alternatehistory.com

- Peter David, taken from Crisis in Infinite Comics, a 2007 documentary about the comics speculator bubble and its aftermath. [1]


Marvel
1995 brought the release of The X-Men and Ms Marvel, the sequel to the 1992 film Wolverine and the X-Men. This film would see Wolverine, Beast and Jubilee take a much reduced role, with new X-Men being introduced to the franchise, and the addition of non-X-Men character Ms. Marvel. It was hoped by some in the company that it could help to launch other properties, especially as there would be some subtle references to happenings from the animated television shows.

The two main additions to the cast of characters were Rogue and Ms Marvel, who would be played by Claire Danes and Madonna. In addition, the character of Beast was recast from Laurence Fishburne, who was busy filming Star Trek: Deep Space Nine at the time. His role would be filled by Tony Todd. [2]


Plot Synopsis of The X-Men and Ms. Marvel (1995):
Following the end of Wolverine and the X-Men, Magneto is imprisoned, but Mystique is still at large with a new incarnation of the Brotherhood of Mutants. The X-Men are battling with the Brotherhood in Los Angeles, trying to limit the amount of collateral damage, and are losing. The tide turns with the arrival of superhero Ms. Marvel, who easily overpowers the Brotherhood forces, though Mystique escapes once more by hiding in a crowd of fleeing civilians.

Ms. Marvel, real name Carol Danvers, informs Professor X that the US Government is losing patience with the X-Men’s more reconciliatory strategy with the Brotherhood, as the Brotherhood is easily recouping its losses, and is becoming bolder. She reveals that she has been sent to deal with the Brotherhood in a more “definite” manner and that the X-Men are to assist, or be considered accomplices. Professor X begrudgingly agrees, but this causes dissent among the team.

Meanwhile, Mystique returns to her base of operations, and gives a mission to new recruit Rogue, who can temporarily steal the personality and life energy of those she touches. Mystique tells Rogue to ambush Danvers while she is acting as a civilian, and to take her out. Two days later, as Danvers is returning from buying groceries near her home in San Francisco, she is attacked by Rogue. Rogue manages to steal her powers, though the struggle takes a while due to the strength of Danvers. Sue to the intensity of Danvers’ powers, the transfer is permanent, and Danvers is left effectively de-powered. Danvers is rescued by the X-Men, and Xavier manages to restore her memories and personality, though her powers are still gone.

Cyclops decides to take the X-Men on a strike mission to take out the Brotherhood’s suspected base of operations. The mission, however, is a disaster, with Beast and Cyclops badly injured in the fight. Matters are made worse when the demoralised team then has to scramble to stop the Brotherhood from freeing Magneto. This time, Danvers accompanies them as a consultant, and to advise them on how to deal with Rogue, who still has Danvers’ powers. Though the X-Men are not able to prevent the Brotherhood from freeing Magneto, they do realise that Rogue is struggling to suppress the personality of Ms. Marvel that now resides in her.

With this new information, Xavier draws up plans to bring the Brotherhood into a confrontation where Xavier can use Cerebro to telepathically communicate with Rogue, and try to get the Ms. Marvel personality fragment to take control of her to subdue her, while the X-Men deal with the other Brotherhood members.

Danvers is informed that the US government has been tipped off to a planned Brotherhood attack in New York City to take place the following day. Given its proximity, the X-Men decide to use this as the place for the confrontation, though they will have to be careful to reduce collateral damage once more.

The X-Men arrive, and are greeted by Magneto, who offers the team the chance to change sides before he takes over the nation with the help of Rogue. The X-Men decline, and the two sides begin battling. Initially, the battle goes poorly until Xavier is able to tap into Rogue’s mind and distract her by causing a conflict between her personality and the fragment of Danvers resident in her mind. The tide of the battle begins to shift until Magneto realises what is happening, and manages to pinpoint where Xavier is, signalling for the Brotherhood to subdue him.

Danvers, who is protecting Xavier along with Jubilee, spots the mutants approaching them, and manages to get Xavier away from danger, though this breaks his link with Rogue. Rogue joins the battle once more, shifting the tide back in the favour of the Brotherhood. However, when most of the X-Men are pinned or about to be taken down, Marvel Girl, who herself is battling multiple Brotherhood mutants, releases a large psionic burst which incapacitates many of the attacking mutants, including Rogue, and powers her up significantly. Rogue flees from the battle as the Danvers personality becomes stronger again, while Magneto and Mystique are subdued.

After the battle, Danvers parts ways with the X-Men, informing them that the government has decided to leave them alone for now. As she leaves, they are approached by Rogue, who reveals that the battle shook her, and she is no longer with the Brotherhood. Though she does not join the X-Men, Xavier tells her that she is welcome at any time. As the X-Men return to their teaching jobs, however, it is clear that there is a growing tension and worry in the group over Jean Grey’s previously unseen powers, especially as Xavier will say nothing, but seems scared.


Cast of The X-Men and Ms. Marvel: [3]

• Cyclops – Tom Cruise​
• Storm – Angela Bassett​
• Mystique – Sharon Stone​
• Charles Xavier – Pete Postlethwaite​
• Magneto – Max von Sydow​
• Rogue – Claire Danes​
• Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel – Madonna​
• Wolverine – Bob Hoskins​
• Marvel Girl – Molly Ringwald​
• Beast – Tony Todd​
• Mastermind – Brad Dourif​
• Toad – Nicolas Cage​
• Ice Man – Robert Downey Jr.​
• Jubilee – Ann Yen​

The X-Men and Ms. Marvel received mixed reviews. Many commented on the fact that although she was one of the title characters, Ms Marvel actually only appeared with her powers in the first 45 minutes of the film. Madonna’s performance also got mixed reception, and many felt that the plot did not flow well. The special effects, however, were the subject of near-universal praise, with many commenting that they seemed to be a step up from the previous film.

The film’s budget was $150 million, a more than 50% increase over the previous film. However, it only drew in $350 million, a relatively insignificant increase over Wolverine and the X-Men. It was still considered enough of a success for Carolco to begin work on a third film, titled X-Men: Days of Future Past. Issues would arise in the pre-production stage as some of the cast’s return was contingent on an increase in pay, especially with Cruise and Stone. Kathryn Bigelow was attached to direct once more, though James Cameron left to begin work on the film Titanic, which would be plagued by production tragedies of its own. [4]

Marvel also began work on plans to produce other films set in the same universe as the X-Men films, most notably a Spider-Man and a Namor film. Cameron expressed an interest in working on the Spider-Man film, and a tentative 1999 release date was planned. [5]


For the comics, 1996 would bring the start of the “Reborn Universe”, which debuted with the “Heroes Reborn” storyline, which allowed for a soft reboot of the comics universe, though it was later ret-conned as being an alternate universe. The Reborn Universe would probe to be very successful, especially as it gave newer fans who had discovered the comics through the films or TV shows a way to start reading without feeling like they had to catch up on 20+ years of backstory. [6]

In what was generally considered to be a dying industry, Marvel were proving that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Though profits did decrease in 1995, they had mostly recovered in 1996, and Marvel was certainly not making a loss.



DC Comics
Marvel were not alone in having a major film release in 1995. DC Comics were preparing for Batman Continues, the much awaited third instalment in Warner Bros.’s Batman franchise. Despite some behind-the-scenes shenanigans, Burton retained creative control over the franchise, and Keaton was staying on as Bruce Wayne/Batman.

Batman Continues would see the addition of Robin, and the introduction of Two-Face and the Riddler as villains. Robin was played by Marlon Wayans, who had been attached to appear in Batman Returns, but was eventually cut. Two-Face/Harvey Dent was not technically a new character, having appeared in the past two films, but this film would see him turn to villainy. He would continue to be played by Billy Dee Williams. The Riddler was a more eccentric character, played by comedic actor Robin Williams.

At the behest of Warner Bros., Burton would somewhat eschew the dark and dystopian atmosphere of Gotham, in response to complaints that it was not suitable for younger viewers. His increasing lack of creative control led to Burton cutting ties with Warner Bros. following Batman Continues. [7]


Cast of Batman Continues (1995):

• Batman/Bruce Wayne – Michael Keaton​
• Robin/Tim Drake – Marlon Wayans​
• Two-Face/Harvey Dent – Billy Dee Williams​
• The Riddler/Edward Nygma – Robin Williams​
• Dr. Chase Meridian – Rene Russo​
• Alfred Pennyworth – Michael Gough​

Batman Continues received mixed reviews, as many felt that it was too different from previous instalments, given the different atmosphere. In an attempt to reach a “happy medium”, Warner Bros. Had forced Burton into a compromise that nobody liked with the aesthetic and feel of the film. Certain aspects were praised, especially with Batman’s reluctance to bring in Tim Drake after he reveals that he had lost his last “sidekick”, implied to be Jason Todd.

Both Williams’ performances were praised, as was Keaton’s. This however, did not stop the film from being something of a financial disappointment, as it grossed only $280 million, another decrease in profits. As Burton announced he would be stepping away from the franchise, Keaton did too. Though Warner Bros. decided to greenlight a fourth film, it was clear that large changes would need to be made if it were a success. [8]


The announcement that Burton and Keaton would be leaving the franchise came at around the same time as DC announced two new films: Superman Lives, and Green Lantern. Christopher Reeve was attached to reprise his role for Superman Lives, though matters were complicated somewhat after he suffered some injuries in a horse riding accident that resulted in his pulling out of the film Kidnapped. [9]

Superman Lives was announced for a 1998 release, while Green Lantern was given a 1999 release date. The fourth Batman film, given the working title of Batman Forever, was also to be given a 1999 release.

Films based on the characters of Catwoman and Supergirl were planned, though it was felt that there was not enough interest in a Catwoman film, and Supergirl was too similar to the character of Ms. Marvel, especially in their human name, even though Supergirl predated Ms. Marvel significantly. [10]


But as with Marvel, DC also had comics to worry about. With Batman Continues considered a financial misfire, all hope rested on the future films, which even by 1996 were still two years away. Though there was a slight increase in sales during late 1995 after the release of the film, it was not enough to prevent further losses as DC tried to recover from the speculation bubble. In fact, most of DC’s losses were coming from the universe people tended to associate with them, as their other endeavours, such as their publishing agreement with Milestone Media were relatively successful.

To the executives at Warner Bros., it looked as though the issue may not have been with comics themselves, but rather the characters within them. And with the birth of that idea, the “New Age” of comics began its conception. [11]


[1] One of you mentioned that this was shaping up to be a "bizzaro" world compared to OTL. Well, that's not exactly where I'm going with it. I'm looking forward to see if any of you can guess what will happen from this update.
[2] Did I cast Fishburne as Sisko while forgetting he was Beast? Absolutely. Did I find a way around it? Hopefully.
[3] I'm not sold on Madonna or Danes as their respective characters, but I could see it adding to the meh-ness of how the film turns out.
[4] Foreshadowing is a dramatic device in which an important plot point is mentioned earlier in the story, to return later in a more significant way. Bonus points if you get that reference.
[5] Some things change, some things don't. Cameron wanting to do a Spider-Man film is something that doesn't.
[6] An expansion of Heroes Reborn from OTL. If Marvel is smart, they may keep it around.
[7] You may be wondering why Batman Continues doesn't get a plot synopsis when the X-Men film did. It's very similar to Batman Forever, and the changes weren't substantial enough to warrant a full synopsis.
[8] The market's not great for comics films right now, and X-Men just splits the audiences. They'd both be doing fine if the other weren't there.
[9] Yes, this is his paralysis butterflied. It has a few consequences.
[10] Like seriously: Kara Danvers and Carol Danvers. Could Marvel have been less subtle with their influences?
[11] I swear I'm not a mindless Marvel fangirl. This is something I've been planning for a while, and Marvel has to do well while DC falters. Astute observers may recall an earlier commend about a missed opportunity I was going to give another chance, and figure out what is about to happen. 1997 is the year I properly stop pulling punches with this.