The Illusion of Ownership

As a fan of many things (animation, film and TV, comics both book and novel) I was once very protective of the things that were adapted in other media. I liked the stories as they were, and when I was told that someone was going to re-make, re-boot or otherwise tamper with something that I liked, I would get a tad incredulous. “How dare they”, I would ask. “Why can’t they just use the story and things like they already are?” But at some point, I got over it and moved on from that line of thinking. Other folks, not so much.

The X-Men comics had been popular for years, well before the films of varying degrees of quality were released. The stories in the comic usually dealt with the X-Men saving the world or universe, bickering among themselves and also dealing with being “different” from the rest of the human race. The comic book’s popularity really took off in the ‘80s, Wolverine being the breakout character. His willingness to kill, and the mystery surrounding his back story made him one of the most popular characters in comics. As a result, it makes sense that Wolverine was brought front and center for the films. He was the focus of all 3 X-Men films, and even got two spin-off movies. But when the first film, X-Men was released fans of the original property had some issues:

“Why was Wolverine not in one of his classic costumes?”  

“Why was Cyclops so short? Shouldn't he be as tall as or taller than Jean Grey?”

“What’s up with Halle Berry’s wig?”

The Lord of the Rings stories had been in print for decades and was considered un-filmable. Many felt that the stories were too dense and the environments could never be reproduced to make a credible movie, let alone a series of them. But in 2001 the first movie of the trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring was released and was very well received at the box office. The movie was praised for its visuals, the acting and just being able to adapt the story so well. But again, folks had some issues.

“Why was the location of the fight with the Ring Wraiths changed?

“Why is Aragorn bitchin’ about the throne?”

“What happened to Tom Babaldi?”

As Hollywood continues to adapt comic books, books and even video games into films, these types of complaints and second guessing will continue to come up a lot. For both of the examples above, the prevailing feeling seems to be if it was in the source material, that adaptation needs to include it as well. Costumes, minor conversations, “if it was in there when I first read it”, they say “then it needs to be there when I go to see your movie. And if it isn't you have ruined my experience and sullied the legacy of the original.”

 All of the complainers have another option, one that some of them seem to rarely exercise; if you are going to watch, then stop complaining. In the end, someone who is enjoying the new work may not care about how the story was told the first time. And if they do, thanks to the internet, they can look it up or just buy it. It is time for fans to accept that these stories don’t “belong” to you. And while the directors and studios may add various bits of “fan service” for the longtime fan, they don’t owe you anything.

But I have no doubt that folks will continue to complain. It’s human nature. After all, here I am complaining about people complaining. It’s the circle of life.