Sequels Prowler Spinoff (Please!)

[DrCosmic]

So... someone said something that got me thinking.

I loved Amazing Spider-Man, very solid start, I'm very much looking forward to Venom and Sinister Six, I think those will be brilliant if they keep in mind other great heroic criminal films.

But one thing missing from this universe is Spider-Man's underdoggedness. In the Marvel Universe proper, there's an aspect of Spider-Man being... a kid, a bit of a nobody... he's not the number one superhero there. He looks up to people. There are awesome superheroes that Spider-Man pales in comparison to, that the Daily Bugle points to and says: THIS is a real hero, not like Spider-Man. But in the Amazing Spider-Man universe... there is no such person or entity, and there should be.

There aren't many candidates, seeing as how Sony only has access to Spider-Man's supporting cast. I would suggest Hobie Brown, The Prowler for the following reasons:

1) He's got that inventor/tech thing going, so he can be a sort of Iron Man-like mentor to Spider-Man. Tony and Peter had a good thing going for a little while in 616.
2) He's got that older experienced gritty hand to hand style that can give him that sort of Captain America-Spider-Man friendship angle as well.
3) In the Ultimate Comics, an alternate version is the uncle of Miles Morales, the next Spider-Man, so that could bridge things, if it ever came to that.
4) He's a black guy, which makes him unique in the market, and opens up some outstanding actors who haven't got a crack at a leading superhero yet.
5) His costume is in sore need of updating.

Though the Ultimate One comes close:

Quick Facts:

Name: Hobie Brown
Occupation: Inventor
Age: Not much older than Peter Parker
Supporting Cast: Mindy McPherson (Love Interest), Manny Lopez (Adorable Kid wannabe), a young Miles Morales (Nephew)
Story?: Fall from brilliant promising guy to corrupt superhero with a double life who rises to become a true hero. Perhaps his main villain could be Beetle/Abner Jenkins.

 

[Picard Sisko]

Love it. And he does turn into a "good guy" later on and mends his ways, so he could certainly get his own spin-off film. And if we ever ran out of Peter Parker stories, this would be a good way of introducing Miles Morales.

 

[Oscorp]

Yeah I love this idea as well!

 

[Nathan]

I fully support this. But when they update his design, hopefully they keep it close to the original. I don't like the Ultimate design very much. Looks too generic and he doesn't have his signature gauntlets.

 

[Oscorp]

Now that look is awesome!

 

[Picard Sisko]

Sony, are you listening?

 

[Nathan]

What other characters are part of the Spider-verse, that they could potentially do spin-offs with?

 

[Picard Sisko]

Well so far we know Venom is getting a movie, and we all want Prowler. Other possibilities:

-Black Cat
-Miles Morales
-Silver Sable
-Jean DeWolffe
-Agent Venom
-Ben Reilly

 

[Nathan]

You think future characters could eventually play a part? With Fox making Days of Future Past, I could imagine Miguel O'hara some day paying a visit to the past. Then they could potentially spin that off into solo Movies.

 

[Picard Sisko]

Although Spider-Man 2099 would be a bit of a stretch, I can see Sony going for it further down the road. Especially now that MCU is making "Guardians of the Galaxy," there could be a demand for future-esque sci-fi comic book films.

 

[Super Jim]

I think this all comes down to whether we're thinking a movie or a tv series...

Movies (and tv series as well, but to a lesser degree) is all about $$$$$.

The general audience must be willing to come out.

Characters like Spider-Man, the X-Men, Superman, Batman, Ironman and Thor are all names that almost everybody in the U.S. knows. These are the types that people that are not us fanboys are willing to come out and see...

Now with Avengers they played things really smart. By using Nick Fury in many of the standalone movies, and then Shield and Coulsen in Thor, they got the General Audience knowing what SHIELD was, making a spinoff possible.

As a fanboy I like The Prowler. Would I have bought the comic if he was ever given his own series? Nope. But when he was in the Spiderman comic I did like the character and the story.

But, to play devil's advocate, the general audience just wouldn't know this guy. In fact, I hate to say it, I'm not sure they would even care about the character if they did. He doesn't have a high tech suit that flies and shoots repulser beams. He doesn't have the strength and agility of a human sized spider because he was bit by a radioactive (or whatever'd) spider. He isn't even some billionaire who uses the angst of his childhood to spend many years training, and then his wealth to create the technology, needed to fight crime.

If anything, he would be a comparison for the general audience to Batman, who is just so much more well known and truthfully, more interesting.

The point is that the Amazing Spider-Man films are working and they have plenty of good options for future villains and stories. Mysterio, Jackal, Venom, Carnage, Scorpion, Morbius, Kraven, etc. are all good villains that could be used, so why push into the unknown area.

Now, if we're talking tv, the Prowler becomes a little more feasible. Again, I point to Agents as something that is "working", but that is because the audience knows of that group due to all of the other Avengers and standalone movies. That isn't possible for The Prowler.

So, if they try to expand the Spider-Man universe to TV, it's going to have to be something that the general audience knows.

Something like The Daily Bugle, whom almost every one knows. Or Black Cat, who most know.

Sure, some are concerned about the likely lack of excitement with a tv series like The Daily Bugle, but Black Cat, after introduced in a Spiderman movie, would be as exciting as Prowler, and more well known. The only problem is that we would want Spiderman in there from time to time...

In my opinion, the best two options for expanding the Spidey universe into other films, or even TV, are:

Silver Sable and the Wild Pack


or

Cloak and Dagger

 

[Picard Sisko]

Well they wouldn't just spit out a Prowler spin-off. Naturally, he would be introduced in a main Spider-Man film first to get people to care about him in the first place. And I doubt the GA would be that much more excited for a Cloak & Dagger film, or even Silver Sable.

 

[Super Jim]

^ I just couldn't see how The Prowler could be used enough in one of the Amazing films to make the general aidience care enough about him to make him into a good spin-off.

The problem is that there are so many better villains and characters for Spiderman that they will focus the story time there. Eddie Brock and Venom for example would be time better spent. Or Otto and Doc Ock, Mysterio, Black Cat, Kraven would be a great story, Carnage if we ever get there. All of these would be better options.

Now I agree that Silver Sable and the Wild Pack and Cloack and Dagger wouldn't be embraced by the GA. I just gave two groups from the SPider-Man universe that could be good stories. With Silver Sable, by using Sandman, you have a character that many have seen before (obviously it would be changed up a little, but the general character is known). Cloack and Dagger's back story is very interesting and their look is and dependancy is interesting. Just saying...

 

[Captain Croatia]

You know what would be great? To introduce The Prowler in the fourth or fifth movie, and keep it as a minor role to the time when Miles Morales emerges one day. Maybe in 2030. or something.