All good replies
I've been running it through my head how they would introduce Blue to the MCU considering how Carol basically has Adam's origin now. I too elected to go with his son as the Blue Marvel of the present with Adam dying off at some point in the beginning of the first movie.
In my iteration, Adam would be the OG Blue Marvel still with the same origin, but he wouldn't be Superman level, more like Havok or Cyclops level of power in order to justify operating undercover from the start in the 60's (y'know, since he wouldn't be able to walk thru everybody and everything at that power level, prompting him to want to play it a little more smart), having his son born some time in the 80's (we can just say that Adam's powers kept him and his wife young enough to have kids at that point). During one of the missions, Kevin is trapped in the neutral zone like what originally happened and we fast forward to modern times with the F4 already established. Adam reaches out to Reed and the others to help him pull Kevin out of the neutral zone since they'd be familiar with traversing it and whatnot. Kevin is successfully pulled out but needs to be put in a stabilizing chamber (or whatever scientific plot device you want lol) while the F4 and Adam come under attack by whatever powerful foe/force is decided on, where Adam receives fatal wounds. Upon being fully stabilized, Kevin emerges just in tome to talk with his father one last time before Adam fades away. Similar to Vision in Age of Ultron, he creates a suit for himself (like a modernized version of Adam's classic suit with the cape and helmet) and vows to carry on as the new Blue Marvel in honor of his father. This iteration would have Kevin be the one with Superman level power instead of Adam to avoid any of the historical baggage that having such a powerful Black man prior to the 70's/80's would bring. I also elected to have Kevin be born sometime in the 80's to make him closer to MCU Monica's age so they can have a romance.
Laz is a great actor and a great choice. But you have me laughing, because Laz is 46... or in other words, he now looks like what Adam Brashear should look like. No grey temples needed. Will Smith is showing grey, but he's also 6 or 7 years older than Laz. Adam is supposed to look like he's in his 40s. Marvel drawing him like he's an old man is b/s that needs to stop.
Then don't make it "action" movie
7 pounds, Legend of Bagger Vance, Concussion, Collateral Beauty, Ali,etc
He can act, He can bring the gravitas needed to the part. But Will Smith picks the parts that he is good at charming,funny and charismatic characters, It is like pointing out Jason Moama plays the same sort of caveman charming character in all of his movies. He is picking the parts what he is good at.
Last edited by Killerbee911; 10-07-2020 at 09:29 PM.
What's wrong with an old man looking like an old man?
Are Adam's counterparts drawn as old men? Namor? Thor? Sentry? Silver Surfer? Gladiator? Hyperion? Even Magneto?
In comics there tends to be a direct correlation between heroic relevance and youthful appearance. This is more true for women, but men aren't immune to this. Older people tend to be viewed as less of an ideal protagonist as companies often push characters that their audience can identify with more readily. For someone like Adam, who is also Black and has a deeply sociopolitical backstory, it makes it even harder for the target audience to take to him right away. To "save" him, or make him more palatable to their readers, Marvel writers will usually invoke some form of either the "cool old guy" or "magic Negro" tropes -- or both -- especially in a group setting. With all of his power Adam never saves the day, but rather sets the stage for others to be enlightened and helped on their journey. See the Dr. Doom series, if you doubt me.
Generally speaking, if drawn right, I'd be ok with Adam showing some age. But my preference is for Marvel to use other methods to show his age. Old heroes tend to have capes and more traditional costumes. When dressing as a civilian, sure, go ahead and give the man a Fedora and dapper blazer and slacks. And for God's sake, don't forget diction! Most of the time you can tell a person's age just by talking to them. Adam is supposed to be around 6-7 years younger than Steve Rogers. I don't think the two men have shared a single panel together, but you'd think they'd have quite a bit in common, including early childhood lingo. Keep the J. Jonah Jameson hairdo and bring me more of that instead.
Demands of physicality from the actor.....just look at SLJ in Captn Marvel which is the reverse where older SLJ is playing a much younger Nick Fury but I will notice that he looked like a cripple in scenes that required running or a short tussle......and yet this guy is supposed to be the pleading super spy agent on the planet.
Yes....there are stuntmen but only for the extensive and exhausting stunts but we need to have some close ups that show the actor looking like he is in the action which requires the actor to do some of the action .....this is where an older action would look terrible.
Yeah that was a tough one. SLJ is a one of a kind actor in his speech, presence, and delivery it would have been hard to find and coach a younger actor to be him. However for the point you made i still wish they tried to do a younger Nick Fury. I agree and identify with want my heroes to "look" heroic. If their are 45-50 yrs old actors with youthful physicality and can act, then get them.
Adam looks like he's in his 50s, depending on the artist. And compared to his peers and counterparts, yes, he does look like a much older man. We can agree to disagree about whether or not looking older helps or hurts Adam with readers, but let's at least be honest about that.