Especially live
action.
So when I heard about “Arrow,” the new show on the CW about
DC’s Green Arrow, I knew I’d be setting my DVR to ‘capture.’
And I like the show, even if it does seem like someone
spliced scenes from an extreme workout video into the action (if I have to see
Ollie do his ‘climbing pull-up’ thing again, I’m going to have to put down my
burrito in shame.)
However they chose Green Arrow for a reason. He’s a normal guy who is extremely good with
a bow, an ability that doesn’t strain credibility too much for non-comic geek
audience. They don’t have to alter his
origin story to eliminate any supernatural or paranormal elements, and that
appeals to TV producers.
So they make it a show about a vigilante who uses a
real-life (if archaic) weapon to fight regular bad guys like drug dealers, white
collar criminals, and serial killers. No
problem. No boxing glove arrows, no
bright green tights, no Arrowmobile, just good old fashioned vigilante justice.
And then there are always nods thrown in to the geeks in the
audience, who are an ever growing demographic after all, and the networks are
always trying to capitalize on that. So
you mention Ferris Air or Hub City, or Santa Prisca, and everyone squees a
little, like we’ve just met someone else who’s been to Narnia. They can’t have Supes fly through the
background, but these casual mentions help you feel that you are actually in
the DC universe that you know and love.
But sooner or later (sooner, in the case of the show,) you
are going to want to bring in some other DCU characters. Good guys and bad guys, they help remind the
audience that this is, after all, a show based on a superhero. And if you don’t throw the occasional comic
character into the mix, you might alienate your geek fanbase.
In addition, nobody wants to see your superhero beat up on
guys in regular clothes all season, we want credible threats (which means
costumed villains with gimmicks,) as well as justifications for the hero’s need
to wear a costume while fighting crime (which means costumed villains with
gimmicks.)
And that’s where it starts.
You create this show with the full intention of ‘keeping it
real,’ maintaining a gritty, realistic story about the real world, without all
that nonsense about superpowers, magic, and aliens.
But he who would reboot superheroes must be careful lest he
become superheroic himself, and when you gaze into the comic book, the comic
book gazes also into you.
They start with ‘science villains,’ guys who have technology
based gimmicks, since our suspension of disbelief about what science can do in TV
shows is located roughly in the troposphere.
So they start going through the rogues gallery to look for
villains who can be explained away by advanced tech. People like Deadshot, Heat Wave, Captain
Cold, Merlyn, Captain Boomerang, etc. can easily be worked into such a show
with little modification.
This whets the audience’s appetite for more comic-book
action, and the writers start to stray more and more into the region of science
fiction and fantasy as the comic heritage comes forth.
And that’s great. The
cornier the show gets, the more I like it (along with many other fans.) By the time the show is nosediving towards
cancellation, the producers are willing to take chances by throwing more bones
to the comic geeks to try and salvage ratings till they can make 100 episodes for
syndication.
The cool part is watching this process develop. Arrow is the current example that I’m
enjoying. Be advised SPOILERS BELOW!
The first five minutes of the very first episode shows us
Deathstroke’s mask nailed to a post with an arrow through the eye. This was a big shout out as to what we could
expect from this show. They let you
know that they were not going to shy away from DCU references and cameos.
I missed the episode with Deadshot, and the Firefly
appearance doesn’t really count in my opinion, but then one episode ended with
a character talking about the new drug on the street, Vertigo.
Now, for those of you who are not familiar with DC comics,
one of Green Arrow’s recurring enemies was Count Vertigo, a guy with the
(technology-based) ability to mess with people’s equilibrium. I knew as soon as they mentioned this that it
wasn’t a coincidence.
Now Vertigo’s power stretches the believability, so I didn’t
figure they’d include it. But when they
said it was the name of a drug, I immediately said “ah-ha, Green Arrow is
totally going to get dosed with that drug when he fights Count Vertigo, thus
replicating the effects of his superpower.
All came to pass as was foretold, but the ending did
something interesting. They had
established that an overdose of the pure form of the drug would cause terrible
suffering, and the villain does this to a guy in the episode, so it was a
foregone conclusion that Count Vertigo would end up dosed with his own stuff.
But then at the end of the episode, a doctor is explaining
to the cop that she can’t help Count Vertigo, and that the drug has messed up
his mind, along with his equilibrium.
They drag him away on a gurney, screaming and foaming.
D’ja see that?
Huh? That there is an origin
story.
Later, he can come back after having radical surgery to try
and restore his brain. He will have implants
to restore his equilibrium, and he will discover he can use its power against other
people (this was the source of his power in the comic as well.)
This is a tease. They
know damn well they will one day open the floodgates on the character’s comic
book roots, and they are laying the groundwork.
And it sure will be fun to watch.
This won’t be the last ‘grim, gritty, more realistic’
superhero reboot on TV. Hell, the way
the money’s been going, fucking Moon Knight may get his own series one
day. And when they do show up, I hope
you will enjoy watching along with me as writers fight the urge to give in to
the light side.
You can’t keep your cape in the closet forever.
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