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Well, in just a few days from this writing, the
second installment in what many have called The Best
Super-Hero Movie Ever hits the big screen. Of course,
I'm talking about Spider-Man 2, and I for one am glad
they didn't try to get clever with the title. There's
absolutely nothing wrong with numbering sequels, as
far as I am concerned.
So, this time out, the big villain is Doctor Octopus,
a good choice, plenty of visual appeal and a good
opponent for Spider-Man. Of course, knowing I had this
column coming up, and thinking about the movie, I got
to wondering about some of the other Spidey villains,
one of which appears in the sequel, presumably before
his investigations into cellular regeneration have
unleashed the monstrous Lizard. Too bad, I think they
could do an awesome job with the Lizard, these days.
The one in the MTV Spider-Man cartoon was fantastic.
But, what about the other guys?
I mentioned the MTV cartoon, which includes such
classic Spidey villains as Electro, Kaven the Hunter
and Silver Sable, not to mention the Kingpin, straight
out of the Daredevil movie, voice by Michael Clarke
Duncan himself. There are a few villains original to
the series which serves to make it stand on it's own,
though it does floow the movie continuity a great
deal.
Still, there's room for a few of the old classics,
I'd think. The cartoon version of Electro is a bit of
a tragic figure, rather than the super-powered thug
from the comics. Then, too, there's the "Ultimate"
version of Electro, sort of a skinhead in black
tights. So far, neither the cartoon, nor Ultimate
Spider-Man has shown us a new version of some other
classic Spider-Man villains, such as The Vulture and
The Scorpion.
I was thinking about these three characters, and how
they might be interpreted for a movie version. Take
Electro, for a start. Electrical powers are ideal for
the movies, they offer lots of opportunity for those
nifty special effects we all enjoy so much. So the
trick is interpreting the character. The movie version
of Norman Osborne wasn't too far from the comics, but
as the Green Goblin, he was quite different, visually,
anyway. The classic fright mask was reinterpreted as a
stylized helmet, the scale mail bodysuit as segmented
electronically enhanced body armor, but the attitude
was still there.
As mentioned earlier, in the MTV cartoon, there's an
element of tragedy in the character of Electro. In
this version, Max Dillon is an exceptionally bright,
socially inept student who is transformed into a kind
of electrical being when he is struck by lightning, in
a cloud of escaping neon gas. There's no real costume,
he's just a kind of scarred-looking jerky figure in
shades of blue. In the Ultimate imprint books, he's
just a black-clad bald guy with an attitude. Not shown
as really evil, just ruthless and amoral, and easily
led.
If I was adapting Electro to a movie, I think I'd
borrow the college student angle from the cartoon, but
keep him something of a thug, as in the comics.
Something of a bully, who got supercharged with
electricity, somehow. Of course, he needs a costume,
otherwise, why are we here? I'd like to steer away
from the obvious. I mean, when a guy is hurling
lightning bolts at you, and his name is Electro, do
you really need the lightning bolts on the costume? I
like the idea of a mask, for heroes and villains,
because even villains have a need for a secret
identity. What I came up with, as on the order of a
containment suit. Black rubberized material, with
sensors and conduits built in. I like the idea of
shades, because it seems unlikely that he'd be lucky
enough to get special flash-proof eyes with his
electrical powers, so I went with something like a
cross between welders goggles and wraparound shades.
These also fit in the mask.
One of the classic Spidey villains I've always loved
to hate is the Vulture. First of all, there's my
fascination with flight. On top of that, I like the
idea of being able to strap on wings or a jetpack and
soar through the skies. The Vulture is a bit different
from the other winged characters in comics, for one
thing, his wings are strapped to his arms, for
another, he's an old guy. Also, he has an unhealthy
attachment to the color green, which he finally seems
to have shed, based on the latest costume design in
Marvel Knights Spider-Man. This time it's more read
and black, which looks nice and sinister.
Part of designing the Vulture costume for a movie is
going to be based on the casting choices. Personally,
I'd like to see a Vulture in his 50s, at least. Keep
him skinny, with bird-like features. As far as the
costume, it's unlikely that an older guy would go for
the classic tights, in favor of something a bit more
protective. His wings are metal blades, more or less,
which are used for propulsion in flight. His main
"lift" is provided by an electromagnetic anti-grav
harness.
One of the things that always bothered me about comic
book villains is their motivations. As an example, the
Vulture is a crusty old fart who was laughed at
because of his outlandish theories and assertions, and
he uses his invention to extract revenge against the
society that rejects him. Okay....let me get this
straight, the guy invents a simple, portable,
affordable, RELIABLE personal flight system and he has
to STEAL money? This guy's two main problems in life
would be getting the FAA to approve the sale and
counting his billions. He couldn't build the things
fast enough! Ah well....willing suspension of
disbelief...willing suspension of disbelief...willing
suspension of disbelief.
So, spandex is out, but what about neoprene? Wetsuits
are fairly comfortable and they're designed to hold in
body heat, which would be a factor at altitude and
high speeds. I'd also give him a fleece-lined leather
sleeveless jacket. I like visible straps, so I have it
strapped securely on his torso and arms. And a pair of
goggles, of course.
And last, but certainly not least in this exercise,
the Scorpion. Now, this is a villain I just can't help
hating. First, he's got this plain green bodysuit,
powered armor that's fused to his body and then
there's that tail. Ugh! What a horrible design! I can
see it probably took all of 30 seconds to design this
character! One revision of Spider-Man, John Byrne's
now-forgotten revamp from a few years back, had a more
interesting version of the Scorpion. The suit is
fairly standard Byrne super-hero armor, but at least
it looks like armor. Also it's shiny black/blue metal.
What was the deal with every damn Marvel villain from
the 60s and the color green?
For my Scorpion, I went with the powered armor
concept, but in a somewhat different direction. I
tried a couple of sketches with the close-fitting
comic style headgear, but then a rough sketch with a
bulkier, domelike helmet seemed to click for me. Also,
this is something you could build as a suit. I figure
this is a prtottype suit, which would explain why he
gets locked into it and why it's not armored
completely.
Since this is the Scorpion, we're stuck with a tail
of some sort, so why not use it as something more than
a club. In the comics, he also has an acid squirting
stinger on the tail and a "low density plasma
projector". It's a weapons platform. I designed the
segmented tail so that it can extend and contract and
so it's range of motion would allow movement in the
range that the comic character has been shown to
employ. However, under no friggin circumstances would
he coil it up and spring on it!!!
Well, that's all for this month. First report on
Spider-Man 2 is in, my friend Jeff saw a "sneak"
preview this afternoon and is giving the movie rave
reviews. I guess they're setting the bar just a little
higher for the next super-hero flick. Suits me.
Oh, one more thing. I'm in the process of completing
a cover for Academy of Super-Heroes #50, which should
be out later this month. I love this series and am
always trying to direct new readers over there, so
keep an eye out and check it out.
http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/ASH/
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