Am I the only one who can't get into the X-men - Mutant genre?

[Baitball Blogger]

It just seems to me that they keep rehashing the same plotlines over and over again. It's usually a combination of ordinary people who are fearful and distrustful of the mutant powers combined with power struggles within the mutant ranks where rogues provide a good reason for those fears. And sometimes they pick the same person to go psycho (Yes, Jean, I mean you.) I couldn't name one real villain that they fought against that wasn't also a mutant or ordinary person who is concerned about the human casualties that are incurred with all the mutant infighting.

It's like a bad novella and I've learned to be distrustful of timeline changes because all I can think about is, Oh, shit, here we go again. Reset, retread.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. You are not the only one.

I have never understood the appeal of those characters. Never read those comics, which is perhaps a bit of a problem, but I suppose the movies are more or less stand alone.

[femmocrat]

2. I don't know what any of that stuff is.

I don’t know or care what The Avengers or Justice League is either. There are so many better ways to spend one’s time, IMO.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. Saw endgame last night.

Money well spent.

Something to say about the Avengers. I think there were 22 movies that comprise that phase of Marvel, each movie bringing in new actors and characters. Was not interested with the traditional characters like Thor, Ironman or Captain America so I was late to the game and...it didn't matter. I stepped in with Guardians of the Galaxy and saw Antman and Black Panther before I realized there was a bigger picture.

Glad I did get a chance to enjoy the ride.

[femmocrat]

5. I did see Black Panther.

I enjoyed it a lot. Thanks for the recommendations. I’ll check into some of the others. I didn’t realize that it wasn’t a serial storyline.

[Baitball Blogger]

7. You'll probably pick up the background the way I did.

After those three, I saw the young spiderman movie (It is a different take than the others) and that's how I backtracked to see Tony Stark's (Ironman's) storyline. And I didn't even bother with Captain America until Antman brought him up. The character movies can be stand-alones, but there are just enough easter eggs and teasers to pick up your interest to find out what happened in other movies.

[earthshine]

17. Isn't your avatar the image of Agent Carter?

Agent Carter, who is Cap't America's girlfriend?

Cap't America, who is the "First Avenger"?

I, personally, find both the Avengers and Justice League series of movies to be a lot of fun.

[femmocrat]

18. Yes! Thank you.

I loved the TV series. Wish they hadn’t cancelled it.

[playaseeker]

3. This story ran out of gas a long time ago

Every new movie is just another performance of a one-note symphony.

[calimary]

6. Nope.

Present and accounted for!

And furthermore, I’m NOT into any of this Avenger stuff, or whatever the latest contrived “superhero” type is. OR a lot of reckless car chases. Or a whole lot of gratuitous shooting and outrageous guns ‘n’ ammo and big-ass over-inflated musculature and gnarly-looking hairy hormonally-expanded or half-metal (usually male) mutants. Or a lot of explosions and fight scenes and wholesale destruction and other special effects. NO!!!

So fucking tiresome!!!

Shit, why don’t they just arm a bunch of enlarged penises and send ‘em into fire ‘n’ brimstone “battle”? Or have a movie featuring a hero who actually has big-ass guns popping out of his skin? How far will they push it?

Just fucking TIRESOME! I look at the ads for the new movies. Yawn. “Nope.” “No, not that one.” “Crap. Are they kidding?” “Screw that!” “Oh for Pete’s sake...” (which quickly turns into “oh for Fuck’s sake!”). Leafing through the movie section of ANY Sunday paper, that’s what it is, for me. Or it’s all this animation stuff that - when that’s all there is, over and over and over and over and over and more of the same over and over and over...

Discouraging. There’s virtually nothing worth going to see. Maybe because now is the front porch to “summer blockbuster” season.

I’d rather settle down with a good book. Or the Mueller report.

[Baitball Blogger]

8. Reading is by far the superior experience.

No question there. But I will say that movies are quicker.

[calimary]

12. Yep. Movies ARE quicker.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. No, you aren't. I've never been interested in the superhero/fantasy/comic book genre.

I always thought if it as something for kids and never understood why anyone over 17 was interested in any of it. I guess I'd rather chase those damn kids off my lawn and settle down with a good book.

[RandySF]

10. I'm burned out from my days as a comic book reader.

and I HATED Cylcops.

[ProudLib72]

13. You hated Cyclops?

Because of the whole love triangle thing or because he's arrogant?

[RandySF]

14. He's a dick to everyone.

[First Speaker]

15. I was a fan of the X-Men since #1 in 1963...

...and what they ended up doing to Scott--in essence, making him a dick--has probably upset me more than anything Marvel ever did. Of all characters, back in the 60s, who I would definitely say would *not* turn out to be an arrogant dick, Scott Summers would have led the list. Something went very wrong with Marvel along the way, and the Scott-Jean-Emma matrix for me was at the heart of it. As well as stuff like glorifying Sabertooth, of all people...I finally gave up a few years ago. They certainly didn't give a shit about their old fans, and indeed, more-or-less explicitly said they were trying to drive us away. I decided to take them at their word.

[Ron Obvious]

11. Nope. I deeply loathe the whole superhero genre

But they're really profitable, as they're so moronic they don't require translation, thought, or understanding of cultural concepts, so they can easily be marketed worldwide.

The free market rewards profitability, not quality. See also Reality TV.

[First Speaker]

16. I don't think it's any more inherently "moronic" than other genres...

...like, say, Restoration Comedy, classic 18th Century Gothic novels, the classic whodunit, or Western novels. It may not be the highest art, but it is a craft, and in the hands of Lee-Kirby, Frank Miller, Claremont-Byrne, and a few others, has some enduring pleasures. As for the films--I don't see much difference, at a glance, between, say, the Avengers films, and the Universal horror pics, or Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes. As long as you don't expect Shakespeare--or even Hitchcock--you can have a good time...