Uncanny Exiles: The Smartest Person in the Multiverse

A few weeks back, I tossed out an idea, which I’ve since taken to calling Uncanny Exiles.  Marvel, perhaps in a rush to dilute the products they don’t currently own the movie rights for, has been slapping the adjective Uncanny all over their titles as of late, and if they’re going to give it out for free I’m happy to take it.  I considered Fantastic Exiles, but that didn’t really hit home.  But all that is fundamentally besides the point; I tossed this idea out there a few weeks back. Franklin Richards and Nate Grey. Literal gods on a cross-multiverse road trip, looking for a place to call home.  I think it’s a winner.  And the nice thing about a multiverse is that it’s a pretty expansive sandbox to play around in.  Consider this part two of a semi-regular exploration of that sandbox.  Ladies and gentlemen, tales from the Uncanny Exiles….

Don't Play The Hero

A few months back, Marvel released its first Netflix series, Daredevil, which proved to be an absolutely terrifying success.  Not only did it earn an astonishing number of views, but it was an absolute critical darling.  Its fight scenes were universally praised for breaking the mold on the traditional superhero show, but moreover the grim and somber attitude it took to the traditionally colorful world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a breath of fresh air, a shot in the arm of a bloated franchise that, frankly, was beginning to lean under its own colossal weight.  It seems radically simple, but Matt Murdoch gets the absolutely crap beaten out of him early in the season, and he spends the next five episode LOOKING LIKE A GUY WHO GOT THE ABSOLUTE CRAP BEATEN OUT OF HIM.  You couple that with a plot that directly references damage done to the city of New York during Avengers, and the fallout from a massive alien invasion, and you've got something sorely missing from the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, or The Avengers: consequences.

With that in mind, the trailer for Jessica Jones terrifies me, in the absolute best way.  The original comic book, a masterpiece in its own right, is fundamentally about the idea that the past has a way of catching up with you, and that inhuman power can sometimes lead to inhuman acts.  It is a world, in short, of consequences.  And on Netflix, it seems like it will fit in just fine.

So, Exiles, Basically

Pretty much since I finished Jonathan Hickman's Fantastic Four, a series that I have previously raved about, I've had an idea bouncing around in my head.  Sadly, it's one I'll probably never get to execute - even if by some miracle I end up working for Marvel (stranger things have happened) it's a bit too far out there on the cosmic wackiness scale to really get a mainstream book going.  Moreover, it digs deep into the toy box for some of its cast.  Then again, if Marvel is dedicated to keeping the Four separated and out of their home book, this wouldn't be the worst way to lose a character.  You see, in Hickman's FF run, he introduces (in a manner of speaking) a member of the Richards family that just so happens to be one of my favorites in all of comics.  He's also, for all practical purposes, an immortal god.  Ladies and gentlemen, meet Franklin Richards.

Re: The Fantastic Four, In Light of The Recent Film

I mean, obviously they can't really adapt Hickman's run.  But a multiversal council of Reeds wielding Infinity Gauntlets to literally 'Solve Everything', at the cost of everything, is the kind of high-octane, super comic-booky stuff the movies will never do.  And that's a shame.

Re: The Doctor Strange Movie

Don't screw this up, Marvel.

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's supposed to be an off-brand Harry potter.

Scientist, Explorer, Pragmatist, and Father: Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four

Deep within the recesses of this blog is an article from over a year ago, discussing the then-upcoming Fantastic Four movie.  Frankly, I wasn’t all that excited about it.  I haven’t necessarily come around, but I can say that I plan on seeing it this weekend, and while my hopes aren’t high I’m at least open to being pleasantly surprised.  If nothing else, it seems like they’re taking a lot of cues from the Ultimate Fantastic Four series, penned by such notable names as Brian Michael Bendis, Warren Ellis, and Mike Carey.  Good source material, to say the least.  And above all else, despite all my complaints, I truly want this film to be good.  Because Reed Richards is, hands down, my favorite character in all of comics.

Not Saying I've Got A Finished Fantastic Four Script, But....

So there's a new Fantastic Four movie coming our way.  The casting news released a few months ago caused a typhoon of nerd outrage on the internet, with the African American Michael B. Jordan cast as the not-traditionally African American Johnny Storm, a.k.a The Human Torch.  Teeth were gnashed, garments torn, and the online comics community proved, once more, why no one takes it seriously¹ .  All that said, I too was generally disappointed in the casting for the Fantastic Four, though my problem is not that Michael B. Jordan is black.  The problem is he's too damn young.