Brian M. Puaca writes for Bleeding Cool: The Marvel Age began with the publication of the Fantastic Four #1 in 1961. Before the appearance of the Fan Four, Marvel — or Atlas, or Timely, or whatever Martin Goodman was calling his company that year — was publishing a number of unremarkable fantasy, suspense, and adventure... Read more »
As one might have already surmised, Marvel finds itself in a rather unusual and awkward predicament in regard to its storied history. The Fantastic Four have disappeared from virtually everything Marvel does outside of publishing actual comic books (and even that now seems to be on hold). There’s nothing on the website. There are no licensed products to speak of. This, of course, could all just be a coincidence. Perhaps the marketing people want to draw attention to what is hot right now. It’s a possibility, however unlikely. But it is the efforts to remove the Fan Four from public view that belies this generous interpretation. Marvel has recently engaged in a concerted campaign to revise its history in a way to support its current and future film and television projects. The company, owned by Disney (which has always had a tenuous grip on history), is attempting to erase characters from our collective memory. This works well with the majority of Americans, since devoted comic book readers and fans comprise only a small portion of the general public. It is much more difficult, however, for Marvel to speak to committed readers of its publications in the same way. Here, it seems they want to have their cake and eat it, too. After all, how can the Fantastic Four, the team and title that started it all, simply be forgotten?
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And so what’s the likely impact of this dual strategy for Marvel? Will it in fact succeed in not promoting the Fantastic Four film and eventual DVD release? Probably, but there’s no way to really know. Would someone who saw the Marvel 75th anniversary cover last year and noticed the Thing been more likely to go see the movie? It’s unlikely. And would someone who purchased the Secret Wars shirt and caught a glimpse of the Human Torch been clued into the film’s August release? Doubtful. This concerted effort to deemphasize and then erase the Fan Four from the public consciousness seems to be rather sad and petty. At the end of the day, one could argue that this strategy was enacted more out of spiteful reasons than financial ones.
And will the strategy disillusion the hardcore fans who, Marvel hopes, will subscribe to Marvel Unlimited and purchase the high price hardcovers and trades? This question is a bit trickier. Maybe not. But the more publicity these actions receive, the more likely that committed fans will become frustrated. Marvel has tried to avoid discussing these moves and, when pushed, offered defensive and evasive answers. Would devoted fans of the Fantastic Four become so upset by these decisions that they choose not to purchase the expensive products Marvel continues to produce? It’s unlikely, but possible. Many Marvel fans can’t buy a shirt, a statue, or a poster of their favorite characters. Fan Four toys for their kids or accessories for their office are out of the question. This likely irks many of those who love the characters. And one has to wonder if the trade-off is worth it. Wouldn’t the spending of committed fans — and even the general public — on merchandise that included the Fantastic Four off-set any possible unintended promotional value Marvel’s products might provide to the film (a figure that would be impossible to quantify anyhow)? The answer is likely yes. Thus, not only is there ill will generated by this decision, there are lost profits. And rare is the example where a company chooses to earn less money than it otherwise might. Even Reed Richards would have a hard time figuring that one out.
