Comic Super Star: Stan Lee

On November 12^th, 2018, we lost a storyteller. When you get right down to it, that’s what Stan Lee was. A storyteller of grand and flamboyant proportions. I considered him to be one of my personal heroes, and his passing is saddening. Granted, the man was in his mid-90s and a widower to his wife of 70 years, so I had assumed this was coming, but it still hurts. An individual as vibrant, as charismatic, as timeless as Stan Lee… you just kind of assume he’ll keep going on forever. In order to process… no, celebrate his well lived life, I feel like I should gush a little about him. And the moment that changed how the world viewed superheroes.  

He finished his Cameo on Earth...

 In case you are curious, I’m using Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir by Stan Lee, Peter David and Colleen Doran as my source. I suggest checking it out if you have any interest in the life story of a comic book icon. My personal favorite anecdote in it being the stressful plane ride Stan took from New York to Reno. See, his soon-to-be wife, Joan, was in Reno to finalize her divorce from her first husband. Suffering from an irrational fear that someone might swoop in and take the love of his life the moment she became available, Stan booked a flight to Reno in order to marry her as soon as possible. Unfortunately, he asked for the fastest route to Reno, not the most direct. After several layovers, he arrived in Reno and got his girl. Considering they were together from 1947 until her death in 2017, I say he was right to rush to her.

 Also, while the names might not be accurate to the time period, I’m going to be referring DC and Marvel by their modern names. It’s easier on the noodle.

In the late fifties and early sixties, comic book superheroes were on the rise again. After nearly being shelved forever due to the complex and bizarre rules of the Comic Code Authority, new life had been breathed into the genre with the revival of The Flash, and the birth of the first iteration of the Justice League. Impressed by the dollar figures that DC comics was pulling in, Marvel Comics Founder Martin Goodman tasked Stan Lee with producing a Superhero team that could rake in the fans, and cash, like the Flash and other DC characters. But, and here’s the thing that made me do a double take the first time reading it, Stan Lee wasn’t sure he WANTED to do it.

According to his Memoirs, Stan had burnt out on what he felt were the simplistic stories and the completely unrelatable characters of superheroes. He was worried that if he went along with Goodman’s plan, he’d basically be churning out the same repetitive generic stories that he had been forced to do since the inception of the CCA. The story goes that he’d been complaining about this to his wife and expressed a desire to quit and try something new, when she offered a different solution. Basically, she told him to just write the kind of stories and characters that he wanted to. You think DC heroes are unrelatable? Then write some heroes with actual personal problems. You think the stories are too simplistic, and don’t deal with real world issues? Then write a few stories that do. Her argument was, if his new ideas sell well, great, keep doing it. And if they completely tank, then Stan might be fired but at least he tried to do something new rather then just giving up.

If I ever get access to a time machine, I’m going back to the 1960s and shake Joan Lee’s hand and thank her.

Spurred on by his wife and with the help of fellow Comic Legend, Jack Kirby, Stan created that first team. Using an old school Marvel Hero, The Human Torch, as a bit of scaffolding, Lee and Kirby created an entirely new Human Torch, and a team of very human heroes to work along side him. Boom, Fantastic Four. From there, Stan Lee spear headed the creation of the original Marvel Universe. And, unlike the larger then life heroes of DC, there were characters that were designed to be all too human. Even the one that’s literally a Norse God. Stan’s heroes not only saved the day, but also dealt with issues that plague most people in one form or another. They battled things like inner demons (Iron Man’s alcoholism, Bruce Banner’s inner monster), prejudice (The Thing, The X-Men), and all the hardships of just growing up (Spider-Man). And the rest, as they say, is history.

The only way Stan Lee could tell his story
right was as a comic.

I believe the first time I ever came across the name Stan Lee was during the series finale of Spider-Man (1994). In that final episode, after helping to save the multiverse from an insane Spider-Carnage hellbent on destroying all of creation, Spider-Man makes a few stops on his way back to his own reality. One stop is to the home dimension of a powerless Spider-Man, whom was just an actor picked up by accident while Spider-Man’s allies Madame Web and The Beyonder formed their original team of Web Warriors. Once there, Peter pops in on Stan’s office, and takes the silver fox web-swinging as thanks for creating a version of him. Considering I was only eight or nine at the time, you can forgive me for not completely understanding who it was Spider-Man was swinging around with. Not the most interesting discovery of one’s idol, but hey, what can you do? It’s from that early show, and with some encouragement from my Marvel fan of an older brother, that I came to love the characters of Marvel and DC.

I don’t think it’s a stretch of the imagination to say that we, especially I, myself, do owe a great deal of to Stan Lee. Without him, and the incredibly talented but underrated artists and other writers of Marvel like Jack Kirby and Steven Ditko, Superheroes would probably have remained something only young children enjoy. Instead, we live in an age where many a superhero is a household name, with major films and tv shows backing them. While the stories remain fantastic and implausible, the men and women who live the adventures described are about as real as fictional characters can be, with virtues and faults like anyone else. All of which can be traced back to one writer deciding to do something different. I never had the pleasure of meeting Stan Lee. That’s something that I regret, but there’s no use crying over spilt milk. I can do my best to honor the late, great Stan Lee as best I can. To Stan, wherever you are, thank you for all of the stories. Thank you for all of the heroes. Thank you for all of the laughs and tears, the smiles and frowns, the highs and the lows. Thank you for living such an Amazing, Fantastic, and Incredible life.

Announcements

Did you know I’m on Patreon? Of course not, because I have never mentioned it before. “But why?” I hear some of you asking. Well, because for one thing I have been trying to figure out all the nuances of the site, to maximize my ability to use it. And, more importantly, I really really really suck at self-promotion. This may shock you, for real for once, but despite the fact that I post my thoughts onto the internet for all the world to see, I am at times nearly petrified with anxiety when it comes to talking about myself and/or my semi-professional semi-hobby of blogging. Example, when I was in College, friends would ask me questions about myself after I’d had a few age appropriate drinks. That was the only way to get info out of me. But, I’m getting a little off task. Yes, I’m on Patreon, here’s the link  https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2761062. To start, I’m offering to my patrons’ early access to posts, starting now, and preferential treatment when it comes to things like requests. I’ll add more rewards as we go along. Got to keep things interesting for you folks. All I’m asking for is one dollar a month, from those who feel like supporting. No pressure, even if you can’t/don’t want to support Basics of Superheroes financially, you’ll still get access to my content, just a little later. Also, feel free to like, and share my posts. The more viewers, the merrier I’ll be.

Now that the self-promotion is out of the way, let’s move onto the new-new viewer log series, My Hero Academia. You’re probably asking yourself, why are we switching to this when you’re already in the middle of Iron Fist? Well, for one thing, I’ve been too busy/exhausted from my paying job to have time to sit down, watch and take notes on the show. For another, I had already been planning on doing My Hero Academia for a few weeks now, and actually have most of the posts already queued up and ready to go. And for a third, I really really really need this show to keep going. “Another show you really really really need to keep going?” You may be saying with a sarcastic eye roll. To which I reply, yes, another one. This anime is probably my favorite of 2016, and I’d hate to see it stop before it gets to the really good bits. I’ve read the manga too, so I can say with certainty that the stuff to come will look A-M-A-Z-I-N-G animated. Just saying. So yeah, that’s why Iron Fist is being paused for the time being.

As it stands, I don’t think any network is airing My Hero Academia, but the entire first season can be found at Funimation.com. You can watch the first season with subtitles for free, or, for a five dollar a month subscription, watch the entire first season dubbed. I pay the five bucks, it’s a good deal, since you can also watch all the other dubbed titles that Funimation has to offer. Considering they are one of the biggest dubbing companies in the world, that’s a lot of anime. I think that’s enough preamble/self-promoting. Next time, My Hero Academia episode 1. Available right now for patrons. Have a good one.

Review: Batman v. Superman

So… Batman v Superman… The best way I can describe this movie is that it is profoundly okay. Which is strange. This movie had several good ideas, a great cast, and great effects. But in the end, the movie is just okay. Let’s see if I can analyze the film a little more with this review.

A so-so smack down.

So the movie opens to a very artsy rendition of the murder of the Waynes. You know this set up by now, wealthy family walks down the obviously named Crime Alley without a security detail, gets held up, and Thomas and Martha Wayne are killed. So sad, but then again, I think we’ve all seen this story played out several times. We then move on to Metropolis, eighteen months prior to the film. This section shows what Bruce was up to while Superman and General Zod were smashing through skyscrapers. Thousands die, billions of dollars in property damage, and ol’ Batman holds Superman 100% responsible.

We then cut to Lois Lane doing what she does best, getting kidnapped. She and a buddy were arrested in Africa while doing a story about some local terrorist group. The group is incredibly well armed, and has some highly trained mercs too. Just as the Interview is getting started, it hits the fan, the mercs murder most of the locals in the fortress and then Superman flies in to save the day. We cut to the US Capital, where Senator June Finch and her committee are trying to force Superman to fall in line with Governmental procedure. Anyone else think it’s ironic that her actress, Holly Hunter, also provided the voice for Mrs. Incredible?

At the same time, Lex Luthor is doing his best to get his hands on Kryptonite. Apparently the stuff was a byproduct of Zod’s attempt to terraform…er Kryptoform Earth. There’s a huge chunk that was uncovered in the Indian Ocean and Lex is chomping at the bit to get his hands on it. Finch is less than thrilled, feeling that making a “silver bullet” for Superman is a little extreme. Another of the Senators is more willing, giving Lex access to Zod’s body and the crashed Kryptonian ship.

Bruce and Clark meet at a LuthorCorp fundraiser. Bruce is there to steal info from Lex’s database, and Clark is there to learn as much as he can about the Batman. Bruce is thwarted by another partygoer, Diana Prince, who stole his hacking device. He tracks her down and she returns the drive without much fuss. While decrypting the drive, Bruce has a bizarre vision of the future where it looks like the world is being ripped apart by Superman, his cult of followers, and the Parademons of Apokolips. A traveler from the future gives him a warning about protecting Lois Lane and gathering “the others.” Bruce as Batman tries to steal the chunk of Kryptonite that Lex illegally imported. He’s thwarted by Superman, who demands that Batman cease and desist his vigilante activities. The new guy is pretty big for his britches, isn’t he? Batman has been operating in Gotham going on 20 years, FYI.

Pretty solid team. Batman must be feeling a little overwhelmed.

Finch then summons Superman to Capital Hill for a hearing. Superman relents, just in time for Lex to begin his master plan. Phase One: bombing the Capital, which many blame Superman for. One lady makes the idiotic argument that if Superman wasn’t involved, why did he disappear right after? If I was the only survivor from a bombing, I’d need to take a couple of days off too. Batman steals the Kryptonite from Lex, and starts manufacturing Kryptonite weapons. Lex works on Phase Two: using the fingerprints he sliced off of Zod’s body, he gains access to a hidden chamber of the ship. Side note, you’re telling me that Kryptonians, the highly advanced, super scientific race, would protect the most precious secrets of their race with a FINGERPRINT SCANNER? Idiots! Anyhow, he dumps Zod’s body into the Genesis Chamber, and then mixes his blood with the liquid. Despite the ships AI’s protest, he demands that they continue with the experiment. Another side note: Said DNA experiment was banned by the Kryptonian High Council, and yet they still allow their machinery to be able to DO said experiments? So strange.

While that’s going on, Lex begins Phase Three: forcing the Superman/Batman smackdown. How? Well, this plan is so brilliant that it puts Gene Hackman’s plan to shame. When Superman comes to confront Lex, Lex reveals that he is well aware of Superman’s dual identity. And as such has targeted his biggest weakness. No, not Lois. “Every boy’s special Lady, his mother,” as Lex so condescendingly puts. He doesn’t know where Martha Kent is being kept, but if he dies, she dies, and the only way to save her is for Superman to bring back Batman’s head. So either Superman kills Batman, ruining his image in the public, or he lets his mother die and is broken psychologically. Superman is forced to comply, but still tries to reason with Batman at first but the Bat isn’t interested. Using some well-placed traps, he goes toe to toe with Superman. This sequence is amazingly well done, showing off Batman’s brilliance and planning skills. In the end, he has Superman on the ground with a Kryptonite Spear pressed against his chest, and is only stopped when Superman starts raving about saving Martha. Bruce is stunned to hear Superman using that name, not realizing that both off their mothers are named Martha. After getting the info from Superman and Lois, the two split up. Batman to save Martha Kent, and Superman to confront Lex. Imagine his horror when he sees Lex’s final contingency plan for Superman somehow not killing Batman and still saving Martha, the DNA experiment… Doomsday. It’s up to Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman to save the day.

One punch to the mouth, and this is over.

As always, the Good first. Everyone is well cast. Ben Affleck is great as the older and battle weary Dark Knight. Haunted by demons of his long history, his mother’s death and the implied death of at least one Robin. Jeremy Irons is great as Alfred, adding a fair amount of dry wit to this dark film. “I hope the next generation of Waynes don’t just inherit an empty wine cellar… not that there is going to be a next generation of Waynes…” and “Even you grew too old to die young, not for lack of trying.” Who says this movie is without humor? Henry Cavill is good as a Superman that’s still struggling with how to live in the world and protect it. Glad to see that killing Zod hasn’t driven him to full on psycho. Jessie Eisenberg is having a ball as Lex Luthor. He’s quirky and clearly insane, but loving every minute of it. It’s especially entertaining when he’s explaining his evil plans. Gal Gadot is a surprisingly awesome and mysterious Wonder Woman. She’s mostly there to set up the sequel to this film, help out in the finale, and just generally being a badass. The effects are great, and I love the design of Doomsday in this universe.

The Bad next. In a word, the script. This movie was stuffed to capacity with exposition, set up, and more exposition. But this was kind of inevitable, since they were forced to not only set up the conflict of the movie, set up Batman and his backstory, and setting up the sequels and other heroes. There were large segments of Batman’s story that could have been cut. Like Batman searching for “The White Portuguese,” or showing him doing his ninja thing in Gotham. Which now includes branding thugs. We didn’t really need to see either to know Bruce is kind of messed up in the head. There’s a decent length sequence of Diana looking through Lex’s data on Metahumans and their powers that did nothing but set up the Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, and Wonder Woman movies. Side note, I find it hilarious that there’s only one Metahuman in the Metahuman data bases. Amazon Princess, Human/Atlantian hybrid, machine infused human, and Metahuman speedster, weird right? Moving on, Lois had no reason to be in this film other than to cause conflict. Her kidnapping is what sets Lex’s plan into motion. Her advice seems to make Clark only make bad decisions. And she throws away the Kryptonite Spear, about ten minutes before everyone realizes they need it. Pointless. Sure, she learned Lex was behind the whole thing. Knew who else knew that? Me, ten minutes into the film. And Superman should have figured it out early on too. Just wasting time. Especially when her initial kidnapping was kind of pointless. I think the mess Superman left in Metropolis is more than enough to keep law makes busy for decades. Also, it's pretty clear that this conflict could have been solved with a Cell phone. Sups: Lex kidnapped my mom, set you up. Team up? Bats: Tots, I'll bring my gear and WW. Let's kick some ass. Simple right?

Final thought before my conclusion. I'm not SUPER well versed in DC Lore, at least not compared to my Marvel knowledge. So, I just feel like I need to ask any and all DC nuts that may be reading this. Is Gotham really just across the bay from Metropolis? I was always under the impression that there was some distance between DC's most iconic cities. 

Hm… This movie had a lot of things working for and against it. Overall, I’ve got to give it a C. A good cast, effects, and dry wit couldn’t save this film. The script was subpar, with many pointless moments. And, as my brother put it while we were discussing the movie after seeing it, we didn’t really learn anything about these characters. Two and a half hours of buildup and only a so so payoff. Do I recommend this movie? If after reading this review you’re still interested, then yes. Do I think you’ll love it? No. What should have been DC’s Avengers instead turned out to be it’s Thor: Dark World. How disappointing, but hopefully this will be the low point of the DC Cinematic Universe. We can always hope. Next time, back to One-Punch Man. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_v_Superman:_Dawn_of_Justice#/media/File:Batman_v_Superman_poster.jpg

https://themoviecafe.wordpress.com/2016/03/28/where-does-the-dceu-go-from-here/
http://www.ew.com/gallery/batman-v-superman-dawn-justice-exclusives/2507913_all-crops-gallery-batman-v-superman-dawn-justice2016-ben-affleck-l-and-henry-cavill

Slowing down, but never stopping

So I guess it’s time to let you all in on the sad news. So, even after nearly two months at my position as a City Carrier’s Assistant at the Minnetonka Post Office, I’m still being run ragged. I’m averaging six days a week, and upwards of fifty hours per week. Which makes me laugh when I’m continually being told that my position is “part time.” Anyone else feel like that that is a total bunch of hogwash? Yep, I thought so. Because of this more extreme workload, I’m afraid that Theme Weeks are going to be put on hold for a little while.

Most days, I’ve got maybe four hours of free time per day. It’s surprisingly stressful and mentally demanding work that leaves me pretty drained by the end of a day. I’ve also got a writers group that I’m trying to remain a part of, and my novel that I’m trying to finish. So yeah, not a huge amount of time to devote to my blog. Much less enough time to devote to creating seven posts more-or-less in a row. Even my shortest posts take at least two to three hours to write up a draft for. Don’t worry, I’m not shutting this thing down or anything. I’ll still be doing my best to give you all at least five posts per month. Hopefully, as I get more used to my position, I’ll reach the point where I’m NOT working 50 hours a week, and thus have more time to devote this again. Here’s hoping, anyway. 

I love talking about heroes and villains, and I really love knowing that I have folks like you that want to read my ramblings. Honestly, if I could figure out a way for this blog to generate an actual revenue stream, I’d quit my job and work on this full time. But, given that over the last year I’ve generated a grand total of 5 dollars, that seems kind of impossible. Stranger things have happened. I’m not sure what I’m going to do next, but expect at least one more post before February ends. Have a good night everyone.

How Many Villains?

Product of the old system
Not a half bad villain.

This used to be a slightly easier question, back in the days when it was one major antagonist per film. Sometimes it was a no brainer, like Superman fighting Zod or Lex Luthor. But, like most things these days, things got bigger so a single villain per movie is something of a rarity. I’m not really saying it’s good, I’m not saying it’s bad, I’m just saying it’s how things are now. Sometimes, like in the Chris Nolan Dark Knight series, it works well. Other times, like in Spider-man 3, it’s just overkill. So the question today is, how many is too many?

 Bad example in every sense of the phrase

Let me clarify, I’m not saying that there should only ever be one baddie. In fact, if it’s a villain that is traditionally part of a group, I want to see as many as they can manage. For example, Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants. Magneto is an amazing lead with a long and complex history, often flitting the line between good and evil. At the same time, he has a diverse group of loyal lackeys that I love to see. Part of Magneto’s charm comes from seeing how he inspires his own followers. A Magneto without any superpowered minions is not really Magneto at all. For henchman type characters like Toad or Blob, their backstory and personality aren’t as big of a deal. They are there to be kind gross and intimidating, not be figures in a great Shakespearean tragedy.

On the flipside, if you take a character that traditionally acts alone and pair him/her with an unnecessary minion it just comes off as unneeded filler. Like Parallax and Hammond in the Green Lantern. Parallax is the sort of creature that would never need help, other than perhaps a host body, to cause acts of destruction. Parallax is a force of nature, and such forces are terrifying enough on their own. It’s like giving a volcano a henchman. It would cause like .1% more damage.

Way to fumble it on the 2 yard line
Is that right? I don't do sports metaphors well...

If you’re thinking “What about Galactus the planet eater and his Heralds?” Again, the Heralds are a precedent created over years of comic books, and said books make it clear Galactus doesn’t need a Herald, they're a luxury. The Heralds were created just to make his planet eating faster. It’s a convenience thing.

The number of major antagonists is tricky. One can usually get the job done, but depending on the character, can leave things feel a little…underwhelming. On the other hand, three and a half feels cluttered and messy. Spider-man 3 had the Sandman, Harry Goblin, Venom, and to an extent Black Suit Spider-man, three antagonists and a hero basically fighting a drug habit. That’s a lot of content to fit in, and that’s not even including all of the personal drama bs that Peter seems to be required to go through in his movies.

Love you Venom, but you are the worst part of this movie.
Just above Sandman, but still.

I’d say the magic number is 2. It allows for the biggest bang for your buck and allows for both baddies to maximize their screen time. But even this needs to be handled delicately. If, like in the Amazing Spider-man 2, the majority of the focus is on one villain over the other things end up being off balance. Ideally, one of the bad guys should be set up in another film. Like how it took three movies to turn Harry Osborn from buddy to baddie. Movie one established character as the rich man’s son with some talent but coasts on Daddy’s money. Movie two gave us a glimpse of his obsession that was slowly consuming him, also how much he loved his verbally abusive father. And three showed us the full transformation to villain and ultimately his redemption. The payoff was weak, but the buildup was phenomenal.

Excellent subterfuge Dr. Crane
Almost forgot about Ra'z al Ghul for a bit.

The Dark Knight set up of having one major and one minor antagonist works very well. In movie one, having Scarecrow being the apparent main villain, while Ra’z al Ghul working in the shadows was a masterstroke. It didn’t work as well in movie two with the Joker being the baddie for 90% of the movie and cramming Two-Face in at the last 10%. And I think Dark Knight Rises just kind of botched the formula all together. Don’t try to shock us Hollywood, just entertain us.

This villain debate thing is why I’m apprehensive of titles like The Avenger’s 2 and the potential Spider-man vs. the Sinister Six movie. They will be cramming a lot of interesting and unique villains that deserve at least one movie just to build their hype. Granted, at least two members of the Sinister Six have been introduced already but that’s four members that NEED to be introduced. Rhino doesn’t count, he got twenty minutes tops and that’s nowhere near enough time to establish a villain in a movie. But like many things all we can do is wait and see. Next time I’ll discuss what I think of the decision to make a Female Thor and how it’ll affect things overall.

Magneto and a decent iteration of his entourage.
I think Avalanche would have made it perfect, but hindsight 20/20.

 http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Green_Goblin_%28Spider-Man_Films%29

 https://www.movieposter.com/poster/MPW-28297/Batman_and_Robin.html

 http://in.ign.com/entertainment/58669/feature/ranking-the-spider-man-movie-villains

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarecrow_%28DC_Comics%29

 http://xmenmovies.wikia.com/wiki/File:Brotherhood_x1.jpg

Editorial: You, Me, and the Multiverse

To put it simply, the universe is an extremely complicated place. Over the last hundred years or so, our understanding of the rules and principles of the universe have increased significantly, but we’re still in the dark about a lot of things too. We’re still figuring out how the universe expands, and how it even got started. Things gets even more complicated if this whole multiverse idea is true.

I wonder how different each iteration is? Could I get a loan
from a me that's won the Lottery?

The easiest way to put it is that, according to the theory, we exist in one version of reality, one that exists on a continuum of countless (but sometimes countable) parallel universes. Each possible reality would have some similar elements, and some pretty jarring differences. Because this is largely a philosophical theory, the rules seem to change pretty drastically sometimes, but for simplicities sake I’ll stick with the most common version, that there are an infinite number of parallel worlds, and essentially if you can imagine it, that universe exists. Watch an episode of The Adventures of Rick and Morty if you want to see how weird things can get.

This is some complicated stuff, so I’ll try and break it down a little more. I exist because of a choice. My Great-Great Grandparents (mother’s father’s family) immigrated to America around the turn of the last century. Great-Great Grandma and pa Neary already had a decent sized family at the time, we’re Irish, enough said, but decided to have another child because (To quote my Grandpa Jack) “They wanted a Yankee.” This choice led to my Great-Grandmother Irene, to my Grandpa Jack, to my mom, and then to me. As well as over a hundred other folks. Again, Irish. While I’m happy with these results, according to the Multiverse idea, there is a version of reality, heck hundreds of versions, that didn’t turn out that way. There are versions of reality where my G-G Grandparents were happy with the number of kids they had, so they didn’t try for another. Ones where the young Irene Narry died in infancy, or adolescence, or adulthood. Ones where Irene Neary never met Raymond Arland and thus never had my Grandpa Jack and his siblings. One choice, one person, and yet a lot of people are effected by the existence of said person. And all of your lives become a little emptier because you don’t have me to fill your heads with knowledge.

Lots and lots of Supermen.

You’re probably asking yourself why this bit of info on my family tree is important. Because it is. Comic books, and like 95% of sci fi, follow this chain of thought, that there are multiple iterations of reality that exist outside of the one the characters live in. They’ve all done it, X-men, Spider-man, the Avengers, Superman, Batman, the Justice League, all the rest of Marvel and DC and their related franchises, the various Star Treks, Adventure Time, The Adventures of Rick and Morty, Gargoyles, and Darkwing Duck (to name a few) have all dabbled with the concept of parallel worlds. Usually to show an evil parallel universe where the heroes are the bad guys, the bad guys are the good guys, and everyone is screwed. This is called a “Mirror Universe” and things can get pretty messed up. You can’t tell me you’ve never wondered what an Evil Superman would do. Or an evil Batman. God that scares me more than an Evil Superman. For good reason.

The best example of the Mirror Universe idea is in the DC animated film Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. In it, a good Lex Luthor from a parallel world escapes the evil Justice League of his universe, known as the Crime Syndicate, by jumping between parallel dimensions. He arrives in a good DC Universe and enlists the help of Superman, Batman and the League to fight their evil counter parts Ultraman, Owlman, and the Syndicate. As the movie progresses the parallel worlds angle gets more important as it’s discovered the evil Owlman is attempting to do something bat-shit insane. Feeling that an infinite number of parallel worlds makes life meaningless, he intends on locating the “Original Earth” and setting off a super bomb that would destroy Earth Prime and hopefully cause a chain reaction that would destroy all other parallel worlds. He feels this matters because it’s the only logical action that wouldn’t result in the creation of a new parallel world. Because, you know, no more worlds. Crazy little jerk, isn’t he?

From center right, Ultraman, Owlman
Superwoman and Johnny Quick.

Another important use of the parallel world idea as it relates to the Superhero media is that its another way to bring back dead characters. A character dies, everyone who knows him/her is sad for a while, they move on, and once the grieving process is finished the character is replaced by an exact duplicate from a parallel world. This copy, or alternate version, had a very similar life and background, gets along fine with their new team just as well as their own home team and everyone’s happy. I think they did this to the Blob, but don’t quote me on that. Writers are always finding ways to bring dead heroes and villains back, and I have to admit that this is one of the more unique ways to do it. Better than a clone, crazed look alike, or some other faking death scenario for the umpteenth time.

Another reason to use the multiverse idea is that it allows us to explore the big “What if’s” that exist in comics. What if Spider-man had saved Gwen Stacey? What if Superman was raised in Communist Russia? What if Bruce Banner was never exposed to Gamma Radiation? What if Batman never lost his parents? And so on. The end result is usually pretty awful. For example, Spider-man marries Gwen, but then immediately has to go on the run because the still alive Goblin tells the world Spider-man is Peter Parker. Not good. The scary ass USSR Superman helps the Soviet Union conquer Earth, has a change of heart in the end where he and a good Lex Luthor save the world, and then retires from public view to watch history literally repeat itself as Lex’s descendent Jor-L, living on an Earth where our Sun became a red giant, sends his only son back in time to 1938, making the whole things a giant self-contained predestination paradox. Also not good. Bruce Wayne and Bruce Banner live comfortable lives without their super identifies but always seem to get tied up in crises whenever they pop up. Meh, their lives are more boring now.  Very different worlds, no? These are all short lived, “What If” stories, they take it to the next level with the Marvel Ultimate Universe and DC’s the New Fifty Two.

They're bringing everybody.

The Ultimate Universe is described as a more realistic universe. Ages are changed, events happen differently, and the big thing, death is permanent. Thor, Beast, and Peter Parker are the three most prominent deaths of this reality. The New Fifty Two created several separate universes, one of which includes only the Golden Age heroes Jay Garrick, Alan Scott and their buddies, in their own universe. No Superman, no Batman, no other Flashes, no GL Corps. Makes for a very different universe. This allows us to see characters in a new light, as well as create entirely new heroes, like the Ultimate Universe favorite Miles Morales the Ultimate Spider-man. It also puts heroes in more… difficult scenarios, like the Ultimate version of Captain America having to fight and overcome a series of doubts created by the Vietnam era Captain America, Frank Simpson. Rather dark stuff. A more lighthearted series that I believe started just a few weeks ago is entitled Spider-Gwen. In this version of reality, Gwen Stacey is bitten by the radioactive Spider instead of Peter Parker and becomes the Web Head. I really hope they don’t do a role reversal thrown to death bit. That’d be a little too messed up.

I have slain... me. Confusing.

There have been instances of traveling between dimensions, Peter Parker has worked several times with alternate Spider-men, and Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four even has a council of Reeds from across the multiverse. Huh, really Reed? Don’t want to include a couple of Hank Pym’s, Hank McCoy’s, Peter Parker’s, T’Challa’s, or a few of the less Narcissistic Tony Starks? Just Reeds? Okay. Peter had fun with his alternate versions, even bonded with and posthumously forgave Miles Morales for the Ultimate Universe Peter Parker’s death in one outing. And when he got back home he was quite heartbroken to discover something awful had befallen the Miles of his own universe. They never expressly say what happened to the main universe’s Miles, but I think it’s safe to say he is not among the living. Sad stuff. And then there is Deadpool, who traveled to a parallel Marvel Earth and killed everyone.

Yep, I Un-Alived the Marvel Universe. All of your favorite heroes skewered on my twin katana. Or blown to bits with my bullets. Or just otherwise horribly killed in ways that only my twisted brain could conceive. Hooray me!

They had all been turned into evil self-aware Zombies.

Don’t diminish my exploits with Facts. They still had their superpowers. And while Zombie Spidey was still a whiner, (boohoo, he ate Mary Jane. YOU ATE A WHOLE HELL OF A LOT MORE PEOPLE THAN HER PARKER, show some respect!) he did try to eat my face. How terrifying is that? I got to end them all, Captain America, Spider-man, Hulk, Wolverine, myself. How many chances does someone get to end an evil version of themselves?

Most people, few. You… Isn’t one of your bad guys an evil version of yourself made of stitched together parts you “lost?”

Yeah, it’s fun fighting him. And a little confusing, not going to lie.

That enough screen time for ya?

Honestly, I want to hear the story behind Chunky
Reed Richards.

For now. I’ll go take care of that Parasite fella then. I need to stay out of arms reach or he’ll take my powers and get a glimpse into my cracked mirror. To do this, I’ll use my new Rocket Launcher, Betsy.

Don’t use the rocket launcher. I want you to make it hurt, not kill him, or people in the surrounding area.

Fine, I’ll use my new sniper rifle, Helen.

You do that. Good luck Deadpool. He’s so easy to manipulate sometimes. Back on task.

This Multiverse could also help ya’ll reconcile the fact that Batman and Spider-man are once again going to be in a new set of movies that do not relate to their existing movie franchises. The Dark Knight movie trilogy, the original Spider-man, and the old school Batman could be considered to exist in their own separate universes. Places where A. there are no other superheroes, or B. they just haven’t met them yet. If you care about that sort of thing, if you don’t continue with your “it’s just a movie mentality.”

There you have it, a small explanation of the Multiverse, and why it’s important to Superheroes. I hope you enjoyed my ramblings. So the next time you feel miserable about your life, just remember there could be several worse alternatives. I’d hate to be the me living in a nuclear wasteland after WW3, or the me living in Nazi controlled America, or the me that snapped, killed someone and is now in prison. It’s all about perspective folks. Next time, I’ll cover Thor’s first replacement, Beta Ray Bill. It’s going to get weird.

http://listverse.com/2013/02/22/10-mind-bending-implications-of-the-many-worlds-theory/

 http://www.comicvine.com/images/1300-3037230

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_League:_Crisis_on_Two_Earths
 https://www.pinterest.com/pin/533184043359958704/
 http://www.comicvine.com/zombie-deadpool/4005-33654/
 http://marvel.wikia.com/Interdimensional_Council_of_Reeds_%28Multiverse%29