Marvel Migration - Part 1

Marvel is supposed to be set in our world. While the events of DC Comics occur in fictional locales like Metropolis or Gotham, Marvel stories primarily take place in New York City. Because the Marvel offices were located in New York, Stan Lee decided it would be convenient to have all of his heroes live in the city he knows best. Consequently, fifty years later, 95% of superheroes, supervillains, and superhuman events are concentrated in New York City. For those of us in the rest of the world, this can seem a little unfair. If this continues, Marvel will have to schedule an event to explain why New York City is a magnet for supernatural events.

Marvel has announced that, following the upcoming Secret Wars event, the old Marvel universe will be gone and replaced with something new. At this time, its unclear what that means and the comic community is just hoping its planned better than the New 52. However, my hope is that they make an attempt to diversify their lineup by expanding into new areas of the country and the world at large. Personally, I've never been to New York City, but I'm already sick of it from comics and television. I'd love to read more stories that take place in diverse environments.

So I propose a Marvel Migration, a publishing initiative designed to connect with a wider world by moving their star characters outward. Imagine how much Chicago or Seattle or Las Vegas would appreciate their own local heroes. You could create direct marketing campaigns in each region, but the challenge is choosing the right hero for the right town.

NOTE: I left out some popular heroes for good reason Spider-Man and Daredevil are perfectly suited to New York City, Hulk and Namor are perpetual wanderers, and Avengers can gather anywhere they want. 

The Solo Heroes

Captain America - Washington, DC

This one is pretty obvious. Although Cap is from New York, he represents America and he should operate from our nation's capital. This would surround him by politics and the intelligence community. Whether its Steve, Sam, Bucky, or any combination of the three, it'd make us all feel safer knowing that Captain America is protecting our nation's capital. 

Iron Man - Detroit, MI

Why would America's richest man go to its poorest major city? To buy it.

Imagine if Tony Stark bought every piece of land he possibly could in Detroit and vowed to transform our nation's poorest city into the world's leader of industry. Now, can he do it?

With the help of Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, Bambi Arbogast, and all of his best and brightest, Tony micromanages his new city with the goal of creating a lasting utopia and an example to the world. As if that weren't difficult enough, his greatest enemies are determined to do everything possible to see that he fails.

Strangely, Wolverine is on a lot of Bulls merchandise.

Wolverine - Chicago, IL

While Logan fits in well both in New York and San Francisco, I think it would be fun to see him with his own city to protect, and I can think of no place better than Chicago. Its associations with organized crime, proximity with Canada, and population of angry hairy men make it the perfect fit.

Joined by his best sidekick and Chicago native, Kitty Pryde, Logan discovers evidence that the Weapon Plus program has reopened in the windy city and is selling "custom-made" superhumans for unique clientele through the black market. While Logan and Kitty can hurt their operation badly, the situation is rapidly spiraling out of control toward superhuman gang war.

Doctor Strange - Boston, MA

Doctor Strange is the perfect image of the mid-Atlantic New England sophisticate and there is no major city that fits that image better than historic Boston. The old world architecture lends an air of mystery and the rich (often violent) history of the town could serve as the basis for ghosts, witches, and demonic rituals.

I'd love to see a series where Doctor Strange really lives up to his names, so I'd create a story about a curse that affects the citizens in unique and unusual ways. Doctor Strange arrives to quarantine the area, treat the victims, and eliminate the disease. However, he soon realizes that there is a method to this madness and he needs to figure out what malevolent force is behind this before he loses the battle.

Thor - Seattle, WA

When it came to Thor, I immediately thought of the rainy city. Its like a halfway point between viking fishing villages and the splendorous spires of Asgard.

I imagine yet another reintroduction of Don Blake. Much like Watson in the BBC's Sherlock, Don Blake would be a military doctor who has returned from the Middle East with PTSD. He's opening up a new practice, but he's haunted by images of war, particularly the near death experience that injured his leg and requires him to walk with a cane. As his delusions become more realistic, he sees images of Loki and dreams that he is Thor, god of thunder. The memories of his battles on Earth and his battles on Asgard become inseparable. Eventually, he finds Mjolnir, disguised as a humble stick, and transforms into Thor, but he cannot return to Asgard and has no memory of its fate.

Dazzler - Las Vegas, NV

The mutant Dazzler is a successful pop singer and mutant who transforms sound into light. She practically is Las Vegas.

If Celine Deon can have her own stadium built in Vegas, Dazzler could easily become the regular act at a 5-star casino. Since she's a known superhero, its great publicity for the casino in two ways. Of course, once one casino gets a superhero, then the other casinos will want one. Soon, Daimon Hellstrom is performing stage magic down the block, a new Mr. Fixit is playing across town, and more are sure to follow. Pretty soon the town is overloaded with two bit heroes and villains, all of whom are trying to make a quick buck in the glamorous world of Sin City.

Nova - Miami, FL

For America's biggest party town, we need a young and energetic hero. When you include the amusement parks of Orlando, the space program at Cape Canaveral, and just the general inbred weirdness of the rest of the alligator-infested state of Florida, it is a perfect location for an off-beat hero like Nova.

Since Marvel's always looking to diversify racially, the largely Cuban population of Miami would create an interesting environment for the half-Mexican, Sam Alexander, the current Nova. This might just be the perfect place for him to go to college.

Ghost Rider - Phoenix, AZ

Like Hulk before him, Marvel's demonic biker belongs in the deserts of the American southwest. The imagery of biker culture is closely tied to the region, so it would strengthen the imagery (as demonstrated in the best moment from this awful film).

Arizona is also the site of a lot of discriminatory legislation and hostility regarding the Mexican immigrant population. This could be the basis for great storytelling with a message. Not to mention that the long highways of the national border are great for showing chases featuring illegal immigrants, border patrol, minutemen, and drug smugglers.

The Teams

X-Men - San Francisco, CA

Following the Decimation event when the population of mutants was temporarily reduced, the X-Men briefly relocated to San Francisco. And I loved it.

While the X-Men were constantly discriminated against in New York, San Francisco has a history of embracing diversity with open arms. This changed the dynamic of the X-Men drastically. Suddenly, they were working with their community against threats from the outside. They could still face broad discrimination outside of the city, but inside San Francisco, they were home.

Unfortunately, this lasted only about a year, but I'd love to see them return. The last time the X-Men were in town, San Francisco faced riots, military law, and invasion by Sentinels, so they might be a bit more hesitant about having them back. Then again, there are probably a lot of people in San Francisco who appreciate that kind of chaos. This is a home for those who are feared and different, and the X-Men have always seemed most at home when they are there.

I'm sorry, but when I searched "Fantastic Four"
and "Texas," this is the best that I got.

Fantastic Four - Austin, TX

When it came to the Fantastic Four, there were a lot of choices. Little known fact, the team first debuted in the fictional city of Central City, which was mapped at Stockton, CA. I thought their celebrity might be ideal in Los Angeles, then the space program in Houston came to mind. Whenever I think of Texas, I think of the strange liberal bastion of Austin, known for being the antithesis of the largely conservative state. What better place for a post-nuclear family?

Reed Richards purchases a closed NASA facility just outside the city borders and starts retrofitting it as the new headquarters for Fantastic Four Inc., an exploratory and development company. Sue manages the book, Ben is in charge of security, and Johnny lives rent free, as always. Of course, their insatiable curiosity and colorful past has a way of bringing the adventures to them, even though they spend most of their time exploring the universe, as always.

New Warriors - San Diego, CA

As for Marvel's classic junior superhero team, San Diego is a great city for exploring adolescence, and as the home of Comic Con International, it just makes sense to stake a claim to it.

With youth teams, the first thing you have to ask is "Do they have a mentor?" An adult-sanctioned team like the original X-Men or New Mutants has a bit more legitimacy, but lacks the autonomy of an independent group. Since Runaways and Young Avengers have the independent youth team covered, I'd recommend the more traditional route.

I could see orphan and perennial sidekick Rick Jones volunteering to mentor a group of teenage superhumans with ambitions of being a hero. Jones might even choose San Diego because of the relatively low incidents of superhuman crime, but little does he know that a low-level crime boss had the same idea.

Next in Part 2!

We continue with teams, both national and international. No "Avengers West Coast." These are distinct teams with their own brands (even if I borrowed the name from some defunct titles).

Top 11 Dream Assignments

I can't help it. Try though I might to be an independent writer with my own creations and maintaining some sort of dignity, I spend a lot of time thinking about how I'd write other people's comic books, usually Marvel or DC. Often it isn't even characters I like or read. They are often comics I would avoid, but that's part of the challenge.

Like they say in theater, there are no small parts, only small actors. Writers have a similar expression. There are no bad characters, only bad interpretations. From the right angle, almost anything is interesting.

So without further ado... here are my top eleven dream assignments, in no particular order. Why eleven? Because I had one more than ten.

Superman: The Early Years

This is a concept I'm working on right now. This is about Clark Kent's first days in Metropolis. It's about moving from a small, happy town where everyone knew everyone to the big, exciting city where no one knows anyone. It is before Clark learns how to fly, before he knows he's an alien, before the costume.

This is a story where I hope to illustrate that Superman aren't two different personas, but the same person seen through different circumstances. When he is saving a bus full of people, it is easy for him to look heroic. The powers make this easy for him. When he is interviewing for a job or trying to help someone with relationship problems, he is very weak and ineffectual... or at least he feels that way, and acts that way... and hence people under estimate him, especially Lois. When she enters a room, everyone shuts up; when Clark enters a room, no one notices.

I also want to play up the idea that Superman is a great person simply because he cares about the people around him and has such small town values. He won't let the big, intimidating city desensitize and dehumanize him. He will obstinately behave as though he were still in a small town, introducing himself to everyone he meets by name and becoming genuinely interested in their problems.

Too often Superman is portrayed as saintly or Christ-ly while Clark Kent is portrayed as a clownish disguise, but I want to try to make both of them more human and relateable. Try to appeal to our better nature.

X-Men: Chapter One

Another concept going back to the original days. Again, I want to draw out the original themes of the X-Men with a focus on characterization. If you read the original comics, it is easy to miss the strongest elements of the story due to a lot of hackneyed writing (sorry, Stan. Much love).

I'd like to focus on the relationships of the characters, particularly how Scott became the leader of the X-Men and the original love triangle between Scott, Jean, and Warren. This love triangle is often forgotten due to the more popular Scott/Jean/Logan love triangle, but I think the symbolism is brilliant. Scott is self-repressed and has poor self-esteem, conflicted by his desire for love and his fear that he will destroy it. Jean's telekinesis manifests almost like a poltergeist symbolizing her own insecurities and an unwillingness to accept her own power. When presented with an actual angel (who is also rich and beautiful), she leaps into a relationship, but soon questions if that is actually what she wants. Warren, on the other hand, simply wants the best and most beautiful, but this too is wrapped up in his own insecurity and the feeling that he must prove himself to his father.

Although I'd like to do a faithful interpretation of the original comics, I would like to add a few more characters, particularly Moira MacTaggert as a foil for Xavier and female role model as well as Storm, since it might be fun to see her character before she grows into adulthood. I'd like to retell classic tales like the first meeting with the Brotherhood of Mutants, the discovery of the Savage Land, and the invention of the Sentinels all as very contemporary science fiction stories.

Batman & Robin

If you read a Batman comic, you get the distinct impression that Bruce Wayne has no life. He seems to spend the majority of his time in the Batcave investigating crimes. Occasionally, he will attend a social function and play the part of the billionaire playboy, but like the clownish Clark Kent, it often feels like an act. I've often thought that if Bruce Wayne was serious about stopping crime, he would use his business empire rather than his fists. Money is the greatest superpower, after all.

This story would focus on the day-to-day lives of Bruce Wayne and Tim (Robin) Drake. In Bruce Wayne's story, we would find Bruce realizing that Wayne Industries does not have the sterling reputation he believed when he is forced to confront their history military weapons development, unethical drug testing, and sweatshop labor. As he struggles to reform the company's business practices, he starts to realize that he is being strategically attacked by an unknown enemy.

In Tim Drake's story, we follow his life in high school as he makes friends and begins to carve out his own territory in Gotham. He sets up the "Bird's Nest," his own treehouse version of the Batcave, hidden in a broadcasting tour. He falls for a charming, blind redhead destined to be a new Batgirl and fights off an invasion from an evil parallel version of himself. The goal would be to focus more on the relationships of the characters, their day-to-day life, and broad adventures rather than the brooding, serious crime dramas we normally get.

Fantastic Four

I have a strange fascination with the Fantastic Four. There are a couple marvelous characters, but mainly the tone is somewhere between Leave It To Beaver and The Brady Bunch. It's incredibly white and incredibly wholesome. But despite this, the eccentric genius of Mr. Fantastic is extremely compelling as is his counterpoint in the friendly, grounded, but often brooding character of the Thing. Furthermore, you get the sense that the Fantastic Four is nothing but a private scientific research agency whose scientific accomplishments never amount to any actual change or progress.

When I look at the Fantastic Four, I see Reed Richards creating the kind of technology we see in Star Trek and I want to see the social progress that comes with it. In my Fantastic Four, the team would be refocused as a scientific institute for study, exploration, and most importantly development. I think they've gone a little more in this direction with the Future Foundation (see pic above), but I think this can be expanded dramatically.

The Fantastic Four would be less of a team and more of a brand name for academics, brainstorming, exploration, and practical scientific application. Rather than being the story of a small family unit exploring the cosmos, it would be the story of a small family unit running a complex, state of the art organization with hundreds of employees ranging from scientist and students to lawyers and military personnel... all of whom are not only exploring but colonizing the cosmos. Sue would run the business, Reed would head the think tank, Ben would command the troops, and Johnny... well, Johnny would finally have to face how directionless his life is.

The first story would be about building a gateway for intergalactic travel through the Negative Zone. Trouble abounds from monsters in that dimension and greedy investors who want to use the gateway for exploitative purposes.

Alpha Flight: Socializing Superheroes

I always found Alpha Flight to be a funny concept: Canada's Avengers (particularly because Canada has a much lower crime rate than the US). Or the nefarious government agency overseeing Alpha Flight, Department H, as if Canada could compare with the US when it comes to shadowy, invasive black ops.

The problems of Canada simply don't compare to the problems of the US... and that is all to their credit, yet it makes it difficult to take seriously when the US is so much more dangerous. But that alone is a very interesting idea. A team of superheroes, sponsored by a government without any militaristic or tyrannical intentions, overstaffed, marvelous benefits and very little in the way of actual threats to deal with. Sure, the problems may not be as epic, but they can be weird, twisted and personal. Because the team is government run, you can have a cast of dozens spread across the provinces and focus more on their interpersonal relationships.

I also think it would be fun to have a guest appearance by Spider-Man early on to make relentless Canadian jokes all while being unnerved by the general cleanliness and politeness of Toronto.

Wonder Woman

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have an obsession with Wonder Woman. She's the most recognizable female superhero, extremely popular, but she has never had a quality comic. Her fans may disagree, but its hard to argue when there has never been a Wonder Woman comic that is anywhere near as popular as the character herself.

I've made some detailed descriptions of how I'd revamp Wonder Woman, but mostly what she needs is a secret identity to contrast her heroic personality, a city to call her own, a good supporting cast, and a villain makeover.

In my interpretation, Wonder Woman has her life redrawn by the mythic Greek Fates and is reborn as Diana Prince, a psychology professor at the University of Opal City. She has dreams of being Wonder Woman, but psychoanalyzes it as fantasy based on a perceived hopelessness about her job and life. She gradually realizes who she is, but both her Gods and her home are gone. Eventually, she realizes that there is a chance that all of them, like her, were reborn in another form and seeks to restore them. This would mythologize WW stories of the past so they would still be canon, but the story and all characters would be recast in a modern contemporary "wish fulfillment scenario."

Her supporting cast would be constructed from students, colleagues, and existing DC characters. Enemies and allies would also be reborn. The big villain of the series would be Vandal Savage, the immortal warlord, in the attempt to create a true arch-nemesis who contrasts Diana properly. The stories would largely revolve around gender, control, and alternative lifestyles, thereby playing into the prominent themes of the original stories and avoiding the familiar elements of Greek myth that (for me) weigh Wonder Woman down and make the comic less approachable.

Doctor Strange

Another character who has always interested me, but his stories have always disappointed. Marvel isn't very good at developing a cohesive magical world, at least not as good as DC. It is very hard to figure out what Dr. Strange can or cannot do, so you don't really get a sense of peril. He's also burdened by a bland, emotionally flat cast consisting of himself and his loyal manservant, Wong.

I'd like to add some depth to his story by making him a caretaker for all things magical, particularly people who have been adversely effected by magic. As a doctor, healing the sick and troubled should be his first priority, but with as serious a character as the good doctor, you have to have some characters who are more emotional to contrast with.

I would start by including new characters who have a vague relationship to magic who could benefit from Strange's help. First on this list is Scarlet Witch who was recently written to have unchecked magic potential without the wisdom to utilize it. This would be a good contrast to the always wise and controlled doctor. Next would be Juggernaut, a character whose magic-based powers have always been an awkward fit in the X-Men. Since Juggernaut receives his powers from Cyttorak and Dr. Strange is often evoking the same source, he may be able to provide help that Professor Xavier never could. Finally, I would also want to add Hawkeye, since his bow-wielding skills would be much better suited to the fantasy environment, and his brash attitude would also be a necessary contrast to the doctor.

The story would center largely over Strange's attempt to expand his services to those in need as well as a search for his lost child by his wife, Clea.

Avengers

Although I am not an Avengers fan, I'm attracted to the idea of writing for the best of the best. The problem I've always had with the Avengers is that their roster has always seemed awkward and their threats are usually hackneyed superhero fair. Just another megalomaniac, alien, or vague entity...

My Avengers would incorporate classic elements with the Invaders (the original Marvel superhero team) and new members, characters who deserve wider recognition and fit within the team dynamic. This would include Captain America, Iron Man, Namor, Human Torch, Black Panther, Vision, Storm, Scarlet Witch, Longshot, and Valkyrie.

The story would focus largely around Doctor Doom forming an alliance with other nations to bring about a third world war. His first target is the Avengers and he hits their every weak spot, targeting them individually and dividing them by their separate interests, and by placing a spy in their roster to hit them at their weakest.

Another story would be about the robot Vision evolving beyond a simple machine, detaching from biological concepts like gender, and becoming akin to a technological Hindu god. As he finds other AI striving for their own sense of identity, he becomes a reluctant messiah figure only to find his counterpart in his "father," Ultron, as he seeks to conquer the world for AI. This would lead directly into my next idea.

X-Men: The Third Race

With the X-Men, I often think about how I would write two books at once, since there are far more X-Men characters than one book can handle. This title would focus on the X-Men in San Francisco as a mutant rights and relations agency. The team would consist of Cyclops, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Sentinel Omega, Emma Frost, and Multiple Man.

The first story revolves around a set of terrorist bombings committed by robots disguised as people. While tracking down the culprits, the X-Men find that there is a revolution taking place by AI which is objecting to the way they are being used - usually for military, dangerous labor, or even sexual purposes. The X-Men have to decide whether to support or stop this revolution. This becomes complicated when they realize that there are Sentinels who have joined the movement. Eventually, this revolution becomes their own race of sorts and which conflicts with mutants as both races are poised to usurp the planet from the human race.

Uncanny X-Men: The New School

The other X-Men title I'd like to write is a throwback to the original idea of the X-Men as a school. We've seen enough of Xavier running the school, Cyclops and Emma Frost were no good at it, so I'd like to see a new headmaster and headmistress. My choice would be Storm and Beast. Storm has the evolved sensibilities and wisdom that made Xavier so effective while Beast has intellect and humor well suited to the job. Add to them the combination of Kitty Pryde and Colossus as student advisers and you have a team of classic members comprising an actual school.

As for the students themselves, you would need a class that actually feels deserving of the X-Men title, so I would go with a few new creations and a couple members from previous classes like X-23, Hellion, Penance, Pixie, Surge, Mercury, Petra, or Prodigy. I'd like to create a new telepath character for this series, since telepaths seem to be a necessary part of the X-Men.

For the story, I'd like to focus on recreating a classic feel but without relying on overexposed villains, so the first story arc would focus on the character who took Professor Xavier's legs coming back to destroy his dream.

WildStorm Revival

Finally, the last major property I would like to work on is the WildStorm line currently owned by DC. This was my favorite comic franchise before DC drove it into the ground and I would love to have a chance to streamline it with a series of interlocking stories introducing the history of the world.

The story would begin with two alien races, the Kherubim and Daemonites, crashing to Earth thousands of years ago and continuing their war on our isolated planet. Although they wage their war largely in secret, the manipulations of the alien races alters the natural development of our species. Through civilization, war, and religion, the human race become unknowing pawns in an alien conflict. We follow a lone Kherubim warrior, Zannah, as she fights the war through the millennia, often creating or destroying empires in her hubris. For this reason, she deservingly earns the nickname "Zealot."

The Kherubim/Daemonite war comes to the forefront during World War II when advances in communication, record keeping, and intelligence reveal the Daemonite influence on the Third Reich. In response, the Allied forces form their own team of superhuman operatives including Jenny Sparks (the foul-mouthed Brit with powers of electricity), Marc Slayton (an assassin who can disappear in a puff of smoke), and John Colt (a genetically engineered soldier based on a long-dead Kherubim warrior).

Flash forward the 1970s, an Kherubim scout probe bonds to a Russian cosmonaut over Earth's atmosphere and lands in war-torn Cambodia. The event is referred to as a "wild storm" due to the cosmic energy fluctuations in the atmosphere. The American black ops company known as International Operations send their foremost wetworks group, Team 7, to investigate. They are the best soldiers the nation has to offer and they are only used in the worst circumstance. Upon retrieving the woman/probe, they find themselves gifted by incredible telepathic powers, driving many insane, and causing the others to question their loyalties.

In the late 80s, children who were in utero during the "wild storm" are born with powers, most of which do not manifest outside of extreme stress. These potentials are found and recruited by the United Nation's StormWatch program, enlisted to deal with superhuman phenomena. They are this world's premiere superhuman response team.

In the late nineties, the hidden children of Team 7 are found and recruited by International Operation and enlisted in the Gen13 program to find out how their parent's exposure has manifested in them. This leads to the rescue of the alien probe called Void.

Uniting with the remaining Kherubim on Earth, Void prepares for the coming of the Kherubim which they quickly realize is not the beginning of a renaissance, but possibly the beginning of an invasion.

The idea would be to streamline WildStorm continuity to include storylines that were previously in continuity while creating a fresh jumping point for original content. Ideally, I'd want this series to continue in real time (e.g. characters age a year for every year of publication), but of course, this decision would not be up to me.

So that's it! Of course, there are other ideas I've had for stories, but these are the big ones. There are actually fewer than I thought and I think this exercise has helped me focus my ambitions a bit. Next, I'll do rough outlines of all of the original projects I would still like to work on. Until then, your comments and criticism are always welcome.

Saving the Franchise: Fantastic Four

If any comic should translate easily to film, it's the Fantastic Four. They are Marvel first family and the embodiment of the Silver Age of comic books. They have no powers, no costumes, and no secret identity. The biggest problem is that they are kinda hokey. The characters often fall into stereotypes of the absent-minded professor, the immature prankster, the gruff tough guy, and the woman.

But well-worn characters have often been saved by writers who know characterization (see "Star Trek"), so my choice for Fantastic Four writer/director is Joss "Buffy/Angel/Firefly/Dollhouse" Whedon. Whedon is a fantastic character writer with a great sense of humor. He also is fantastic at leading the viewer's expectations then making a completely logical twist.

Theme

The central theme of Fantastic Four is scientific exploration. Whether they are going through space, other dimensions, back in time or checking out ancient excavations, it all revolves around science and understanding. In this way, it is very much like Star Trek... only with superpowers... in modern times.

But another core theme of this title is "family." It often bothers me when groups of friends or co-workers are referred to as a "family" because I find it sentimental to the point of being meaningless. But in the FF's case, it's true. Reed and Sue were married in the first few years of publication, Johnny is Sue's little brother, and Ben is Reed's best friend from college. They are very much a family which is why they are defined by their number. However, in recent comics this has expanded to include Franklin and Valeria Richards, the children of Reed and Sue, and Ben is currently engaged.

This is probably one of the few Marvel movies where you wouldn't necessarily have to show the origin. You could even take a page from the Incredibles (largely based on the Fantastic Four) and give all of the backstory in the beginning so you can concentrate on the family dynamic and the villain du jour. It would also be a way of distancing from the previous films without making any official declaration of whether this is a sequel or a revamp.

Characters

(Just for fun, I cast the team using actors who have previous experience working with Joss Whedon since Whedon has a reputation of working with old friends.)

Mr. Fantastic - Reed Richards is a hard character to write. Mainstream (particularly Hollywood) writers think he's a geek... and while that may be true, his defining factor is that he is a genius. I don't mean genius in the way I think about myself, but the kind of genius where it borders on a superhuman power itself. Science is a playground for Reed. He invents spaceships and time machines as his own educational toys. He has no thoughts about sensible applications or military uses, but only expresses his knowledge as a means of discovering more knowledge. His super-stretching ability is a reflection of the plasticity of his own mind.

Invisible Woman - Susan Storm was one of the first strong female characters in comic books and amongst the Fantastic Four, she is the mom or big sister. She is the one who is breaking up fights between Ben and Johnny or pulling Reed out of his lab when he forgets to do the little things like sleep and eat. Her powers likewise reflect her supportive nature, able to use more defensive abilities like invisibility and force field projection. It might work best if they build up her powers later in the stories and focused on character strength in the beginning.

(I tried to find a blonde Whedon girl to take the role, but only Amy Acker made the cut.)

The Thing - Of the actors in the previous films, I think Michael Chiklis was my favorite. His gruff personality worked, but maybe they should have just gone with full CGI because that suit looked awful. The tough part about Ben is that he is a warrior, a sweet guy, and a victim all in one. He's also funny, in the kind of way that only an indestructible bruiser can be. A Hulk-style full CGI Thing might just open things up visually as well, since watching a big guy in a rubber suit is rarely thrilling.

Human Torch - Johnny Storm is the easiest character to write poorly because he is an MTV stereotype. He loves fast cars, loose women, and practical jokes. For these reasons, his character is often annoying, superficial, and unreliable. They could make this work if they exercise subtlety. Johnny is an irrepressible man-child living in the shadow of his responsible older sister. He could never compete as good sibling, so instead he tried to have a life most enjoyed. One thing he learned from this lifestyle is that people weren't dependable or trustworthy. He became accustomed to abandonment and would often push people away, which has become second nature. When he found out about Reed's rocket flight, he begged or bribed his way on the crew and became lucky enough to be a bright, flashy superhero. So he is very grateful to be a part of this family and despite his attitude, he'll do anything to protect them.

Plots

Since comic films are now created with an eye toward multiple sequels, I've found a few villains that could support entire storylines.

Skrulls & Super-Skrull - The subject of last year's Marvel mega-event, the Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 making them the oldest Fantastic Four villains short of Mole Man. They possess advanced alien technology and the ability to shapeshift. In the comics, their homeworld was destroyed by Galactus, making them intergalactic refugees. This story could center around a shapeshifting alien invasion or the Skrulls making a giant cannon designed to kill Galactus (which at the same time will destroy Earth). One of the Skrulls was able to replicate all of the powers of the Fantastic Four and calls himself the Super-Skrull. He might make for a good fight scene at the end of the film. Also, since mainstream audiences haven't seen them before, it would feel fresh and original (which is always better than being fresh and original). The recent popularity of '60s style sci-fi fantasy makes me think that this plot could be very successful.

Namor & Atlantis - Namor is the Fantastic Four's most sympathetic enemy. In fact, he is in love with Sue. He was originally a World War II hero and one of Marvel Comic's first heroes, but by Fantastic Four #4 (1962), he was found as an amnesiac by Johnny. After restoring his memory, he returns to the underwater city of Atlantis, where he is the prince, only to find it destroyed. Overcome by grief, he turns his anger on the surface world. I'd like to do a large scale invasion of New York City by Atlantean forces like we've seen in the comics a few times before. It would give the CGI team a real challenge and look pretty cool in the process. To do this, he would have to find some Atlantean survivors, automate Atlantean technology, and/or summon mythical creatures from the deep (i.e. a kraken) as his invading army... all while engaging in a strange romance with Sue and arguing with Reed.

Inhumans - Another Fantastic Four concept that would look great on film are the Inhumans. This is a society hidden in the mountains of the Himalayas for thousands of years. Each member is exposed to the Terrigen mists when they come of age. The strange nature of this mist deforms them and gives them their powers, which define them in their society. Their ruler is called Black Bolt and his power is so great that a whisper has been said to destroy mountains, so he "speaks" telepathically to his wife, Medusa, whose long red hair can stretch, move, and lift heavy objects at her command. The rest of the Inhumans are a similarly motley crew including Black Bolt's brother, Maximus, who is often scheming for the thrown.

Doctor Doom - If the Fantastic Four is a family, Victor is the crazy uncle that makes everyone uncomfortable. The good doctor is the obvious choice for a Fantastic Four villain, but he can also be one of the most difficult. Victor von Doom is a man who must be better than anyone, so when he met Reed Richards in college, the two had a lot in common. Although he refused to admit it, Victor wasn't nearly as good a scientist as Reed which led to his deep-seated jealousy. When Doom accidentally scarred his face in a science experiment that Reed warned him about, Victor blamed Reed and hid his face behind an iron mask. But what does he do? I don't know. He is a classic meglomaniacal villain who honestly believes that he is best suited to rule the world. Maybe he needs a good, old fashioned Bondesque world domination scheme. Or maybe he could feature in the Inhumans story by making an alliance with Maximus or the Atlantis story by making an alliance with Namor.

Silver Surfer & Galactus - Naturally, Silver Surfer and Galactus featured in the last film, but that one sucked. Worst of all, you never saw Galactus. I admit that a skyscraper-sized guy in a big pink hat is hard to make work on film, but the giant cloud that was featured in the movie was so anti-climactic. If they made another film about this storyline, they would be best served to build it into a truly apocalyptic event of Biblical proportions. Ghostbusters did this better in 1984.

Conclusion

So that, in a nutshell, is what I think it would take to make a good Fantastic Four movie.