Yeah, I'm aware of that, but this shattering looked a little more final, and her plot-line also seemed to reach an ending, which was far from the case in New X-Men. In other words, this was a "good" death, that had an actual impact, and undoing those often comes across as a bit cheap. Not that I would complain in this particular case though, it's preferable to the alternative. Well, to me at least.
Captain America's death was a "good" death two years ago, and it is proving to hardly be permanent.
I mean I do understand your statement. The cartoon writing crew obviously had a choice with axing Jean to give Scott and Frost a shot for season two, or to not assume they would be renewed and to have a more noteworthy death (as well as switch things up from the Phoenix stuff) by axing Frost. To a degree it worked. Because Emma Frost was not only the most fleshed character after Wolverine, but also the most sympathetic (Cyclops was fleshed, but not sympathetic, and aside for them only Nightcrawler could compare), her death made the finale have more impact that had it been Jean. However, the resolution was a little quick, and it offers few options for Season 2. I am sure it wasn't an easy solution. It remains to be seen how Season 2 plays out to see if it was the right one.
Personally, I would have rather traded the death of a Maguffan heroine to leave things better for Season 2 rather than axing a fully fleshed heroine and leaving things in a creative corner for Season 2, but I do understand and sympathize with the decision that was made in this regard, and of course it is easier to be a Monday Morning quarterback than to produce a show.
nikbackm said:
Very true, I enjoy the Summers-Frost pairing in the comics, but I'm a bit ambivalent of them pairing up in this show if she is brought back. It wouldn't feel quite right for her to be with someone so overshadowed by Wolverine even if there was a good way for it to happen after the ending of the first season. But perhaps in season three or four if the show continues on for that long.
To play Devil's Advocate, there are some who believe the extensive focus on Wolverine was something that was at least suggested from Marvel up top to the producers of the show, given his popularity and that movie that came out this year. Nearly every episode that wasn't exclusively written around Wolverine was usually better in quality, which seems to hint at more creative freedom for those episodes. Because to suggest that Wolverine isn't all that because he suffers as the star without X-Men to bounce off of is considered a mortal insult to Logan in some circles. Of course, it could simply have been because the last cartoon all of these writers worked on was X-MEN EVOLUTION, in which Wolverine actually had to take a back seat a lot because Kid's WB was court pressing the teenage characters at all costs. I got a sense of X-Giddiness from Season One of this show, the writers and producers being able to play with all the toys they want and going crazy like kids on a TOYS R US shopping spree. The only problem is writing like that sometimes has imperfections, like side characters being dumped in the back of the toy chest.
If Frost is revived in Season Two, the only way I could see it as working would be if Jean began naturally turning to Wolverine romantically, which would give Scott a new reason to be bitter and a legitimate reason to pine more for Frost. I sort of doubt that would happen, if only because it would risk putting Logan in a dishonorable light, and WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN almost never does that with Logan, even if it costs them a more nuanced or interesting episode dynamic. Whatever happens will have to be Scott's fault.
1. There is no supposedly. I interviewed Kyle and Yost last year. I interviewed Kari Wahlgren over the weekend, and I spoke earlier in the year with Blum and Tatasciore when Hulk vs. came out.
I apologize for not being clear. I didn't mean to hint that you were being dishonest. I just hadn't had confirmation about that data for a while. Anyway, sounds cool.
2. Kari said the line because people noted that line from the Morrison run and that she didn't say it in the series when her nose was broken.
3. I'm hardly their staunchest defender considering that the comments made on this forum are not the main shared opinions on the show considering how popular it is.
True. The interment message board hordes are really a vocal minority compared to the majority of TV and comic fans. Why else do many comics that are decried as "bad" remain massively popular, like HULK? That said, in regards to this show more often that not the message board critics fall under two categories; Fans that Can't be Pleased (Myself), and Fans that Adore, and I believe you fall into that camp more often than not. Things that are criticisms or deal breakers to me are little to you.
It is possible, and not to be insulting, but because you know or interact with many of the figures in this show more than many of us, you are more understanding and forgiving of their collaborative efforts. It's not unheard of. I'll admit to likely going a little easy on Dan Slott compared to other writers because I've met him and he posts on SHH semi-frequently. I certainly feel that SOMETHING seemed to mess up the translation from some of what Kyle, Yost, and Johnson would say in interviews about the show and what was actually produced and aired. The show Kyle would describe would always sound far more interesting than what was actually airing. Maybe it's the edits to fit stuff into 22 minutes a week? Whatever it is, hopefully that is improved upon in Season 2. By the second season of a show, there are no excuses. Ask HEROES.
Steve Blum, Fred, and Kari were the most friendly and approachable people you could ever meet. Kari is extremely overwhelmed by the love for her work. Fred is a big teddy bear. Blum is very cool even when he gets mobbed and cornered by crazy fans.
Yeah, they all seem cool in those little DVD interview things I've seen them in. Fred did seem like a big teddy bear in some of those HULK VS. snippets. Blum of course has been voicing all over the industry. I still remember when he voiced GUYVER 3 in the original L.A. HERO dub of the first GUYVER series, and that was like 15 years ago. And Kari usually always is good at her work. I almost never had a problem with the voice cast of this show, beyond Phil LaMarr's efforts to find a voice for Gambit.
In a way that is why I am as hard as I am on the writing. It's because all of the rest of the components are there. The animation isn't a problem, like it was for the 90's show. The voice actors aren't a problem; in fact they are usually the strength. It's the writing hiccups that kept the first 26 episodes from being as good as SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN's first 26. If those are improved upon in Season 2, I'll be fine shifting from critic to cheerleader. I wouldn't be hard if I expected little or knew what the show could and couldn't be, like the guilty pleasure that is BATMAN BRAVE AND THE BOLD. My expectations are high because I know they can meet it. It's like you expect more from Steven Spielberg than you would from Uwe Bole. If Uwe Bole makes a movie that is actually average, it's watchable. If Spielberg doesn't reach or meet heights he is capable of, it's underwhelming. It isn't fair, but that is the price of achieving quality and then getting a rep for it. It's why one always expects more from a LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN comic than from BETTY AND VERONICA.
I've probably overstated my issues with Season 1 by now. I can easily be convinced to let them go if Season 2 rocks our socks off better. I mean, didn't we all for the 90's IRON MAN and FANTASTIC FOUR shows?
But atleast it will finally make him realize how nice Emma had been to him.....
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