about that (and JMS' writing tics) in the latest HtA - Al thinks Wonder Woman's cultural status is largely dependent on the Lynda Carter series, even though it's aged about as well as month-long baklava. I'm not so sure about that; the Timm/Dini version was radically different, so it clearly came from another source... no idea what that might be, though.
Also, after consulting Youtube, good lord did Lynda Carter look ridiculous in that getup.
If I recall correctly, Copper Kid actually got his butt into gear and fought the bad guys on occasion, so at least he's good for something. I figure the only reason the Thundercats kept Snarf around was just in case they ran out of food someday.
Especially the '80s version of astronomy where black holes actually send out waves of sound and people can survive just fine in the vacuum of space without any equipment whatsoever. There were a lot of disappointed wannabe astronauts in those days. :)
Kazekage
said...
Julie Strain: Would-be avatar for Female Empowerment. Because shut up, that's why. ;)
I hear that fish don't fry in the kitchen and beans don't burn on the grill over there. :)
I quite like that they busted JMS for telling the same damn story over and over. Well, the Dini and Timm version just made her a badass on equal footing with the other members of the Trinity (I hate that term) basically by showing her as a badass on equal footing with the other big guns. Story after story of inane navel-gazing was not required.
And yet--you would not believe how many professional comics fold perv hard for Mrs. Carter because she was WW in their formative years.
That's an episode I would like to have seen. The only thing I hated worse than the Snarfs were the New Thundercats, who couldn't be more second string if they tried. At least the auxiliary Silverhawks never stuck around past an episode or two.
That and the Disney movie have left me utterly confused and wholly unprepared for an encounter with a singularity, y'know. ;)
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
Ugh, and those animated movies... the only things she empowered were the animators' "private time" imaginations.
It also takes a lot of trrrryin' just to get up that hill. :)
To be fair, there's nothing wrong with the core concept of busting a hero down a few pegs and building them back up over time (hopefully in an improved fashion). It only becomes tired when the same writer does the same thing over and over again regardless of whether it works or not - I suppose that at this point there's really very little merit in trying to do anything substantial with Superman, as he seems to be the most equalizing character in the industry in that any change just levels out gradually, over time.
And yet I honestly can't remember a writer taking that kind of simple, direct approach to Wonder Woman insofar as the comics are concerned. That was the sticking point for me when they did that whole storyline with Max Lord: I could understand why killing him would've been a big deal for Superman or Batman, but she's an Amazon from a pseudo-Grecian warrior culture. How is the use of lethal force wrong for her?
I wonder, though, if that's why making a film version of WW is proving so difficult - they're basically facing the same challenge WB had with Batman in the late '80s, trying to make non-comics folk see the character as something other than Adam West campiness.
You could always tell that those were blatantly merchandise-driven: flat, gimmicky characters who just didn't organically fit into the story on any level.
In that case, best to steer clear of the Big Two when their collective levels of suck reach critical mass. :)
Kazekage
said...
It takes a lot to make the original Heavy Metal look less infantile by comparison, but . . .yeah, they did that!
I once knew a friend who did that whole spiel a capella at talent night in college. The place exploded after he was done.
Well, it works sometimes, and with certain characters more than others. Daredevil: Born Again is an amazing story because the whole leverage for the story was plausible in the milieu that Daredevil lives in. I can't imagine a Superman: Born Again would work very well.
And there's some mileage in that, actually--WW doesn't have to be a loose cannon, but why can't she approach problems from a more proactive standpoint and contrast her with Batman, who wants to establish order, and Superman, who leads by example. Unfortunately, nuance doesn't work very well in superhero comics, so look for her to be portrayed as Wolverine with boobs.
It's certainly an obstacle, but not as much as the 60s Batman show--which took the world by storm, and WW, which is more of a curio.
Yeah, and it's almost always the kiss of death for the show, see also when Slimer got co-billing on Real Ghostbusters. Even as a kid, I knew something was up. :)
In, through, and beyond!
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
For maximum cognitive dissonance, consider that the immortal, breast-grabbing idiot villain was voiced by Michael Ironside. Darkseid is. (not pleased.)
I'm not surprised. It's a rather uplifting theme song. :)
That's actually a rather fair litmus test when it comes to flat/round characters: you could technically do a "Born Again" narrative with most Marvel heroes, where you strip away their support system, their beliefs, maybe even their powers, and show them as they truly are. And I think the reason that doesn't apply to DC characters is because they're embodiments of virtue first, "real" people second. "Superman: Born Again" wouldn't work because if you took it all away from him, he'd still be the boy scout superhero.
Or worse, Straw Feminist with the Vapidity dial turned up to over 9000. :)
Interesting, though, that in contrast to those two, Superman's been translated and retranslated so many times I'd be hard-pressed to find common ground between them. Christopher Reeve was the cornball perfect superhero; Dean Cain was a sex symbol (and how); Tom Welling tries to be Serious Business but fails to often-hilarious results; Brandon Routh was... well, damned if I know. And yet, despite each variation being practically irreconcilable with the others, there's still really only one Superman.
Mind you, I never understood how he became such a prominent member of the cast; IIRC, all he did was slime Bill Murray that one time...
Kazekage
said...
For reasons of convenience, I skip over that part of his c.v. and just remember for being Revok, Ham Tyler, Jester, the guy from Total Recall, and Darkseid. It's easier all 'round.
I feel the same way about the theme from "Star Blazers." ;)
Yeah, it really wouldn't work. Again, one of the things I liked about JLA/Avengers was they drew that line between the two universes clearly--Marvel Heroes are a little more outsider-y, DC Heroes are idealised icons.
Yeah. She's a hard character to write without falling into some trap or another. I wonder if the solution is not to write her as a "warrior" but more as a "general," someone who's led people into a fight but has a larger view of things.
Well, you can do more stories with Batman (thank you Brave and the Bold--you're awesome.) than you can with Superman, which lends itself to more valid approaches--Campy Batman can co-exist with Dark Batman. How many Superman stories are there? No wonder all those on Superdickery went in such crazy-ass directions.
Because Frank Welker can make anything cute, from Nazi monkeys to Nibbler. ;)
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
He was also General Granger in "Tiberium Wars", proving that he can be just as badass when he's playing a good guy.
Ah, "Star Blazers". You know it's Japanese because they were flying around on a giant double phallus. :)
And they illustrated that point using your average DC/Marvel citizen: the people of the DCU adore their superheroes, while the people of the MU... don't. (Understatement.) It might've been interesting to see Busiek hazard an in-story guess as to why this is so...
It could work, but only if she were placed in a position of leadership - as far as I know, that's never happened.
Even Grant Morrison ended up playing it safe and not pushing the boundaries as far as he had with other properties - "All-Star Superman" is ultimately a reiteration of the character's strongest qualities/stories rather than an attempt to do anything genuinely new or different with him.
Case in point: Bronx from "Gargoyles" couldn't talk, but every time he opened his mouth I just wanted to hug him. :)
Kazekage
said...
He exudes badass on a low-band carrier wave. That's the only explanation.
And there was one girl. I continue to be amazed that a show that dark was let loose in America with very little done to blunt it, y'know. I must write about that one day.
It would have been but how can you really do it without it immediately going all metatextual? You end up with basically saying "They've been around forever" which runs against the notion that these universes have a sliding short-term timeline.
Which is fine, insofar as Grant Morrison wanted to do a curtain call for Great Superman Moments. But where do you go after that?
But he could also be badass, see: Megatron, Galvatron, Dr. Claw. Fred from Scooby Doo, well . . .to hell with him.
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
Quite. :)
I'd look forward to that - it seems to be one of those shows where I can't quite get past how it was done to fully appreciate what was done.
I think he did come close with "Marvels" - the implication was that the first Human Torch and Namor looked so alien, and were so destructive (inadvertantly so or not), that it set the tone for civilian reactions to superhumans. Not quite sure how that works with mutant hysteria, since all five original X-Men looked more human than, say, the Thing...
That's just it, though - it's Superman's Greatest Hits and not much else. Morrison doesn't take a single step outside the box, which is odd given his usual habits with pre-existing characters (Doom Patrol, Animal Man, the X-Men...) To me, that suggests that even Grant Morrison can't quite figure out how to make Superman a legitimately interesting and relevant character beyond telling us that he should be both.
I've always suspected that Fred had a dark side. The man wore an orange ascot tie at all hours of the day without the slightest hint of irony, after all. :)
Kazekage
said...
Seriously--I came of an age when people were getting all sorts of crap past the radar--people getting shot in the chest on-camera (Galaxy Rangers), monsters from under the Earth unleashing zombie attacks and dumping people in toxic waste (Inhumanoids) the Earth on the brink of destruction from space Nazis who are hunting a desperate crew chasing down the slim chance of fixing it (Star Blazers) and, most all, a will-destroying bacterium that makes people slaves that people are actually trying to get to (Spiral Zone) And people say all 80's cartoons wanted to do was sell toys. I'm thinking of just doing a whole big write-up on how bad this stuff played with my impressionable little miiiiiind. ;)
Well, subtextually, they were also elemental forces (fire vs. water) so that might have lent it some more gravitas than it might otherwise have. But I don't know. . .given you have people like the Hulk who are like walking natural disasters and stuff like Galactus showing up, which is on a scale most people can't conceive . . .I can imagine that would lead to at least a little skepticism.
The sad thing is, part of me wants to rise to be bait and say that Fred's ascot was just a handy way to play out his and Daphne's autoerotic asphyxiation games in the back of the Mystery Machine, but man . . .do I want to plant that idea in people's minds?
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
And so you have. :) More comments at that write-up, but it's interesting that these series more or less co-existed with the more merchandise-driven, sanitized pablum like GI Joe or the truly hideous "Captain Planet". I wonder if there's some correlation, a particular network or era that allowed the medium stretch its legs a bit...
Especially since these threats are, more often than not, countered by superheroes who appear even more inhuman - Galactus may be a thousand feet tall but he still looks more humanoid than, say, Beta Ray Bill.
Given what I know of their live-action versions, I quite like the idea of Sarah Michelle Gellar choking Freddie Prinze Jr. until his face turns blue. But that's just me. :)
Kazekage
said...
Well, "Captain Planet" was a bit later--around 1988 something weird happened to cartoons, really. Most of the huge toy-driven shows were cancelled or on the way to being cancelled and more comedic stuff ruled the roost (Ninja Turtles) the days of straight-ahead action were gone until Batman and X-Men pretty much. That they got away with it owed more to the fact that most of these were syndicated, and the rules were a little more lax.
Very true. Of course, early on in the Marvel U there was always a little ambivalence about its heroes--back when Iron Man was grey, he scared the hell out of people he was trying to save . . .
"That's what you get for writing for WWE, asshole!" Entertaining and full of subtext!
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
Oddly enough, DC - the company most frequently accused of not getting with the times - ultimately produced a cartoon that holds up 15 years later, whereas the newer, "hip" Marvel turned out that horrid '90s X-Men cartoon with the absolutely awful voice acting (seriously, every line makes me cringe).
Was it intentional on his part, though? Or just another case of a "misunderstood superhero"?
I'm still waiting for the universe to punish him for "Wing Commander". That was a very bad thing he did. :)
Kazekage
said...
"NO! COVERED WITH SCORPIONS!" :) I have a weird fondness for the first X-Men cartoon. Not that I'd ever call it "good" but it was this nice weird bridge between 80's cartoons and the new approach of the 90's that the DCAU would exemplify.
Well, it was a one-panel thing that really was just there to justify the painting the original suit gold, but it was an early example of them straddling the line a bit.
I think the only people who got punished for "Wing Commander" were the poor unfortunate souls who went to see it, and I say this as someone who paid to see "The Avengers." :)
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
I suppose after "Pryde of the X-Men" they had nowhere to go but up...
Well, it was 1999 - the unfortunate truth about video game adaptations hadn't quite sunk in yet. :)
Kazekage
said...
Well, the X-Men series did lead to this, so it's not all bad. ;) BTW . . .link is SO NSFW it defies all description.
We'd had one good one, exactly one by that point, but since it was Mortal Kombat that's damning with faint praise. ;)
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
And really, that Juggernaut meme just about makes up for this, doesn't it? :)
Fortunately, things have improved somewhat - the ratio's still rather skewed in the direction of "Um, did my eyes just start bleeding?" but "Silent Hill" was actually more coherent than most of the games it was based on, and if nothing else the first "Tomb Raider" at least managed to get across what Lara Croft is about, which is more than we can say for that Mario Brothers movie with Dennis Hopper. Ick. :)
Kazekage
said...
It does. I have to admit, tho . . .when that first came on, every X-Men fan I knew--myself included--thought it was the shit.
I have to say, I kind of like the SMB movie, just because it seems like someone ran the plot through the game through Babelfish over and over again until the final product bore little resemblance to anything Mario. Also, Dennis Hopper got to act crazy again. That's always good. :)
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
Well, it was the first serious attempt at a Marvel adaptation - and, for all its failings, I recall it was actually a fairly accurate representation of what the X-Men were up to at the time.
I'd be more sympathetic to Dennis Hopper's legacy including that unforgettable "AHHHH, PLUMBERS!!!" but the man always gave me the creeps. :)
Kazekage
said...
Well, considering they were thwacking about after the Neo in the comics about that time, they were probably a good deal more coherent in the movie than they were in the comics.
Two words: Frank Booth. Two more words: Paris Trout. Dennis Hopper is one scary mofo when given a chance. :)
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
Of course, given the choice between the Neo and botching the bloody Dark Phoenix Saga, I think I'd have rather had them do the former. At least you don't have very far to go if you're looking to do a hatchet job on the Neo...
I remember seeing him as Pelias in "Jason and the Argonauts" - kept expecting him to pull a gun on Jason London. :)
Kazekage
said...
Yeah, I think that, as terrible as the Neo were, the fact that that whole period of time is as remembered as much as "The Crossing" (That is to say, not) at least it cleaned up its own damn mess.
That would have made that version of "Jason Argonauts." ;)
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
I like to think the more continuity-minded writers wanted to follow up on the Neo, and failed simply because they had no idea what was going on. :)
Quite. Though it might've led to a Reverse Funny Aneurysm later on. :)
Kazekage
said...
Well, the problem is in the foundation, and thus, the whole house was utterly borked. You already have godlike mutants--how do you make a species "above" that?
Man, "Mallrats" done fucked that guy all up. :)
Diana Kingston-Gabai
said...
Well, I'd always imagined "post-mutants" as being able to manifest any ability at any time, with the built-in limitation that they can't use more than one power simultaneously. That would be a serious (and colorful) threat to mutants, but much like the Sentinels you could only job them out so often before they'd lose credibility.
Oh, Stan Lee, you make it so hard to love you sometimes. :)
Kazekage
said...
So, kinda like the H.A.R.D. Corps from the Valiant Universe, then?
And the Sentinels are easy to make an omnipresent and very real threat. My X-Men idea that I've alluded to had an over-arching storyline for the year that put the Cape Citadel attack by Magneto in a new light: The government was launching Sentinels into orbit, creating a rapid-response capability that they never had previous. Any mutant so much as sneezes anywhere on the globe, a Sentinel can be there in two minutes.
From there, it becomes an arms race--Mutants are the next stage in evolution, Sentinels are constantly evolving to keep up with the mutant threat, so you go from the classic lumbering robots to sleeker Nimrod-style Sentinels to Prime Sentinels that are basically Sentinel technology merged with mutants and gradually the conflict becomes that humanity, in trying to tamp down the next stage of evolution has replicated the problem in the process of trying to solve it--like a game of whack-a-mole with the Earth the balance. And we just play in that sandbox with the idea of a three-way struggle for the future.
This way, you have a serious conflict and a resolution that will pay off in a little more nuanced way than usual--for one side to win, they're looking at the genocide of at least one of the others. Not so clear-cut that choice, is it?
Poor Stan. I feel sorry for him, but shilling is a terrible thing to do for long periods of time. It takes such an awful toll.
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