Is it better or worse to be familiar with the comics?

[Mike Murdock]

Growing up, my familiarity with Marvel was through the 90s cartoons. That predominantly meant Spider-Man and X-Men since the others (Iron Man and Fantastic Four) were not as widely available. I was familiar with other Marvel characters since they had crossovers, but the familiarity was only a passing familiarity (for example, I knew Iron Man and War Machine because they appeared in Spider-Man). When I saw Iron Man, a lot was unknown.

Since then, I've read a lot of Marvel comics, but going into Daredevil was the first time I considered myself strongly knowledgeable about a Marvel character (unlike X-Men and Spider-Man movies where I knew much more). As new movies are coming out, I've been reading more (Ms./Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Dr. Strange), but I'm wondering if I should be. Every story changes from the source material. A lot of people were upset when the Mandarin was changed. I might have been too if I knew more about him. I know I was upset with Spider-Man 3's Venom. On the other hand, the changes to Daredevil didn't bother me because the series was excellent.

So my question is this: Should I read these comics in anticipation of the movies or should I avoid the comics in anticipation of the movies?

 

[seriesofdreams]

I would say, just know who the characters are in advance and maybe read a few of their best stories. It isn't necessary to read too much nor is their need to prepare yourself for what may be an otherwise enjoyable movie.

Take The Mandarin for example. Good villain. I liked the twist in Iron Man 3 because I don't see him as a passable villain for modern times. He was going to be nothing more than a mere terrorist, so they found a way to make use of The Mandarin's name and use Killian instead as the villain. It was a good change, in my opinion, contrary to a lot of die-hard Iron Man fans' beliefs. Iron Man 3 is very much an improvement over IM2 as a result.

I guess in short, don't read too much into things because you don't want too much of the source material getting in the way of ruining the film experience. What's important is that the mythos is intact.

 

[seahammer]

So my question is this: Should I read these comics in anticipation of the movies or should I avoid the comics in anticipation of the movies?

If you enjoy what you've read so far, read the comics for the sake of the comics, not to get you primed for the movies. If your motivation is to read about the characters that will be showing up in the MCU that's fine, but read and enjoy the comics for themselves.

There will be enough changes for the movies that I wouldn't worry about avoiding the comics to keep from spoiling the movies, but by the same token you should be prepared for the adaptation to have changes (as you know from what you've read and seen so far).

There are lots of passionate folks around here who will give you recommendations for things you might enjoy based on what you've read and liked so far, based on characters, creators, themes, etc.

Just my two cents. Maybe it isn't exactly what you were asking for, but I hope it helps.

 

[Lantern Venom]

I agree with the sentiments of Seahammer. Read the comics for their own merit. Even the best CBMs are only snapshots of the massive stories that comic books have told and will tell. If you become a fan of a character(s) in his/her printed form, then you'll have opened an ongoing, pleasurable experience for yourself that the movie theater simply can't replicate.

 

[Flint Marko]

Definitely read the comics. There's a lot of good stuff in there. Pretty much everything great about these movies has their roots in what came before.
Now, it's worth saying that there are comics that aren't worth reading. In several decades with tens of thousands of comics being produced, a good deal of them aren't worth your time. But start with the acclaimed runs, and read from there. If you're a Marvel unlimited member (it's only $10 for all the comics you'd ever want), I suggest taking their recommendations and poring through their extensive backlog.

 

[starscream22]

It all depends.

If you're an MCU fan then sure Marvel Studios "USUALLY" give fans what they want and when the do sway from the source material its rarely to the films detriment. (Save for that Mandarin crap)

Fox-men and Fox4 on the other hand works better when you come to the table completely ignorant with no real expectations. Never mind suspending your disbelief. Suspend the whole left side of your brain. Avoid reading comics, bibles, don't even read your Fox-Marvel ticket stub since I'm certain the material there wont be the same as the crap Fox has thrown together in the film.

The last time I saw a Fox-men film in theaters, there was an emergency so I read an exit sign and was highly disappointed with the end result. So read and watch Fox-Marvel films at your own discretion!

Reading DC material is fine though. Hope this helps.

 

[TheHobgoblin]

There are quite a lot of easter eggs and semi-spoilers that help you know what was going on.

Take Winter Soldier for example... That terrorist in the beginning? He is a somewhat joke villain in the comics known as Batrok the Leaper. But you'd never know that unless you read the comics.

Or that random Hydra thug who happened to get a few more lines and put up a better fight than the rest of the random thugs that they fought and they showed him being still alive in the end?...
Yeah, that guy is "Crossbones", a recurring Captain America villain who was the one who ultimately killed Captain America. That's why he was being featured so heavily.

Those who know the comics also knew the various magical devices that happened to show up in the movies and know what this whole thing about these gemstones and that gauntlet featured at the end of Age of Ultron is about. Without that foreknowledge? Its almost meaningless.

 

[Mike Murdock]

But if you're a fan of Crossbones or Batroc (to the extent those fans exist) would you be happy with the adaptation?

 

[OcStat]

Crossbones isn't the one who killed Captain America...but considering this post is for those who haven't read the comics yet, I won't spoil it.

I'd say watch the movies first, and if you enjoy them enough, pick up a comic. It's nice to be in the know on the easter eggs and little nods here and there, on the other hand, I haven't read a whole lot of Guardians it Ant-Man, especially Scott Lang stories, compared to the rest of the Avengers...so during those movies I was able to just kick back and enjoy the ride. As opposed to the X-Men...where I'm split between enjoying the film in front of me and scratching my head at their adaptations.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I don't think it matters one way or another.

 

[Darthkush]

I think it depends on the person. I read comics regularly from 91-2009 or so and I feel like every comic book movie has been an enhanced experience for me because of it. But you don't have to do it. Never read Lord of the rings or Harry potter but I enjoyed them regardless. Now I DID read the final potter book and it enhanced those last two movies for me but it's not necessary

 

[Bayne]

It definitely depends on the person. I loved almost all the MCU movies, without ever knowing more than the barest bones about those characters in the source material. At the same time, the X-Men were always the absolute top of my comic book obsession, and I love all the (good) X-men movies, too, even though they clearly have huge differences with the source material.

At the end of the day what matters most is that the movie is good and that you are capable of appreciating what's good about it - some people naturally get locked into their preferred canon and have a hard time giving anything outside of that canon a chance. Those people will be happier going into these movies (especially the X-Men movies) without too much knowledge of the source material.

For me, I love alternate versions of everything. Alternate universes, reboots, reimaginings - as long as it's a well made story first, I'm in. Outside of my favorite heroes, the comic books I read most enthusiastically were Marvel's 'What if' and DC's Elseworlds. Plus I grew up on Star Trek and Back to the Future and, obviously, Marvel and DC (which are so filled with alternate versions of things that it's sometimes hard for me to understand how so many big comic fans can have such a hard time with the concept). I simply don't care that Hugh Jackman is too tall to play Wolverine or that Banshee died far too early to be Siryn's father or that Mystique and Charles are basically family. I do care that Killian replaced the Mandarin, but that's because it ruined the story for me, not because I have any attachment whatsoever to the Mandarin (who I've never even read a single story about).

So, really, all you need to know is: how easily can you accept the fact that the movies and comics do not exist in the same universe? If you're the kind of person who might get bothered by altered details or heavily disappointed by different interpretations of a character, don't read the comics. If you have no problem with those kinds of changes, do read them (if you want to).

 

[Life]

I think its good to be familiarwith the comics, when ever I go to the movies the person I go with always asks questions about it and I need to answer. If they were familiarwith the comics than they wont need to ask questions.

 

[SuperFerret]

It doesn't matter. The key thing isn't being familiar with the comics or not, it's your ability to accept differences in the adaptions. To answer the "would TWS be acceptable to fans of Batroc and Crossbones?" question, that depends on how attached the fan is to "their" ideal version of said character.

 

[Rowsdower!]

It doesn't matter. The key thing isn't being familiar with the comics or not, it's your ability to accept differences in the adaptions. To answer the "would TWS be acceptable to fans of Batroc and Crossbones?" question, that depends on how attached the fan is to "their" ideal version of said character.

Yep, nail on the head right here. Obviously, the more you know about these characters and stories, the more excited you'll (probably) get for movie adaptations. However, if you're expecting every little thing on the comic book page to make it to the big screen, you're going to be disappointed.