Comic Books vs. Films: Should Fans React To The Inaccuracy?

The summer of superhero epics has ended. The Avengers have assembled. Spider-Man was amazing. The Dark Knight Rose. Next summer will introduce familiar superheroes with brand new adventures fighting newer and badder villains. The Wolverine will take on the Silver Samurai, and the Man of Steel will swoop into theaters to bash up General Zod (who isn’t exactly new to the screen, but who’s keeping count?). A recent trailer of Iron Man 3 introduces a torn Tony Stark as he takes on his greatest threat; archenemy Mandarin. Whoa, the Iron Man 3 trailer looks amazing.

However, as a comic fan (I am a HUGE fan of the Batman), I tend to analyze the films on the big screen, especially if they are based on a book or comic series. What bothers me about many of these films, and I am sure bothers other comic fans, is the inaccuracy when compared to the comics.

This is not limited to the movie screen either – fans of The Walking Dead can attest to this with characters Glen, Dale, Sophia and Shane. Each character, though they fit their profile quite well, did not follow the story line they were committed to within the comic series, and the inaccuracy is obvious. Of course, this was not like the Super Mario film back in the 90’s where all hell broke loose in the creative department. All adjustments were under creator supervision and so far, kudos.

As a fan of Batman, I felt that Dark Knight Rises made a huge mistake of creating a wonderful backstory of Bane as the ‘child that escaped.’ Nolan stripped the origin from Bane, only to hand it over to the dullest version of Talia Al Ghul ever (I think if Christopher Nolan utilized the addiction aspect of Bane within the film, Bane’s character would have been better in my opinion, but let’s not get off track here). The point is though, where is the line drawn with comic book inaccuracy within films? Should the movie industry commit more accuracy than they have to their character or story interpretations? Let’s not forget Wolverine: Origins when Victor Creed established himself as Jimmy’s older brother or Wade Wilson as a botched Weapon XI/Deadpool. It’s a graphic design and marketing failure if you ask me.

When considering the interpretation of comics to film, viewers need to consider this one point – it is an interpretation. While I am a strong supporter of accuracy, the whole film industry has room for artist interpretation. From Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead to Bill Finger and Bob Kane’s Batman, fans of the comics should never relinquish their rights as fans. If there is anyone who can help maintain the authenticity of a character and his origins despite change within the industry by the creators, it is the fans. Was I a fan of Nolan’s version of the ‘Boy Wonder?’ Not entirely. While I like JGL (Looper was epic), I think using Robin as John Blake’s real name was an artistic cop out. What comic (or video game) film do you detest for its inaccuracy? Was the artist interpretation a home run?