Fresh Question #7: Committed to Continuity

[Nightwing]

Hey WFers. It's new FQ time. And as devoted fans I think this item is something comic, cartoon, and movie makers should have your opinion on. Many times over when a comic/cartoon is turned into a movie or live action interpretation of some form, we think less of it because stories or parts of a character were changed. A few that come to mind, outside of DC universe though, are Spiderman's animated series, and the X-Men movie.

Should drifts from continuity in the transition between comic/cartoon to movie, or any combination of the three, be shunned by the fans??

Is there a line to be crossed?

[The Penguin]

I know what crossed the line. Batgirl not being Gordon's daughter in "Batman & Robin." Alfred niece? :rolleyes: Come on!

But a lot of times the continuity has be sacrificed somewhat (not completely) to make a movie that everyone will go to instead of just hardcore fans.

Barbara Wilson.....ahhhhhhh! :rolleyes:

[King Ryan7708]

Its "Batman & Robin" Penguin, of course they'd screw it up :p

Why they ruined Mr. Freeze's charactor with cheesy lines that always had the word "ice" in it.

And remember what they did to Bane! :mad:

[Sugar Daddy]

besides the fact that movie sucked, im not even going to include that. i think that continuity is important, but not too important. meaning, i dont mind if minor details are sacrificed for the sake of the story, but major changes shouldnt happen

[Web Head]

A movie doesn't have to exactly follow the Batman mythos, but the major characterization should remain constant (see Mr. Freeze)

[DisneyBoy]

I am very concerned with continuity, as I feel it adds something to the realism of an already unrealistic world. I understand how it can hold back writers from writing new stories, but I think that a writer than ingnores established facts and events is plain lazy . Issues like the alternate origin for Batgirl in Batman Adventures #12 aren't that much of a problem, since it makes for an interesting read, but then again, I find Peterson's lack of interest concerning the character development Ty Templeton tried to bring to the first issues of Gotham Adventuers unbareable. Why write yet another "Riddler leaves riddles" story when it's been established that he just realized he might be crazy? Explore it! As it is, the Adventures series have always (save Adventures in the DC Universe) spun-off from television series, meaning that it's hard enough for them to maintain a respectable continuity when they can't do anything that the show won't let them. That's why it's great to read stories like Superman Adventures #65! It shows that the writer put some thought or effort into the issue. It keeps the characters as realistic as they can be, but I do enjoy the occassional non-continuity-involved tale....emphasis on occasionally

[dc_gothamite]

well when a comic book storyline and character (and even video games) gets transformed into a movie or tv show, there should be many similarities between the mainstream stuff and the "transformed" product. When doing stuff like Batman and Spider-Man, the people who do the "transformation," should have at least a good idea of what the character is and what he or she can and can't do.

The people who do the "transformation," they should know what they should leave in, and what they should take out. Or maybe, at least take one of the "outs" and retool it a bit to make it more friendly to those newbies out there... examples of this include Spider-Man's "Death of Gwen Stacy" story transformed to the "Mary Jane gets kidnapped and banished to another dimension" story. Although MJ's case was a bit far-fetched, the Spider-Man series was able to pull off "Gwen's Stacy's death" without a hitch.

However, there are limitations... like i said, the people transforming the product have to know what and what not to do w/ the character... (Barbara Gordon to Barbara Wilson???? ya right...)

that'z all i have 2 say...

[Barb Gordon]

Continuity is definetly important. I know that sometimes it has to be sacrificied, but most of the time, it's only minor stuff. Now, maybe it's just me, but messing with Babs's background was big. her hair, her history, her relations..they screwed with it all! Not to mention Dick's history, but I was able to stand that, because they didn't go too far off, I could be wrong, but they totally seemed to go off the deep in with Barb.

Barb^-^

[Zoddman]

I really think it depends on how much your altering the impact and power of that character. For instance, in X-Men, Wolverine is a watchful eye over Rogue like a big brother or father figure. However in the comics, it's Kitty Pride and Jubilee that have this kind of relationshipwith Logan. does it ruin the characters or feel of the film? No, because the screenplay and actors respect the way the characters think and act in the comic-books.

The wrong translation would be something like the first Batman movie. In the comics: Bruce Wayne and his parents were coming out of the theater after seeing Zorro. A thug tries to rip Mrs. Wayne's pearls off her neck in an old alley-way. Bruce's father is shot, as is his mother. Only Bruce is left, lost in his own confusion and fear.

In the film: Bruce Wayne and his parents were coming out of the theater after seeing Moonlight Madness. A thug tries to rip Mrs. Wayne's pearls off her neck in an old alley-way. But then the thug's buddy, Jack Napier (aka the Joker)shoots Bruce's father and mother. Only Bruce is left, lost in his own confusion and fear.

Now, don't get me started on the fact that they gave the Joker an origin to begin with, but compare the two versions. quite a bit different, aren't they? The movie they go to see in the film is fine with me. Frank Miller had just added that as a relatively new addition to the Batman canon, and the script might've been written beforehand (Remember it was in developement hell since the early 80's.) What irks me is that Jack Napier killed his parents. The film suddenly becomes what Batman isn't supposed to be, revenge against one man. The whole point to a nameless thug killing Bruce's parents was that that nameless criminal could be any jerk in Gotham, so Batman feels the responsibility to take down every hood that carries a pistol. In the movie, it turns into "Gee, Joker killed my parents, now I gotta go kill him for good measure." When Batma in the final scene of the movie could have been something like this...

Joker: What did I do to you, rat-face? why do ya' go off pickin' on me?

Batman: Not what you did to me, but what people like you have done for thousands of years. You take advantage of the innocent, the just, the good. You slaughter them to get a few laughs. People like you ruin lives everyday all over this godforsaken planet. People like you must be stopped...By me.http://www.superherohype.com/ubb/graemlins/batman.gif

End of ol' grump complaint.

[Trent Lane]

Movies shouldn't veer too far from the comics, but it's okay if they do. Batman- done right, IMO, very much what I'd expect Batman to be like. Batman Returns- a reworking for the villains, but I think it worked out just as well, and Batman was also portrayed in the right way. Batman Forever- I hate Chris O'Donnell's Robin, simple as that. What a whiner!!! Riddler was too.... Joker-like, Two Face, well, I coulda sworn Billy Dee Williams was Harvey Dent in Batman- did he get some serious skin bleaching before or after the acid bath? Oh, and Nicole Kidman also contributed to this movie not "winning me over", almost as much as Val- this one just doesn't hit me as "Batmanesque". And lastly, Batman & Robin- was there anything right with this one? They should've gone ahead and done some really stupid stuff, like make Batman get the ability to fly- oh, wait, he did learn to sky surf. :rolleyes: Barbara Wilson- how wrong was that? It's Barbara Gordon, I guess Joel and the writers never really paid attention to her character, they were too busy getting a close-up of the Bat-ass and nipples. Sorry, this one will go in the "Elseworlds" pile... kinda like it's already marked down to $4.88 at WalMart in the cart-o-moives with greats like Car Wash and Throw Momma From The Train.... awwww.... :p

X-men, I think, hit the nail on the head. I'm not up on Marvel's stuff, but from what I do know, this one seemed right on. Same with Blade. Spiderman looks as if it will go the same route. Note to Warner Bros.: Start giving the fans what they want, not what Joel wants.....

[Bobby Boy 101]

I think continuity is very important, but should be kept sepeate from other continuities, ex: Batman movies are different continuity from batman comics, which are also different from batman animated

lol no one ever understands that i swear to god!

[Corran Horn]

I'd like to see a Batman movie reboot (a la Year One).

[Alexander]

I'd like to see a live-action version of TNBA Batgirl/Barbara Gordon.

[The Game]

I'd like to see a live-action version of TNBA Batgirl/Barbara Gordon.

Hmmm.....

A little obsessed? That's okay, there's nothing wrong with obsession.

Back on topic, continuity is important, but it's not the end of the world if you need to break some rules to tell a good story. On the other hand: when you're basing something on an original, you really shouldn't change and butcher the characters like they did in B&R, etc.

[Frosty]

One point is being missed in this argument. Sometimes comic continuity can be written by hacks who provide senseless twists and unncessary stroylines. Take X-Men, the show took the essence of the comic arcs and interpreted them in a simplified way that better conveyed the central ideology. Jean Grey didn't die 80 times, Gambit doesn't know who Mr. Sinister is, and Mystique is not Rogue's foster mother. If the show were really accurate their would be 20 X-Men running around all over the place every week. Instead we had a tightly wound series that reflected the original vision of Stan Lee. Besides if Batman followed D.C. continuity so closely, we wouldn't have Harley Quinn would we ?

[Cassandra]

I agree with that- In fact, I think it works best when the people involved in the new story are more generally informed about the charecters they're adapting. Somebody doesn't have to know that oracle likes her cornflakes soggy to write a good batman story.(well, she does...)

I find that I enjoy it a lot when the basic frame of the charecters are used, and then tweaked in different directions. Throw in a good villian, a big fight scene and one or two nods to the hardcore fans (what would you prefer, yellow spandex?) and you've got yourself a movie.

[Carnage]

I too believe in continuity between comics, movies, and cartoons. I was dissapointed when I found out (from a Spidey book Barb Gordon got me for Christmas :D ) that the Spider-Man movie will change much of Spider-Man's origin, along with many other things. The books says that the movie still has room for changes, so I dare not state any changes here that could prove to be false, I dislike starting rumors.
Basically, they make the changes because they believe newer generations won't like the old comic book heroes, which may some times be true, but you can never truly beat the original storylines.

-Carnage-