This new wave of Marvel hate proves only one thing: MARVEL IS STILL KING AND QUEEN.
Haters gonna hate. It’s a tale as old as time song as old as rhyme. And haters are always gonna hate the best, and right now, still after all these years that they have been around (the studio not the universe), they are still the best. No one is doing it better. Not even Scorsese who can make a critically acclaimed film all he wants but couldn’t win the box office to save his life from the mob bosses he loves to glorify.
To be frank many of us Marvelites saw this coming as soon as RDJ snapped his last goodbye. Once the endorphins wore off and we came out of Berserker mode with a clear head we began to assess the future and how to react to the coming onslaught of fans that had allowed themselves to be spoiled rather than enlighten and humbled by all the work they had received during the Infinity Saga. Marvelites understood that Marvel had raised the bar so high that people were blinded by the light and now cannot see where the bar is.
I think we can all agree not every comic is amazing. Not every story is great, and not every film or television show is going to receive critical acclaim. Creativity is a process and a slow one at that and the bigger the budget the more the scrutiny. The thing that makes today different from yesteryear is that before the critic was actually respected. There were fewer of them and many were well educated and experienced in their field. More importantly they were sincere. Many of them weren’t critiquing to be an asshole but instead were actually analyzing the art and breaking down either what they saw or what they believed the artist indented and how all that fits into the greater history of the medium.
Today technology has allowed everyone to have a voice and that is important but it also has created a voice that is more of a collective groan motivated by hate. And I don’t mean hater hate, I mean real hate. Like the ugly kind of hate. The hate we are trying to get rid of outside of our entertainment space that has also invaded it with a stronger presence than we’ve ever known before. It is a delicate balancing act we are all trying to figure out as tech opens up communication lines to people who are bitter, scarred, traumatized, delusional, damaged, broken and rage filled for starters. The anger is so strong you can taste it through the screen as social media is splintered once again and probably for good.
In all the bickering Marvel continues. Continues giving you content on time, littered with people you love, loved or grow to love. They move forward with a new saga and promise of even more exciting films and shows than the previous saga had. Understanding that a magician never does the same trick twice they upped their game expanded their rosters and laid down an ambitious path that now everyone is copying. DC/WB failed to live up to their own set expectations and now have pressed the hard reset. Toy companies and game franchises are now getting into the game with movies and universes of their own built off their own properties many of them with great success.
Any criticism of Marvel is always warranted. Every Marvelite should know this. We welcome it. We want it. Because we know it makes us better not only as creatives but also as consumers. The opposite views criticism as an insult, an attack on the very self which causes the subject to react defensively and then ultimately ahead of time by setting preemptive strikes on material they view that goes against their views. Not their taste, their ideals. Their very nature is challenged with the existence of a female lead superhero films.
And the Marvelite knows we are getting started. It’s delusional to even think that Marvel has even felt the breath or your bullshit. You think we give up cause Secret Invasion wasn’t good? Man do you not remember when Inhumans bombed? No you don’t cause you’re under 10 years old or your memory is shot and doesn’t go back that far.
And that is fine. There has been a lot to take in. Pandemic, the readjustment was just like the Blip and everyone coming back and being reintegrated. The Marvelite understands what you are feeling and going through. You fear the light of the bar set high. You fear forgetting the past that you know and love and feel safe and warm with. You fear that you might not like what you once loved and only knew of before.
On one hand, you are free to feel the way you want. But on the other hand you probably should try to stop fearing and try to start understanding why it is you fear these changes. What Marvel is doing is not an attack on you or derailment of your plans. They are simply opening avenues and streets we can criss cross. Some are going to be multi million dollar highways, some are gonna be gravel roads. Some are gonna be gravel roads but have this amazing scenery and some are gonna be bloated 20 lane highways meant to ease the flow of traffic and have enough space for all but really all they do is create more congestion during all hours of the commute. For the most part the roads are all going to be decent smooth rides with a pot hole here and there but some more often than not are gonna be the best god damn motherfucking ride you have ever had in your life and from now till the moment of your death you are gonna be there for a Marvel film. Either opening weekend, at some point during their theatrical release or eventually on streaming tv or physical release. If you say you like a Marvel film, any of them, you will take another. It is the law of the mixed drink, or tequila shot…one or the other.
You will never win the argument of Marvel sucks, Marvel is over, Marvel is done, Marvel is no more for even when Marvel was no more back in the day they were not. They survived and emerged bigger and better than they ever have. As more time goes they dig their roots deeper and in time you may even see them break away from Disney or eclipse them. Crazy to think? Why? Disney was just a cartoon mouse at one time. Marvel was just as big as Disney at one time. Today, right now, would you go to a Marvel theme park or a Disney theme park? Ask your kids. Disney for as exciting and lovable as they are, typically get cut off with an age. Marvel does not. People grow with Disney in much sporadic ways where Marvel has held on to fans with a continuous flow of publications for all ages. It’s not just that people are adults who like cute things that are Disney. it’s Marvel makes content that appeals to the youngest age like Disney but can and does create content for teenagers who grow out of the Disney phase and into adults. Disney’s main thing is family and most people go for their kids. Adults who are childless going to Disney is as popular as it’s ever been but it is still not the norm. The norm for Marvel is do you read or like cool drawings? Here you go. Yes, Disney has had comics and books and the same as Marvel if not more but Marvel in no way subservent to Disney. What they have is more partnership than ownership. Yes (omg) they own Marvel and I know what that means (see how we have to do this constantly now) , but the vibe between the two works so well because Disney stays out of Marvel’s way. Marvel is just as corporate as Disney and they handle their laundry in house. If shit gets real they will approach the CEO but 99.9999% of the time they don’t need them.
Yet the Marvelite cares little for that. We do but don’t because we have no quarrels with Disney in fact we love and support them very much which is how and why this marriage works so well. Disney helps Marvel and Marvel helps Disney. We know what they are here for and what they do and they know what we are here for and what we do. That’s all you need to know. The argument and desire for Marvel to mature with a TVMA is not something they are not capable of as you now are aware of, it is something that they haven’t had the need to explore. There isn’t even a need now. It’s just that they can.
We understand you are hurt. That you are in pain. That some of you feel erased and not seen anymore. Ignored. As a minority myself I can relate. We’ve lost more than you could possibly know. But now is no time to mourn. Now, is no time at all. The Multiverse Saga is telling us time is an illusion. The more time you waste on worrying about the end of Marvel the more time Marvel gains on proving you there is no end to Marvel. All you had to do was look to their past on the main timeline beyond their bankruptcy and 1 million copies of X-Men #1. To the moment when Stan Lee was angry and about to give up and Mamma Stan Lee was waiting with him behind the door after a long day at work with a big fat bowl asking him what’s the matter and he told her he wanted to quit and she said just give it one more shot but write what you want to write. From then on people been saying it’s the end of Marvel. Even Papa Lee said it was the end but there was always a Marvelite there to say it wasn’t. As long as there is one Marvel fan out there there is going to be one comic based on a Marvel character out there and there is going to be a movie or tv show based on a Marvel character out there. Even Death is part of Marvel and she has yet to appear on screen…
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