The pitch & other stuff

Hello and welcome to the 05/04/2016 edition of The Comic Shop Blog!

Your humble blogger is caught up in the anticipation for “Civil War” on Thursday Night!  The Captain America movies have been some of the brightest spots in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and this one does not look like it will disappoint!  I will get a review up as soon as I can instead of generating a belated review like I did for BvS.

Speaking of which (FIRST)… I omitted one of the worst things in my mega-BvS break down.  File Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor under ugly.  I usually am not a fan of recasting roles midstream, but I’ve spent the better part of the last month in seclusion praying to Kirk Cameron for a recast of this role for the “Justice League” movies.  I honestly don’t know how to describe how he played that role other than to say he was a billionaire atheist with autism.  His motivations weren’t clear and his behavioral tics were just bizarre.  I am not asking for Gene Hackman/Kevin Spacey land grab Luthor, but something tangible would be a start.  As always the best villains are the hero of their own story, and I just don’t see that from EisenLuthor.

Second…I respect Olivia Munn for turning down a “girlfriend” role in “Deadpool” to play Psylocke in “X-men: Apocalypse”.  She looks great in the role, but I still worry about her screen presence.  Only time will truly tell.

Third…TV ROUND-UP…Punisher is having his own series (!) which I said was the best idea on this very blog when Marvel got the rights back (I’m waiting on my royalty check).  Otherwise I’m behind so I will update you guys when I dive back in to superhero TV.

Fourth…My Indiana Comic-Con haul was all Superman related.  I walked away with nearly the entire run of Max Landis’s “American Alien” and I have to say I kind of love it.  It is a story with great heart, and it alters the Superman mythos in new and interesting ways.  I recommend it.  I also checked out the available issues of “Lois & Clark” which features the Pre-52 Superman living in hiding with Lois & his son Jonathan in the New 52 universe.  It’s a really interesting story, and another super story that I would highly recommend.

Speaking of Superman… (warning this content is super dorky)

“The Pitch”

*keep in mind that this story is told without any regard for continuity in the DC universe new or old.  Some elements have been borrowed from other creators, but the overall story is my own creation*

The Trials of Clark Kent of Smallville  (I’m not married to the title BTW)

The Character:  Clark Kent age 19-21

The Setup:  My story is about Clark in his formative years (although I do not like the Christ-like imagery this is a “Jesus in the wilderness” story or in a more simplistic take it’s a Star Trek exploration mission with Clark).

It is set at a time when the only thing we know about superheroes is old footage of Wonder Woman during WWI.  

Clark only marginally understands that he is an alien, but he has never lost in a fight (although he tries to shy away from them) and has never even bled.  He is not cocky, but is not humble either.  This story at its core is about how the universe humbles Clark Kent, and prepares him to be the protector of Metropolis/Earth.  

After an argument with his father about his responsibility to mankind Clark sets off to explore space to see if he can find others like him, or more information about where he comes from.

The Supporting Cast:  This would be a departure from most of the currently established Superman mythos.  

J:  Artificial intelligence.  This is a Kryptonian Tablet placed in the pod with little Kal-el by his mother.  J is Clark’s only companion for the duration of the journey.  His Kryptonian programming allows Clark to use him to build almost anything.  J comes in very handy as Clark experiences real pain & real fear as he travels through the cosmos through different atmospheres & different solar radiation.

Li’ara:  A slave girl on a distant planet that serves as a love interest to Clark.

K’ashon: The despotic leader of the same planet.

*There will be more but this is just the first arch of the story*

The Universe:  In my mind the universe is a very dark and scary place. It’s like Clark has spent his whole life as big dog in the yuppie neighborhood, and decided to go to biker bar looking for trouble.  The different atmospheres and solar radiation cause new issues for Clark as he becomes exponentially more powerful on some planets, and extremely weak on others.  Not to mention the time away from earth’s yellow sun has slowly eroded his cognitive abilities so he is not as super-smart as he was after drinking in earth’s radiation for most of his years.  

So that is the basic premise of what I would want to pitch if I got the chance to do a Superman story my way.  In my most perfect vision it is a 12 to 15 issue story with 5 issue archs basically serving as each year.  

There is a lot more to it, but that is the basic skeleton.  If you are intrigued by the concept let me know, and if not that is okay too. 

As always thanks for reading!  Be sure to visit your Local Comic Shop on Saturday for “Free Comic Book Day”, and I will see you next time at The Comic Shop!