frizzlebyte said:
Thus far, what I've liked about the MCU is that it's balanced a popcorn action-flick atmosphere for people who aren't that familiar with the history behind each character, while (presumably) not being ashamed of the source material.
I agree, honestly. I do know these characters, but I like the fact that we have a movie series that isn't bogged down by all the continuity. I'm not coming at it from the same place, but comics can be an expensive hobby, and I am just not in love with the material to the point I can justify the expense. But for different reasons, we're sort of in the same boat.
I just can't see a character with a name like "Ant-Man" being popular with the mass-market audience that Disney's targeted with all the other films. It simply doesn't sound appealing.
I know that probably sounds terrible to people who actually know something abut the character, but I'm writing this as someone who's basing their gut-level reaction to a character they're not familiar with. At all.
Then again, I thought the same thing about Captain America, so perhaps I'll be wrong about this movie, too.
I get that reaction, though. It's sort of like Aquaman. No matter how badass he's portrayed in the comics, most people think of him as "lol he can talk to fish." And it doesn't help here that Ant Man is frequently thought of in similar terms. When he does show up in pop culture, it's often in the context of talking to or riding ants.
I've personally never much liked the character, but I think this is a bigger issue.
With Cap, at least they had the option of blending him into a movie with a real WW2 feel. People like that sort of movie. With Ant-Man, I think people are going to expect sort of the same, but with a B-movie shlock feel. Whether it's true or not.
And I wonder if faith in Marvel can carry that through.
