The Rocketeer Reboot

[HarryTrotter]

http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/disney-to-reboot-the-rocketeer-with-black-female-lead
Disney is doing a rebootquel of the original movie.But this time with a black female pilot in the lead role.

[BentonGrey]

Well, that's totally the same as making a movie about a character I like.

[HarryTrotter]

Hey,he was a white guy,and straight at that.We all knew Disney wasnt gonna let that stand.

[Talavar]

Because there are so few straight white guys in Disney properties....  There needs to be an smiley that rolls its eyes so hard it gets detached retinas.

It's also not a real reboot.  It's being described as set years later, when the original Rocketeer has gone missing and a new character takes up the rocketeering duties, I guess.

[HarryTrotter]

Because there are so few straight white guys in Disney properties....  There needs to be an smiley that rolls its eyes so hard it gets detached retinas.

It's also not a real reboot.  It's being described as set years later, when the original Rocketeer has gone missing and a new character takes up the rocketeering duties, I guess.

Could you put that in a memo and title it * we just read in the article?
Rebootquel.We got it.
I forgot to write that in italic for people like you.Its the sarcasm font.Next best thing anyway.

[spydermann93]

So, basically, the same thing that is happening to Iron Man is happening here.

[daglob]

Because there are so few straight white guys in Disney properties....  There needs to be an smiley that rolls its eyes so hard it gets detached retinas.

It's also not a real reboot.  It's being described as set years later, when the original Rocketeer has gone missing and a new character takes up the rocketeering duties, I guess.

I've seen this comic book someplace. Black woman in some kind of flying harness. No, it isn't Skyrocket. Might have taken place during the '60s. And it isn't the one about the black kid with the flying get up set in the '30s or WW II (Captain Gravity).

In the future all super heroes will be black women. That way, the publishers and studios will feel they are satisfying their social justice conscience. You know, instead of actually having a conscience...

[BentonGrey]

Daglob, ha!   

If it's set as an actual sequel, that's somewhat better, but it still isn't the character that I actually like and care about.  If you want diverse characters, CREATE diverse characters.  If this is a new character donning the mantle, that's better than just saying, 'the Rocketeer is now a black woman.'

Nonetheless, it isn't just the concept of a person wearing a rocket pack that I'm a fan of, it's the actual character himself.

[kkhohoho]

Daglob, ha!   

If it's set as an actual sequel, that's somewhat better, but it still isn't the character that I actually like and care about.  If you want diverse characters, CREATE diverse characters.  If this is a new character donning the mantle, that's better than just saying, 'the Rocketeer is now a black woman.'

Nonetheless, it isn't just the concept of a person wearing a rocket pack that I'm a fan of, it's the actual character himself.

Fair point. But that doesn't mean you can't still like her just because she's 'not the actual character himself'. Legacy characters are a thing, and if handled well, they can still turn out to be just as good as the original character in their own ways. Why don't you give her a chance? Heck, you might even become just a much a fan of her as the original Rocketeer. (Okay, maybe not, but you still might like her anyways.) But to dismiss her just because she's 'not the actual character himself' just seems to be, well, dismissive; not just of her, but of the whole idea of legacy characters. Of course, I'll take Wally West and John Stewart over Barry Allen and Hal Jordan any day of the week, so I guess that shows you where I stand on that.

[BentonGrey]

Kk, I'm not saying I won't give her a chance or that I hate the concept, but I'm certainly disappointed nonetheless.  I heard they were making a Rocketeer movie, but they aren't, actually.  That's disappointing.  If it turns out to be good, well and good, but I obviously won't be as interested as if it were the character that I already liked.

[daglob]

What about legacy fans?

Logically, time passes, so Ben, Reed, Sue, and Johnny should have retired in the '80s or '90s, and a whole new Fantastic Four should have started having adventures. Ditto The Avengers. And The Justice League... Challengers... X-Men (yeah, I know they pretty much have)... Daredevil... Spiderman...

I don't know how it goes with the new fans, but us old fa... ans enjoy the adventures of a character and don't want them to end. So I read the new Doc Savage stories by Will Murray and get all nostalgic over comics I haven't read in years.

Fortunately, you won't have to put up with us forever, but one day you will be the old fan... and when they take Wolverine (and I mean Laura Kinney, whom I like) and change the character so that it is no longer recognizable...

The point is, sometimes change is good. Sometimes it's just a ploy.

[HarryTrotter]

I would like to say that Green Lanterns are not an example of legacy character.
Being (space) police,there are thousands of them.More of a new hire thing then legacy character.Granted,it can change who the PoV character is.

[daglob]

I would like to say that Green Lanterns are not an example of legacy character.
Being (space) police,there are thousands of them.More of a new hire thing then legacy character.Granted,it can change who the PoV character is.

I would agree with this. The GLC offers a framework for alternate takes on the character without losing the character. Me, my favorite was Tomar-Re (remember when he spread his wings and flew, literally? Oh, wait, I forgot who the old fan was here). We have been presented with an assortment of entertaining, thoughtful, funny, and sometimes weird stories based on the same concept, but not the same anything else.

Even I don't have a problem with legacy characters. If Bucky Barnes or Sam Wilson become Captain America, that just makes sense. If any Robin grows up to be Batman, well, isn't he supposed to? Wally taking over for Barry? Sure!

It may be that The Rocketeer will be set in the '50s or '60s, when a young black woman finds the rocket pack and helmet, and...

This may work.

[HarryTrotter]

Like I said a 1539 times by now,problem isnt in the concept of legacy,problem is with Marvels lazy handling of it.And they realized they can actually milk it for eternity just to fuel debates,so no sign of that trend stopping.Anyone remembers how Initiative and Avengers Academy actually introduced NEW characters?
You cant really compare Wally West to Marvels cases,since he had a character arc that run for 30 freaking years,dealing with him filling Barry's shoes.

But I got sidetracked here...Im perfectly neutral towards the movie.When there is a trailer or some more info,then I will judge.

[BWPS]

It doesn't even make sense to have so many white male superheroes. Men commit almost all violent crime and white people are almost all racist. If you think it makes sense to have a lack of diversity in your entertainment, it's probably a reflection of a lack of diversity in your social groups which is really just a shame.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I think saying that nearly all white people are racist is a bit much.  I do not even believe it to be true.

Regardless keep in mind that demographics, and yet society too, have changed a lot over the decades that comic book have been around.  Most of these heroes were made when the majority of Americans were white and when attitudes towards the minorities that did exist were quite a bit different. If heroes had aged and moved on in real time, things might be different, but comic book have strangely kept things frozen in time mostly.  Oh they've tried to update attitudes and such, but the same white male characters around back when anything else would have been unacceptable are still around now.

See I don't have a problem with actually trying to progress things, but I do have a problem if it's not done in the right way.  Forcing characters to be more diverse is a bit different from letting it happen gradually and naturally.  If the new female Iron Man, for example, had been introduced as a supporting character for some time instead of just being abruptly dropped in there it would be different.  Or better would be to let Rhody be Iron Man again and have the new character take the War Machine role for a while before trasitioning over.

But in this case we don't have a continuing series.  As such, a new character taking over the role has to just appear, so it's not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself.  I'd like to see a new, later setting and them do the transition in a way that makes sense. Do that and keep the same spirit going and I'll watch it.

[BentonGrey]

I think it's best to just ignore him when he says things like that, Cat.

[HarryTrotter]

Funny story,but even people who welcomed Marvels previous changes,disliked the Iron Man announcement.
"Not him,I like him"
Doctor Doom as IM,on the other hand,is a love or hate thing for vastly different reasons.

[daglob]

It's kind of a replay of "Superior Spiderman". Or the time (back in, what, the '90s?) over at DC when someone else was Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman...

Doom will be trying so hard to show that he is much better at being Iron Man than Tony ever was...

[BentonGrey]

Doom is going to be Iron Man?  That...doesn't make a ton of sense.  He doesn't' have much connection to Iron Man.  The Superior Spider-Man makes a lot more sense.  After all, Dock Ock actually has a connection and a motivation involving Spider-Man.  Weird.

[HarryTrotter]

Doom is going to be Iron Man?  That...doesn't make a ton of sense.  He doesn't' have much connection to Iron Man.  The Superior Spider-Man makes a lot more sense.  After all, Dock Ock actually has a connection and a motivation involving Spider-Man.  Weird.

i haven't been keeping up with IM titles in years,but I think that Tony is now his archenemy,seeing that Reed is not around.(He,Sue and Franklin are recreating the multiverse after the Secret Wars,they will be back once Marvel gets the movie rights)

And like daglob said,a rehash of Superior Spiderman.Because The House of Ideas has ran out of ideas a long time ago.People surely forgot about that?It was 4-5 reboots ago,right?

[daglob]

Damn. Now I gotta do Iron Doom...

[BentonGrey]

Haha...ha!  Well, that tells you how much I know or care about modern Marvel.  None of that made a lick of sense to me.

[HarryTrotter]

^Good news is,your not the only one.In short,Reed is gone,Doom found another rival.Now Tony will retire and Doom will become Infamous Iron Man.By Brian Michael Bendis ofc.

[BentonGrey]

'Hey, you know what made money?  Superior Spider-Man!'

[HarryTrotter]

'Hey, you know what made money?  Superior Spider-Man!'

Well,this is the company thats giving Robie Rayes a third series in 2 years and encourages retailers to order 2000 copies of Champions #1,so I would say buisness sense isnt their strong suit...

[Reepicheep]

I'm all for progression and inclusiveness and all this. But every time this happens, it fills me with a sense of dread. I had the same terror about the ghostbusters movie (which I still haven't seen but I've got it on good authority that it's quite good, which is a relief).

If you make your movie with social progression in mind, then you're running a huge risk. If your movie is bad, you end up doing more damage to social progression than if you had picked an all white male cast. Much though it pains me, being a bit of a social justice warrior myself, but social progression really needs to stop being the basis for movies. Making good movies and telling great stories needs to be absolutely paramount. The cast needs to fit the characters, not the other way around.

I could be excited for this. I liked the Rocketeer when I was a kid (funnily enough, the only reason I watched it was because I think he featured in one of ye olde FF mods and I liked the character design) but the risk they take is slightly harrowing.

[HarryTrotter]

Yeah,there is my biggest problem with these kinds of thing-making it into some sort of social statement-which then allows any critic of the change to be conveniently labeled a racist.
Could we just separate casting choices/legacy characters from real world issues?