The Rebooted "Keep Hope Alive" (that the rights can revert back to Marvel) Thread - Part 7

[Dark Raven]

Yeah, I'd say that was sacrilegious to turn a beloved catchphrase into a term of abuse. I could cope with just a dull Ben Grimm but that other one takes the biscuit.

 

[wobbly]

There's always the late Mike Wieringo's Thing:

I'd love to see something like that with Ben Grimm's jaw which slightly juts out.

In fact, his FF would be a great template to have for the movie. His designs look very Disney-ish, and the whole "Imaginauts" storyline (written by Mark Waid) had a story about the comics trying to update the FF for modern audiences but their designs failing miserably. So they sent a representative to spend a week with the team to see what makes them tick. And what he had to report back is that you need to make them MORE like the classic FF everyone knows, rather than less like them.

So Trank and Fox obviously never read that story or ignored it, because they did the very thing that was discussed in that comic, and they failed just as predicted.

Ben Grimm needs to be the heart of the team. He was never remotely like that in Fant4stic.

He would also be fantastic if he were in Infinity War. He was great in Secret Wars, even despite changing back and forth between his human and rocky versions.

Audiences need to love him like they do for Rocket and Groot.

I prefer John Byrne's one (after he changed the design removing the slab monobrow). It's not dissimilar to Weiringo's but is less 'cute'.

Took me a little while to get used to that back in the 80's having grown up on the long running thick browed Thing with his more human like body shape (with the redesign his arms became longer and his limbs less defined and more 'tubuler' etc), but I totally got the rationale for the change: Ben shouldn't look 'cute', he should look like a monster who would scare you sh#tless if he got angry at you. At the same time though you can totally get when he is happy, sad etc.

 

[jaymes_e06]

All this talk about Ben makes me kind of sad. It's a shame Fox never woke up to the gold mine they were sitting on and that the only ones who suffered were the fans.

 

[Dark Raven]

I prefer John Byrne's one (after he changed the design removing the slab monobrow). It's not dissimilar to Weiringo's but is less 'cute'.

Took me a little while to get used to that back in the 80's having grown up on the long running thick browed Thing with his more human like body shape (with the redesign his arms became longer and his limbs less defined and more 'tubuler' etc), but I totally got the rationale for the change: Ben shouldn't look 'cute', he should look like a monster who would scare you sh#tless if he got angry at you. At the same time though you can totally get when he is happy, sad etc.

Do you have a pic of Bryne's Thing? I prefer the cuter looking Ben Grimm. I don't think he should look too monstrous. Trank's Thing looked ugly and not loveable at all. He was also too big and too tall. It's like they went to the opposite extreme of Chiklis who was shorter.

 

[wobbly]

Do you have a pic of Bryne's Thing? I prefer the cuter looking Ben Grimm. I don't think he should look too monstrous. Trank's Thing looked ugly and not loveable at all. He was also too big and too tall. It's like they went to the opposite extreme of Chiklis who was shorter.

Don't want hot link stuff as you can find plenty of examples using google image search. You should look for stuff from his run as writer/artist on the FF (before that he was drawing Ben 'on model' at the time in the 'Two in One' books, so more or less the same as others from that 70's era), and he has a good deal of commission stuff he's done in more recent years you can see online as well.

 

[Web-Head]

Pretty interesting they're making an Invisible Woman figurine...Looks pretty dope too.

 

[Dasher10]

Here's hoping that Marvel can work out some deals with Universal and Fox. I want this to happen. Marvel should just cut Universal a check to do a new Hulk film distributed by Disney and Fox should also take a check for the Fantastic Four.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

I think just about any of these designs would be WAY better than anything we've seen on film yet:

And those were all probably designed fairly simply. An artist was commissioned to create a 3D sculpture of the Thing. Each put their own unique spin on it, but all came out looking better than this:

or this:

Heck, even this:

Looked a lot more promising than what we actually got.

 

[wobbly]

It is odd that they seem totally against giving him the heavy brow and raised 'button' nose. These have been the standard for the Thing for decades ffs. It's kinda like taking the ears off Batman's cowl...

Even Corman on his limited budget tried to go for those trademark features.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

It is odd that they seem totally against giving him the heavy brow and raised 'button' nose. These have been the standard for the Thing for decades ffs. It's kinda like taking the ears off Batman's cowl...

Even Corman on his limited budget tried to go for those trademark features.

I think this is one small example that illustrates a broader hubris that doomed Fant4stic.

Fox thinks they can do it 'better'. The comic books with their colorful costumes and "cartoonish" designs ( a word Tim Story specifically used regarding Ben's brow ) aren't good enough. They can do it better and the stupid fans are just idiots for not recognizing how much better their version is.

 

[Endeavor]

Spoiler

Here's hoping that Marvel can work out some deals with Universal and Fox. I want this to happen. Marvel should just cut Universal a check to do a new Hulk film distributed by Disney and Fox should also take a check for the Fantastic Four.

Nothing would have to be worked out with Universal in order to make that encounter happen. If you have a film with both the FF and Hulk it's no longer a Hulk solo film, so Universal would have no claim to make whatsoever.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Regarding Fox's hubris, remember this April Fool's 'joke'?

https://moviepilot.com/posts/2829820

Remember how fans were genuinely excited for a brief moment and hoping it wasn't just an April Fool's joke? I think even the die-hard Fox fans who defend even the dumbest things Fox has done would have liked to see Wolverine in that suit.

But we never got it. That's just a stupid comic book design and Fox is too cool for that. That April Fool's joke was a slap in the face of fans who are so stupid they actually think what they want is better than what Fox gives them.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Nothing would have to be worked out with Universal in order to make that encounter happen. If you have a film with both the FF and Hulk it's no longer a Hulk solo film, so Universal would have no claim to make whatsoever.

Yeah, if Marvel gets FF, it seems like, based on what we've already seen, they could easily make a "Fantastic Four" film in which the FF battle the Hulk as the primary story.

 

[Orba]

Regarding Fox's hubris, remember this April Fool's 'joke'?

https://moviepilot.com/posts/2829820

Remember how fans were genuinely excited for a brief moment and hoping it wasn't just an April Fool's joke? I think even the die-hard Fox fans who defend even the dumbest things Fox has done would have liked to see Wolverine in that suit.

But we never got it. That's just a stupid comic book design and Fox is too cool for that. That April Fool's joke was a slap in the face of fans who are so stupid they actually think what they want is better than what Fox gives them.

Pretty sure that was for a deleted scene, not an April Fool. If I remember it was supposed to be that at the very end of the film Logan gets given a case before he gets on the jet. When he opens it the suit is inside. But it was never used in the final version of the film and the suit was just a prop, it was not something that had been made to be worn, only made to be seen in the case.

 

[Dark Raven]

I think just about any of these designs would be WAY better than anything we've seen on film yet:

And those were all probably designed fairly simply. An artist was commissioned to create a 3D sculpture of the Thing. Each put their own unique spin on it, but all came out looking better than this:

or this:

Heck, even this:

Looked a lot more promising than what we actually got.

Those busts of the Thing are all great, but I think the 2nd one is my favourite. It reminds me of the Marvel Legends figure, while the jaw reminds me of Wieringo's version. If Marvel could produce something like any of these busts, they would blow the other film version out of the water.

I'd say the first bust is my least favourite though. Maybe it's because it looks the most human.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Pretty sure that was for a deleted scene, not an April Fool. If I remember it was supposed to be that at the very end of the film Logan gets given a case before he gets on the jet. When he opens it the suit is inside. But it was never used in the final version of the film and the suit was just a prop, it was not something that had been made to be worn, only made to be seen in the case.

I was thinking there was a scene with a hallway filled with various costumes etc. and it was in there, but I'm sure your information is better than mine.

But either way, they're demonstrating that they know what fans want and then not giving it to them. Why not actually give him that costume at some point? Why not have him wearing that during the battle against the Sentinels in the scene from the future?

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Those busts of the Thing are all great, but I think the 2nd one is my favourite. It reminds me of the Marvel Legends figure, while the jaw reminds me of Wieringo's version. If Marvel could produce something like any of these busts, they would blow the other film version out of the water.

I'd say the first bust is my least favourite though. Maybe it's because it looks the most human.

I think the first one is the most different from the comics. If given a choice, I'd probably go with the second one also, but either would be MUCH better than the d***less version.

And I think all of them illustrate that you can create something from the comics in 3D that works. It's not like you have to change the design because it doesn't translate well to 3D.

 

[wobbly]

Pretty sure that was for a deleted scene, not an April Fool. If I remember it was supposed to be that at the very end of the film Logan gets given a case before he gets on the jet. When he opens it the suit is inside. But it was never used in the final version of the film and the suit was just a prop, it was not something that had been made to be worn, only made to be seen in the case.

Yes, it was a deleted scene: Originally Yukio gives Logan the case and he opens it on the plane before she smiles and says: "Interesting.":

[YT]aDxBITPgFoU[/YT]

In the theatrical cut you can see still Yukio being given the case and carrying it onto the plane.

 

[Dark Raven]

The Fant4stic Thing looks like some B-movie rock monster, or like when Ben Grimm mutated further at the end of his own comic series to have that more spiky rock appearance.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Yes, it was a deleted scene: Originally Yukio gives Logan the case and he opens it on the plane before she smiles and says: "Interesting.":

[YT]aDxBITPgFoU[/YT]

In the theatrical cut you can see still Yukio being given the case and carrying it onto the plane.

Good to have the full story thanks to you and Orba.

... still doesn't make it right to tease without delivering.

When some were speculating that we'd get a final scene wit the FF in uniform, I thought 'what good is that?'

The whole point of seeing your favorite characters looking like your favorite characters is that's what you saw in your head as a kid reading your favorite comic-book and that's what you want to see in the film. Just getting a quick glimpse as an 'Easter Egg' seems to give the film-makers some sense that they're servicing the fans, but it's not particularly satisfying to me.

 

[Dark Raven]

One of these days we'll get an Easter Egg where someone breaks the fourth wall and tells the audience to think back in their mind's eye to the costumes they remembered from the comics. And then when you've thought of it, that's their fan service and how they've given us a glimpse of the comic costumes. It will be all in our memories and not even on film.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

One of these days we'll get an Easter Egg where someone breaks the fourth wall and tells the audience to think back in their mind's eye to the costumes they remembered from the comics. And then when you've thought of it, that's their fan service and how they've given us a glimpse of the comic costumes. It will be all in our memories and not even on film.

Maybe if they have a scene of Deadpool watching Fant4stic and saying "this film really sucks" they can use that to extend the rights...

 

[Darkraid]

Why do I have this feeling that Marvel Studios is not revealing the title of Avengers 4 because it relates to FF?

 

[First Avenger]

Why do I have this feeling that Marvel Studios is not revealing the title of Avengers 4 because it relates to FF?

This crossed my mind too,but it's way too optimistic right now.

 

[Dark Raven]

That would be awesome if it were that. Imagine it were about Galactus or Doom. I'd actually prefer Doom though rather than blowing it all on Galactus straight away.