Arrow The Barry Allen/The Flash Thread - Part 1

Status
Not open for further replies.
That's a very shallow view from someone who wouldn't mind Superman and Batman being gay. You should take your own advice and look beyond face value.

Sorry if I came across as a dick, it was not intended. Can you explain the connection you are making with Superman/Batman being gay and my opinion of hollywood casting?

TV shows have a habit of casting perfect looking people that struggle with acting instead of average looking people that can sell the character. Can you imagine if Breaking Bad was cast with only beautiful people?

Please dont read my posts as being aggressive
 
In Arrow, a lot of the actors can act very well though. If they were just a bunch of pretty actors who can't act worth ****, the show wouldn't be as popular as it is right now. And let's not forget this is a comic book property. Freaking everyone in the comics gets drawn like a model.
 
Sorry if I came across as a dick, it was not intended. Can you explain the connection you are making with Superman/Batman being gay and my opinion of hollywood casting?

TV shows have a habit of casting perfect looking people that struggle with acting instead of average looking people that can sell the character. Can you imagine if Breaking Bad was cast with only beautiful people?

Please dont read my posts as being aggressive

I just never understood this complaint about CBM or CBTV.

The same characters in the comics are also a bunch of good looking people. Why would they not be good looking in the show ? In the comics Oliver Queen is handsome, the women he dates are good looking, the villains in his rogues gallery are handsome devil type characters.

These characters are made to be 'ideal' people we can look up to and hope to be like one day. And if you can drop the PCness for a second you'll see that, real life, everybody actually wants to look good, be rich and date hot men/women, who are also rich.

The big DC/Marvel comics characters are designed to be people we want to be, that's part of the whole appeal. Nobody really wants to be Spawn that's why they can make his face all messed up.

You're simply discriminating against handsome people, as if they can't act or be in a good show BECAUSE of the way they look.

If Breaking only had good looking people and they delivered the same performances it wouldn't change much IMO. It would still be a great show. And having said that, the characters on BB could look a LOT worse. You have to listen to what a person has to say, not look at her face and judge her to be dumb.

So what, if it were a bunch of fat, hairy, smelly, ugly people running around on Arrow, THEN would you watch it ? Why not give it a chance ? The consensus is that this is a great show.
 
No, he is my proof that there are skin colors that are not on the "end all - be all" people color chart you provided.

People are all different shades of brown at very varying degrees, I agree, some you can barely note the differences, others are practically photo-negative like. But fortunately for us, Wally's "shade of brown" has already been determined, so it shouldn't be so hard to cast accordingly.

Race has nothing to do with difficulty in casting people. You may want to address the idea that everyone involved legitimately wanted diversity.

And here's what an actual photonegative of a human being looks like:

26688d21.jpg


That is opposite. Caramel and Wheat people are not in any way opposite, we just call them that for some reason you have failed to provide.

The color chart was the support the point that we now agree on, which you didn't before. Now that we've got that cleared up, next we can deal with this next myth that Wally West has not varied in skin color. Do I seriously need to post pictures of Pecan Wally West and Beige Wally West and Peach Wally West, or can we accept the reality that his skin color is not always exactly the same? If we can accept that, then why can't we accept another equally small change in his skin color?

Things like height, age, race, hair, and skin color are defining physical traits, wouldn't you agree? And help make us up as people. If the perp has a third eye or is missing an arm, wouldn't that be defining to you (in addition to the crime of course, which defines his character, not his appearance - however appearance and character are part of the equation that makes us up as people)?

Defining Physical traits, but who we are physically doesn't define who we are. It simply is how people dump us into largely irrelevant categories.

On a circular color spectrum I believe that would be the case; to have the most visually distinct colors back to back to each other, serving as the beginning and end of the spectrum, respectively, so I believe you are right about that.

I'm not talking about circular, I'm saying that "white" people who are Rust colored and "black" people who are Copper colored are right next to each other on the spectrum. This happens a lot, because "black" people are all along the spectrum. The idea that "black" people are at one end, is observably false, but people still cling to it for some reason. Perhaps you can tell me why.

The closer you get to the middle of course the colors blend together more - what's your point? That a mexican could play an italian guy or vice versa, since they're both similar shades of "orange"?

And beige and caramel are the same, huh...you're clearly not an artist.

Who said they were the same. I asked you why you'd call them opposites. Can you answer that question or not?

My point is just what I've said from the beginning, there's not a big difference between skin tones. A Fawn person and a Brozne person aren't significantly different, even though we call one "white" and one "black," neither one is white or black, so why separate them in that way. My point with Sinestro is that there's no more difference between Fawn Wally West and Bronze Wally West than there is Royal Purple Sinestro and Fuscia Sinestro.

Purple is a vibrant tecnhicolor, like yellow, green, etc. Making Superman black or Static Shock white are not "minor changes" that would go unnoticed, having someone who is supposed to be white played by someone black or vice versa is not a minor change that "goes unnoticed", and that is the point I was trying to make with the Sinestro thing.

Now you're right about the noticed part. Changing the shade of brown a slight bit for a human character is noticed a lot more than changing the shade of purple or blue a large bit on an alien character. But the fact is, the change is small.

But Sinestro is purple. Purple is not like yellow or green. Your point on Sinestro requires adding vagueness to his description, and not to the subject you're comparing him to. If Sinestro is not Purple but 'a vibrant technicolor,' ten people are not brown but 'a soft earth tone.' Obviously, everyone would reject a rich green Static Shock or Superman, just as a vibriant green Sinestro. But that's an even comparison, and it's hard to make race a big deal and do even comparisons at the same time.

Look, my point with that was that there is a higher percentage of whites in Canada than there are in Kenya, therefore statistically someone from Canada would be a better fit for the part of a character who is white than someone from Kenya.

Okay, whatever, it's off topic anyway. Just say what you mean next time.

If the colors are all the same and so similar, why are there different names for all of them and distinctions then? Saying african over black isn't going to make me not think of a color any less than saying black over african, and neither is caucasian over white(/"pink"), indian over "red", etc, all those are, are perhaps more civilized and socially serviceable ways of putting them. There isn't anything wrong with any color or any "shade of brown", nope, not at all - but two shades of brown are two shades of brown.

For the same reason same and similar have different words. Two things can be similar and not be opposites without being the same. That's what you called them, opposites, I showed they're not, not that they're the same. Do you disagree.

Listen, it's not my fault that "black" makes you think of Coffee people fro Kenya to the exclusion of Tan people from Canada, "white" makes you think of Almond people from Scotland and not... other Tan people from Canada. But I can inform you that your definitions of white and black that make you see similar people as visual opposites is not based in reality. Whether you cling to your myths of oppositeness is up to you.

My personal opinion on Wally being black: It's not Wally being made black that's the issue, but the reason behind Wally being made black.

If they get a black actor for the part because he was absolutely the best actor they could find for the part, so be it. However, the reports are saying they are specifically looking for a black actor. Altering a character's ethnicity just for the sake of political and social relevance never works and comes off as disrespectful.

Why did Perry White's casting work? Because they got a perfect actor for the part that just happened to be black. Why did Harvey Dent's casting work? Because they got a perfect actor for the part that just happened to be blonde instead of black-haired.

I don't think we really have the reason behind it. Further, the reason for the studio, the producer, the casting director and the actor may all be very different reasons, and mixes of reasons. It's possible the writers just wanted different colored people the same way an artist uses different colors to paint a picture. It's possible that they want to make a statement about how important black people are to modern society by putting them in the middle of the story... maybe both, maybe neither. Further, giving a work of art political and social relevance is what gives it value, and is rarely looked at as disrespectful, unless that relevance comes at expense of the original message of the work or inspiration.

I'm pretty sure the idea that any casting of minorities where they "don't belong" as some sort of PC agenda is baseless. Has anyone ever justified any of these PC agenda claims? Or even shown how a PC agenda could actually be hurtful to anyone? I also find the idea that casting directors are "going out of their way" to cast non whites in previously white roles as hilarious. It's all such a big deal over such a very small difference.

Eckhart and Fishburne weren't the ideal candidates in all the world. There's a reason they were rarely or ever fancast before they were actually cast. They were simply very good ones whose schedules and pay needs and interests and talents and previous/new relationships with the filmmakers lined up with the needs of the story. This 'best actor for the part' is a myth from an ideal world. Actors are cast for a myriad of reasons, and sometimes it is specifically because it's different from what people expect.
 
Last edited:
Oh my god. It's not wrong for someone to want a character to stay the same race as the source material. Yes. We are all different shades of brown. It's still a significant change for a white character to be changed into a black character. Regardless of the fact that humans are all shades of brown. It's still a significant change.

My preference is for Wally to be a caucasian ginger like he has always been. It's not wrong to be disappointed by the change. I'm used to the way that Wally has always been portrayed in comics. A white ginger.

I'll admit I'm disappointed by the change, but I'll deal with the change. It's not a huge deal, but it's still something worth complaining about.

This is a more than reasonable complaint. We are used to these characters looking a certain way. I don't want a blonde Superman, or a redhead Batman, or a white John Stewart, or a black Hal Jordan, or a latino Flash. I want these characters to look the way I am used to them looking. Because after all, this is an adaptation of a VISUAL MEDIUM. To be an accurate adaptation, they should strive to cast actors that look like the source material.
 
Last edited:
Oh my god. It's not wrong for someone to want a character to stay the same race as the source material. Yes. We are all different shades of brown. It's still a significant change for a white character to be changed into a black character. Regardless of the fact that humans are all shades of brown. It's still a significant change.
It's not wrong, but some people can take it to a bit of an extreme.
My preference is for Wally to be a caucasian ginger like he has always been. It's not wrong to be disappointed by the change. I'm used to the way that Wally has always been portrayed in comics. A white ginger.
I'd prefer him to be a ginger as well, but whatever. If they change it I'm not that bothered if the actor is good.
I'll admit I'm disappointed by the change, but I'll deal with the change. It's not a huge deal, but it's still something worth complaining about.
Yeh, have a bit of a huff and a moan, but then you're like "ah, fair enough, it's not what I would have wanted but I'll see..."
This is a more than reasonable complaint. We are used to these characters looking a certain way. I don't want a blonde Superman, or a redhead Batman, or a white John Stewart, or a black Hal Jordan, or a latino Flash. I want these characters to look the way I am used to them looking. Because after all, this is an adaptation of a VISUAL MEDIUM. To be an accurate adaptation, they should strive to cast actors that look like the source material.

I don't think they should strive to to find actors who look like the characters. I mean Tobey is exactly how I'd picture Peter Parker, where as Garfield is nothing like him in my mind. But Garfield is a better Peter Parker than Tobey.

Go through casting, find someone who matches what you need and want for the character and if they look like them then that's a bonus.
 
Oh my god. It's not wrong for someone to want a character to stay the same race as the source material. Yes. We are all different shades of brown. It's still a significant change for a white character to be changed into a black character. Regardless of the fact that humans are all shades of brown. It's still a significant change.

My preference is for Wally to be a caucasian ginger like he has always been. It's not wrong to be disappointed by the change. I'm used to the way that Wally has always been portrayed in comics. A white ginger.

I'll admit I'm disappointed by the change, but I'll deal with the change. It's not a huge deal, but it's still something worth complaining about.

This is a more than reasonable complaint. We are used to these characters looking a certain way. I don't want a blonde Superman, or a redhead Batman, or a white John Stewart, or a black Hal Jordan, or a latino Flash. I want these characters to look the way I am used to them looking. Because after all, this is an adaptation of a VISUAL MEDIUM. To be an accurate adaptation, they should strive to cast actors that look like the source material.

The bold is really my point. So we agree on that.

We're not talking about wrong or right, we're talking about the significance of a change. If changing Flash's hair color from a lighter red to a deep red isn't a big deal, then changing his skin color from a lighter brown to a deep brown isn't a big deal either. It's the same exact degree of change, just on a different aspect of the visuals. The only thing that makes the change seem signficant is that we call one "white" and one "black." That's the biggest change, what it says under race on their driver's licence. The actual change that occurs that causes us to use these opposite words is often incredibly tiny, and almost always irrelevant. If changing the hair color a few shades is no big deal but changing the skin color is, then you're inconsistent. Why you're inconsistent is your business.

And if it's about the visuals, then his race shouldn't matter, but his skin color. It should be "well, as long as the latino/black/indian person is lighter than hex color #d2b48c, it should be fine. That would be consistent, if the VISUAL (your all caps) is what you care about.

And if consistency with comics is the issue, you'd have an incessant laundry list of gripes with Arrow, a show that changes TONS of things from the way we're used to having them in the comics. That's the other thing, if someone's only complaining about *this* change, and not about all the others, then they're inconsistent.

So wrong? Right? Who cares. I'm just pointing out the inconsistency. If you'd like to go deeper, that's on you.
 
Last edited:
The bold is really my point. So we agree on that.

We're not talking about wrong or right, we're talking about the significance of a change. If changing Flash's hair color from a lighter red to a deep red isn't a big deal, then changing his skin color from a lighter brown to a deep brown isn't a big deal either. It's the same exact degree of change, just on a different aspect of the visuals. The only thing that makes the change seem signficant is that we call one "white" and one "black." That's the biggest change, what it says under race on their driver's licence. The actual change that occurs that causes us to use these opposite words is often incredibly tiny, and almost always irrelevant. If changing the hair color a few shades is no big deal but changing the skin color is, then you're inconsistent. Why you're inconsistent is your business.

And if it's about the visuals, then his race shouldn't matter, but his skin color. It should be "well, as long as the latino/black/indian person is lighter than hex color #d2b48c, it should be fine. That would be consistent, if the VISUAL (your all caps) is what you care about.

And if consistency with comics is the issue, you'd have an incessant laundry list of gripes with Arrow, a show that changes TONS of things from the way we're used to having them in the comics. That's the other thing, if someone's only complaining about *this* change, and not about all the others, then they're inconsistent.

So wrong? Right? Who cares. I'm just pointing out the inconsistency. If you'd like to go deeper, that's on you.

let me get this straight. You're saying that differences in hair color are just as much of a change as differences in race? I guess we're just going to have to completely disagree. Don't bother trying to convince me otherwise with your color chart.

Either way, I don't care if Wally is black, but what you're saying is ridiculous imo. A blonde Superman looks more like the Superman I'm used to than a black Superman would.

I think you're ignoring the fact that with differences in race, there are also differences in facial structure. It's not just a simple color change like you're saying. If you were to photoshop an asian or black person to have the same skin tone as a caucasian person, those people would still look asian or black because of the differences in facial structures. They'd just have lighter skin. There are exceptions to this, but for the most part, different races have very distinct looks, it's not just a difference in skin color.
 
Last edited:
Superman is on a whole different level to Wally, if you change even his eye colour, people will notice and complain. Race changes are tricky because I want comic accurate characters, but I also don't want an all white cast. Some characters I wouldn't mind being changed, but others I am absolutely against. I just think that people should remember that it is ok if someone doesn't want a character changed, just because you are ok with it, someone else doesn't have to be.
 
I would be okay with a blonde Superman, and that's coming from a huge Superman fan.
 
And I understand that. If I had it my way, Superman would always have either dark brown or black hair. However, if a blonde actor who otherwise looked like the character was cast and his hair remained blonde, I wouldn't mind too much. Same for Batman (my second favorite).
 
And I understand that. If I had it my way, Superman would always have either dark brown or black hair. However, if a blonde actor who otherwise looked like the character was cast and his hair remained blonde, I wouldn't mind too much. Same for Batman (my second favorite).

Watch out man, Kevin Smith's gunna come around and say you're not a true fan cause you're open to change and adaptations.
 
And I understand that. If I had it my way, Superman would always have either dark brown or black hair. However, if a blonde actor who otherwise looked like the character was cast and his hair remained blonde, I wouldn't mind too much. Same for Batman (my second favorite).

Batman is different because BATMAN wears a cowl.
 
Batman is different because BATMAN wears a cowl.

Batman has also always been portrayed by white males with dark hair. Casting a blonde actor as Batman would still be controversial within the fan community, and perhaps even with regular folks. Everybody knows what Batman is supposed to look like. So no, it's not really that different at all.
 
You hit the nail right on the head and the bolded is what resonated with me. The movies and shows really are just those characters from the perspective of somebody else. If I don't like it then I'll go read the books. If I was even half as dogmatic as a lot of the people here I would not even enjoy Arrow because he's not cracking jokes while firing arrows while doing backflips and making sexual comments at everything female.

While I think that's a bit of a misrepresntation of comic book Ollie, I'd love to see Arrow's Ollie act more like his comic book counterpart. He's kind of boring on the show. The show was almost too soap opera like for a while there, IMO. Tired of seeing the super sucked out of the superhero...

But I digress, the show has improved a hell of a LOT since its first episode - since the first season even. Hope it continues. :up:
 
Last edited:
let me get this straight. You're saying that differences in hair color are just as much of a change as differences in race? I guess we're just going to have to completely disagree. Don't bother trying to convince me otherwise with your color chart.

Either way, I don't care if Wally is black, but what you're saying is ridiculous imo. A blonde Superman looks more like the Superman I'm used to than a black Superman would.

I think you're ignoring the fact that with differences in race, there are also differences in facial structure. It's not just a simple color change like you're saying. If you were to photoshop an asian or black person to have the same skin tone as a caucasian person, those people would still look asian or black because of the differences in facial structures. They'd just have lighter skin. There are exceptions to this, but for the most part, different races have very distinct looks, it's not just a difference in skin color.

Now that's a great point, in addition to the potentially small skin tone changes, there are facial changes. On the same note though, has Wally West had the exact same nose or mouth shape in his history? Small changes have been acceptable there a well, haven't they. I've never seen such complaints.

The differences aren't very large, they just have different labels. A slight difference is called distinctly different.
 
Race has nothing to do with difficulty in casting people. You may want to address the idea that everyone involved legitimately wanted diversity.

Well for many people in support of the "race change" thing it seems their primary reason for holding those views is simply if they are better for the part because there is no one else who physically resembles the characters that can play them well enough, which is something I even understand a little.

And here's what an actual photonegative of a human being looks like:

26688d21.jpg


Looks kind of like him:

portrait_of_an_albino_man_ie247-085.jpg



That is opposite. Caramel and Wheat people are not in any way opposite, we just call them that for some reason you have failed to provide.

To differentiate them from chocolate and vanilla people.


The color chart was the support the point that we now agree on, which you didn't before. Now that we've got that cleared up, next we can deal with this next myth that Wally West has not varied in skin color. Do I seriously need to post pictures of Pecan Wally West and Beige Wally West and Peach Wally West, or can we accept the reality that his skin color is not always exactly the same? If we can accept that, then why can't we accept another equally small change in his skin color?

Except Wally is always colored the same; he's white. Making him black - sorry, "dark brown", or chocolate colored, is a big departure from that....in fact it's probably the polar opposite of how he's always looked. You're deluding yourself if you think otherwise.


Defining Physical traits, but who we are physically doesn't define who we are. It simply is how people dump us into largely irrelevant categories.

Tell that to these guys:

Lou_ferrigno_227.jpg


arni4.jpeg


gary.jpg



But then again, you'd probably cast Don Knotts as The Incredible Hulk if he could act angry enough.

I'm not ruling out personality, or character traits, or morality or upbringing, they are all equally important. How much more astonishing if a short man beats up a huge man instead of an average or similar sized one does the same? A person's appearance DOES help define who they are.


I'm not talking about circular, I'm saying that "white" people who are Rust colored and "black" people who are Copper colored are right next to each other on the spectrum. This happens a lot, because "black" people are all along the spectrum. The idea that "black" people are at one end, is observably false, but people still cling to it for some reason. Perhaps you can tell me why.

As I said before, obviously there are variations within each color that make them more middle of the road, HOWEVER, when most people (especially people looking to cast a BLACK or WHITE character, specifically) refer to black or white they mean just that, if they mean "light black" or light brown" or "mixed" then they will say that, and normally they will certainly say that that is what they are casting for. So when someone says "black Wally West", they mean "black Wally West", not some ambiguous definition of the two.

Who said they were the same.

I asked you why you'd call them opposites. Can you answer that question or not?

"Beige" and "caramel" are the synonymous, black and white are opposites.

My point is just what I've said from the beginning, there's not a big difference between skin tones.

There are big differences between some skin tones, namely what we consider black and white. I'm not talking about an ambiguous black or white person or even someone like The Rock, I am talking about black and white.


A Fawn person and a Brozne person aren't significantly different, even though we call one "white" and one "black," neither one is white or black, so why separate them in that way.

Because Samuel L. Jackson doesn't look anything like Chris Evans. Denzel Washington doesn't look like Zack Galifianikis.

My point with Sinestro is that there's no more difference between Fawn Wally West and Bronze Wally West than there is Royal Purple Sinestro and Fuscia Sinestro.

Now you're right about the noticed part. Changing the shade of brown a slight bit for a human character is noticed a lot more than changing the shade of purple or blue a large bit on an alien character. But the fact is, the change is small.

But Sinestro is purple. Purple is not like yellow or green. Your point on Sinestro requires adding vagueness to his description, and not to the subject you're comparing him to. If Sinestro is not Purple but 'a vibrant technicolor,' ten people are not brown but 'a soft earth tone.' Obviously, everyone would reject a rich green Static Shock or Superman, just as a vibriant green Sinestro. But that's an even comparison, and it's hard to make race a big deal and do even comparisons at the same time.

Just as they would also reject a human flesh colored Sinestro, like white, brown, black, etc. Humans don't come in technicolors like aliens do, so making Sinestro yellow or green is a fair comparison to making Wally black or T'chala white. What you're saying is more comparable to making Sinestro white or black like a human than changing the color purple he is. Purple is comparable to yellow is comparable to green is comparable to orange in this case.

Okay, whatever, it's off topic anyway. Just say what you mean next time.

I did say what I meant, it was you who misunderstood it and required clarification.

For the same reason same and similar have different words. Two things can be similar and not be opposites without being the same. That's what you called them, opposites, I showed they're not, not that they're the same. Do you disagree.

Black and white are not the same or similar, if that is what you are arguing, then yes, I disagree.

Listen, it's not my fault that "black" makes you think of Coffee people fro Kenya to the exclusion of Tan people from Canada,

Maybe not that extreme, but yes, when I think of "black", I generally think of BLACK - not some racially ambiguous looking person. If you'd have said racially ambiguous or "mixed", or "light skinned black person/tan", then that is what I'd have thought of, but most people when they hear black are going to think of just that - black.

When Denny O'Neil told Neal Adams to draw a "black man who looked like he'd been through hell" in Green Lantern/Green Arrow way back in 1970, this is what he drew, and this is how they colored him:

Green-Lantern-Green-Arrow.14.jpg


He did not draw a "racially ambiguous", "almost black, almost white", "tan/caramel" person - and I really think that if that is what Denny O'Neil wanted Neal Adams to draw, then he would have, and the character(s) would have been colored accordingly.

"white" makes you think of Almond people from Scotland and not... other Tan people from Canada. But I can inform you that your definitions of white and black that make you see similar people as visual opposites is not based in reality. Whether you cling to your myths of oppositeness is up to you.

Well thank you for leaving it up to me, I appreciate that, but Martin Luther King still doesn't look anything like John F Kennedy, so we'll have to agree to disagree I'm afraid, because my views are not based in your reality. People that look similar or have similar skin colors look similar, sure, but white and black in general do not look similar.


I don't think we really have the reason behind it. Further, the reason for the studio, the producer, the casting director and the actor may all be very different reasons, and mixes of reasons. It's possible the writers just wanted different colored people the same way an artist uses different colors to paint a picture. It's possible that they want to make a statement about how important black people are to modern society by putting them in the middle of the story... maybe both, maybe neither. Further, giving a work of art political and social relevance is what gives it value

But is not the only source of value for all or any art, either.

I'm pretty sure the idea that any casting of minorities where they "don't belong" as some sort of PC agenda is baseless. Has anyone ever justified any of these PC agenda claims? Or even shown how a PC agenda could actually be hurtful to anyone? I also find the idea that casting directors are "going out of their way" to cast non whites in previously white roles as hilarious. It's all such a big deal over such a very small difference.

Well it begins in a pitch room where somebody, for whatever reason, says "let's make so and so whatever ethnicity instead of what ethnicity they usually are", and then they look for someone that fits that description. Not hard to figure out. They wanted black Perry White...they got black perry White.

Eckhart and Fishburne weren't the ideal candidates in all the world. There's a reason they were rarely or ever fancast before they were actually cast. They were simply very good ones whose schedules and pay needs and interests and talents and previous/new relationships with the filmmakers lined up with the needs of the story. This 'best actor for the part' is a myth from an ideal world. Actors are cast for a myriad of reasons, and sometimes it is specifically because it's different from what people expect.

That's part of it, like Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan, a previously indian character (and him being indian is actually a pretty important part of his back story/character, too, but regular non Star Trek fans didn't seem to mind his casting because they don't know this), who got the part because Benicio Del Toro (a perfect fit, IMO, even though I enjoyed the movie and performances we got) dropped out. Things like that may be more situational than "let's change this character just for the sake of" mandate from the top - but when you have something that begins that way in script stage, i. e., black Perry White, casting call for Iris West listed as black specifically, then that more than likely IS just a case of PC pandering or some other bogus, unnecessary idea.
 
Last edited:
We're not talking about wrong or right, we're talking about the significance of a change. If changing Flash's hair color from a lighter red to a deep red isn't a big deal, then changing his skin color from a lighter brown to a deep brown isn't a big deal either.

Changing the hair for a character like The Flash is KIND of a big deal, but not AS big a deal as it would be to change his entire body because 1) it's his entire body and not just a portion of it, and 2) The Flash wears a cowl/mask, and his hair is covered most the time.

It's the same exact degree of change, just on a different aspect of the visuals. The only thing that makes the change seem signficant is that we call one "white" and one "black." That's the biggest change, what it says under race on their driver's licence. The actual change that occurs that causes us to use these opposite words is often incredibly tiny, and almost always irrelevant.

Like...this:

JTB_Michael_J_White.jpg


VS this:

13-young-warren-beatty.jpg


?


Yeah....pretty irrelevant, right? They look like they could be brothers. :whatever:


And if consistency with comics is the issue, you'd have an incessant laundry list of gripes with Arrow, a show that changes TONS of things from the way we're used to having them in the comics. That's the other thing, if someone's only complaining about *this* change, and not about all the others, then they're inconsistent.

Actually Arrow is a lot like what the Green Arrow comics of the 40s and 50s were, which is a Batman imitation but with an arrow motif, except for much of Arrow (until recently) it's been a Nolan Batman imitator (the present day equivalent of old school Kirby GA being an almost Batman knockoff back then).

How I would love to see hot tempered, cynical, smart mouthed, goateed Ollie show up in the show and suck some of the blandness out of the recent "avenger" Oliver Queen on Arrow and give him some damn personality, but hey - that's just me, a pedantic comic fan (it worked on JLU, they even managed to taper some of his polticalness from what it was in the 70s).

So wrong? Right? Who cares. I'm just pointing out the inconsistency. If you'd like to go deeper, that's on you.

"That's on you" - LOL. Oh, you gonna take us to school, huh? :whatever:

marsejs1t.jpg
 
Last edited:
Just because you're not comfortable with a character being homosexual (or seemingly black for that matter)

WRONG. I'm "not comfortable" with SUPERMAN (or Batman, insert established-well-liked-if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it character's name here ______) being homosexual or black.

In fact, I'm vehemently against it. Particularly the former one as it does much more than just change them visually.

doesn't mean it changes anything about who the character is or how that hero would be portrayed.

787939471.gif


k6vCUYy.gif


Umm....how?

He likes Louis Lane instead of Lois in my made up scenario... Big whoop.

You ARE aware of the proven differences between sexes, male and female, right?


But I'm not going to get in some discussion over sexual orientation or racial preferences I only stated my beliefs and how changing things doesn't matter to me or sour te characters in my opinions.

Is there nothing sacred? :dry:

I would love it if they made Superman or Batman bi or gay, either in the comics or the movies.

Why not?

(And they wouldn't technically have to 'retcon' anything. People often don't realize their sexuality (or it changes) until a certain point in life).

right-o.gif


NoDrEvil.gif


theres-the-door-now-get-the-____-out_535.jpg

Why don't you just say you don't give a **** what they do with the characters?
 
Last edited:
An example I can bring up on the topic of source material translation to the screen, since I'm not a comic reader,

Here is where I would usually stop reading when someone offers their opinion on the comics characters I have read and grown up with, but go on... :oldrazz: :cwink:

is The Hunger games. I enjoy both the first and second books and have read them multiple times but in the on screen adaptations there is a lot that has been changed or left out or added that wasn't in the books. Things like Katniss not being able to find water for nearly a day in the arena and nearly dying isnt shown, the wolf dog things don't contain the similarities to the arena members who died, certain characters are left out like the mayors daughter who gives Katniss the mocking jay pin isn't there, Katniss doesn't even look how she's described in the book really either. But none of those things being lft out make me dislike the movie at all. They added a bunch of behind the scenes of the GameMakers stuff that isn't in the book that adds a lot to the film as well. The same things can be said about the second film as well, we don't see the watch or Haymitchs games but it doesn't hurt the story in my eyes.

Well you have to take into consideration that most of those things are omitted because they just can't all ft in the usual two hour time-span of a movie, and unless they're doing a 6 hour version, probably won't be in it.

I don't think any comic book fan of Batman or Superman is asking to have EVERY story from the past 70 plus years adapted in a two hour film and covered beat for beat like what some people usually expect with novel adaptations, that is where a lot of this criticism is different for CBMs VS novel/book based movies, unless you're talking about a movie that is said to be based on one specific, particular comic book story or graphic novel and adapting that instead of doing a new story that incorporates the best of the 70 plus years of history of those characters like what most CBMs are supposed to be, nobody ever expects to see the EXACT same story beat for beat in a movie, all fans like myself want is to see the status quo, that is, the things that are consistent and there in every comic book story about our characters, the "foundation", be maintained in live action. Superman DOESN'T have to beat Brainiac in a movie the same way he does in Action Comics number 59 or 708, he can do it both ways or they can come up with a new one, as long as it doesn't violate the characters, it works. :up:


If I want those things the book is there for me to experience them again. The same can be said for CBMs, if you want the stories you love or the perfect version of the character you love based on the stories you read about them in the comic book are there,

I don't think having a white Superman with dark hair or a non gay Flash are things that are too much to ask. I really don't.

but when those stories and characters are translated to the masses in film they are going to be adapted in a way to appeal to those masses.

Aaaand making a character who has always been white black or Superman gay does this how?


Another example is IM3 (along with all MCU films thus far)

Well IM3 isn't anything like the other MCU films so far, but continue...

where changes were made from the adaptations of a storyline, in this case Extremis. Like I said I've never read any comics but I did watch the animated version of the story and found it very boring

The Marvel cartoons are almost always bad, so I can't say I blame you there...

the film adaptation blew me away. I enjoyed everything about it, Killian who was in the comic for a page or two becomes a fully fleshed out character. Then in addition they add The Mandarin persona split into two characters. While that adaptation is hated by many I see in the comic sites I view, I know nobody in real life who didn't enjoy it, as well as the critics for the most part.

I know several non comic fans who did not enjoy it in real life and thought it was stupid, but putting aside fan issues with Mandarin's portrayal, the movie itself was just pretty bad, especially when you compare it to how great the series started with Iron Man 1, it's not even that great compared to 2, and that is my issue with it - it's bad as a movie. The dialog is half hashed, the characters are forced, Killian is The Riddler from Batman Forever pretty much...the whole movie is just bad, bad, bad, how anyone could consider it a proper send off for what they established in the first movie is pretty absurd and sad to me.

These, in my eyes, are films adapted from a source material that went through changes of adding and dropping characters and plot lines that worked exceedlingly well in the eyes of the public masses. Changes to Wally West's race or something adapted differently from the books doesn't automatically make it wrong.

Yes it does make it wrong because there is NO REASON for it. These characters have shown up in cartoons, lots of alternate media, Wally showed up in JLU (even though they combined him with Barry and Bart and did their own thing with him a little there), he showed up in Teen Titans, he was in Young Justice, he's a beloved character and has yes, been an important part of comics, and very successful as he is on his own! Why would you change this? You actually have me - a Barry Allen diehard, defending how great a character Wally West is (which he is...but it's just I'm usually talking about and defending Barry :P ).

I mean I get if the character becomes stale and is in grave danger of being forgotten or not published anymore and is just sitting in mothballs and was never very successful or has lost its success completely - hey, I get that, and it has to be revamped to survive, I'm all for doing that, and do it however you like, go ahead. Things like that have been happening in comics for a longtime, they did it with the Human Torch in the 60s, even Green Arrow (made him into the dynamic character most comics fans know and love today), but to take a character that is NOT broken, that there's nothing wrong with, that is well-established, well liked, and successful and doing just fine the way he is, to go and change that is not only wrong, it's stupid.


I feel that many comic die hards go into these projects with a set image of what they want to see before actually seeing it

Why would we do that - have a preconception of who Superman is before seeing a movie about him? :whatever:

and are then disappointed or they are unable to enjoy the product because they set a different expectation going in. Comic to film or tv adaptations need to be viewed with a blank slate because they aren't going to be the same as the comics. If they were then we'd have complaints that they didn't take any chances and just rehashed the stories in the books page by page.

Idk just my 2cents on the matter as a non comic guy

Everything has to be adapted, no one is complaining about that. People like me just want to see the characters as themselves, it's not a hard or difficult thing to achieve and there isn't anything wrong with wanting this. I feel that if people could see the same characters that we see in the comics, delivered on screen but having that awesome factor about them that we like so much maintained and kept in tact but translated into movie language, they would dig the characters as much as we do, and think Green Lantern Hal Jordan is the greatest, etc, instead of thinking he is a crappy character because they made a crappy movie that failed to capture the things fans think are great about him. That is the most agonizing thing to me when the movies fail to do the characters justice, it's that what I was hoping would make the characters I like cool to a broad audience and show people why I liked them and thought they were so great failed to do that and the audience will not share my love for the characters because what they have in front of their faces is such a poor representation, or my love for them won't be shared with the audience, whichever you prefer. I won't have "converted" them so to speak because the avenue that could have done it failed. That is the most agonizing part to me, and why this stuff is so important to me, because I feel like people are missing out, you know? And I genuinely want people to enjoy the things that I enjoy - or at least see why I enjoy them.

When I hear things like "dude, they should totally make Batman gay!" or "Make Flash latino!", "Make Lex a woman!", it makes me feel like this:

tumblr_lps72oFesP1r00k3po1_400.gif


What is WRONG with you people?!?!?


There are a DOZEN other movies you can make with characters who are gay, bi, transgender, whatever sex you like, whatever race you like...but Superman, Batman, the Justice League? They're NOT up for grabs.

4d948be4.png
 
Last edited:
Getting to the point of your entire argument, real fans only want the character as is with no deviation. Real fans not only like everything about a character but will be highly offended if any of those things are removed or, heaven forbid, changed. Going a little further, real fans like the most popular iteration of a character and everything else is garbage. So silver age or nothing. Yeah, that's healthy. If I was what you consider a "real" fan then I would hate all comic book movies because they're not exactly what I read on the pages.

Here's what a fan is to me. Someone who likes the character.

Then why are you so bent on promoting the distortion of them?

Costume tweaks, lingo changes, having a character wear straight legs instead of bell bottoms, etc, little modernizations like that - those things are NOT the same as changing their race, gender, sexual orientation, etc, or even ruining their costumes (re: X - Men).

Also, everyone - STOP comparing changing Superman and The Flash's races to changing characters like Heimdall, seriously...they're not anything alike. Even the whole blonde James Bond thing...changing Flash's hair or Batman's, while it does suck, they ARE in a costume most of the time, so it's not that big a deal, Heimdall, Perry White, etc, are minor characters and you can let that slide, they're not the lead or main characters, i.e. who the story is about. It's like making the ghost of Christmas past a woman or young girl in the film adaptation of a Christmas Carol instead of being a male like in the book...they're such smaller characters you don't really lose much by doing that. The other ones have an image - a BIG image to uphold.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's really all I have to say about this whole debate and sums up my argument completely.
 
Last edited:
Kind of off topic, but I've seen a lot that Watchmen is the most comic accurate adaptation and I seriously hated it haha. Idk if that's because it was close to the source material with very little changes or just because I wouldn't have enjoyed the story regardless. But I always laugh when I see people that are comic fans love that movie so much and I'm sitting over here like uhh that was so boring and bad to me lol.

It was very close visually but there are a lot of things that are omitted that help make the story great as a whole and could have been translated better - Snyder misses a lot of little nuances about the characters after their physical appearances (for the most part - some of the characters don't look anything like the book and are horribly miscast in adition to being poorly written), I did not think the movie did the book justice and felt some parts in it were downright terrible, so I totally get that you didn't dig the film because I didn't really either, and often wonder if some fellow comics fans who DID dig the film even read the same book that I did.

But don't knock the book because you didn't like the movie, I would say you should check it out sometime but I understand how seeing the movie could kind of turn someone off from ever checking out the book.

I have a feeling that if the movie had been close to the source material in the way that it should have been you probably would have liked it better.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread

Staff online

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
202,359
Messages
22,091,407
Members
45,886
Latest member
Elchido
Back
Top
monitoring_string = "afb8e5d7348ab9e99f73cba908f10802"