Marvel Comics is Doing Something Fancy
For the past few weeks, Marvel Comics has been releasing teaser images about their upcoming Big Events in 2015. Each teaser mentions a classic Marvel story, like the Age of Apocalypse, Planet Hulk or House of M, while a few have been brand new, like Attilan Rising or The End of the Ultimate Universe.
I haven’t been posting these various teasers because I was waiting for their purpose to be revealed. You can check out the full gallery at ComicBookResources if you’re so inclined.
Now, the purpose hasn’t been revealed, but Marvel has put out yet another teaser today that might hint towards the outcome.
Maybe they’re teasing Agents of SHIELD’s cancellation?
Sounds pretty ominous, no?
But what does it all mean? I’m definitely going to write more when the real purpose is revealed, but this ominous teaser, coupled with a slow news day, has been curious enough to write and pick your brains a little.
What do you henchies think it means?
Obviously the popular theory is that Marvel is going to do a big universal reboot, a first for the company. Writer Jonathan Hickman has been writing a pretty amazing story in his Avengers comics over the past few years, about the Multiverse coming to blows. And we already know that Hickman is going to be penning a new Secret Wars story next Spring that’s going to involve a bunch of popular Multiverse planets, including the Ultimate Universe.
So I think it’s kind of obvious that all of these teasers are showing us the various combatants in the new Secret Wars. All of the various alternate realities in the Marvel Universe are going to get into a big, multiversal slugfest.
But where does Marvel go from there? Do they actually go through with a reboot? Do they tear down their decades of continuity and rebuild their universe to better fit the Movieverse?
I don’t know…but I don’t think so. I’m with Bleeding Cool on this one, I think a reboot is highly unlikely. I think Marvel knows that we’d all go nuts over a reboot, so they’re doing everything in their power to tease a reboot just to get us talking. Marvel loves to get us talking, and as last week’s movie announcement revealed, they know how to play the PR game better than anyone.
Obviously something big and fancy is going to happen at Marvel next Spring, and Secret Wars is going to be huge. But I don’t think it’s going to lead to a company-wide reboot.
But then again, maybe I’m wrong…
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Posted on November 4, 2014, in Comics, Marvel. Bookmark the permalink. 8 Comments.
Henchman-4-Hire 
I hope not. I hate reboots no matter what its for. The new52 is a good example of how everyone hates a reboot, its been almost 3 years and people are still complaining about that one. Please don’t do it Marvel
Another good reason why Marvel won’t be doing a reboot.
I was just posting about this over at ComicBookResources, so I’ll copy-paste what I said there:
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To those so sure a reboot isn’t happening: Why?
It has to at some point. Really. How long can Magneto’s origins lie in World War II? Yeah, they can come up with any number of excuses to prolong his lifespan, but how long is that origin going to carry resonance for the new readers growing up today?
The new readers who, need I remind you all, are where Marvel’s eyes are cast. Readers who grew up on the majority of the existing 75 years of Marvel history are a literally dying breed. They aren’t catering to these folks and shouldn’t be.
I’ve been reading comics (primarily Marvel) my whole life (since before I could read even), and at 28 I’m still a relative newcomer to a lot of you. Yet I’m probably still not in the group being considered by Marvel for tomorrow. I’m okay with that, though.
They can wrap up the universe I grew up with and it’s not going to offend me. This is a great time to be a comic fan. We have movies, video games and TV shows based on the characters we love all over the place (well, unless you’re a Richard Rider fan, I guess; poor bastards). And we still have the comics too!
A reboot has to come at some point. No reason it can’t or shouldn’t be now. The pieces are aligned. May as well get on with it. I for one am excited to see where this goes. Bring on the reboot!
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Naturally, this got a response like “How long is the Holocaust going to be resonant? Seriously?” — but, yeah, seriously. There are kids today who have no idea what that is. Even for ones who do, 9/11 is a bigger deal despite the Holocaust clearly being the bigger deal.
Back in August, I also made a post on my blog as to why a reboot would make sense for Marvel:
http://theidisagree.blogspot.com/2014/08/real-world-reasons-marvel-reboot-makes.html
The gist there is that with the money the movies are raking in, it only makes sense that Marvel (i.e. Disney) would want consistency in branding across the various representations of what are now multi-billion dollar IPs. They won’t make the comics exactly like the movies, no, but they probably want to establish an aesthetic kinship, and to streamline the backstory that is so often the reason people with an interest in getting into the comics elect not to.
You really can’t underestimate the value executives place on consistency in branding. Especially Disney, the undisputed king of IP allocation and trademark utilization.
I’ll grant you the idea that a reboot might happen in order to line up the comics with the movies, but I don’t believe ‘lining up the timeframes’ is a good enough reason for a company-wide reboot. I have never cared about that timeframe thing.
But the main reason why I don’t think there’s going to be a reboot is because Marvel is the top comic book seller in the world. Maybe if DC’s reboot garnered them more long term sales superiority, Marvel would be worried. But the bump DC got from the New 52 is long over, and they’re back to second place.
Beyond that, I don’t believe there is any correlation between the success of the movies transferring to the success of the comics. People don’t go from the movie theater to the comic store to read further adventures of their favorite heroes. So why would Disney and Marvel enact such a massive revamp of their entire publishing line in the vain, futile hopes that they could change that correlation?
Also beyond that, Marvel already responded to the New 52 with their own successful pseudo-revamps: the various NOW! campaigns. Marvel has had a lot of successes with these new, continuity-light comics. They’ve had some failures too, but for the most part, I’m pretty sure the NOW! books are doing exactly what a reboot would do, but better.
Though again, I could definitely see the appeal in a Marvel Universe rebuilt around the Movieverse…but why not just replace the Ultimate line with that reboot? You could even keep Miles Morales to fill in for the Movieverse Spider-Man.
True that DC’s New 52 didn’t keep them in the top spot, but they are still selling better than they were, aren’t they?
In any case, I’m not saying the motivation here is to boost comic sales. Marvel/Disney doesn’t need the comics’ for sales, and that’s not why they’ll be kept around. They can make more off a single movie than the publishing line can pull in a year.
The comics’ role is to keep trademarks alive and to be a waiting room for properties that can transition successfully to the silver screen. What’s the best way to test what will make a successful transition, though?
Get more movie fans to read the comics, see what they’re buying, turn it into a movie.
This is also why they won’t go with the “reboot the Ultimate line to be closer to the movieverse” idea. If the idea is to streamline things for accessibility to a new generation coming in off the movies, why would you present them with two main (irreconcilable) continuities?
Not to mention nobody cares about the Ultimate line. Not the readers (except Bendis fans), not the editors and — other than Bendis — not really the writers. You’re not going to sell this new audience on the relevance of a line that you openly treat as secondary to the main line.
Oh no, I didn’t mean reboot the Ultimate Line, I mean replace it entirely. End the Ultimate Universe and just create a brand new Movieverse line of comics.
I guess I’m also too optimistic to think the entire Marvel Comics company will be transformed into a trademark farm.
I’m not going with a reboot idea either. I’m more along the lines of removing the multiverses which they have been slowly doing over the past 2 years. Then take the aspects each and bring them into the 616. This will allow them to refresh existing characters with younger and or just as popular characters (all-new x-men, miles morales). That way you get away from the age and time and continuity issues some people have while also promoting new younger more diverse characters.
I could definitely see them getting rid of the Multiverse, but merging the 616 and Ultimate universes would be weird.