All things considered, “Man of Steel” is a gigantic success. DC’s latest Superman film relaunch had mostly positive reviews, a CinemaScore of “A-” from those who saw it in theaters, and it has been really doing well in the box office. In fact, after just 2 weekends, “Man of Steel” has made $10 million more than previous reboot(ish) “Superman Returns.”
It has been a phenomenal success by most metrics, but that doesn’t stop it from being the most polarizing comic book movie I’ve ever seen, and it’s not close.
For some reason, there has been a tremendous line drawn in the sand between the two camps – those who loved it, and those who didn’t – and they give each other absolutely no quarter. It’s gotten to the point that people like writer Jeff Parker is surprised that sites haven’t created a list of who liked it and who hated it so we can identify them easier. It’s the Sharks vs. Jets or the Kanye West vs. Traditional Baby Naming of 2013 (well, Kanye might have that one too), as people square off on every aspect of social media they can get their hands on. I half way expect clubs and speakeasies to open based off the topic, and eventually it will lead to a comic book civil war unlike one even Millar and McNiven could imagine. Maybe we’ll start getting face tattoos to match our allegiance like in the X-Men’s future.
Each side has their cheerleaders, as Rob Liefeld – ever the epicenter of controversy – has gotten accusations of being a corporate shill for DC due to his omnipresent hyping of the film (which is clearly foolish given the end to his latest tenure at DC), while a litany of others have taken the movie to the cleaners for any number of reasons – Zod’s fate, Jonathan Kent’s handling, Kal-El’s often not “super” Supermanning, you name it. They fire shot after shot at each other, getting red in the face lamenting how foolish the other side is.
It’s a tremendously bizarre situation, and one that has quickly spread into other facets of the comic movie universe. People can’t help but make this a Marvel vs. DC thing – Liefeld did that himself early Sunday morning – as everyone wants their apples to theoretical apples comparison, even though you can hardly make comparisons such as that because of any number of factors aren’t considered – namely, budget, marketing budget, inflation, etc..
The vitriol has grown increasingly negative, to the point where it almost gets down to juvenile name-calling when people face off on the topic (which, you know, is like any internet comment thread at this point – COME AT ME COMMENTERS). One discussion in particular, between Liefeld, writer John Rogers and writer Gail Simone, actually fed my desire to write about this, as Rogers brought up the idea that highlighting these comparisons in box office is reductive and ultimately damaging to the people who work on these films.
While I absolutely agree on Rogers’ sentiment – I feel like the film industry takes a project’s lack of success as far more damaging than the world of comics – to me, it all goes a bit deeper than this while somehow being a whole lot more surface level at the same time.
Aren’t these arguments all tremendously stupid? Isn’t Liefeld (and, to be fair, many, many more people) making these comparisons between “Man of Steel” and “Thor” in terms of box office success ultimately harmful? Is it really necessary to claim one side as better than the other?
Last time I checked, they were both big successes, and they both have sequels on the way. Last time I checked, they both have vastly improved the visibility of these characters to the current and future generations. Last time I checked, both Marvel AND DC succeeding is a good thing for the industry, and the concept of them being some sort of North vs. South divide is one of the most asinine things I’ve ever heard of.
While you could make the argument that the controversy and fierce lines being drawn is good for its bottom line eventually – after all, there’s no such thing as bad publicity – I tend to think otherwise.
Continued belowI tend to think “Man of Steel” is ultimately more good than bad, with a first half that soars but a second half that crumbles under the weight of too much yellow sun fueled punching, I absolutely want it to succeed. “Man of Steel” and its eventual sequel harbor the future of DC Films just like Superman’s very own DNA is the home to the future of Krypton, with the “Justice League” and any number of other projects hanging in the balance of its box office success.
It seems to me that there is a contingent of people who actively hope it fails and another group who is ready to destroy those who share opinions besides “it is amazing.” If I had those two people on each side of me before deciding to go to see it, I would skip the damn movie. Taking a side in this discussion is a fools errand, and for that very reason, I’ve had multiple people tell me they’ll “wait for Blu Ray” so they can avoid the hyperbole.
It makes me think of the stereotype non-comic friends have for comic fans, that we spend all of our time arguing in a basement who is better, Superman or Captain America, or other similar questions.
This weird as hell mini civil war that has brought out the most outlandishly passionate opinions out of fans, and that in turn has brought that perception back out in spades, and to me, they’re right.
For the good of comics, creators and fans should want something like “Man of Steel” to succeed. They should want “The Wolverine” to succeed. Hell, they should even want “Kick-Ass 2” to do great. These would all be good things for an industry that is making major gains in both perception as an art form but also as a commercially viable medium again. Box office success may not beget comic sales, but I can tell you one thing: it can’t hurt.
Now, I know I’m being idealistic, and by writing this I’m effectively bringing into question the fundamental nature of modern, Internet based society. What’s the point of living if not to publicly overstate opinions on forums and social media and then get into arguments about it, after all?
But ultimately, I write about comics as a hobby because I love comics. If “Man of Steel” making a billion dollars, or something from Marvel doing the same, could lead to my local comic book shop getting ten to twenty more readers, I am all about it.
I want comics to succeed. I want their movies to succeed for the same reason. If you’re a fan of comics, you should feel the same way, regardless of how much you loved or hated “Man of Steel” or how much you love or hate the people who feel differently.
My line is drawn.
