When Will It Stop: Why Are All The Nerds On The Internet Hating On The Ant Man Trailer? - A CCD Rant by Mike D

As I sat in my favorite bar n Brooklyn, the Irish Haven, watching Agent Carter with a few of my customers that are nerds like me I began to get excited. As the first hour came to a close (on a pretty great show, cause you know its Marvel...) I was anticipating the premiere of the Ant Man trailer. But then they announced that there was another hour of Agent Carter coming. Wait... what? How did I miss this? It was a 2 hour premiere? Ok... 1 more hour to anticipate the trailer. Hour 2 of Agent Carter was even better, and boy oh boy it was 9:55 Pm and we were finally here. It started... and I was completely breathless for 90 seconds. Trying to take it all in, I didn't want to miss a thing. And as I turned to my friends at the bar, they seemed about as jazzed as I was. I couldn't wait till the next morning when it hit the 'Net and I could get a proper breakdown (like this great one from the Den of Geeks!) of the whole packed trailer screenshot by screenshot. So imagine my surprise when I saw a bunch of my friends (and fellow nerds) on FB bashing the 90 second trailer, and then found a majority of articles doing the same... WHAAAAATTTT??? I can understand why a non comic fan might not be excited, but what did all these (supposed) informed nerds watch to be so mad about? I felt a rant brewing, and after a few days I have to unleash....

More after the jump...



So listen, I am not trying to say that the Ant Man trailer was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I liked it... a lot. But I am an uber nerd. And especially an Avenger comic uber nerd. So to finally get Mr. Hank Pym and his suit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is absolutely amazing to me. To get an expanded character list (Scott Lang, Yellowjacket, Hope Van Dyne) makes me even MORE excited. Ant Man is an original 5 Avenger. He was in The Avengers before Cap. Check the facts jack... most of these cornball fans who only know the movies don't realize how important Mr. Pym is to the Avenger family. How can we have gotten this far and have no Ant Man or Wasp. Not even a mention. Wow. So in my eyes, this is more than DUE. But for some this is Marvel reaching... how? This character NEEDS to be in the long term Avengers story. How can anyone debate that?

Avengers #1, Cover by King Kirby... Ant Man billed #2 overall, ahead of Hulk & IRON MAN!

Now lets get right to the trailer. I will start with a few things I like, and then I will tackle these suppose dummies and their criticism. First off, in the comics Scott Lang is a bad ass felon who steals Pym's Ant Man suit to commit crimes for his sick daughters medical bills. When I heard they cast Paul Rudd I was a bit worried. I like Rudd, but could I buy him as a criminal (albeit a good-intentioned one) as a prison hardened criminal. Well the trailer answers that with a resounding yes. The stubble, the slim and trim look, the black skully hat wearing Rudd looked the part... and he was believable in all the prison "fight for your life scenes". And when he is reunited with his sick daughter? Yup, I am feeling the pain of a parent who has to turn to crime to help his child. Rudd seems solid as the lead, which was one of my original worries. So there is that.

OK, I am buying Rudd as a good hearted bad guy in over his head....

Then we get to the tech and the suit. Douglas looks and sounds the part of Pym, and if he is truly going to be integrated into the middle era of the Marvel Cinematic universe (between Agent Carter in the late 40s and Iron Man of the 2000s) through flashbacks then I am all for the mix of high and low tech in his labs. These can also be secret labs for  Pym that has to leave the public world... and needs help from Lang to do something. Kind of like that hidden S.H.I.E.L.D. computer lab that Cap & Widow find Armin Zola in. Trapped in time, but still quite functional. Oh, and the suit is pretty amazing. The helmet is perfect, and the suit is sleek with a dark red coloring that keeps the original feel that King Kirby intended with his designs yet modernizes it in a way that makes it believable. This is the best costume design in relation to the original character that I have seen in quite a while. Bad ass in my mind.

Original Jack Kirby Ant Man

More recent incarnation of the Ant Man suit

Cmon.... what could anybody have to say about this?

Then we got the shrinking, which was done in a great way. He just evaporated, and then he is 3 inches tall... insane. And he rode a flying bug. A FLYING BUG! HE RODE A FLYING BUG IN THE TRAILER!!! What else do you people want.... this is the quintessential Ant Man, pulled directly from the pages, and people are complaining? Get the fuck outta here. It is perfect. Plus, two years ago we saw the possibilities of a fighting Ant Man back in the teaser trailer from Edgar Wright. The running towards a dude full speed, shrinking down mid air and getting past them has been shown to us... the action will be FINE. How can any fan of the comic or character think these character designs and action segments weren't great?

Original panel....

Pretty close, no? 

Then we get the supporting cast. Cory Stoll is a mean looking dude off rip, and I cant't wait to see him as the multi-armed Yellow Jacket (if those leaked character designs were real) raging. I like Stoll, especially from House of Cards. I think he can be a cool baddie. Hope Van Dyne? Evangeline Lilly is great, and I love that they are going with her. That means when she eventually does become The Wasp (and eventually maybe even The Red Queen?) it will be a modern version, leaving her momma Janet Van Dyne and the original Wasp for those in between years we talked about above through flashbacks. More characters for the Agent Carter, S.H.I.E.L.D. cold war era shows to bridge the gap. And did you see her training Lang??? She is already a bad ass.

It is the first trailer. You aren't going get to get major reveals. No plot points. At least I hope not. It is called a "TEASER" for a reason. It is just supposed to wet your appetite. So why would people be so upset about it? So far here are the top complaints I have heard:

1. No story lines revealed.
2. Characters are delved into enough.
3. It looks like a Honey I Shrunk The Kids rip off...
4. A lot like Iron Man, no?
5. The "can we change the name" joke was corny.
6. Aren't we tired of Marvel yet?

So lets hit on a few of these. This is going to be fun.


1) No story lines are supposed to be revealed. It is a TRAILER. The FIRST TRAILER. What did you think you were going to see, the final scene?

2) Just enough intro to the core cast to intrigue you, and get you speculating. How much of the flashbacks to Pym as Ant Man be in the movie? Will Janet Van Dyne appear? Will Hope become Wasp? How long into the movie before Lang starts the Ant Man schtick? What the hell will Yellowjacket look like... and why is he so mad at Pym? Not delved into enough... my head is swimming with scenarios!!!

3) Honey I Shrunk The Kids is a rip off of Ant Man. Not the other way around. If you say that you sound like a) an uninformed douche b) trying to be intentionally snarky when you know better or c) oblivious to the fact that Ant Man is AN ORIGINAL AVENGER!!!!! Either choice you are can not be tolerated or taken seriously! (I'm talking to you Lock!!!!)

One more time, just as a reminder

4)  Like Iron Man? How? The action of any of these movies is going to be.... how would you say it... COMIC BOOK-ESQUE? Because, you know, they are based on comics! Jesus.... to say that this "looks" like something previous after only 90 seconds of footage that PROBABLY WON'T MAKE THE MOVIE ANYWAY is just haters going to hate. But how exactly does this look like Iron Man (or any other Marvel movie) at all? I'm not really sure I understand the comparisons.

5) The joke was corny? Is it? I remember when the first Guardians trailer dropped. Hooked On A Feeling playing throughout. All people could talk about was that song... "is it going to be in the whole movie?" That would be SO GOOFY. Tell me its not going to be that SAME SONG over and over..." Yadda Yadda Yadda. Remember that? No... think hard. Try to remember. It was ALL anybody wanted to talk about. Oh, that and how this was probably going to be Marvel's FIRST MISS. How did it all turn out? Well, James Gunn made a pretty amazing movie that finished the calendar year as the HIGHEST GROSSING MOVIE OF THE YEAR. Oh, and the song WAS IN IT... but the overwhelming success of the whole film HINGED on Awesome Mix Vol. 1 and how it was used as both a story telling device and overall soundtrack to the fantastic movie. To think that a SONG was what people were picking out as the possible problem with Guardians of the Galaxy and in turn the soundtrack becoming the strongest & most appealing part of the movie was a sweet comeuppance for all the haters, no?
 
6) The short answer to the question "Aren't We Tired Of Marvel Yet?" is simple: NO... No we are not. Need proof? Guardians made the most money of the year at the box office. #1. Not the billion dollar Transformer franchise. Not the 30 year old TMNT brand. Not good ole Captain America in his second (and totally amazing) film (that finished #3 for the year BTW in money earned). Not the conclusion of the Middle Earth series, or the Mockingjay, nor X-men in their greatest comic adventure. Not Spider-Man, or Angelina Jolie as a Disney villain/heroine. Not Disney or Dreamwork's latest animated masterpieces. Not the resurrection of Godzilla with Walter White aiding him. Not even Christopher Nolan and the McConaug-isance could top a TALKING RACCOON, two Green mercenaries, a guy best known as Fat Andy and WALKING TREE. WTF more proof do you need? Oh, and the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. has really began to hit its stride, Agent Carter was extremely well received, and Daredevil is about to kick off the whole Netflix experiment. Oh, and lets not forget about the 9 movies that Marvel just announced over the next 5 years. Yeah, I guess everyone is sick of Marvel. LOL.

So in closing, just remember that words like TEASER and TRAILER are used in these instances for a reason. They are SNIPPETS of info to garner interest... a good TRAILER shouldn't even be constructed with key plot points, visuals or anything. It just needs to peek someones interest. Also, try to remember that the words TEASER & TRAILER are not SYNONYMS with FINISHED PRODUCT or FINAL VERSION OF A MOVIE. I know its hard, but lets do ourselves all a favor and save all the hate we have for terrible travesties like the remake of Annie or the next property/board game/tv show that they want to re-brand and distribute. That is where the hate should go....

Learn from the past... Marvel got this. At least I think so. So in closing I end with this:

MAKE MINE MARVEL!!! EXCELSIOR!!!!!

A CCD Rant by Joe Esq: Am I The Only Nerd Who Gets Annoyed...

... When they change stuff in the comic book to make it match the movies? Ok look, I understand the corporate robot-think that leads to comic book companies doing this, but I find it contemptible and I'll never agree with it. And that's not just nerd-rage talking, the way I see it, its a really shortsighted and stupid thing to do.

Ostensibly, the (flawed) logic behind this practice boils down to this: more people see the movies than read the books. Some of those people MIGHT see the movie and be curious enough to start reading the books too. So, lets make the books look as much like the movies as possible so that when (if) these potential new readers come along, they're not immediately alienated by things being different than they're used to.  To me, this just reeks of desperate pandering and, if you think about it, its actually insulting not only to the people who were already comic fans, but to these potential new readers as well.

Basically, this practice demonstrates that the publishers' (despite seemingly being desperate for their business) have an underlying belief that these non-comic book reading movie-goers are a bunch of morons. Seriously, "the comic is a little different" or "they changed that for the movie" are concepts any 10-year-old can understand. Why the conceptual red carpet needs to be rolled out for a bunch of people who are only potentially reading the books is beyond me. Is "the X-Men wear blue and yellow costumes in the comic books" really too high-concept for the average non-comic reading movie-goer to grasp? Are the publishers that insecure that the stories and art aren't good enough to sell themselves on their own merits? If  someone is curious enough buy a comic book, the fact that something is different isn't going to make or break their decision to keep buying. Have some self-esteem!

Because, while you're busy pandering to people who aren't buying your product yet, the worse effect of this is that it inevitably alienates the loyal readers YOU ALREADY HAVE!. You know, the ones who are already regularly shelling out 3 bucks an issue, week after week, all these years? The ones whose loyalty was a large part of the reason these characters (and the whole medium) have enjoyed the longevity that made movies about them a viable option in the first? No? Not ringing any bells? Oh, right, screw them. They're hooked, and you're already getting their money.

For me, and I'm sure I'm not alone, every time there's a change in a book I'm reading to match something from the movies, its jarring. And annoying. Sometimes its just a cosmetic change, but other times the storylines have to do gymnastics in order to get things to line up. Either way, it's like a metaphorical record scratch right across the page of the comic. Below, I have a few of the most egregious, off the top of my head examples, but before I give you those, I just want to sum up. Comic Book Publishers, STOP DOING THIS! You're alienating people who already pay you money in order to pander to people who don't. Let them join the club, stop trying to change the club while begging them to join!

In case you're lost, here's some examples of what I mean:

1. Nick Fury is black now (in the Marvel 616 Universe).

Ok, so in the Marvel Ultimate Universe, the design of Nick Fury was based on Samuel L. Jackson. Then they make the Marvel movies and cast Sam Jackson as Fury... which somehow leads to a convoluted story where the Nick Fury in the main (616) Marvel Universe is a black guy that looks like Sam Jackson. Ohh, he's Nick Fury JUNIOR? Yeah, that makes it better. 

  

2. Mystique is a blue lizard:

In 2001's X-Men Forever miniseries Mystique is exposed to dangerous levels of radiation and ends up looking like the ridiculous naked blue lizard they made her in movies. Sure, in the films it was a nice excuse for horny geeks to pretend they were seeing naked Rebecca Romijin or Jennifer Lawrence, but one, you're really not; and two, the visual does not translate well to the comic book page at all. 

3. Toad has cool powers:

Now, objectively this one could be called an improvement. In the comics, Toad was a short fat dude whose power was he could jump real high. In the movie he's a skinny, athletic guy who could jump real high, knows parkour and has 25 foot long prehensile tongue. So of course, again in the 2001 X-Men Forever mini (which may as well have been called X-Men: PLEASE BUY US AND LIKE US BECAUSE YOU SAW THE MOVIE) convoluted measures are taken to make Toad green, skinny, have a 25-foot tongue, adhesive saliva, and pheromone powers (because there's a rule that every non-main character mutant in the X-Men movie universe must have 47 powers). So sure, while the new movie-inspired Toad is "cooler" than the old Toad, it still feels like unneccesary pandering to me.

4. Transformers faces:

I didn't feel like doing photo research for this one. You all know what I mean. They looked shitty in the movie, they look even shittier in the comic. Thankfully, I think they've already stopped drawing them that way.

5. Spidey's organic webbing:

So, to match the way it was in the movies (and because Peter having biological webbing is more "realistic" than him having invented a webbing and shooters to go along with his other powers), Marvel made Peter develop organic web shooters in the comic. Yeah that's a great idea, take an integral part of classic comic book Americana and discard it so some movie jerk won't feel too alienated by it... on the off chance that that movie jerk actually picks up the comic in the first place. The comic storyline involved Spidey being turned into an actual giant spider and then back. Can we just acknowledge that Spider-Man spraying sticky organic fluid all over his enemies, and the city, is gross? Thankfully, the spinnerettes coincidentally developed in his wrists, instead of his rear end, like a real spider. This mutation of his powers has been ignored since the "Brand New Day" storyline (which I will not discuss here, because its a whole other can of nerd-rage), and Peter is back to using his man-made webbing.

So that's five of the worst. There's more. Hawkeye's costume; the aforementioned cladding of the X-Men in all leather; Coulson suddenly showing up everywhere; I could go on and on. I guess we should just be thankful that there's an even longer list of stuff that was changed for the movies that the comic books have left intact (Deadpool anyone?).

Sigh, nerd rage...... 

My Parents Were Cool, But Not This Cool...

I had great parents that encouraged all of my idiosyncrasies and afforded me great things (like comics & toys) throughout my childhood. They allowed me to do what I wanted with my room, and I often decorated it with the things I loved (mostly comics & toys.. lol). But Joe Fletch sent me a Reddit thread that blows doors on anything I ever had as a kid... and it comes courtesy of a great dad that should be commended for being so creative. This dude turned his son's bedroom into Avengers Central, with all four corners of the room embodying each of the Big 4. They all have a corner, and each is cooler than the other. The Cap corner has his signature shield, Thor's corner has Mjolinir, Hulk's corner has his terrifying scowl, and Iron Man has his signature helmet. There is also a Stark Industry bookshelf, a hidden Ultron visage, a Iron Man suit breaking through the wall, and so much more.... really great! Parents need to pay attention, this is how you do it! Check out the pics of the room after the jump...

 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Thus Far by One Man Sidekick

One Man Sidekick is a graphic artist who loves that Marvel Cinematic Universe. He decided to show his love for the excellent work that Marvel is doing on the big screen by compiling some pieces of all the major characters from each film, giving them all the proper shine they deserve. These are absolutely great, given the fact that he is using stock images of the characters. The way he arranges them and makes them play off each other, and also chooses specific versions of each character to bring his pieces to life. Check them all out after the jump... he even has a Thor 2: The Dark World one in there, so that he is right up to date!!!



 Thanks for the heads up Joe Fletch:

Iron Man

The Incredible Hulk

Iron Man 2

The Mighty Thor

Captain America: The First Avenger

The Avengers

Iron Man 3

Thor: 2 The Dark World 

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Gets It's First Promo - The Marvel Universe Invades A TV Set Near You!!!

Just picked up for next season, Marvel's show about S.H.I.E.L.D., the super secret spy organization in the Marvel comic book and movie universe. This seems like a great way for new characters and concepts to be introduced to the ravenous Marvel film fan base before showing up on the big screen in the summer blockbuster films. I am not sure if Coulson is alive or dead since I have no idea what time period this show is set in. I assume it comes after the first Avengers film. He could also be a LMD (life model decoy) which would be a great reveal to end Season 1. Check out more after the jump...






I hope they milk the corners of the Marvel Universe for cool and fun nuggets that will appeal to the fan boys in all of us and reward long time Marvel maniacs. There is room for a cool spy/superhero show with a sense of humor out there.

http://fashionnaction.blogspot.ca/

Pulp Avengers by Calamity Jon

I am a sucker when modern characters are re-imagined into old style projects. Calamity Jon is an artist who hit this idea right square on the head when he decided to take some of the lesser known Avengers (Wasp, Black Widow, Power Man) and fold them into pulp novel type stories. These covers look spectacular, and I would definitely read these books based on their tag lines alone. I am especially intrigued by the bonus in this series, DC Comics favorite space man Strange being written by Robert Heinlein (the author of Starship Troopers). That would be epic all the way around. Click here to see some excellent info on the source material of these covers, and check out all 5 after the jump...

And here is the bonus, DC Comics favorite spaceman Adam Strange:

'Too Many Avengers' - A Short Animated Film by Dan Meth

All Avengers. All the time. That seems to be the case here at CCD lately... lol. Anyway, here is an excellent short animated film from Dan Meth entitled 'Too Many Avengers'. In this film Meth wonders what would happen if the core 6 recruits for The Avengers didn't keep their recruitment a secret and invited a few of their "closest" fellow super friends. The possibilities are funnier and funnier. Enjoy the clip after the jump...

CollegeHumor’s Favorite Funny Videos

Avengers On Parade by Hannah Friederichs

The last couple of weeks have been up & down for me. I was very saddened a few weeks back by the death of Maurice Sendak. I was also very happy when I was able to take my 9 year old son to see 'The Avengers' on the big screen. That is a roller coaster of emotion, and its bittersweet. Than I came across Hannah Friederichs excellent Sendak-styled run down of the Avengers, and it all came together in a very positive way. This is what a good mash-up should be. Check out the full sized image after the jump.

Avengers Assemble by Fidgt

2 more days.... That is it!!! Two more days and we finally get a live action Avengers movie. Need something to hold you over? How about a fantastic minimalistic take on the Earth's Mightiest Heroes by artist Fidgt. You can get the print for 15 bucks on his Society 6 page by clicking here. 2 more days...

Avengers '78

Wow. Just wow. I watch millions of clips a week and see plenty of fan made trailers that make me smile because they are mildly clever. If I get a bit of a giggle than I feel that the faux trailer was quite successful. But when you get your hands on a masterpiece like the 'Avengers '78' faux trailer.... well, this is the stuff that legends are made of. I am not sure who created the faux trailer, but  it was posted on Quarv's Youtube page. They take all of the footage from the old fashioned 70s/80s Marvel TV series & films and mold them into a solid promo for a CBS Movie of the Week. Watch Ferigno and the rest of the Marvel gang show the current crop of Avengers how it is done. And you gotta love the Hawkeye cameo, not to mention the choice of villain... watch it after the jump and enjoy!!!!