How much do we expect from comic book movies? I’ll admit to being just as guilty as many people are of this failing since the idea is that when we hear about the possibility of a favored comic book being turned into a movie or even a TV series, many people get understandably excited. But one mistake that a lot of people tend to make is that they begin to build up expectations in their minds of what should be put into a single movie, what story would be best, and what everything should look like when all is said and done. As I just mentioned, I’m just as bad as anyone when it comes to expecting a comic book movie to turn out the way that a lot of us remember, but lowering your expectations isn’t something that many people are willing to do. When thinking of heroes such as the Justice League or the Avengers, people don’t want to think about an underwhelming experience, since if that’s what they expect to see, then there’s no reason to head to the theater or even get that jazzed about the story to come.
But raising one’s expectations too high becomes an issue when the movie is finally revealed since there’s a good chance that people will have built up the experience in their minds to such a degree that what they’re presented with will be far less than what they’re wanting to see. This has happened so many times that one can’t easily count at this point, but in the most recent comic book movies, it’s been seen that expectations might be more on par with what people are expecting, either because folks have lowered their expectations, or filmmakers have managed to up their game in such a way that people are finally finding that they’re satisfied and aren’t as prone to complaining about things that they have little to no control over.
The fact is that those who read the comics and the books that are given representation in the movies and on TV tend to build up images in their minds and enjoy the images that are seen to a degree that makes them expect that once these ideas are brought to one screen or another, people want to see something as close to the image they’ve built up as possible. This is why, admittedly, some folks think that comic book movies aren’t worth that much, and why a book is usually better since the images and stories given are what people cling to and hope to see when the medium is changed. When that doesn’t happen, or when things are seen to be far different than people expect, it becomes a necessity for many people that they speak their mind and state that people don’t understand the story, or how to work with certain characters, or don’t even care since they’re more willing to push their own idea than conform to the idea as it’s already been laid out. There are times when the latter is true since some comic book movies take on different appearances and stories that a lot of people don’t recognize, which incenses a lot of fans in a big way.
But, and this is a point that has been hard to accept over the years, the idea of taking something from a comic book and jotting it down frame for frame in a movie can possibly be a problem. For one, the effects needed might not be possible even in the modern era, or might ultimately look cheesy as hell. There is the idea that those who are not comic book fans might not know enough about the story to know what’s coming, but that doesn’t influence the filmmakers that often since it has been established that many do enjoy deviating from what’s already been seen in the comics to tell the story in their own way. The Infinity Saga is a prime example since many people who have read The Infinity Gauntlet know very well that not only was the main villain different in a few ways but there were far more individuals involved in the war. Of course, having the rights to certain characters makes a big difference.
One thing to mention about expectations however is that they can tear down a movie quicker than any critic since the audience is ultimately responsible for how a movie does in the theater, or on TV. Fans are great, but they’re also horrible since the fickle nature that many individuals harbor is the bane of any storyteller, no matter that they’re important to anyone that has an idea that they want to present to the masses. A lot of us may expect too much from comic book movies since we want the fantasy on the page to be mirrored by what they see on the screen, which isn’t bound to happen that often.
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