What would you change if you were Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics?

[lollie_poppy]

And I think those people are whiny, entitled, self-absorbed assholes, because they want people to be denied something they enjoy.

Like you and many other that were trashing the HydraCap storyline for an entire year and asking for Nick spencer to be fired because according to you it was nazi propaganda even though many of us were very interested in the story. Funny that you use "it's only temporary" to defend all the classic characters being replaced all at the same time, but when its comes to something that is also temporary like HydraCap, that happens to go against your political agenda you sure as hell bitch about it.

[dragonmp93]

Like you and many other that were trashing the HydraCap storyline for an entire year and asking for Nick spencer to be fired because according to you it was nazi propaganda even though many of us were very interested in the story. Funny that you use "it's only temporary" to defend all the classic characters being replaced all at the same time, but when its comes to something that is also temporary like HydraCap, that happens to go against your political agenda you sure as hell bitch about it.

Yeah, i personally dont like it either; but seriously, it got out of hand with actually calling Spencer an actual nazi.

[dragonmp93]

A certain segment of the classic fan base are whiny, entitled, self-absorbed jackasses.


The people saying it just got fed up with the endless hate of new and legacy characters. Like, is it even possible yet for people to have a conversation about Sam Alexander with Rider fans jumping in and saying he should be killed? Because, for a while there, Rider fans would not shut the goddamn hell up about how much they hated Sam and wanted him to die. It was a constant stream of hate for him. Conversations about Jane as Thor would always have people jumping in to talk about how awful she is and how Thor is a guy and if they wanted to push a female Asgardian they should've gone with one of the ones who already had recent titles that the people bitching about Jane never bought. Legacy characters, despite being incredibly common in cape comics, are always met with immense vitriol. And for people who like new and legacy characters? That just gets annoying. So yeah, some of them might snap that they hope Tony stays dead forever. Not because they actually want Tony to stay dead, but only because they are so fed up with people shitting on Riri all the time. My initial reaction to Riri was a big shrug, but all the hate she's gotten has made me actually want to like her, it's made me root for her far more than if all the whine-ass fanboys had just shut up about her.

Sure, it sucks for you that a character you love isn't being used. But I promise, he will be back. Synch's been dead for 17 years. Surge hasn't been more than a background character in a decade. Finesse hasn't even gotten that much in almost 5 years. Mettle's been dead for over 5 years. With Silk's solo over, I'm legitimately worried about how long it'll be until she shows up again anywhere. I'm likewise worried about when Sera's disappearance will actually get followed up on, or if it'll be followed up on. You're sad about a character you love being absent? Welcome to what it means to love any character created later than 1980.


It's Marvel ignoring growth in favour of telling the stories they grew up on.


Because it's nice when other people get to enjoy something? I mean, I had no personal interest in an Iceman solo, but I wanted it to happen, because I knew there would be people who would want to read it. I couldn't actually care less about Tony Stark, but I'll be happy for his fans when he comes back. And I don't care about Riri, but I hope that, even when Tony's back, she sticks around, for the benefit of her fans. Tony's fans on here seem to want her to die even after he comes back. And I think those people are whiny, entitled, self-absorbed assholes, because they want people to be denied something they enjoy.


I think the attitude matters, though. I think it's reflective of greater problems. When someone gets so bitter, judgmental and entitled about fiction, what are the odds they don't act the same about real issues? It's not that big a step from "I want Riri to die" to "who cares about a Muslim ban?" They both come from a place of privilege. Of being more interested in one's own benefit than in trying to find ways to make things better for everyone.


Sure, the way the comics tried to make Scott out to be worse than he was was pretty stupid. But so what? It's the same franchise that had an abandoned wife make a deal with a demon in order to justify her husband leaving her. I mostly just mock the bad writing and move on.

And yes, people with the nostalgia-driven attitude I've criticized have worked at Marvel for a while. That doesn't mean it's not a shitty attitude. In fact, "look how well One More Day turned out" is actually a pretty strong argument against the "make it the way it used to be" mindset.

Well, if the last decade of X-men stories has trying to say something is that no matter how justified you think you are, striking back is like so totally evil and wrong.

[Bl00dwerK]

Whatever the positions Axel and Tom hold, for starters. I'd hire somebody who knows what they're doing. Probably a hard reboot, too. The continuity is so screwed up it's beyond repair.

[Colossus1980]

Well, given that the Captain Mar-vell has been dead for decades; he is even famous for that.

Are the X-Men adults ever coming back? Scott Summers? Jean Grey? Charles Xavier? Banshee? Logan?

Let's add in some X-Men who are probably never coming back either.

[ed2962]

I would also bring Mott's Cookies. Somebody brings Mott's to my real life job once every blue moon and they help morale.

[Mary Jay]

A certain segment of the classic fan base are whiny, entitled, self-absorbed jackasses.

That goes for every segment of the fan base, honestly

Because it's nice when other people get to enjoy something? I mean, I had no personal interest in an Iceman solo, but I wanted it to happen, because I knew there would be people who would want to read it. I couldn't actually care less about Tony Stark, but I'll be happy for his fans when he comes back. And I don't care about Riri, but I hope that, even when Tony's back, she sticks around, for the benefit of her fans. Tony's fans on here seem to want her to die even after he comes back. And I think those people are whiny, entitled, self-absorbed assholes, because they want people to be denied something they enjoy.

I think the attitude matters, though. I think it's reflective of greater problems. When someone gets so bitter, judgmental and entitled about fiction, what are the odds they don't act the same about real issues? It's not that big a step from "I want Riri to die" to "who cares about a Muslim ban?" They both come from a place of privilege. Of being more interested in one's own benefit than in trying to find ways to make things better for everyone.

There's a difference between being happy for someone else getting their share of the MU and wishing something would be made that doesn't suit one's tastes. Am I happy for the people who can now find representation in comics? Of course I am. Did I wish for it? To be perfectly honest, not really, since I personally didn't need it. But I know others did, so I'm glad for them that this exist. Am I a bit bitter that Marvel's "best" way for doing so was to get rid/kill off/villainify/incapacitate the classic heroes? Well, yes, I am. I'm only human after all. But I am very well aware that this is neither the fans' fault (they just enjoy the characters) nor the characters themselves (they're not real!), so I don't see the need to go on full attack mode on someone for it.

You have to understand that the way Marvel put up the Legacy heroes seemed to a lot of people to be at the expanse of the classic ones, or at the very least as a huge shady opportunity to pry the suit and the name off their still-warm dead body (okay, that's just me saying this ). It's not an excuse, but an explanation for their behaviour.

Personally I try my best not to respond to personal attacks, or get too carried away in arguments when someone bashes my personal tastes. As you said, sometimes people feel fed up with criticisms, and it goes both ways. I try my best to state my opinion on things without resorting to attacks on the characters or even the posters. I'd much rather have civilized discussions like this one than full-on attacks, which I am so not good at anyway.

[Xalfrea]

Maybe they're just upset because the people who are indifferent towards the new stuff but are happy for those who are are massively outweighed by the vocal group who will slam against anybody that has different thoughts from them.

What was it said in another thread? "Lots of people hate fun and joy when it's aimed at other people besides themselves."?

[Tiamatty]

Like you and many other that were trashing the HydraCap storyline for an entire year and asking for Nick spencer to be fired because according to you it was nazi propaganda even though many of us were very interested in the story. Funny that you use "it's only temporary" to defend all the classic characters being replaced all at the same time, but when its comes to something that is also temporary like HydraCap, that happens to go against your political agenda you sure as hell bitch about it.

I disagreed with the people calling for Spencer to be fired, though I agree with them that the story itself is not appropriate under the current political climate. At a time when Nazis are feeling empowered by the American president, having Captain America be a Nazi is, arguably, a mistake. It's certainly not intended as Nazi propaganda, but it does feed into nazi propaganda, and I question how aware Spencer is of that. And I have issues with how it's been handled. But on the whole, I've talked little about it. And if I became EiC tomorrow, I wouldn't retcon away the story. Regardless of my own feelings on Secret Empire, it's a story that's being told, it's in continuity, and I have no desire to see it removed from continuity. It will, hopefully, result in some fairly interesting stories coming about from the consequences of the events of the story. And I have no problem with people who are enjoying the story. I'm not going to call people wrong for enjoying it, unless they're enjoying it because they support Hydra and fascism, and in that case it's really the support of fascism that I'd be calling wrong. But if someone's just enjoying how the story's unfolding? Cool, you do you. I disagree, but everyone has different tastes.

"This story is garbage, and here's why," is very different from, "This story is garbage, and if I had my way, I would erase it from continuity, and also, I would erase from continuity everything that's happened in the years since the story happened, and while I'm at it, I would kill this character."

[dragonmp93]

Maybe they're just upset because the people who are indifferent towards the new stuff but are happy for those who are are massively outweighed by the vocal group who will slam against anybody that has different thoughts from them.

What was it said in another thread? "Lots of people hate fun and joy when it's aimed at other people besides themselves."?

Well, that goes to both sides.

[Tiamatty]

That goes for every segment of the fan base, honestly

Yeah, there's bastards in every group. But the classic-fans-hating-new-characters group seem to be especially vocal.

There's a difference between being happy for someone else getting their share of the MU and wishing something would be made that doesn't suit one's tastes. Am I happy for the people who can now find representation in comics? Of course I am. Did I wish for it? To be perfectly honest, not really, since I personally didn't need it. But I know others did, so I'm glad for them that this exist. Am I a bit bitter that Marvel's "best" way for doing so was to get rid/kill off/villainify/incapacitate the classic heroes? Well, yes, I am. I'm only human after all. But I am very well aware that this is neither the fans' fault (they just enjoy the characters) nor the characters themselves (they're not real!), so I don't see the need to go on full attack mode on someone for it.

I mean, I actively hope for people to get things they enjoy. I want everyone to have something that makes them happy.

You have to understand that the way Marvel put up the Legacy heroes seemed to a lot of people to be at the expanse of the classic ones, or at the very least as a huge shady opportunity to pry the suit and the name off their still-warm dead body (okay, that's just me saying this ). It's not an excuse, but an explanation for their behaviour.

Personally I try my best not to respond to personal attacks, or get too carried away in arguments when someone bashes my personal tastes. As you said, sometimes people feel fed up with criticisms, and it goes both ways. I try my best to state my opinion on things without resorting to attacks on the characters or even the posters. I'd much rather have civilized discussions like this one than full-on attacks, which I am so not good at anyway.

Sure, I get why people are upset. I get that they want the characters they love back. There are plenty of characters I love that I want to see show up again. I'll be forever waiting for someone to add Finesse to a book. "I want Tony Stark back" is a perfectly reasonable position to hold. "I want Riri Williams to be killed off" is less so, and there's a lot of the latter out there. And the anger and virtriol every time there's a legacy character is very much over-the-top, and it frankly just turns people off the classic characters.

Maybe they're just upset because the people who are indifferent towards the new stuff but are happy for those who are are massively outweighed by the vocal group who will slam against anybody that has different thoughts from them.

What was it said in another thread? "Lots of people hate fun and joy when it's aimed at other people besides themselves."?

Pretty much, yeah, the "happy for others" group tends to be pretty quiet, while the "give me mine and screw everyone else" group is exceptionally loud.

[Ptrvc]

Yeah, there's bastards in every group. But the classic-fans-hating-new-characters group seem to be especially vocal.


I mean, I actively hope for people to get things they enjoy. I want everyone to have something that makes them happy.


Sure, I get why people are upset. I get that they want the characters they love back. There are plenty of characters I love that I want to see show up again. I'll be forever waiting for someone to add Finesse to a book. "I want Tony Stark back" is a perfectly reasonable position to hold. "I want Riri Williams to be killed off" is less so, and there's a lot of the latter out there. And the anger and virtriol every time there's a legacy character is very much over-the-top, and it frankly just turns people off the classic characters.


Pretty much, yeah, the "happy for others" group tends to be pretty quiet, while the "give me mine and screw everyone else" group is exceptionally loud.

You're pretty loud yourself.

[Somecrazyaussie]

There needs to be a moratorium on replacing characters. Not saying they should never be allowed to do it, but there needs to be a legitimate story reason for doing so. Not as a cheap gimmick to boost sales. It should only be allowed if there is an interesting hook. No one wants to see Tony replaced because he fell off the wagon and is back sucking the sauce bottle yet again. Its been done. Plus how many times has Thor been replaced due to being unworthy?

Tell interesting stories with characters people want to read about. If someone wants to read a Thor book starring Thor, they should be able to do so. Especially at $3.99 or $4.99.

[nnelg]

1. A few key firings.

2. Lower prices.

3. Get the titles back where there are more customers. Grocery stores and convenient stores. Sales plummeted after they were removed from those places. Specialty stores are for collectors like me not to build a customer base. This seems like a no brainier.

4. More words to read in the issues. A book that cost 5 dollars should take longer than 2-3 minutes to read. The lack of content is ridiculous.

5. Replace all characters staring in a flagship titled book with the character the book is actually named after. This means Thor stars on Thor. Ironman in Ironman. Wolverine in Wolverine. Captain America in Captain America. Ask any one who those characters are and they will tell you it is the original. So that is who should star in the book.
This doesn't mean cancel Falcon, X23, Ironheart or Janes book. Just think of a new name for Jane and publish the others as the names that I listed. I don't understand why people on here get upset when this one is posted.

6. Publish Fantastic Four. I have a big list of titles that I would publish but I'm not going to list them. One is a certain Canadian team that is stuck as side characters in a bad book.

7. Publish more team titles and less solos. You can showcase more characters if written correctly. Sadly the majority is written as solo titles. Every character in a team title should have a underlying story even if the main focus is on a particular character. Read Wolfman's New Teen Titans or Busiek's Avengers or Claremont's Uncanny X-men or Byrne's Alpha Flight.

8. Stop cannibalizing the fan base of a particular title by publishing multiple that character. Spiderman is one Deadpool is another.

8.2. Stop cannibalizing the fan base of teams by publishing them under the same name. There should only two team titles named Avengers or X-men.

9. Plan out stories years on advance and have the work done a year out. Like in the old days. " Gor was right" is proof there was no plan.

10. Hire better writers. Hire based on quality of work. That is all that matters.

11. Hire better artist. Stop changing the art every ark.

[rui no onna]

2. Lower prices.

3. Get the titles back where there are more customers. Grocery stores and convenient stores. Sales plummeted after they were removed from those places. Specialty stores are for collectors like me not to build a customer base. This seems like a no brainier.

4. More words to read in the issues. A book that cost 5 dollars should take longer than 2-3 minutes to read. The lack of content is ridiculous.

Above the EiC's pay grade.

Marvel does have the Archie digests deal but the problem with most new Marvel stories is they're usually decompressed spanning 6 issues or so instead of bite-sized one-and-done so not quite as suitable for digests.