Although I have not had a lot of experience with superhero comic books (thought it keeps ending up being more than I realized), I did get exposure to many of the standard heroes of both DC and Marvel through other means.
First of all, of course I was raised on Super Friends. We all watched it. At the time all I remembered was the later episodes with the Wonder Twins: form of an ice berg and all that. I could not really remember any gripping conflicts or ingenious solutions, though I do remember an episode where there was a mouse stuck in a computer unit messing things up, and they used special guest Plastic Man to get him out. (I also watched Plastic Man on Saturday mornings.)
I think the following clip may give some clue as to why the Super Friends did not leave more of an impression on me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMmZ6IyaeyY&feature=related
Now, going back and seeing it, the most exciting thing is now knowing who all of those Legion of Doom members are. Hey, that’s Solomon Grundy! And the Scarecrow! Now I get it. On the Marvel side, I’m afraid that Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends did not much more for me.
Both DC and Marvel did much better later in the early 90’s, with Batman (the Animated Series) and X-Men. When these were on, well, I was working my way through college, and did not have quite as much time for watching television, but that they were geared towards kids did not seem to be an issue. I specifically remember always being impressed by how relatable the Batman villains were. This was not simplistic, cackling evil—especially Mister Freeze and Poison Ivy.
With X-Men, I don’t always remember the enemies, but I remember the relationships between them, especially Wolverine. He had a heart, even if that did not always come through in the books.
It’s nice getting other sides of things. For example, there were Spider-Man and Batman comic strips in the paper for a long time. With Batman, again, they were always careful to show the humanity of the villains, and it was a gentler world with them. The Riddler and Two-Face actually ended up having pretty happy endings.
With the Spider-Man strip, maybe the shorter format helped. Basically you have three small panels a day, with a little bit more on Sunday. Because of this, I don’t really remember Spidey ever spending time whining or throwing tantrums, and I have to say that I appreciated this. I’m not saying that Peter Parker is not a hard-luck character, but hey, he also has superpowers, a loving aunt, and he dates models despite being a nerd and broke. You need to maintain some perspective.
I will say Spidey never caught a break in his segments on The Electric Company, and that eases our transition into live-action. At first I thought that the only real superhero show like that I had ever watched was Wonder Woman, but then I remembered The Greatest American Hero. Indeed, how could I forget him? That was a fun show.
I know the Wonder Woman reboot did not go well, and No Ordinary Family did not last, but a cool idea is not enough. You need good writing and acting and luck in finding an audience. Also, we have a jaded audience now, and too perfect superheroes are going to be harder sells. It helps to have some humor in it, but going back to the animated Batman, it was not particularly funny. It was just good. Also, that was twenty years ago and we may been less jaded.
I remember something a writer’s conference speaker mentioned once in that audiences like dark pieces in good times and light pieces in bad times. I guess it really is about escapism. He was talking specifically about movies, so if you think about the amount of time it takes to create a film, from pitch to premier, without a crystal ball you do not know if the audience is going to want you or not. All you can do is produce quality work you are passionate about. (Though, apparently not everyone reaches that conclusion.)
You know what show I really loved? The Tick. The live action show was fine, but I loved that cartoon. They can bring that one back any time. Spoon!
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