Yesterday's Energy

The other night I commented on a status on Facebook from the Marvel Cinematic Universe group, wherein they asked "What MCU character looks the least like their comic book version?"  My answer was Nick Fury, because, even though I enjoy the Sam Jackson version (based on an alternate universe Nick Fury), I still prefer my WWII vet of Greek descent.  Well, this caused a shitstorm of commentary, ranging from those who agreed, to those who assumed I'm just racist.  After a while, I just stopped participating in the "conversation."

Then I made an off-hand comment about all of that as my own status, which sparked a whole NEW conversation about Nick Fury.  Thankfully, this was among friends, and after a few tries, I was finally able to get my point across.  But, the after-effect of all of this was that I had now become temporarily obsessed with Classic Nick Fury again.  And one comment from a friend rekindled an idea that I have had rolling around in my head for ages...

What if "Nick Fury" was just a code-name for the director of SHIELD?

With that thought in mind, I set about writing a screenplay about Nick Fury that would reconcile the Sam Jackson version, with the Classic version.  I had a slow day at work yesterday, so I worked dilligently on it for most of the time, and ended up with 12 pages of screenplay.  The dialogue was great, and I could hear the lines being spoken by the actors I had in my head (I had Stephen Lang of Avatar as the old Nick).  I think the story was progressing well.  And it had the benefit of introducing classic Nick in a manner that didn't require a ton of screen time (I had Sam's Nick describing him over the opening credits, as a montage of WWII and Cold War era stuff was being shown), and I am just about to introduce my main villain.

But, this morning, that energy has waned.  After doing a bit of research, I read that Nick Fury will have a larger role in Captain America - The Winter Soldier, and they will be revealing some of his background.  Combined with comments from Jackson regarding the character and his role in the MCU films, it seems that they may try to make his version a WWII vet, stealing Classic Nick's background and just "blackwashing" the character.

In a way, this kind of offends my geek sensibilities.  It just seems disrespectful to the work that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and the writers and artists who followed during the 70's, 80's and 90's did.  But, then again, I guess that's just how comic books work.  At least, comic book movies.  Rarely do they adhere to canon, and comic book geeks are usually just thankful when they merely "respect" the source material.

Anyways, I will probably shelve this screenplay.  I might put it up on the net somewhere for others to read, if they are interested.  I'm rather proud of the dialogue and characterization.  Which leads me to believe that maybe I could write an original screenplay, based on an original idea and characters.  It could happen.

In the meantime, I will continue to prefer Classic Nick Fury.  I'm also browsing Amazon for some collections of his stories, since I haven't read much of his solo stuff, and only know him mainly from seeing him in others' titles, and doing research.  And when we hit Wizard World Chicago in August, I will probably do an improved version of last year's costume.  Mainly, an eye-patch that I can see through, just so I can wear it all day.

Cosplay

In a couple of weeks we are heading to Wizard World Chicago, aka Chicago Comic Con. This will be my first Con in a while. We went once for a Saturday afternoon a few years ago, on the way home from dropping Faith off at O'Hare. But this time it's a planned event. And not only that, it's also the first time I will be in costume.

Many moons ago, when I lived in San Diego, I went to the San Diego Comic Con every year for ten years straight. I watched it grow into a monstrosity, and am amazed that it has gotten even bigger still since my last visit in 2006. But, in all those years, I never went in any kind of costume. Well, once Chris and I were going to go as Kevin Matchstick (Chris) and Kirby Hero (me), but that only half worked, and was kind of abandoned at the last minute.

This time, I am actively putting together a costume. My thought was to go as classic Nick Fury...with a twist. You see, in the comics, Nick wore a lot of blue and white. It works in four-color, but not in real life, IMHO. So, my thought was to interpret Nick as he might have looked had the Marvel movies chosen Classic instead of Ultimate Nick Fury. So, basically, a SWAT-style look. Of course I would still have the classic Nick elements of an eye-patch, gray temples, and a cigar.

This guy is the Gold Standard for
Classic Nick Fury, as presented in
the comic books.

All that being said, I'm kind of second-guessing myself. I'm not sure many people would get the idea, and would just assume I was going the cheap route, instead of putting together an authentic costume. And you know what? They could be right. I mean, isn't the point of dressing up for a con to celebrate the characters as they have been portrayed? I kind of think so. Which makes me think that another idea might be better.

My costume wouldn't be exact,
but it'd be pretty close.

As anyone who knows me even a little should be aware, I am a HUGE Stallone fan (oddly related, I once Photoshopped a pic of Sly as Nick Fury...I think he would have been great!). So, with The Expendables 2 coming out this month, I thought it would be cool to celebrate that by going as an Expendable to the Con. The costume itself would be pretty easy now. I have airsoft guns, a tactical vest, black BDU pants and combat boots. I even have a black beret, and could easily just go as Barney Ross himself (except I can't seem to find that cool Expendables flash he wears in the sequel). I think if I did this, though, I would have to insist that my wife draw an Expendables tattoo on my arm for the day.

I don't know. Anyone with Cosplay experience have an opinion on this?