Ultimate Marvel

[Nique]

2. All good stories end.

Very much agreed. Although I have this to add; The "real" stories of comic-book super heros DO end, which is how I continue to bare the consistent re-inventing and monthly tales.

That is to say, for example, Batman's story is always the same story; A wealthy couple is murdered in front of their only son at about the age of 8. Scarred by the event, he is inspired to fight where the law cannot reach - prevent the same kind of crime, indeed, all crime, from happening to other innocents like himself at that moment. After spending all of his young life in training, he becomes a creature of the night, a fear-inspiring figure to the thugs and crimelords of his city - The Batman.

What we read monthly retells and focuses on different aspects of that story. And yes, it doesn't have an 'end', persay, as a whole continuity, but you can relate the Batman story to someone as an independant piece. The same holds true with all good super-hero stories... However, the continuity as a whole does get jumbled and compressed, sometimes unbelivably, after the decades of story backlog and we get stuff like the COIE, and the 'Ultimate' seiris (though as was stated, is not a true reboot)

[Fifthfiend]

Originally Posted by Tyler-The-Wizard

You can blame marvel character's names on Stan Lee. Supposedly he had a horrible time with remembering names so he gave everyone matching initials. Peter Parker, Otto Octavius, J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Brant, Curt Connors, Susan Storm, Reed Richards, Bruce Banner, and although there is a plethora of exceptions at this point it remains a classic trait of comic book characters. Heck, the Superman comics follow the same traits.

"Blame"? Are you kidding, I love that shit.

Seriously as far as I'm concerned every comic character ever made should be named either David Daedalus Dobson or Johnny Blaze. It's just one of those silly things that there ought to be more of.

I do wish the modern writers would be like 90% less self conscious about the whole thing, Warren Ellis I'm looking at you.

[Amake]

Right. Let's take Batman as an example, cause I work best with examples. What we get is a bunch, a throng of stories with Batman in them. They work, some of them are great - The Killing Joke for example - and they end. What's missing, in my view, is the story of Batman. It's got to end somehow. Either he quits fighting crime (fat chance) or he dies, and until he does his story isn't complete.

It's been said that a story isn't actually told until it's ended; with that what we have is several hundred untold stories, about all those heroes who never quit and never die. More and more with every new Ultimate and X-treem revamp. Is there a problem with that, or is it just me?

[Jagos]

No it's not. I wish I could get into Marvel or DC and have new characters come while other characters went.
But there SO much backstory, I'm kinda daunted to start. I like Wolvie along with Batman and such. If they could crossover it would be great and all. But the artists make the story, get paid and move on. The character stays but...

It's not the same.

Prolly why I like manga more. You can pick it up from the beginning, learn the characters, but there's an end. When is a story in itself.

[Fifthfiend]

Originally Posted by Invisible Queen

X-treem

You misspelled that.

It should be X-TREEM.

[Tyler-The-Wizard]

Actually the JLU managed to write an end for Batman. In there season finally the revealed a major secret from the BATMAN BEYOND television show.Terry McGuiness is technically the son of Bruce Wayne through gene manipulation. Not by Bruce but a woman who felt the world needed a Batman. She later decided killing his parents to send him down Bruce's path would invalidate what she started and let him live a normal life. As fait would have it Terry's father was killed by jokers anyway and he bacame Batman through his own actions. I found the whole thing to have a really epic quality about it that did Batman justice.

We are getting a bit off track. Has anyone read the recent Ultimate Spider-man? My subscription ran out at issue 77 and the next one I'll get is issue 85. I must know what happens!

[ElfLad]

Basically, Spidey dumped MJ after the Hobgoblin incident. Recently, while trying to take down Hammerhead, he ran into Black Cat again. The writers seem to be setting it up for a Spidey/Black Cat romantic relationship.

[Tyler-The-Wizard]

The writers seem to be setting it up for a Spidey/Black Cat romantic relationship.

Black Cat?

*orders comics*

[Elmer J.]

Originally Posted by ElfLad

Basically, Spidey dumped MJ after the Hobgoblin incident. Recently, while trying to take down Hammerhead, he ran into Black Cat again. The writers seem to be setting it up for a Spidey/Black Cat romantic relationship.

Actually, Peter is dating Shadowcat. Weird, I know, but it actually seemed to work quite well. I'm getting this off of a synopsis on Wikipedia, btw. I also need to get more of these comics.
Black Cat is figuring in the current storyline, but the tension is very one-sided. She also thinks that Peter is married.

[Nique]

Peter IS married - to being Spider-Man. I mean, come on, what teenager/young adult puts that much responsibility on himself.

He's whipped, fellas. Its why he gets a super-hot-model as a wife... His life balences out in that way, although you'd think the spider-powers would cover that...