Hypocrites!
Some of the people at Marvel -- guys like Joe Quesada -- like to talk big. They love to go on and on about how much better they are compared to DC. They like to talk things like "Marvel is more realistic." They'll often cite things like Marvel comics taking place in "real" cities and how the president in the Marvel U is always the "real" president as opposed to whatever pitiful fake president they think DC is using.
Here today I call them hypocrites. They don't get to claim that their comic universe is more realistic and a reflection of the real world when they make J. Jonah Jameson mayor of New York. That would be the height of hypocrisy.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying that this move is a bad idea. I'm sure that it will open up many interesting story possibilities. In much the same way that a fictional president might. Or a fictional city for a hero to call their own. But you are not allowed to bash your competition for such things and then turn around and do it yourself.
You can't have your cake and eat it too. You have to pick one or the other. Either you're the "realistic counterpoint to your fantasy rivals" or you're "just as fantasy as your fantasy rivals."
Not that it really matters to me. I'm sticking with the non-watered down original version full of capes and fictionopolises anyway...
Labels: Marvel, Spider-Man
posted by Diamondrock @ 8:36 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Quesada does seem to have this weird fixation with DC for some reason. DC seems to maintain a dignified silence for the most part when it comes to Marvel.
But you make an excellent point.
Fictionopolises rule.
They do indeed.
In theory, JJJ as mayor might make for interesting reading (although it seems rather a stretch to make the former publisher of a tabloid into the NYC mayor, regardless of the other difficulties in the race).
Then again, Luthor as president had the same promise: and did not meet it. Luthor's presidency went nowhere, and became a plot point to large to just ignore or wish away.
Is there a Luthor presidential library? Do Secret Service men protect Luthor and his gang? Do the comics acknowledge AT ALL what the result of something like a sitting President going wacko and becoming a supervillain, and its effect on the political landscape?
Does DC know D.C. at all?
Any Quesada's DC fixation goes perfectly with Spider-Man's reaction to JJJ's becoming mayor. It's all adolescent daddy-rebellion issues; what can I do to make Dad mad and show that I'm not like him and that he doesn't run my life any more?
I think DC has taken the most sensible course and has chosen to simply pretend that the whole "Luthor as President" fiasco never happened. Lke you said, it seemed like it could have made for good stories (though I was always a bit skeptical) but it turned out to not work at all.
The JJJ thing may turn out the same way for Marvel or it may not. But they're still hypocritical for doing it...
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