Expert: Grant Hudson - 9/6/2009

Question
Hi Grant, I have a few comic book related questions, but first a little context.

I’m an aspiring screenwriter currently embarking on a new project and whilst ordinarily I’d avoid the whole Superhero-based-movie arena, I feel I have a killer concept. The problem is I’m okay with post 90’s comic-dom, but not so hot on older stuff. The silver and golden age type stuff.

On that note to my questions :)

1. What are the worst/most obscure Origin stories ever? Bitten by radioactive spiders? Zapped by lightning? Given a super-serum? This includes supervillains too.

2. What are the best examples of villains who are a by-product of the hero? In other words which supervillains were created by something the hero did?

3. What are the best example of diametrically opposing foes? In other words Submariner (man of water) battles The Human Torch (man of fire). Any better ones? The more obscure the better.

4. What are your favorite examples of odd in-jokes, ironies, inconsistencies in comic books? As a for instance, Captain America, Blond haired and blue-eyed, the peak of physical perfection, fights the Nazis to prevent them creating a Aryan race of....errr...blonde haired, blue-eyed peaks of physical perfection. Spiders don’t shoot webs from their wrists. It’s closer to their An*s and would make for a considerably different Spidey. Any others?   

Bare in mind I’m trying to lean towards the kind of characters non-comic book fans might recognize (since it’s aimed at movie-goers in general). That said I’d be interested in anything that fits.

Thanking you in advance. I appreciate your help.

regards

Alex


Answer
1. Check out this website. Take each hero and enter them into Google. You'll be amazed what comes up:

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/lists/24FrankSmith.html

2. Batman sort of "created" the Joker, though the back story varies on that (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joker_(comics)). It's difficult to give a full answer to this because so many arch-enemies are in some way the "product" of the hero -Spiderman and Venom, Superman and Bizarro, Jean Grey and Dark Phoenix, Flash and Reverse Flash (!) and so on...

3. Diametrically opposed foes could include just about anybody -you have good suggestions there yourself. You may get more ideas from this site

http://superherouniverse.com/wiki/Main_Page

and I advise you to check "Amalgam Universe" which I think you may find inspiring: it's the universe which Marvel and DC put together based on combinations of their heroes, a cross-company cross-over.

4. As far as ironies goes, again the possibilities are limitless. For example, the alien from the planet Krypton who fights for Truth, Justice and the American Way; Batman the multi-billionaire reclusive schizophrenic; how does Cyclops actually see anything?; the Scarlet Witch actually married a robot; Wonder Woman is made of clay; various jokes relating to the stretchability of Mr. Fantastic come to mind; how does Dr. Doom shave? the theological concerns relating to a Norse Thunder God loose in Manhattan, and so on...

Check out this site:

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2008/08/10-obscure-supe

And you may also find this one interesting:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18653636/Superhero-Movies

Hope all that was some help. Let me know how you get on and if there's anything else I can do.

Grant