Marvel or DC: who should have bought Wildstorm?

[red winter]

Since the 90's I have been a big fan of Stormwatch, Grifter and Gen 13, and when Wildstorm left Image I was upset but then I saw them in the last issues of Marvel "Heroes Reborn" books and I thought Marvel was going to buy Wildstorm then we flash to 1999 when DC bought them okay that's great they had them as an imprint and put out some incredible read such as Planetary, Authority and the ABC.
Then DC stopped all imprints, Vertigo & Wildstorm were stopped integrated into the DCU courtesy of the new 52.They messed with Storwatch, Grifter and Voodoo and now they are going to try it again and all I keep thinking about is Marvel's Heroes Reborn crossover with Wildstorm and how those four books showed how well Wildstorm works with Marvel not to mention the X-Men/Wild C.A.T.S. series which was twenty times better than the DC/Wildstorm series "Dream War". This why I wish Marvel would have bought Wildstorm together I think they would have made some great reads.

Sorry if I put this under the wrong forum

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Probably Marvel because they feel more flexible tone wise. It's a way to one up the competition but would Marvel use them?

Plus Marvel and DC are status quo driven which would handicap Wildstorm in the long run.

So I guess a stable independent publisher like Dark Horse would've been ideal.

[MajorHoy]

Probably Marvel because they feel more flexible tone wise. It's a way to one up the competition but would Marvel use them?

Don't know if Marvel would have done any better with Wildstorm.

After all, how often do they put out comic books with the Ultraverse characters these days?

[red winter]

Probably Marvel because they feel more flexible tone wise. It's a way to one up the competition but would Marvel use them?

Plus Marvel and DC are status quo driven which would handicap Wildstorm in the long run.

So I guess a stable independent publisher like Dark Horse would've been ideal.

Think Marvel would have used them & we would have some great reads with Stormwatch especially if they used Captain Britain & Vindicator from Excalibur & Alpha Flight IMHO, I think DC over thinks sometimes dealing with Wildstorm & then there are times they just don't think enough

[Huntsman Spider]

Given that Marvel's Ultimate Universe was built at least partly on ideas and themes explored in The Authority, which was a Wildstorm book, I'd say maybe Wildstorm might have done a bit better integrated with Marvel compared to DC, which always felt to me a little too optimistic/idealistic as a superhero universe to jive well with Wildstorm's tone. At least with Marvel, it was baked into the cake from the start that the heroes were imperfect, flawed individuals trying their best to do the right thing in a world that didn't always or often respect, trust, or appreciate them for it. Of course, Wildstorm took that somewhat further with many of the heroes and villains being largely products of super-soldier projects for covert/black ops like darker versions of Captain America (to say nothing of how Grant Morrison revealed in their X-Men run that Weapon X --- actually meaning Weapon Ten --- was an offshoot of Weapon Plus, a covert umbrella organization designed to create anti-mutant living weapons, starting with Project Rebirth that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America, unwittingly "Weapon I/One"), which Ultimate Marvel then adopted as the source of just about every superhuman, hero or villain, to exist in its setting.

Besides that, another thing that Marvel and Wildstorm had in common was just how often the heroes had to contend with shady government initiatives to coopt or otherwise control them and their powers for more nefarious agendas, like the X-Men repeatedly facing robotic Sentinels and registration acts designed to contain mutants, Captain America having to contest the U.S. government for his own mantle when he refused to go on missions he thought were morally dubious back in the 1980s, and then in the 2000s --- by one of The Authority's writers, no less --- a registration act that targeted anyone and everyone with powers, regardless of their source or origin, and caused a Civil War in the superhero community. Hell, my favorite Marvel/Wildstorm crossovers had Spider-Man in them, Ben Reilly teaming up with Backlash against Venom and one of Backlash's own enemies and Peter Parker with Gen13, given that Peter himself started as a teenage hero, not to mention that the Gen13 crew could be considered in some ways --- mainly the team/group dynamics --- an edgier version of the original five X-Men updated for the 1990s. Come to think of it, speaking of shady government operations, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Stormwatch could have been rival organizations, based on Nick Fury distrusting Henry Bendix as someone who'd go to lengths and cross lines even Fury wouldn't dare, and not for the same relatively noble reasons as Fury.

Which is all to say, I think Marvel and Wildstorm could have meshed better with each other compared to DC and Wildstorm.

[Timothy Hunter]

I would have liked for Wildstorm to have thrived as a company on their own, perhaps that's too idealistic of me.

[Riv86672]

For me it’s a mix of this…

Don't know if Marvel would have done any better with Wildstorm.

After all, how often do they put out comic books with the Ultraverse characters these days?

…and this.

I would have liked for Wildstorm to have thrived as a company on their own, perhaps that's too idealistic of me.

Wildstorm is it’s own (pretty good) thing and feels shoehorned into the DCU. I personally think they’d fit in even less at Marvel.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Given that Marvel's Ultimate Universe was built at least partly on ideas and themes explored in The Authority, which was a Wildstorm book, I'd say maybe Wildstorm might have done a bit better integrated with Marvel compared to DC, which always felt to me a little too optimistic/idealistic as a superhero universe to jive well with Wildstorm's tone. At least with Marvel, it was baked into the cake from the start that the heroes were imperfect, flawed individuals trying their best to do the right thing in a world that didn't always or often respect, trust, or appreciate them for it. Of course, Wildstorm took that somewhat further with many of the heroes and villains being largely products of super-soldier projects for covert/black ops like darker versions of Captain America (to say nothing of how Grant Morrison revealed in their X-Men run that Weapon X --- actually meaning Weapon Ten --- was an offshoot of Weapon Plus, a covert umbrella organization designed to create anti-mutant living weapons, starting with Project Rebirth that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America, unwittingly "Weapon I/One"), which Ultimate Marvel then adopted as the source of just about every superhuman, hero or villain, to exist in its setting.

Besides that, another thing that Marvel and Wildstorm had in common was just how often the heroes had to contend with shady government initiatives to coopt or otherwise control them and their powers for more nefarious agendas, like the X-Men repeatedly facing robotic Sentinels and registration acts designed to contain mutants, Captain America having to contest the U.S. government for his own mantle when he refused to go on missions he thought were morally dubious back in the 1980s, and then in the 2000s --- by one of The Authority's writers, no less --- a registration act that targeted anyone and everyone with powers, regardless of their source or origin, and caused a Civil War in the superhero community. Hell, my favorite Marvel/Wildstorm crossovers had Spider-Man in them, Ben Reilly teaming up with Backlash against Venom and one of Backlash's own enemies and Peter Parker with Gen13, given that Peter himself started as a teenage hero, not to mention that the Gen13 crew could be considered in some ways --- mainly the team/group dynamics --- an edgier version of the original five X-Men updated for the 1990s. Come to think of it, speaking of shady government operations, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Stormwatch could have been rival organizations, based on Nick Fury distrusting Henry Bendix as someone who'd go to lengths and cross lines even Fury wouldn't dare, and not for the same relatively noble reasons as Fury.

Which is all to say, I think Marvel and Wildstorm could have meshed better with each other compared to DC and Wildstorm.

You raised some good points.

Here are some what is that are fun to think of-

I'm fond of Ellis and Hunt's the Wild Storm imprint. It felt similar to how Shooter's newUniversal franchise. So maybe we would've gotten something similar sooner.

I also wonder if Brubaker and Phillips's Sleeper comic would be tied to Captain America's mythos more. Would Bucky, Sam, Sharon and Steve pop up? I could see the main character as a former captain America fan.

Gail Simone did a series called "Welcome to Tranquility" with Adrian Syaf. It focused on a superhero retirement home so I wonder if the Golden Age heroes would pop up there?

Oh well.

[Captain Britain of Earth 20]

I would have liked for Wildstorm to have thrived as a company on their own, perhaps that's too idealistic of me.

Personally I would love to see it stay as an imprint but if Marvel had bought it I think Wildstorm would have acclimated more than it does with DC & IMHO, would have thrived unlike the Malibu Comics. I could easily see live action or animated Tom Strong movie & dare I say an Authority movie especially with the Pixar animation

[Dr. Skeleton]

Neither. As others said, Marvel would've buried Wildstorm just as they did the Ultraverse and should've operated as their own company. I wish they stayed in Image or wish Marc Silvestri had acquired them to merge with Top Cow.

[Agent Z]

Neither. As others said, Marvel would've buried Wildstorm just as they did the Ultraverse and should've operated as their own company. I wish they stayed in Image or wish Marc Silvestri had acquired them to merge with Top Cow.

I agree.

Given that Marvel's Ultimate Universe was built at least partly on ideas and themes explored in The Authority, which was a Wildstorm book, I'd say maybe Wildstorm might have done a bit better integrated with Marvel compared to DC, which always felt to me a little too optimistic/idealistic as a superhero universe to jive well with Wildstorm's tone. At least with Marvel, it was baked into the cake from the start that the heroes were imperfect, flawed individuals trying their best to do the right thing in a world that didn't always or often respect, trust, or appreciate them for it. Of course, Wildstorm took that somewhat further with many of the heroes and villains being largely products of super-soldier projects for covert/black ops like darker versions of Captain America (to say nothing of how Grant Morrison revealed in their X-Men run that Weapon X --- actually meaning Weapon Ten --- was an offshoot of Weapon Plus, a covert umbrella organization designed to create anti-mutant living weapons, starting with Project Rebirth that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America, unwittingly "Weapon I/One"), which Ultimate Marvel then adopted as the source of just about every superhuman, hero or villain, to exist in its setting.

Besides that, another thing that Marvel and Wildstorm had in common was just how often the heroes had to contend with shady government initiatives to coopt or otherwise control them and their powers for more nefarious agendas, like the X-Men repeatedly facing robotic Sentinels and registration acts designed to contain mutants, Captain America having to contest the U.S. government for his own mantle when he refused to go on missions he thought were morally dubious back in the 1980s, and then in the 2000s --- by one of The Authority's writers, no less --- a registration act that targeted anyone and everyone with powers, regardless of their source or origin, and caused a Civil War in the superhero community. Hell, my favorite Marvel/Wildstorm crossovers had Spider-Man in them, Ben Reilly teaming up with Backlash against Venom and one of Backlash's own enemies and Peter Parker with Gen13, given that Peter himself started as a teenage hero, not to mention that the Gen13 crew could be considered in some ways --- mainly the team/group dynamics --- an edgier version of the original five X-Men updated for the 1990s. Come to think of it, speaking of shady government operations, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Stormwatch could have been rival organizations, based on Nick Fury distrusting Henry Bendix as someone who'd go to lengths and cross lines even Fury wouldn't dare, and not for the same relatively noble reasons as Fury.

Which is all to say, I think Marvel and Wildstorm could have meshed better with each other compared to DC and Wildstorm.

All of these have been staples of the DCU for decades, if not the beginning.

[9th.]

Neither, I think they should be their own thing. I don't think their books would fly off the shelves either way but like someone above me said it's gotta be better than getting buried.

[Huntsman Spider]

I agree.



All of these have been staples of the DCU for decades, if not the beginning.

Fair argument there.

[Brian B]

Neither. As others said, Marvel would've buried Wildstorm just as they did the Ultraverse and should've operated as their own company. I wish they stayed in Image or wish Marc Silvestri had acquired them to merge with Top Cow.

I wish that Wildstorm had been viable, too.

Although they published a few nice things right after DC bought them, I thought overall they worked best as their own company, publishing titles through Image. But it wasn’t to be.

On the other hand, if DC had never bought Wildstorm, then Jim Lee never would have drawn Frank Miller’s All-Star Batman, and Jim Lee may still be working regularly as an artist. So, we get less Jim Lee art and we got All-Star Batman thanks to DC buying Wildstorm. Thanks a lot, DC!!

I sometimes wonder if Jim Lee regrets his decision to not pursue medical school.

[amerigo178]

I would have did this. DC & Marvel, when they acquire a new set of characters
try to put all of them in their main universes. They should first place the property
on its own earth. This the original characters and ideas remain intact for someone to use
if they wish. Then pick and choose which ideas can fit in their universe. Or pick
which characters fit a need for them. Like DC could us a Shield a global spy agency
Stormwatch could fill that need