TheGeekCritique

Perhaps the right to kill should be defined by whether The Avengers is considered a team of vigilantes with a similar moral code or a group of government agents following the orders of a political hierarchy. The latter would make The Avengers no different than S.H.I.E.L.D. and thus the permission to kill is implied and recruiting members such as Wolverine permissible.

However, Spider-Man working alone and of his own volition would adhere to a moral code as defined by his personality which has the freedom to be separate from politics. What's ironic is that fictional characters who tend to break the law by turning to vigilantism tend to live by strong moral ethics whereas those who work for government agencies tend to disregard ethics altogether.

It's any wonder why a superhuman would want to fight evil at all. If you think about the real world there are X number of civil servants ranging from firefighters to doctors to police officers residing in New York City and yet crimes are still committed, fires still erupt and people still die. Even though all of this turmoil isn't eradicated and even though every normal person is just as capable as everyone else, not everyone chooses to pursue the profession of civil servant.

Now if you exaggerate things and turn villainy into super-villainy and heroism into super-heroism, what's the difference? Crimes are committed and people still die even in a city which is home to Spider-Man, The Avengers, X-Factor and the Fantastic Four. Just because someone gains super powers and is just as capable as someone else with super powers doesn't mean he or she is motivated or obligated to fight crime and save lives.

Otherwise, wouldn't we all be civil servants?

This may have been asked already, but we were wondering what your pick will be for the biggest summer blockbuster superhero film of 2012. Of course, the options are:

1) The Avengers - The powers that be have been promoting this film so much that people are now afraid of excessive spoilers.

2) The Amazing Spider-Man - Rebooting a successful franchise that's only a decade old with complaints about The Lizard's 'human' appearance.

3) The Dark Knight Rises - The third film in any superhero franchise is poised for bad luck and this one has already received complaints for lack of promotion and Catwoman's costume.

Our pick thus far is The Avengers for its established cast of characters depicted in other films and for Marvel/Disney's aggressive promotional strategy. We're actually surprised the companies aren't as aggressive with The Amazing Spider-Man. We're even more surprised that Chris Nolan has kept footage of his film locked within the Bat Cave.

Shawn writes:

I am SO glad they depicted the scene between Iron Man and Thor so accurately. Honestly, there's no contest. Thor would win hands down, but I can see how they'd try to even the odds a little for the film.

Shawn writes:

I don't... know. Even with the inside pic it looks like Catwoman's costume is a practical interpretation of a fictional reality. By crossing the line and making fantasy into reality, Catwoman suddenly looks out of place. Unlike the comic book world, wouldn't a female thief wear a mask, conceal her hair and try to hide her gender in case of detection? With this costume, Catwoman looks caught somewhere between fantasy and reality and satisfies neither extreme.

Shawn writes:

During Marvel's 25th anniversary I remember Spider-Man missing from a few comics only to appear as Peter Parker locked away in some prison. I think this was my first experience with a missing character in a story arc (aside from She-Hulk replacing Thing in The Fantastic Four) and I hated it. I didn't buy Spider-Man comics to read about other characters who weren't good enough for comics of their own. I wanted Spidey for his heroics and witty banter, but instead I got second-rate Silver Sable and the dry-as-toast Doctor Strange.

Anymore, DC and Marvel are spread so thin with multiverses, future/past characters and characters with siblings that missing characters and the death of characters has become irrelevant. Has a hero died or disappeared? Just replace him with a nephew, sibling or sidekick. Don't like the replacement? Read about the hero in Earth 2 or the Ultimate story arc. Still dissatisfied? Wait until the parallel universes converge or the hero is brought back to life.

Up to this point, Marvel has run the gambit for Avengers movie promos leaving its own Amazing Spider-Man and Chris Nolan's Batman: The Dark Knight Rises in the dust. It's as if those movies are the ones people will see after everyone's seen The Avengers.

A crossover storyline between worlds is a DC sorta thing to do and we're not certain this is the best move to celebrate 50 years of Spider-Man. It'd be like getting your wife an anniversary gift by showing her a world where she died and was replaced by another woman.

Kinda spoils the moment.

To be honest, we have trouble appreciating anything Marvel and DC does with their Ultimate and Earth 2 story arcs. As if comics weren't confusing enough for new readers, adding long-term parallel universes into the mix as glorified "what-if" timelines makes comics even more intimidating as the established canon that attracted readers becomes convoluted. Also, it spreads comic creativity thin as there can only be so many heroes, so many villains and so many stories to tell.

And that's when experimentation steps up.

Suddenly we see comics where heroes have children, heroes die but are alive in other timelines, heroes no longer have parents, heroes with spouses are single again, etc. Unfortunately in the case of DC, comic canon gets extremely confusing when it comes to its female characters. For example, can anyone pinpoint Power Girl's definitive history?

And speaking of alterations, aren't many of DCs titles released as The New 52 simply reboots of established canon thus making them Earth 2s in their own right? With so many parallel worlds one would think more female and minority characters would be better established in the industry.

It's amazing that an entertainment empire was built from pictures that look like they were drawn in a high school study hall. Makes us wonder what potential many of us have waiting in the wings :)