The Way It's Done

I was on Facebook and came across a video shared by IGN, titled "What Writers Should Learn From Wonder Woman."

You can watch it here.

I found it very interesting. The narrator essentially postulates that superhero movies (translated here as "Marvel movies") more or less shy away from moments of significant poignance, by distracting us with what is known as "bathos."

Bathos: A tonal switch, within the same moment, from serious to trivial for comedic effect

His overall conclusion is that they don't trust their story and their moments, and that the cinema they produce is suffering because of it. Conversely, Wonder Woman adheres very tightly to its serious moments, providing a deeply set throughline of sincerity tangibly felt and experienced through the duration of the film.

The 9 minute video was actually quite well done and I agree with all of the points regarding Wonder Woman. However, I do believe he missed it a bit on the Marvel side of things. I think the disparity being call into question here is really just the age old rivalry between Marvel and DC.

The fact of the matter is this- Marvel has ALWAYS been quip heavy. That's why so many of their primary characters (The Human Torch, Spiderman, Iron Man, Deadpool, etc) have snarky personalities. That's what Marvel does. Stan, Steve, and Jack wanted to touch on the human side of being a hero, and your average everyday human being has a typical sarcastic reply to just about everything. Even serious moments in life have humour embedded in them- it just goes largely unaddressed or unacknowledged. Sure I think Marvel has overdone it a bit in some places, but overall they've stayed true to character.

Tony is cracking jokes as he fights his friends in Civil War because he genuinely doesn't want to be fighting them. His whole life is snark covered, grim realism.

They're not afraid of sincerity. They just choose to highlight is differently and rightly so- what they're striving to create is a legitimate superhero universe with real stakes, that's also family friendly. Thus they lean into that element of the Marvel DNA a bit heavily. In the predictably serious moment, they stutter step it to throw the lob for an alley oop in what they consider their payoff scenes.

Marvel is just doing what Marvel has always done (see the titular book "Comics the Marvel Way").

And DC is doing DC. They've always had the darker world with the grittier stories. The way DC maneuvers to get to the light in life is very nuanced, which is why the films struggle with it. Wonder Woman was a knockout hit for many reasons; one of them being that they got her journey of emotion and conviction RIGHT. She was a better Superman than Superman. She had a more believable and compelling conviction than Batman.

DC Comics' heroes may navigate THROUGH emotional complexity, but they are all rooted in emotional simplicity. That's why Man of Steel gets mixed reactions and why BvS flopped. Wonder Woman's emotional basis was quickly established and relentlessly adhered to, regardless of the trials she underwent because of it.

Patty doesn't get enough credit for what she accomplished on behalf of the companies that employed her. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was proffered to the public as the rocket to launch their universe... but all it really did was leave too many fans scratching their heads while wrinkling their noses. But then the Amazon Princess thundered onto the scene! Laughter! Love! Hope! Struggle! Power! Wonder Woman brought legitimacy to the entire DCCU concept. Wonder Woman did that. Patty and Gal did that.

Fans aren't stupid. We all know that "Justice League" is the proxy apology for BvS- which is totally fine! Nobody is bashing DC for accepting what worked and didn't and course correcting accordingly. But the fact of the matter is that the only DC Comics property released between BvS and the upcoming Justice League which cast them in a ridiculously positive light...

Was Wonder Woman.

Patty brilliantly captured and reintroduced us to "The DC Way." If they adapt her formula to the intrinsic emotional nature of their other supers, then they'll be just fine. Of this I have no doubt.
So, sure, some of Marvel's laugh moments are subtly ill timed... but unwise timing and not being true to character/legacy are not at all the same thing.

In fact, since the original content was directed to writers, I would say there are three takeaway points here.

1. Know the heart of who and what you're writing
2. Make sure your personal touch amplifies the heart in some way
3. Humour is most effective as a transitional necessity

The quickest and easiest way to muck something up, as a writer, is to write what you have as not what it is. This doesn't mean you can't change the rules in some places, or deviate from the norm or what's expected of you... just know that every unregulated pivot can easily move you away from your goal, if you've stepped outside the heart of the thing you're working on. It's difficult work. But it is the work to be done. So do it well. Make good art and don't alienate the fans.

They hate that.

Much love and respect to owner of the JustWrite channel, everybody over at IGN, and of course the entirety of the DC and Marvel camps. I raise my glass to you all- keep churning out good work. :-)

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Joshua Evans is a prolific writer and sci-fi/fantasy enthusiast who believes story is central to everything and that mythology can change the world. He currently hosts two youtube shows- The Truth About Superheroes and Comic of the Week, as well as runs a short story blogsite on medium as The Story Junkie. If you would like to further be a part of his cosmic psyche, you can join him on Twitter and Instagram or simply subscribe to this blog… and remember- sharing is caring! Cheers!