Ultimate Spider-Man "The Parent Trap" Talkback (Spoilers)

[Christopher Glennon]

Whoops, forgot to add Blade as a "too hard to do" character.

Actually, until BENDIS! most recent renovation, Luke Cage was hardly high-profile, and when you change the motivation, the costume, the background, the personality, and basically keep the costume from a different character and the power set, what's left that's worth a darn?

Yeah, I know Bendis made him popular, but between Alias, Daredevil, and New Avengers, Cage has sustained popularity as a solid B-lister for a good decade. He's even a playable character in Ultimate Alliance.

And no fair asking the question and then answering it! *grins* Any of those, but particularly Rage or Night Thrasher or even Power Man/Victor would have filled the bill just as well, leaving the core character of Luke Cage untouched.

But why use those characters who haven't been popular in recent history? I'd like to see Bill Foster as Goliath, his power set fits, but unless they're trying to do a popularity boost, like with Sam Alexander as Nova rather than Rich Ryder, it would have to go along with something happening in the comics with those characters.

Its like changing the image character of Shadowhawk for a kid's show. By the time you change the fact that he cripples his enemies for life, all you have left is the costume, at which point you're better off creating a new intellectual property.

Well, there's a reason the phrase "Character in Name Only" exists. I agree with you, somewhat, I mean, like the beef I had with TNBA using the name of Tim Drake but basically making him Jason Todd, but I'm not going to complain too much about what we got here. Another reason to use Cage over anyone else is because he kinda comes along with Iron Fist. If I were to choose my ideal partners for this show, it'd be Bobby, Kitty, and either Johnny or Firestar (Liz or Angelica). But...well, we got what we got.

 

[Miyamoto Musashi]

Two episodes in a row with Star Wars jokes
And like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode of the same week,

Spoiler

this involved saving a father, and ends with focusing on one person's eyes

This episode was actually good! No real complaints for once.

I agree

Parents are scientists working with the supers soldier serum- Ultimate Origin (no idea how that fits in with the cancer/venom they had originally gone with-nor do I care)

Pete's father was a scientist, the mother escorted the father
　

Parents died in a plane crash- seems to be how they die in most series

The parents of Havok and Cyclops were like this before the Shi'ar stuff, I think

 

[suss2it]

Another reason to use Cage over anyone else is because he kinda comes along with Iron Fist. If I were to choose my ideal partners for this show, it'd be Bobby, Kitty, and either Johnny or Firestar (Liz or Angelica). But...well, we got what we got.

I also feel like Cage got chosen was for racial variety (Victor Cruz would've still worked though). Had they gone with your team it'd be an all white team unlike the highly diverse team we actually got. Wow now that I think about it there's actually more people of colour on the team than not. That feels like a first in superhero cartoons and it's one thing I definitely gotta commend USM for.

 

[Medinnus]

I also feel like Cage got chosen was for racial variety (Victor Cruz would've still worked though). Had they gone with your team it'd be an all white team unlike the highly diverse team we actually got. Wow now that I think about it there's actually more people of colour on the team than not. That feels like a first in superhero cartoons and it's one thing I definitely gotta commend USM for.

Although I usually don't think in terms of racial exposure, you have a point there, and one to which I'm usually blind.

 

[Christopher Glennon]

I also feel like Cage got chosen was for racial variety (Victor Cruz would've still worked though). Had they gone with your team it'd be an all white team unlike the highly diverse team we actually got. Wow now that I think about it there's actually more people of colour on the team than not. That feels like a first in superhero cartoons and it's one thing I definitely gotta commend USM for.

Well, they'd still have Fury and Kitty is Jewish, but yeah, you're right. Sam's mixed, isn't he? While I feel both JLU and Young Justice have had squads with mainly POCs in an episode or two, this IS a superhero cartoon first. And USM should be praised for that, at the very least.

 

[Infinite-bit]

Yes Sam Alexander is half Latino.

 

[TheAmazingJustin]

As I watch the ep, one thought kept running through my head, 'did they just graft all of Spider-Man's origns onto Luke?'
　
Parents are spys/work for SHEILD- Spidey 616
　
Parents are scientists working with the supers soldier serum- Ultimate Origin (no idea how that fits in with the cancer/venom they had originally gone with-nor do I care)
　
Parents experimented on him as a kid giving him powers- the implication of the Amazing Spider-Man movie trailer (I know that ended up being misleading)
　
Parents died in a plane crash- seems to be how they die in most series
　
And just for fun
　
Got exposed to a chemical that made him grow in size, appear older, and gave him super strength- basically Rage's origin
　
If his parents turn out to be robots working for the Chameleon (well Zodic in this case) I'm going to call foul
　
I know they can't use the prison origin, but it doesn't mean they couldn't make it work. Have him be sick as a kid that gets an experimental procedure to boost his immune system. It goes wrong/works to well, gives him powers, he abuses them, does some bad stuff and SHIELD helps put him on the straight and narrow. With this story being about him going home and stopping something he didn't know he set in motion and is basically facing up to a past he's ashamed of and has been trying to put behind him, while accpeting who he was was instrumental in making him who he is.

I think you may be on to something...