The other day, I dropped in at the local comic shop and finally managed to get the hardback version of the X-Men Masterworks Volume 1. I already had the trade paperback but I also wanted the hardback because of the glossy paper.
While at the shop, I noticed that Marvel has revamped the Ghost Rider so he's now known as Cosmic Ghost Rider. Revamping is good because it keeps the characters fresh. But no, not in this case because they spoiled it all because now the Ghost Rider has been taken over by The Punisher! Yes, the Punisher is the new Ghost Rider! Never liked the Punisher at all, for reasons that I have already explained in a previous post. But I've always enjoyed the Ghost Rider. The only revamping I liked was the version with Robbie Reyes. So I was pleasantly surprised when the Reyes version appeared on a couple of episodes from the TV series, Shield.

Back in the 1970s, what first drew me to the Ghost Rider was when someone told me there is a new superhero just like Evel Knievel! Some of you might remember Evel Knievel who made a big splash in the media with his daredevil motorcycle stunts. Always eager to see Knievel's sensational stunts, it made me take a shine to the Ghost Rider.

Two new trailers are out today. Upcoming movies in the DCEU.

Aquaman - Official Trailer 1



Shazam! - Official Teaser Trailer

I think Aquaman looks great. Black Manta perhaps a little cartoony, but still looks good.

Shazam, looks silly. Too much playing up the kid in the man's body. I hope the movie rises above that.

I pretty much agree with Cliff. Aquaman looks pretty good although some of the CGI of the fish looked a bit too fake. I think Shazam just looks horrible and I can't believe it's in the same universe as the other DC heroes. His costume is horrible, looks like he's wearing pillows under the suit. I put it in the same league as Power Rangers.

The sentiments of Cliff and Rockwall are understandable. But while the film Shazam's characterization seems to put emphasis on the juvenile, the point must be made that it was also the case in the original magazine, in the first place. After all, what would one expect from a comic which had a Talking Tiger and even a Talking Caterpillar? So actually the movie adaptation remains faithful to its original source.
At the same time, I agree with the disappointment of Cliff and Rockwall. Or to put it more accurately,I share their same taste. That is, the preference for the "straightforward" superhero. The same as myself, I think Cliff and Rockwall would prefer the 1940s movie serial version of Captain Marvel that starred Tom Tyler. While the serial included the kid Billy Batson, his presence was downplayed in favor of the heroic title character.

Since most of the source work for these is over 50 years old some adaptation for the times seems necessary.

I have seen the Tom Tyler serials and yes, I enjoyed them very much. Captain Marvel (Shazam) always made me wonder how effective a rag in the mouth is at preventing someone from speaking.

My problem with the Shazam trailer is, I’ve never known Billy Batson to be aware inside Captain Marvel’s (Shazam’s) body! I was of the impression they were two separate personalities. I did like that they slipped Freddy in there. But again, if he becomes Captain Marvel Jr. (Shazam Jr.?) What would his magic word be?

Shazbot?

It depends on which revamp you turn to. Because I know of at least three revampings of Shazam. Because in order to keep the characters fresh, they are revamped once in awhile.
Another thing to consider is that Shazam (the elderly wizard) was destroyed by the Spectre when the Spectre went berserk. That's why I've always had mixed-emotions about the Spectre. He's much too powerful that you could even call him Omnipotent. One DC writer has even stated that the Spectre is the Almighty God himself in leotards.

In some stories The Spectre answers to at least one higher authority.

I like the idea of Shazam with child's perspective.

[quote]On Jul 29, 2018, Dannydoyle wrote:
Since most of the source work for these is over 50 years old some adaptation...

What would you want changed?

And how would an update serve as pointer to ancient literature?

[quote]On Aug 4, 2018, Jonathan Townsend wrote:

Along those lines,the Golden Age had the Star-Spangled Kid. He was a millionaire kid but what made him unique was that his Sidekick was an Adult. In other words,the Kid was the Boss, and the Adult was the subordinate. lol

Somewhat along those lines you mention of 2 personalities sharing the same body, there was a Flash story from the 1960s where Gorilla Grodd, in order to escape from Gorilla City's prison, took a risky chance by sending out his mind randomly. The risk was that he did not know what kind of body that his mind would wind up in. He could wind up in the body of a fish or an insect. Luckily for him, his mind ended up in the body of a man named Dawson. In Dawson's body, he found a job at a circus to be an animal trainer specifically apes of course. The gorilla act is a smashing success but Grodd also uses the same apes to commit crimes.

To make a long story short, when Grodd is defeated and apprehended by the Flash, it is of course Dawson who goes to prison since Grodd still occupies that body. It is at that point that we find a glaring discrepancy. Because in the issue that came about an year later when Dawson has finished his prison sentence, the Warden notices that Dawson has become very hairy on his face and arms. Then when Dawson has been finally released and is outside of the prison, his body suddenly changes into Grodd's body!

The question is, what ever happened to Dawson? Ever since then, it was never explained and was left up in the air. It was as though the writer purposely ignored Dawson, the writer thinking that the present reader would not even know about Dawson. But what about the readers who had the previous issue. They were left up in the air.

Sometimes, though, DC makes an effort to resolve discrepancies. Because at one point, readers were complaining that Jay Garrick does not wear any mask and yet manages to preserve his secret identity. So the editor came up with a pretty decent explanation. That is, when Jay Garrick is the Flash, he vibrates at such a frequency that his facial-features become blurred.

Same as Jonathan Townsend, I agree that the Spectre would be great for a live-action movie. It has already been done as an animated short, and from that short we can see the unique elements that would make him great for a live-action version.

And what is that element? What it is, is that the Spectre uniquely combines Superheroism with Horror. After all, the Spectre is a ghost. Well, actually an angel and ghost at the same time, as there is that paradoxical aspect to his character.

When I say Horror, I don't mean the version written by Gardner Fox but the later version written by Michael Fleischer. The Horror aspect could be seen in the gruesomeness of the punishments meted out by the Spectre. One example is where the Spectre transforms the criminal into an actual wooden log. Then the Spectre materializes a Buzz-saw to slice the wooden man into multiple pieces just like a loaf of bread.

My point is that the potential box office success of the Spectre could come from the fact that the Spectre combines Superheroism with Horror, so it could attract both Superhero fans as well as Horror fans.

I certainly like your Spectre idea Orville, but I have a question. Since no mere human can really pose any kind of credible or believable threat to The Spectre, who is the villain of the movie?

Good question, Cliff. The way I see it, there are several possible answers. Way back during the 1960's in issue #8 of The Spectre, he acted rashly so his energy bolt accidentally struck an innocent passer-by. For his impatience and rashness (even though the passerby survived), the "Higher Power" penalized him with a weakness that would become apparent only during times of stress when the Spectre was most likely to act rashly. So, surprisingly,in this case, a mere human was powerful enough to rival the Spectre himself. In fact, the sorcerer, Narkran, had absorbed too much energy from an incantation so that his human body could not contain the ever-increasing power, to the point that before long he would explode. So this was a rare case where a mere human could stand toe-to-toe with the Spectre. The idea of course is to give the Spectre a weakness, albeit temporarily.

Another way is more obvious. That is, to give the Spectre an adversary who is equal to him in power, therefore a Spirit-being. This was done in the Showcase comics issue back in the 60s when DC was in the process of reviving Golden-age heroes. In that Showcase issue, the Spectre fought against Shatan. Note the addition of the letter "h". If that letter is taken away, you know who you wind up with. Anyway, Shatan is shown to have come into existence at the very moment of the Big Bang.
(Note: One telling example of Spectre's extreme power is shown when he tries to punch Shatan but misses. The blow missed but has not ended, for that disembodied-fist hurtles across the multiple billion light years of the universe-- to return-- since space-time is curved-- and strike Shatan's head from behind! In other words, since space-time is curved, the Spectre's fist had traveled across the entire universe!!)

3rd possible idea for the Spectre is that if the focus is on the Horror, then his omnipotent power could be totally disregarded. That power would still be there of course but the emphasis would be on the horror. In this case, mere humans would pose no threat to the Spectre at all so there will be no tension, no challenge for the Spectre. That lack would be compensated by focus on Spectre's alter-ego Jim Corrigan.

You might have some other possible ideas, Cliff. If you do, I would be interested in hearing them.

Sorry Orville, I just don't see it the way you do. If we put the Spectre up against Shatan or any other "godlike" antagonist, You end up with most of the movie focused on Corrigan and other "earthbound" issues. This could make for a long drawn out movie, or a very esoteric one like the hour and a half ones that used to be produced for TV in the 1970's (did you see Peter Hooten as Dr. Strange?) Lots of weird stuff happens, but much does not move the plot along.

I see more of a set up like the first Chris Reeve Superman movie. Luthor knows Superman can break him in half in a microsecond, so he sets up a situation to make the Man of Steel fly out fast, but then distracts him with kryptonite.

Imagine some arcane human gets more power than he can control from a talisman, or is taken over by an evil deity or entity and sets out to destroy the universe. The Spectre needs to stop this. he has some lesser entities to get through, who can delay him and hurt him but not truly stop him or kill him. Hopefully, they won't give Corrigan a girlfriend to imperil. Honestly, if they do that, the Spectre should let the girl die while fighting for the greater good. He should not be concerned about the loss of one insignificant human life; though Corrigan would.

I remember the sudden weakness days and thought it was kind of silly myself. I also remember the vengeful spirit of the early 70's. Was that Jim Aparo doing the artwork?

Omnipotent being movies are tough to make interesting.

James Corrigan might not be so happy to change into The Spectre - something similar to how the Jason Blood character tries to live out his immortal days between times Merlin calls on The Demon. Though better to have Corrigan given the chance to live out only his mortal days as detective toward a quiet retirement. Solve the case or else The Spectre may act on the matter. Just for fun put some Chris Ware comics in the background.