I'm Just Sayin': We need to chill out

Watching the second episode of Defenders and I stop and wonder why anyone wouldn’t love this. I mean, I understand. There’s always going to be those who tear down what’s been built up. Those who haven’t a creative urge in their being and just hate on everything. No, I get it. But when something like this or Iron Fist comes out and people don’t appreciate it for the accomplishment it is, I don’t…. get…it.

And, I know. I’m easy. But that’s not it. I’m have discerning tastes. I stay away from some things others call great because I value my eyes, mind and time. I just recently binged watched Game of Thrones and actually felt a little sorry I hadn’t jumped on long ago. But, for every Game of Thrones, there are a myriad of other projects that don’t rate my time. So why am I here defending the…well…Defenders. Why does it grate me when people go on and on about Danny Rand aka Iron Fist being white when it’s been that way from the beginning? Race isn’t the point here either. It’s more about people who get lost in the rhetoric and popular internet jokes and jump on the Troll wagon because it seems fashionable. I’ve caught myself jumping on my own fair share of bandwagons. And I’ve long since come to my senses and jumped right back off. It’s so easy to get lost in the floods of memes and Facebook wars and not have an independent thought of your own.

Do I sound angry? I think I’m sounding a little angry. And you have no idea why.

That’s crux the problem.

You see, I was born at the Genesis of the comic boom. Most of Marvels mainstays began while I was an infant. And I grew up with them all. And, not just Marvel. I soaked up all the JLA, Legion of Superheroes and, later on, New Teen Titans I could get my hands on. I was raised in the Silver Age of comics ON comics. It’s the one thing I haven’t done yet that I feel I was born to do. As scholars of yore were raised on the myths of their forefathers, I was raised to spout verbatim the origin stories of all the heroes of my time. I idolized them and I grew up alongside them. It was a part of my very makeup. It was who I was.

I survived the 70s and 80s with heroes like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Walter Simonson…oh, the list could go on for days and I would still miss someone important. There were the builders of the new age and I wanted to do what they did.

But, I’ve gone on and on way too long. What’s the point to all of this? What would I say to the uninformed and uninitiated of this age who playfully pick apart what I have lived to see?

Let me explain that last statement with a question.

Do you know how long I’ve waited to see Luke Cage and Danny Rand meet in living color? I’d have to say since the later 70s when they got their own title. It’s been one-year shy of 40 since the two of them hit the stands. And we’re just now getting to see them together on Netflix. And you ask me why I’m so excited and not joining you in trashing this occasion. Sorry, I can’t. Not only does it not deserve being crapped on, the series will continue on, believe me, but it’s a small part of a childhood dream I didn’t realize I had.

I had no idea that I would spend the past decade reliving the heroes that I grew up on. I didn’t know I would get to see them portrayed by great actors in real, live action. No idea. I tell this generation the same thing all the time. They have no idea the value of the entertainment they are getting. They are barraged constantly by comic book properties because it’s the IN thing to produce right now. There’s money in it. When I was growing up, as I raised my family, there was no way I was getting a big budget production of something from a “kids comicbook”. Oh, sure. I cheered Christopher Reeve in Superman and Michael Keaton in the original Batman movies, but it was few and far between.

Now, don’t get me wrong. You don’t have to feel the way I do about it. Heck, there’s really no way you can. I’m just asking you to judge things even handed. Admire it for the story it is. Will everything be gold? Maybe not to you. Maybe not at all. I’m just asking you to stop and think. While we watch movie companies like Warner/DC jump through hoops trying to appease the fans and not step on too many toes, I'm just hear hoping that they don't throw the baby out with the bathwater altogether. In other words, this comic properties bandwagon could end at any moment. They will especially rethink their investments if getting the fans to the theater to buy their product is more trouble than its worth.

You see, to them, it’s not about nostalgia and childhood heroes. It’s about the money those nostalgia hounds and grown up children spend. And, when we scrutinize every movie that comes out overly harsh and rage over petty idiocies, don’t expect them to make as many of the films. I’m sure, when the online wars the nerdcore light up destroy the momentum of another comic property project, the fists full of money will find other projects with fans who are easier to please.

I'm just sayin'...

BDC