MAA Interviews - Gordon On Scrapped "Ultimate Avengers Versus Ultimate X-Men" Project

[James Harvey]

Marvel Animation Age (http://marvel.toonzone.net/news.php?action=fullnews&id=470) caught up with Marvel Animation stalwart Steve E. Gordon to discuss the recently revealed albeit abandoned Ultimate Avengers Versus Ultimate X-Men direct-to-video animated project. Click here (http://marvel.toonzone.net/news.php?action=fullnews&id=470) or on the image below for more.

http://marvel.toonzone.net/news/images/t-ultavx4.jpg (http://marvel.toonzone.net/news.php?action=fullnews&id=470)
Comments? Thoughts on the Q & A?

[Spider-Friends]

I was disappointed when I read that it was scrapped but basing it off of Ultimate War wouldn't have had any appeal to me. When I first heard about it months back I was hoping for Claremont's classic X-Men versus some classic Avengers. Then to read that the characters might not have even appeared in costume? Wow. I'm glad this one is gone.

Excellent read and an EXCELLENT idea for an article. I love to read about projects that "almost were".

[James Harvey]

Excellent read and an EXCELLENT idea for an article. I love to read about projects that "almost were". If feedback for this is positive, expect more similar articles to appear on both Marvel Animation Age and The World's Finest in the future.

[Stu]

I think this would've been a cool pitch for a DTDVD - I imagine it would've suffered greatly with the 44 minute idea (having said that Hulk Vs Wolverine is still by far the best of Marvel's DTDVDs) but basing it on the actual Ultimate War comic would've been foolish - the book to begin with was crap, and the artwork was pretty terrible throughout.

An interesting what if. I still think the designs of the Arkham Asylum on Gordon's site are pretty sweet.

[Shredhead]

Loved the artical hope to see more of these in the future. As for the movie good idea it wasn't made. Ultimate War wasn't the best book storywise and artwise.

[Rick Jones]

Nice interview. It can be painful at times but I think we all have an urge to know about the goodies that we almost got. I always enjoyed Steve Gordon's designs, before I even knew the name to connect with the work, and I've liked his work on the Marvel characters when he's given free rein and when he's following an established look. I like seeing the still images but when his stuff is animated, they're really a joy for me to see. I'd have liked to seen this made, if only just to see what they may have done with the fight scenes and see all of Steve's proposed designs come to life.

I don't believe that a 40 minute feature was the way to go though, and I'd have preferred seeing more iconic Avengers and X-Men teams facing off than the Ultimate guys. I actually was a fan of Ultimate X-Men and enjoyed Ultimates from time to time but I remember how disappointing Ultimate War was. I have no love for that storyline. Anyways, this was a fun read and I hope that the general Avengers/X-Men idea is revisited someday. I've liked the design work on all of Marvel's animated features but it sure would be neat to see Steve work on one again.

[FlawedCoil82]

It blows my mind how Marvel seems to want to push the Ultimate X-Men. I am glad this movie was scrapped. Although with the X-Men in the title, it would have probably been the best selling of these features so far. But I get so angry with Marvel when it comes to the X-Men. They know the 90's X-Men in the amazing costumes are when that team was the most perfect and best selling incarnation of the team, and yet Marvel is absolutely hell bent on trying to make everyone forget that the 90's X-Men ever existed. I just do not get it....
Jack

[batgirl2007]

Ultimate Jean Grey looks really cool.

[Bat-Fan Beyond]

It blows my mind how Marvel seems to want to push the Ultimate X-Men. I am glad this movie was scrapped. Although with the X-Men in the title, it would have probably been the best selling of these features so far. But I get so angry with Marvel when it comes to the X-Men. They know the 90's X-Men in the amazing costumes are when that team was the most perfect and best selling incarnation of the team, and yet Marvel is absolutely hell bent on trying to make everyone forget that the 90's X-Men ever existed. I just do not get it....
Jack

Maybe they're trying to make everyone forget the 90's X-Men, because, well, the 90's are over?

I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the 90's X-Men in comics when Jim Lee and Andy Kubert were drawing them, but let's not forget the 80's with Marc Silvestri doing art, and what about John Byrne, Dave Cockrum, or any of the other collaborators of the classic Chris Claremont runs? And what about Roy Thomas and Neal Adams in the 70's or Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the 60's? I mean, really, all the decades have significance if you look at them, and none of them should ever be forgotten, but you can't expect Marvel to just rehash the 90's animated series over again just because it was so popular at one time and that generation's introduction to the X-Men.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of Ultimate X-Men either -- I'd much rather have classic X-Men versus classic Avengers (and hopefully one day we will) -- but I can understand why Marvel were considering pushing it, even if it's not my preference.

[Barbossa]

I'm glad the chessy 90s are over,but some nostalgic fans can't just move on. Its 2010. Anyway I'm sad this was scrapped. I wanted to see the ultimate x men animated for the first time

[FlawedCoil82]

Who wants to move on? X-Men was perfect in the early 90's in those uniforms and they didn't need to be fixed or changed. I don't care who draws them, as long as they keep the same uniforms. But Rogue simply isn't Rogue unless she is in the green/yellow suit with the brown jacket (and still flies/has super strength). Wolverine isn't Wolverine unless he is in the yellow tiger stripe uniform with the tall mask 'horns'. Gambit isn't Gambit unless he is in his uniform with the brown trenchcoat (although for some reason, he is the ONLY member currently still in that uniform in the comics). It just infuriates me that Marvel doesn't stick with the X-Men in their iconic uniforms when they were the most popular and beloved (for many reasons, but I guarantee their appearance was a big part of that). Why don't they just make Spider-Man wear a new purple and orange uniform? He has worn the same red/blue uniform since the start (save for a few temporary changes, but Marvel always let him go back to his main iconic look). Someone needs to tell Superman it's time for a green uniform since he is always allowed to wear his iconic costume as well.

I THOUGHT/HOPED Marvel was finally going to correct their wrongs when they launched the "X-Men Forever" comic line last year by Chris Claremont, but that only lasted 5 issues before Marvel destroyed my interest yet again by giving the entire team all new uniforms that not only bore me, but make me completely unable to recognize or identify with the characters I once so loved the appearance of. Chris might as well have created all new characters because that's exactly what they are to me now.

As a side note (which strangely is my only "on topic" point) I would like to say that regardless, it was an interesting read and if MAA can find other people to interview in the future with prjects that never saw the light of day (or that just haven't been described before in great detail) then I would certainly be interested in reading more.
Jack

[Barbossa]

Who wants to move on ? I do,nobody is forcing anyone to move on .The 90s x men happened and nothing is going to change that,Isn't the xmen 90s series on dvd now,so people can relive the 90s as much as they want ,while the rest of the world move on.
I think the success of the x men franchise in the 2000s has killed off any chance of a 90 revival ,4 successful movies and 2 successful animated series says it all

[TheVileOne]

X-men have changed comics all the time throughout the decades. Nothing new.

I think an X-men vs. Avengers movie would've been awesome. However, the actual Ultimate X-men/Ultimate Avengers story that Millar did was horrible.

They built it up as like a big X-men vs. Avengers throwdown that Marvel would never have the gumption to do before and it never really materialized.

[FlawedCoil82]

Who wants to move on ? I do,nobody is forcing anyone to move on .The 90s x men happened and nothing is going to change that,

The 90's X-Men happened but there is SOOO much more that they could have done with them. The X-Men were perfect for only 25 issues, and then Marvel decided to take a dump on the title by having Wolverine lose his adamantium and then leave the team. After that, it was all downhill from there. When I heard Chris Claremont was going to be doing "X-Men Forever", I was thrilled because I thought he was going to take the X-Men into the adventures with the cool villains AND keeping the best team line up there ever was (along with their uniforms). Sadly, all he managed to do was completely destroy three characters within the first few issues, and then by issue #6, he puked all over the rest of the team by switching all their uniforms (apparently, Gambit now is a member of the U.S. Secret Service) and once again denied the X-Men a chance at redeeming themselves. I am giving the series a few more issues to hopefully start to go back to how it was in the first 5 issues and them return to their 90's uniforms. Otherwise I will send yet one more strongly opinionated email to Marvel and then be done with it. The original X-Men title (I guess now it is called "X-Men Legacy") long since committed suicide around issue #42 when the whole "Age Of Apocalypse" tragedy occured. The X-Men never recovered after that stunt. The "X-Men Forever" title was the first hope I have seen for the X-Men in almost 15 years, but that was very short lived. I am livid at Marvel Comics and the way they potray the X-Men today. And how anyone could say that the X-Men of today are even 1/10 as amazing as the early 90's X-Men were, is so far beyond my ability to explain that I'd be better off trying to explain how God first created himself.
Jack

[TheVileOne]

FlawedCoil, I can't tell if you are serious or trolling. Honestly it seems like you are trolling.

[FlawedCoil82]

You got me, I am just trolling. :shrug: I always type up strongly opinionated paragraphs and rants just for the hell of it.

I am being serious. I despise what Marvel has done to the characters that I once considered sacred. But at any rate, this is all off topic and a discussion for elsewhere, so I'll end my part here.