User blog:ARTaylor/Whatever Happened to Marvel Animation?

I was on Twitter the yesterday (by the way did you know this site has a Twitter account?) when Vice President of Animation and producer Stephen Wacker began answering questions on his Tumblr page. One anonymous person asked "Any chance Marvel will start doing straight to DVD animated films (adaptation or otherwise) like DC has been doing for years?" Wacker replied "No plans at the moment. Not a model that makes sense for us right now."

For comparative purposes, Marvel released their fourteenth direct-to-video film with while DC Comics is releasing their twenty-second DTV feature later this month with a twenty-third and twenty-fourth currently in production. In theaters Marvel is kicking ass and taking names. There were five films based on Marvel Comics last year and none from DC. So what happened? Did Marvel's balls drop off? Why is DC going strong and Marvel giving up?

Marvel has the advantage in the live-action movie department, but clearly DC has control of the animated field. DC's recent film slate announcement is obviously a copy of Marvel's plans since they made Iron Man. So why is Marvel not copying their animated model?

The problem is not that the model doesn't work. DC has shown that the model works. The problem is the quality Marvel put into the model. Granted their recent output has been less than spectacular. Okay, it's downright crappy. and were merely okay at best while the two Heroes United movies were awful. It's a telling fact that the Iron Man & Captain America movie was only advertised the day Iron Man & Hulk came out and when it was released there was little to no fanfare so that almost no one knew it was out. I enjoyed the two anime movies merely okay, but the whole time I watched I was just dreading the eventual recap I will inevitably do.

It's not like DC hasn't had their clunkers, but they've continued on. Whenever something wasn't good or didn't sell well they course corrected. They saw what didn't work and fixed it for next time. Marvel's response to their lousy movies is to quit entirely. They did good work before. ,, , and all received lots of praise. The problem is not to quit, it's to make better stories. Stop the lousy anime and stupid Heroes United and just make good stories again. What's wrong with adapting stories like Secret Wars, World War Hulk, or Infinity Gauntlet? The DTV videos were made with the intention of doing the stuff the live-action films couldn't. And while the live stuff is getting more bold, animation is still where anything and everything can happen. brought together two heroes who could never appear together live. used a story that would not make sense to yet do in the MCU. gave us something entirely new the live stuff wouldn't even attempt. The problem is not that DTV isn't a viable option, but that it simply needs to be done well. Anything can work as long as it's done well.

Quitting is the DC live-action model. When Green Lantern and Catwoman failed they gave up resigning themselves to only Batman and Superman films, and when Superman Returns failed to bring the massive success they wanted (it was a moderate success financially) they also gave up on the big Boy Scout. It was only when Marvel had their success with the Cinematic Universe that DC tried again. And trying they are. But Marvel is making a self-fulfilling prophecy. They don't have faith that DTV sells so they put less effort in. Fans notice the lower quality and don't buy, thus proving the initial assumption correct. But good stuff sells, and the more they maintain and increase quality the more they will sell.

Marvel can't win if they don't compete.

This brings us to the larger problem: Marvel Animation simply isn't putting in the same quality. is hardly the Spider-Man series we need or deserve. It's for kids and kids alone, providing terrible jokes and poor story so that children will get into comics. Remember stuff like, , , or ? These shows, while being appropriate for children, also appealed to adults and longtime fans. I grew up watching the shows of the 90s, and when I went back to watch them I still loved them. I've revisited several shows from my childhood and found many were not as good as I remembered but at least and  were. They didn't belittle the audience as does with lowest common denominator storytelling. What's worse is that set the standard that  and  then followed. I've watched a few episodes thanks to free releases from iTunes, and they're getting worse. has such potential, just watch the film, but not with the current trends from Marvel Animation.

This seems to be an industry-wide trend. DC cancelled serious stuff like Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice. For what? Teen Titans Go!? Now I know got caught up in a legal loophole. But did really need to be cancelled? Especially for, where an episode revolves around Falcon hiding that he's a superhero from his mother for the dumbest of reasons. What happened to Bruce Timm's animated universe, where the characters were taken seriously and parents could enjoy it along with their kids? Did executives forget about this? Do they not remember how well they did and how they still sell DVDs? Entertainment is an industry of imitation, what worked once can work again. So why are they not imitating the success they once had?

What do you think? What's your opinion on what's wrong with the industry? Certainly we don't need more Heroes United, but is quitting entirely the right move for Marvel?