Over the last few decades, superhero comics have striven to achieve a greater sophisticaton of storytelling. Writers such as Alan Moore, Garth Ennis, Grant Morrison and Brian Bendis - among many others - have imbued comics with a greater maturity and a deeper sense of character and story. But Marvel, in particular, doesn't seem to be able to cast aside the easy narrative solution of the superhero fight scene when it comes to wrapping things up on the final pages.
What is interesting is that this trend has now carried across into the Marvel films. Even more revealing is the form these fights take, revealing an odd subtext that bears investigation. Marvel, moreso than the other comic publishers, seems as lost as Edward Norton's character in its own Fight Club fantasy.
Superhero Fighting - Cliche or Genre?
In a previous post on superhero comicbook cliches, I chose not to include the obligatory fight scene as an example. Yes, there is much that is cliched in the notion that two characters - even when they are on the same side - will always have a major brawl and engage in New York property damage before realising that talking to each other can be more effective. I can't dismiss the fact that as a kid, I loved those old crossovers between The Avengers and The Defenders when they just hammered into each other - never once asking whether their efforts couldn't be best focussed on the common enemy. Superheroes punch first and ask questions later. I think they just like it.
These scraps - although they made very little narrative sense - excited young readers by answering the questions that were debated in every school yard. Who was stronger - Hulk or Thor? Who would win in a knock down / drag out match between Captain America and Iron Man? The permutations were endless and comic writers always found new ways to turn friends against each other so readers could enjoy the title fights they wanted. That's not to say the villains didn't get their bruises as well. Every issue was a battle royale of superpowered beings turning New York into a national disaster zone to showcase the varied super abilities and heroism / villainy of the myriad characters.
So rather than being a cliche, the superhero fight scene is an inescapable part of the genre. Time was it was virtually impossible to write a superhero comic without at least one fight scene. It was an expected part of the package. Superheroes without fights would have been like a western without bullets or a musical without singing - not really a cliche but an essential ingredient.
More recently, superhero comics have discovered a degree of characterisation and plotting not seen before. Suddenly, Brian Bendis was writing issues of Daredevil that consisted entirely of dialogue. Matt Murdock might not even put on his crimson mask for months at a time as Bendis explored the consequences of his actions and the complexities of living a double life as a vigilante in New York City. Similarly, many of Alan Moore's works deconstructed the superhero genre, looking beneath the veneer of fists and lycra to the motivations and emotional baggage of these bizarre individuals.
Sadly, though, it seems the superhero brawl is still the easiest and most convenient way to resolve a storyline over at the self-proclaimed 'House of Ideas', Marvel.
Civil War to Secret Invasion to Dark Reign
In recent years, Marvel has had a few major crossover storylines woven through their entire pantheon of characters. First, there was Civil War, an interesting concept where political realities forced heroes into a fight with themselves over the issue of superhero registration. A cleverly constructed situation was allowed to slowly build through a number of titles as characters questioned themselves, began to distrust each other and explored the ethical issues behind vigilantism. Then, the last issue came out and the whole thing ended with both armies of superheroes battling it out in New York City. Property damage aplenty, death of a couple of key heroes (to add drama and sell a few more copies, you understand) and a resolution that relied more on fists than negotiation. It was as if the writers couldn't work out a logical solution to the corner they had written themselves into, so they reverted to form. There is no such thing as diplomacy or reasoned debate in the Marvel Universe. Tempers flare, egos explode and arbitration isn't even a word in the dictionary. If the UN Security Council operated in Marvel comics, we would have World War Three in a week.
Civil War was followed by Secret Invasion last year. This time, the plotting and detail was phenomenal. Alien shapeshifters had infiltrated the ranks of the heroes by impersonating key individuals. Now, no hero knew who to trust as anyone could turn out to be part of the alien invasion plot. Again, hero was pitted against hero - allegiances threatened, relationships shattered and the threat insurmountable. Dozens of tie-in comics explored back-story and character reactions that turned Secret Invasion into probably the most detailed, densely plotted and enthralling story Marvel has ever produced. Every issue was a page turner, every page a jaw -dropping moment, never knowing what twist would be thrown at the reader next.
Then, in issue 7 Thor bangs his hammer and decides to call everyone into Central Park to fight it out. Disappointed? I was gutted. The climax was again one massive brawl, again in New York and again with heroes fighting heroes (although this time impersonations of themselves). Never mind that the shape-shifting Skrulls would never have decided to throw away all their careful infiltration by trying to win the battle head on. Their's was an invasion of stealth. Would they really abandon their one, quite considerable and up 'til that point highly effective, advantage to have their butts handed to them on the lawns of Central Park? Of course not, but Marvel needed to resolve the entire storyline by issue 8 of the main miniseries. Never mind all the wonderful work that went into building such a detailed tapestry of characters, storylines and motivations. Everything is solved with a smackdown in the Marvel world - including pressing script deadlines it seems.
And now Marvel have embarked on a new storyline - Dark Reign. This time, it isn't the aliens but the supervillains who have usurped the heroes to take their places. Again, it is Avenger against Dark Avenger as the heroes try to wrest control back from their villanous dopplegangers. Beginning to spot a theme here?
Marvel Movies Follow the Formula
2008 saw the first two movies to be released from Marvel's own studios. Previously, Marvel properties had been prduced by different studios, such as Fox and Warner Bros. Now, Marvel is taking their properties in-house, allowing them to build one cohesive movie universe while keeping their characters far closer to their comic roots. Iron Man was a huge success and The Incredible Hulk certainly pleased more fans than the Ang Lee original. Yet both films were criticised in some quarters for the same failing.
Both Iron Man and Hulk presented well-written and well-performed central characters. Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark was a brilliant portrayal in a clever, mature and wittily written script. Edward Norton's Bruce Banner was every bit as layered, conflicted and enthralling as any film hero should be. These movies were written with an intelligent audience in mind - an audience that wants to be convinced by the characters and surprised by the plot.
Yet both films fall into the same trap in the final reel; all the plotting and characterisation stops dead as the chief villain is revealed and the smackdown starts. Iron Man spends the last reel fighting with Iron Monger - a larger and more threatening armoured scientist. In Hulk, the green giant has to take down The Abomination, a larger and more aggressive gamma-irradiated monster. Both films avoid clever resolutions and instead resort to beatdowns in two very unsatisfying climaxes that don't live up to the previous two acts. Both villains become one-dimensional ciphers, burying the brilliance of Jeff Bridges and Tim Roth under steel and CGI. They are designed solely to give the hero someone to fight before the credits roll. Both films swap character conflict a physical one, weakening them considerably. Certainly, these films don't carry the same level of villanous plotting that occurred in the X-Men series or the first two Spider-Man films. The Marvel curse has reached the movies and just as it destroys the final issues of comic book serials, it now weakens the final reels of their films.
Internal Conflict
But look deeper. There is something more to this recent deterioration in Marvel storylining. There is a common theme through all of these examples that could indicate a deeper, darker subtext.
Civil War pitched the heroes against each other. Secret Invasion took this one step further and pitched them against identical duplicates of themselves. With the Dark Reign villains taking on the identities and costumes of the key heroes once more, the same is occuring for a third time. Then we come to the choice of villains in the movies. Iron Monger is the evil counterpart to Iron Man - a fellow scientist who builds his own, bigger armoured killing machine. The Abomination is, quite simply, the evil Hulk - a bad guy irradiated with the same gamma radiation but with a more permanent and monstrous effect.
It seems Marvel has developed an intensely strong subtext of internal struggle, fighting one's self. Time and again, the Marvel heroes have become their own worst enemies - either figuratively or literally. Could it be that Marvel comics are now a metaphor for our own internal struggles overcome our weaknesses? Or are we seeing an oft-repeated analogy for the idea that there is evil in all of us? Or does this simply mean that the lead writer behind many of these projects and advisor on many others - Brian Bendis - needs to book some time on the couch?
Marvel seems to have developed its own Tyler Durden, beating itself up in the parking lot.
The First Rule About Fight Club is You Don't Talk About Fight Club
I'm certainly not suggesting that Marvel characters should drink more camomile tea and take anger management classes. As mentioned above, the superhero fight is an intrinsic part of the genre that couldn't be removed without losing the central premise. But I think Marvel needs to have the guts to follow through with the complexity and brilliance of the initial story ideas rather than have them devolve into mere fist-fights to quickly squeeze a resolution into the page count. Stories of heroism and adventure often involve physical conflict, but they also often involve ingenuity, reason and wit. I would love to read a final issue of a Marvel crossover that contained those elements for a change.
