In case you missed the news, Disney is in talks to buy most of 21th Century Fox. As many fans of Marvel Comics know, this is gigantic news as Fox has owned the movie rights to both the X-Men--as well as everything mutant related--and the Fantastic Four for years. If this deal goes through, that more than likely means Disney will have access to some of the best characters and stories from Marvel, which we could see on the big screen. Here's some of our favorite Marvel Comics stories, featuring the X-Men and Fantastic Four, we'd love to see in theaters.
Civil War: Written by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven
Yes, the Marvel Cinematic Universe already did this story for the third Captain America movie, and while it's a fantastic reshaping of the 2006 event, it is extremely underwhelming for fans of the comic. While most of the X-Men took a neutral stance in this conflict, Civil War completely split up the Fantastic Four, as Reed Richards was a major part of the superhuman registration act, working side by side with Iron Man while Sue and Johnny Storm stood with Captain America.
Because of Captain America: Civil War's existence, it would be really hard to put a more accurate adaptation of this in the theaters without it feeling like a complete retreading.
Old Man Logan by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven
While 2017's Logan took a stab at the 2008 Marvel storyline, because of the characters involved, it would never be able to faithfully adapt it. The story takes place 50 years in the future, where most of the heroes in the Marvel Universe are dead and Wolverine went into hiding. President Red Skull has his own plot of land in America and so do the descendants of the Hulk. Logan has his own family and a friend who used to go by the name Hawkeye. Without giving much away, this is an adventure and revenge story that is one of the greatest Marvel stories of the 21st century.
House of M by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel
With the news of writer Brian Michael Bendis heading off to DC Comics, it's would be a great time to honor one of his greatest stories at Marvel Comics: House of M, a story that completely changed the landscape for the publisher for close to a year and had an aftermath that still affects Marvel a decade later. In this story, Scarlet Witch's powers have become unstable and the heroes of the Marvel Universe decide they have to kill her. Before they can do so, she uses her powers to create a world where mutants are everywhere and now considered the superior species. It's incredibly crafted and would be an brilliant way to introduce mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Secret Invasion by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu
Secret Invasion is a nightmare when it comes to the rights of the characters, primarily for the book's main villain: The Skrulls. The shape-shifting alien race's film rights are partially owned by Marvel and partially by Fox. In addition, this book does feature Wolverine, as he was a member of the Avengers during this time. The 2008 event follows an invasion by Skrulls, who have been pretending to be both heroes and villains in the Marvel Universe. It was eight issues of the reader asking themselves "who can you trust," since anyone could secretly be a Skrull.
Skrulls are already coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the Kree/Skrull War will be an inspiration for 2019's Captain Marvel movie.
Secret Wars by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck
Secret Wars perfectly combines all the heroes in the Marvel Universe into one, simple story. 33 heroes and villains have been plucked from their homes and brought somewhere unknown. They realize the person behind their kidnapping is the extra-dimensional being known as The Beyonder, who simply wants the heroes to fight the villains. Both Doctor Doom and Galactus are major parts of this story, but the rights to those characters are owned by Fox.
Avengers Vs. X-Men by Brian Bendis, Jason Aaron, Matt Fraction, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman, and John Romita Jr.
What better way to kick off Marvel owning the rights to the X-Men then having them fight the Avengers? In this 2012 event, the Phoenix Force is on its way to Earth--again--and both the X-Men and Avengers can't decide whether the cosmic being's arrival will save mutants or destroy the world. Their disagreement leads to an all-out-war. Much like Civil War, the story gives readers an insight into what makes these characters tick and the lengths they'll go to protect their own people.
Kang Dynasty by Kurt Busiek and Alan Davis
One of the Fantastic Four's greatest enemies is Kang The Conqueror, the time-travelling maniac who is incredibly technologically advanced. In 2001, a time when the comic industry was getting back on its footing, Busiek delivered this fantastic story of Kang coming to the present day, but this time, he's here to save it. Storywise, it's a little confusing, as in order to save Earth, he must forcibly take it over. It's one of the better depictions of the villain, and one of the best Avengers stories from that time.
Young Avengers by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung
When the Young Avengers comic was first announced, I couldn't have been more against its existence. Then, I read it, promptly put my own foot in my mouth, and the book became one of my favorites at Marvel. The 12-issue miniseries follows a group of young heroes called the Young Avengers, and without getting too into the story--because there are tons of twists and turns in the book--the story is a perfect mixture of the characters within the Marvel Universe, combining elements from Fantastic Four, cosmic aliens, and mutants. This first run, along with the follow-up The Children's Crusade, would make great big screen adaptations.
The Coming of Galactus by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Easily, "The Coming of Galactus" could be the next Avengers film, in a post-Infinity War world. The three-issue story from 1966 introduces the world to not only Silver Surfer but also to Galactus, who is off to Earth to eat it. Fox attempted to tell this story in 2007 film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, but it was widely panned. This would be the perfect way to combine the efforts of the current Avengers and the Fantastic Four as well as a way to introduce a new cosmic threat, seeing as though Thanos will more than likely be out of the picture after Infinity War.
Crossover/Frightful by Mark Millar and Greg Land
The story of Ultimate Fantastic Four is one of the best things to come out of the Ultimate Universe at Marvel, especially when you consider Reed Richard's turn into the Maker later on. Reed Richards makes contact with a parallel world filled with zombified versions of all the superheroes and villains from Marvel. Eventually, the Fantastic Four gets everything under control, capturing the zombie versions of themselves, but Doctor Doom returns, and nothing goes as planned for the heroes. It is a Fantastic Four-centric story, but it does involve characters from outside the FF, like Magneto--who is a major part of the first half of the story. More than anything else, this is a solid horror story that could work well for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.