Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2021 15:12:33 GMT -5
Today marks 35 years since TRANSFORMERS COMIC MAGAZINE #2 was published, featuring an appearance by Spider-Man.
Years ago, someone told me that he could never accept the Transformers existing in “our” Marvel Universe. I may be paraphrasing slightly, but he said something like, “There’s no way the likes of the Avengers would allow an Autobot/Decepticon war to take place for long.” Me, I just went along with the ride. In a world where Thanos and Galactus can show up routinely, why not suspend disbelief for giant robots?
(Didn’t Godzilla show up in the mainstream MU once?)
But what will you accept in a shared universe? I must admit, thoughts akin to the one above have crossed my mind, convincing me I should just enjoy the ride and not question things too much.
For instance, when I first got to read the Galactus trilogy, it did cross my mind about the lack of the Avengers. Just where were they? And whenever various Spidey villains were tearing up the city (sometimes more than one villain), I did often wonder where the likes of the Avengers, FF and X-Men were. Surely someone was aware of Octopus, Green Goblin and others causing havoc. I’m sure Professor X would have been aware, could he have not sent just one X-Men member to deal with it? And when Gotham City’s villains were turning Gotham City into an apocalyptic wasteland in the “Knightfall” story, I did wonder how so many other superheroes could be ignoring it.
So I won’t claim to be exempt or immune to over-thinking things once in a while! But I do try and bring some “logic” into it. I try to accept that people reading a Spider-Man comic would soon get bored if Cyclops, Daredevil and/or Thor showed up to bail him out every month; I doubt “Knightfall” would have been as long or as compelling had Green Lantern and the Flash rounded up a few supervillains; and as for Galactus, perhaps the Avengers were off-planet that day!
This is the “logic” I go for. If the Sinister Six are close to reducing New York City to rubble, then I just have to presume the X-Men, FF, Avengers and Defenders are otherwise occupied. That works for me.
But sometimes certain things don’t make sense. I know a member here explained the reasons why Hasbro did that IDW “Revolution” crossover featuring MASK, ROM, Transformers and probably others I forgot. I found that a cumbersome, contrived mess. Which made suspension of disbelief impossible. While our real world has several branches of the military, and several intelligence agencies, I found it a bit redundant for MASK and G.I. Joe to exist in the same universe (wasn’t MASK a sub-agency of G.I. Joe or something?). It all felt a bit too crowded, and throwing other franchises into the mix didn’t work for me.
I think it’s best not to over-think things. I think it’s best to just go along for the ride, as I did, and accept Spidey and Transformers existing in the same universe, or not to get too involved in wondering why not even one superhero can lend Spidey a hand when the Sinister Six attack. But there are certainly times where it’s noticeable in a crowded universe, such as the Galactus example I provided.
Years ago, someone told me that he could never accept the Transformers existing in “our” Marvel Universe. I may be paraphrasing slightly, but he said something like, “There’s no way the likes of the Avengers would allow an Autobot/Decepticon war to take place for long.” Me, I just went along with the ride. In a world where Thanos and Galactus can show up routinely, why not suspend disbelief for giant robots?
(Didn’t Godzilla show up in the mainstream MU once?)
But what will you accept in a shared universe? I must admit, thoughts akin to the one above have crossed my mind, convincing me I should just enjoy the ride and not question things too much.
For instance, when I first got to read the Galactus trilogy, it did cross my mind about the lack of the Avengers. Just where were they? And whenever various Spidey villains were tearing up the city (sometimes more than one villain), I did often wonder where the likes of the Avengers, FF and X-Men were. Surely someone was aware of Octopus, Green Goblin and others causing havoc. I’m sure Professor X would have been aware, could he have not sent just one X-Men member to deal with it? And when Gotham City’s villains were turning Gotham City into an apocalyptic wasteland in the “Knightfall” story, I did wonder how so many other superheroes could be ignoring it.
So I won’t claim to be exempt or immune to over-thinking things once in a while! But I do try and bring some “logic” into it. I try to accept that people reading a Spider-Man comic would soon get bored if Cyclops, Daredevil and/or Thor showed up to bail him out every month; I doubt “Knightfall” would have been as long or as compelling had Green Lantern and the Flash rounded up a few supervillains; and as for Galactus, perhaps the Avengers were off-planet that day!
This is the “logic” I go for. If the Sinister Six are close to reducing New York City to rubble, then I just have to presume the X-Men, FF, Avengers and Defenders are otherwise occupied. That works for me.
But sometimes certain things don’t make sense. I know a member here explained the reasons why Hasbro did that IDW “Revolution” crossover featuring MASK, ROM, Transformers and probably others I forgot. I found that a cumbersome, contrived mess. Which made suspension of disbelief impossible. While our real world has several branches of the military, and several intelligence agencies, I found it a bit redundant for MASK and G.I. Joe to exist in the same universe (wasn’t MASK a sub-agency of G.I. Joe or something?). It all felt a bit too crowded, and throwing other franchises into the mix didn’t work for me.
I think it’s best not to over-think things. I think it’s best to just go along for the ride, as I did, and accept Spidey and Transformers existing in the same universe, or not to get too involved in wondering why not even one superhero can lend Spidey a hand when the Sinister Six attack. But there are certainly times where it’s noticeable in a crowded universe, such as the Galactus example I provided.
