10 Overhyped Comic Books That Were Incredibly Mediocre
Transcript
00:00 The long-running nature of comic books means that, after a while, some of the ongoing storylines
00:04 might lose some of their luster and even relevance. Repeating tired tropes, bringing back dead
00:10 characters and/or returning the world to their original status quos can push away readers
00:16 and risk having their stories cancelled.
00:18 This is why, every now and again, a publishing company will announce a comic and tout it
00:22 as the next big thing, and use ominous taglines such as "Everything will change" to describe
00:28 the upcoming cataclysmic events. And as you can imagine, some of these just don't live
00:32 up to the hype, and in fact may be overhyped. And that's what we're here to discuss
00:37 today. As I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 Overhyped Comic Books That
00:42 Were Incredibly Mediocre.
00:44 10. Identity Crisis
00:46 In the last two years alone, DC has gone through two different crises and is about to go through
00:52 a third one. Despite this over-reliance on crossover stories, their crisis events have
00:57 been well-crafted and entertaining for the most part. Unfortunately, this can't really
01:01 be said for 2004's Identity Crisis, a widespread murder mystery that was unbelievably tone-deaf
01:07 and left a bad taste in most readers' mouths after they finished it. Following the death
01:11 of elongated man's wife Sue Dibny, the Justice League sets out to find the killer, before
01:16 they can strike again. In the process, the team learns the uncomfortable truths about
01:20 how far its members would be willing to go to protect themselves and their loved ones.
01:24 The story is rife with inconsistencies in the characterization of various heroes and
01:29 paints the normally united team in a disturbing and disjointed light. In addition to this,
01:33 the story's core component and its resolution were both underwhelming and definitely sexist,
01:39 showing that the creative team were unable of crafting a murder mystery that respected
01:42 the characters involved.
01:44 9. Civil War
01:46 Seeing heroes clash is conceptually interesting due to the prospect of knowing who is more
01:50 powerful and/or skilled. Furthermore, the ideological differences and situations that
01:55 force these heroes into conflict are even more compelling. Unfortunately, Marvel's
01:59 grand event missed the mark in delivering a satisfying hero vs hero showdown, despite
02:04 its potentially profound themes. Civil War may have given us moments such as Spider-Man
02:09 revealing his identity to the world and the iconic Captain America and Iron Man fight,
02:13 but at the same time, the heroes involved were woefully out of character and rather
02:18 unlikable.
02:19 Following a tragedy involving a rookie superhero team, The Nation calls for increased accountability
02:23 in the superhuman community. This culminates in the Superhero Registration Act, a document
02:28 whose content tore the Avengers and most superhero teams apart. Acts such as Tony Stark employing
02:34 supervillains to hunt down his former comrades and Reed Richards' construction of an extra-dimensional
02:38 prison for said heroes were not only despicable, but also robbed the story of its moral complexity.
02:44 Ultimately, the story's impact is undercut by a shakily defined act and a rather underwhelming
02:50 resolution.
02:51 8. Heroes in Crisis
02:53 Before its release, Heroes in Crisis seemed promising due to its proposed exploration
02:58 of the mental health of various superheroes in addition to the main murder mystery. Sadly,
03:02 the comic series handled these themes in an unconvincing and rather insensitive manner,
03:07 and its treatment of Wally West in particular left a lot to be desired. The story introduces
03:12 The Sanctuary, a secret rehabilitation center that caters to the needs of superheroes and
03:16 reformed villains. Following a mass shooting that claims the lives of characters such as
03:20 Wally West and Poison Ivy, the League investigates the heinous act with Booster Gold and Harley
03:25 Quinn as its main suspects.
03:27 As the mystery unfolds, two things become clear. One, the existence of The Sanctuary
03:32 is unsettling for the superhuman community, and two, Wally West's involvement in the
03:36 massacre is more convoluted and disturbing than initially expected.
03:40 And you know what? The mental health element of this story amounted to nothing, and seemed
03:44 to serve more as a selling point rather than a tasteful exploration of its character's
03:48 various psyches. This is seen in Wally's treatment, an act that strives to mine his
03:52 trauma for shock value more than anything else.
03:55 7. Old Man Logan
03:58 Old Man Logan is an intriguing exploration of a dystopian Marvel universe as well as
04:03 an older, more world-weary Wolverine. That said, some of its narrative elements were
04:07 pretty... well, terribly misguided in hindsight. The majority of the heroes in this timeline
04:12 are dead, and the rest are under the mercy of a cabal of supervillains such as Red Skull,
04:16 Kingpin, and a villainous Hulk who took over after wiping most of this Earth's superhero
04:20 community out.
04:22 An older Logan lives with his family in Hulk-controlled territory, and due to the pressures of the
04:26 former Powerhouse's family, sets out on a cross-country journey with Hawkeye. The
04:31 artwork here suitably captures the bleak and gory world the characters inhabit, but the
04:35 generic story itself paints them in a rather awful light. It is bleak to a fault, and while
04:41 this is the point of dystopic stories, it quickly gets exhausting to immerse yourself
04:45 into. Characters such as the Hulk and She-Hulk are extremely off-putting, and Logan's pacifism
04:51 feels rather undercooked, as its inciting incident is both inexplicable and rather infuriating.
04:57 All in all, this story has some intriguing aspects, but as a whole, it was kind of frustratingly
05:01 executed.
05:02 6. The New 52 as a Whole
05:05 For every post-crisis era or rebirth era in DC, we get the New 52, easily the most disappointing
05:11 initiative DC has undertaken in the modern age of comics. The decision to take away 10
05:16 or so years from the histories of most of DC's characters is fascinating on paper,
05:20 but the younger heroes, villains, and supporting characters were not as compelling as their
05:24 older counterparts, and felt like second-rate parodies of themselves. Characters such as
05:29 Superman and Starfire became unlikable in an attempt to make them more flawed, and most
05:33 heroes' costume designs made for uncomfortable sights due to their over-designed, tactical
05:38 armor-like nature. The continuity was all over the place as well. For starters, Batman
05:42 had multiple Robins and a 10-year-old son with Talia, despite being a hero for only
05:47 a few years. Such a discrepancy was reflective of the New 52's failed attempt to take countless
05:52 years of history and condense them into a relatively short time frame. Fortunately,
05:56 DC Rebirth was able to set most of these things right.
06:00 5. Fear Itself
06:02 This 2011 crossover event follows the machinations of the Serpent, an Asgardian fear god who
06:08 schemes to claim the throne of Asgard, which spelt 'Disaster for Earth'. Despite focusing
06:13 on the diabolical deity and the trio of Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man, the event was
06:17 a muddled tale with a questionable plot structure, lacklustre writing, and inconsequential nature.
06:23 Following the settlement of Asgard on Earth after the Siege storyline, Red Skull's daughter
06:27 Sin recovers a relic that transforms her into the Serpent's head. This sets off a chain
06:32 of events that imperils both Earth and Asgard and pushes the hero of the former to their
06:37 limits. Despite featuring fan-pleasing moments such as Captain America wielding Mjolnir,
06:42 the main story is poorly paced from the onset. Its build-up was poorly done as well, meaning
06:46 that the rest of the story did not flow as intended, and this served to work against
06:50 the far-reaching nature of the story. That said, the event's tie-ins made for entertaining
06:55 reads even if they undercut the impact of the main story in some instances.
06:59 4. A Death in the Family
07:01 It's not every day that readers actively choose the fate of a character via a phone
07:06 call, but this was indeed the case with A Death in the Family. Centering the story on
07:10 an unlikable Robin, Jason Todd, was ingratiating for readers back in 1988, but having the readers
07:16 kill him off was essentially an admission by the staff at DC that they were incapable
07:20 of redeeming Todd or making him more palatable for readers. Up until the titular death, the
07:25 story's tone is all over the place, and ranges from silly and Silver Age-esque to
07:30 disturbing and grim.
07:31 Let's talk about the Joker here. His tenure as Iran's ambassador to the UN is a poor
07:37 attempt at humor and arguably Islamophobic. All in all, one of Batman's most iconic
07:42 stories is a messy attempt at adding stakes in the Batman mythos and elevating Joker's
07:46 threat level.
07:47 3. Ultimatum
07:49 The ultimate Marvel imprint that ran from 2000 to 2015 was a mixed bag, to say the least.
07:55 The modern reimagining of classic Marvel characters and teams was criticized for its edgy take
07:59 on superheroes, and its dated attempts at this left a sour taste in most readers'
08:04 mouths. For every ultimate Spider-Man tale that was at least palatable, there was an
08:08 ultimate Captain America acting nationalistic, incestuous siblings, and an unsettling amount
08:13 of cannibalism. Suffice to say, Marvel's attempt to streamline their universe was a
08:17 bit of a mess.
08:18 This is best reflected in Ultimatum, the 2009 story that saw Magneto seeking revenge on
08:24 Earth for the deaths of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. His plans go horribly well, and
08:28 in the chaos, heroes such as Thor, the Wasp, Cyclops, Professor X, and Doctor Strange all
08:33 die, in addition to the countless lives around the globe. As much as the storyline helped
08:37 differentiate the ultimate universe from the main one, the gory deaths were disgusting
08:42 to see and felt like they were included to add shock value to the story more than anything
08:46 else. The ultimate universe powered on for a few more years after this event, but it
08:50 never fully recovered after this ghastly crossover.
08:53 2. All-Star Batman and Robin – The Boy Wonder
08:57 If you were to read this comic and expect a grand, emotionally stirring epic in the
09:01 vein of All-Star Superman, you would be in for a rude awakening. Frank Miller's retelling
09:05 of Robin's origin story completely butchered the likes of Batman, Robin, and other DC characters,
09:11 and is an example of the writer's jaded sensibilities not always working in a world
09:15 of heroes. The art by Jim Lee is reliably well-crafted, and is often considered to be
09:20 the saving grace of this comic.
09:22 Beyond that, readers are, well, treated to a cruel and sadistic Dark Knight who insists
09:26 to a young, grief-stricken Robin that he addresses him as the "Goddamn Batman". Not only
09:30 is the line unintentionally hilarious, it blatantly ignores the character's capacity
09:35 for warmth and empathy. In addition to that, the treatment of a young Dick Grayson is disturbing
09:40 to say the least, and strips Batman of whatever shreds of humanity he had left. His fellow
09:44 heroes, especially Green Lantern, are seen as ineffectual and only serve to reinforce
09:49 Batman's unstoppable persona. That said, Batman and Robin's takedown of Green Lantern
09:53 is hilarious, and almost feels like a mockery of the zany Silver Age of comics.
09:58 1. Spider-Man One More Day
10:01 Following the game-changing events of Civil War, Spider-Man fans were curious to see where
10:05 Marvel would take the beloved icon following the reveal of his secret identity to the world.
10:10 One More Day explores this new change to the status quo in initially interesting fashion,
10:15 before then going off the rails with its second half and conclusion. After Aunt May is shot
10:19 by a sniper and hospitalized, a desperate Peter turns to the likes of Doctor Strange,
10:24 the High Evolutionary, and even Doctor Doom for assistance. When none of them offer the
10:28 help that Peter needs, the demonic Mephisto offers to save May's life at the expense
10:32 of the hero's marriage to Mary Jane Watson.
10:34 While the story may be slightly lauded for emphasising how Spider-Man's life is defined
10:38 by sacrifice and protecting his loved ones from his heroic identity, the story's deus
10:43 ex machina resolution feels like a cheap and cynical attempt at returning the hero back
10:48 to the status quo. Removing his marriage to Mary Jane negates any chance at growth for
10:52 Peter, and involving Mephisto in the ordeal removes his agency as a character. Ultimately,
10:58 Peter Parker's past and future were disrespected in a story afraid to look at both periods
11:02 as a whole for the hero.
11:04 And there we go my friends, those were 10 overhyped comic books that were incredibly
11:08 mediocre. I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about
11:11 it down in the comments section below. As always I've been Jules, you can go follow
11:14 me over on Twitter @RetroJay but the O is a zero, and the same for Instagram, RetroJay
11:19 but the O is a zero. Hope to see you over there. As always I've been Jules, you have
11:23 been awesome, never forget that, and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.