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Edward R Bohlman Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 November 2014 Location: United States Posts: 6
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Posted: 28 March 2017 at 9:24am | IP Logged | 1
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Back in the early years of the Marvel Universe, certain existing characters had to be tweaked to make them more popular. Not full reboot, you understand. Just minor changes to a character who wasn't quite working. For example, Steve Ditko's updating of Iron-Man's armor from the bulky gold to the form-fitting red and gold. Wally Wood's changes to Daredevil's costume. Lee/Kirby's changing Ant-Man to Giant-Man.
I was wondering if you've ever been asked to tweak an existing character. Also, I was wondering if there were specific creators who you thought excelled at such things.
As always, thanks for your time.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 132234
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Posted: 28 March 2017 at 9:38am | IP Logged | 2
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I was wondering if you've ever been asked to tweak an existing character. •• Does Superman count? :)
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Anthony J Lombardi Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 January 2005 Location: United States Posts: 9410
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Posted: 28 March 2017 at 9:39am | IP Logged | 3
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No Edward I've never been asked. I hope that answers the question to your satisfaction.
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Brandon Carter Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 2338
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Posted: 28 March 2017 at 11:42am | IP Logged | 4
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Steve Ditko's updating of Iron-Man's armor from the bulky gold to the form-fitting red and gold
******
I didn't know it was Steve Ditko that did that. That design itself has been tweaked a lot over the years but some variation of it has been used for the majority of Iron Man's existence. Ditko has definitely come up with some iconic costume designs.
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Robert Bradley Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 20 September 2006 Location: United States Posts: 4824
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Posted: 28 March 2017 at 12:41pm | IP Logged | 5
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How about the FF getting costumes in their third issue?
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Mike Norris Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4274
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Posted: 28 March 2017 at 1:39pm | IP Logged | 6
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I was thinking about the FF getting uniforms a few days ago, as the subject came up on another board. What was the motivation for that change, just two issues in. Would there be sales data or fan reaction yet? Would issue 1 have even hit the stands yet? Or did Stan and Jack decide on the uniforms by a "gut feeling"?
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Eric Jansen Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 October 2013 Location: United States Posts: 2291
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Posted: 28 March 2017 at 3:52pm | IP Logged | 7
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Don't forget all the changes to the Hulk! He started with three toes, a bad attitude, and the whole "change by night" thing. They even had Rick Jones controlling him for a while.
It seems that Stan and co. were tweaking a lot of the books as they went, which is a good reminder that the company was a small office at the time, flying by the seat of their pants. Makes it even more amazing to see how it's grown since.
The Hulk got finetuned when it was a split feature in TALES TO ASTONISH, and when he had all the right toes, endearing personality, and more of a "Fugitive" set-up, it finally graduated to full comic again--and got a magazine, a TV show, and movies! I wonder what would have happened if they started it off "right" from the beginning--would it never have been cancelled? And I also wonder what would have happened if Stan and co. hadn't had a slot for it to slowly grow in and get its legs.
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Eric Jansen Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 October 2013 Location: United States Posts: 2291
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Posted: 28 March 2017 at 3:53pm | IP Logged | 8
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And then they tried to "fix" Dr. Strange by giving him a mask and skintight costume! Not all "fixes" work or stick.
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Robert Bradley Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 20 September 2006 Location: United States Posts: 4824
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Posted: 28 March 2017 at 6:28pm | IP Logged | 9
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And of course the Hulk changed from gray to green!
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Mike Norris Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4274
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Posted: 28 March 2017 at 6:58pm | IP Logged | 10
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And then they tried to "fix" Dr. Strange by giving him a mask and skintight costume! Not all "fixes" work or stick. ************************************************************ ********************* I think that might have been the result of Roy Thomas's Golden Age DC fetish, "Let's make Strange like Dr. Fate!" . Or maybe not.
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Peter Martin Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 March 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 15777
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Posted: 28 March 2017 at 7:37pm | IP Logged | 11
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I think Dave Cockrum was a master of revamping/redesigning costumes.
Steranko's changes to Nick Fury and Thomas/Kane's changes to Marvell also spring to mind.
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Brian Hague Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 14 November 2006 Posts: 8515
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Posted: 28 March 2017 at 10:45pm | IP Logged | 12
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Roy Thomas' Golden Age fetish isn't restrained to DC characters. He's mangled a number of DC heroes to shoehorn in other companies' concepts into the mix. Basically, any way he can angle a reference to his childhood favorites in there, no matter how awkwardly, by God, he's going to do so. See also: E. Nelson Bridwell.
The Strange-as-a-superhero run was, however, just an attempt to turn Strange into a superhero. There wasn't a lot there to tie it into the early Dr. Fate's Lovecraft flavor or the later version's half-face-mask sorcery-vs.-bank-robbers era. It would be interesting to find out if he brought in Clea so Strange could have an "Inza" all his own. Hmm...
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