And the mask comes off.

[Felderburg]

I was under the impression that the first we heard of it was during the hacking thing, so the emails were probably a lot older than from November? I'm sure that Marvel has been trying since day 1 to get all their properties back.

Regarding Nemesis War Hulks, I think it's them and Longbow Chasers are the only ones where pilots "die" - the Sky Raider Skiffs had their pilots fall out.

[BadWolf]

Well, if we're talking unlimited animation budgets, I wanted my Necromancy mastermind to be able to replace dead(er) minions by animating the bodies of fallen enemies around me.  Which could lead to a Simpsons-esque skit of animating a dead Longbow and have it start wandering around moaning "...brains, brains, brains!"   Then, when it shuffled over to another Longbow agent to attack them...it would then wander off with a disappointed look on its face still moaning "...brains, brains, brains!" 

This just reminds me of when the Rikti War Zone went live as a co-op zone, and the story arc with the rogue Longbow. When the contact said, " Still, it would be best if you could do this without any unnecessary action. I have my own problems with Longbow, but we're all on the same side against the Rikti," I just pictured my level 47 Robot/FF Mastermind with the 'Villain' badge, saying, "Ahahahahahahahahaahahhaaaa! Oh, wait--you were serious? Oh, um, yeah. Minimum casualties, totally. **snerk**"

[JanessaVR]

This just reminds me of when the Rikti War Zone went live as a co-op zone, and the story arc with the rogue Longbow. When the contact said, " Still, it would be best if you could do this without any unnecessary action. I have my own problems with Longbow, but we're all on the same side against the Rikti," I just pictured my level 47 Robot/FF Mastermind with the 'Villain' badge, saying, "Ahahahahahahahahaahahhaaaa! Oh, wait--you were serious? Oh, um, yeah. Minimum casualties, totally. **snerk**"

Indeed!  I always loved that arc - more Longbow to mow down, and a great chance to work on the badge.  I always thought Vanguard membership should come with an honorary "We Beat Up Longbow For Lunch Money" badge.

Though actually heading over to Nerva with your Vigilante was always the best bet - a "target-rich environment." 

[Arcana]

I was under the impression that the first we heard of it was during the hacking thing, so the emails were probably a lot older than from November? I'm sure that Marvel has been trying since day 1 to get all their properties back.

Based on information now available, it seems a deal had been in the works for quite some time, but then fell apart.  Then some time after the hacking event something prompted the parties to go back to the deal table, and a deal got cranked out very quickly.  It may even have been the fall out from the hacking scandal that prompted Sony and Marvel to open talks again.

Regarding Nemesis War Hulks, I think it's them and Longbow Chasers are the only ones where pilots "die" - the Sky Raider Skiffs had their pilots fall out.

Assuming there's a pilot in them (since they are supposed to be armor and not robots) the pilots of Rikti Heavies (Heavy Assault Suits) probably don't fare too well when they explode.

Then again, Skiff pilots don't have parachutes either.

[Harpospoke]

Its different for a completely different reason.  In the case of Marvel and Sony, both sides had extremely high level people that wanted the deal and worked on it personally.  The right people can make a deal happen almost instantly with just a handshake.  I'm pretty certain no such people are involved in the deal currently under discussion.

That's my impression too.

If NCSoft was as motivated as Sony, I'm sure the "prove you can run the game" part would move much faster.

But I'm patient, I can wait.   I still wouldn't mind if they were more motivated.   

[Battlechimp]

This just reminds me of when the Rikti War Zone went live as a co-op zone, and the story arc with the rogue Longbow. When the contact said, " Still, it would be best if you could do this without any unnecessary action. I have my own problems with Longbow, but we're all on the same side against the Rikti," I just pictured my level 47 Robot/FF Mastermind with the 'Villain' badge, saying, "Ahahahahahahahahaahahhaaaa! Oh, wait--you were serious? Oh, um, yeah. Minimum casualties, totally. **snerk**"

Its was great, we slaughtered them all and our side didn't take a single casualty!    What do you mean that's not what you meant?

[UruzSix]

"Hi, Sony, This is Marvel.  You remember that Avengers movie?"
"Yeah"
"It made more money than everything you released last year combined."
"Yeah."
"And the Thor movies"
"Yeah"
"And the Captain America movies"
"Yeah"
"And the Iron Man movies"
"Yeah"
"Can we use Spider Man in the next movie? We'll give you a percentage."
"Yes, please do.  Use him in every movie.  We'll send a catalog, pick any Sony-owned character you want.  Use them all.  Please.  Please!"

Even shorter than that.

"Hi, we're having an Everything Must Go sale. How much do you want for Spider-Man?"

[Brigadine]

Even shorter than that.

"Hi, we're having an Everything Must Go sale. How much do you want for Spider-Man?"

What I don't get is why FOX is the jerk about it...

[Abraxus]

What I don't get is why FOX is the jerk about it...

They are probably keeping a close eye on the Sony deal to see how it works out.  If it looks lucrative, they will look into it, because making money is where their interest lie, but they were never going to fire the first shot.  Their X-Men movies (even the so-so entries) have made them money consistently, so why muddy the waters if you don't have anything to gain by it.  Fan love, and appreciation for a contribution to comic movie continuity does not pay the bills you know! 

[darkgob]

What I don't get is why FOX is the jerk about it...

Marvel canceled its Fantastic Four comic and is literally rebooting its entire comic lineup just to spite Fox.  Who's really the one being a dick here?

[Vee]

Marvel canceled its Fantastic Four comic and is literally rebooting its entire comic lineup just to spite Fox.  Who's really the one being a dick here?

I'd imagine if Fox didn't have an FF movie and AOA in the works they'd jump on board. the x-movies make them money but nothing like avengers money. x-men will be ready for another reboot after AOA so maybe then.

and as far as the comics go,it's not as if ending a comic is anything unusual for marvel. it helps them sell more books when they inevitably reboot it in a year. they've been putting out a ton of x-books still and have integrated them into the avengers a lot. just seems as if they're downplaying them because they've been such trash for a long time now.

[Ohioknight]

Marvel canceled its Fantastic Four comic and is literally rebooting its entire comic lineup just to spite Fox.  Who's really the one being a dick here?

I'm guessing that if there is a movie impact, it's the other way around. 

If the new take by Fox on the characters is popular, they don't want to be publishing a comic that doesn't fit.  If two million new fans from the movies want to suddenly buy a comic about their favorite characters...

[Sugoi]

If the new take by Fox on the characters is popular, they don't want to be publishing a comic that doesn't fit.  If two million new fans from the movies want to suddenly buy a comic about their favorite characters...

Easily done, all they have to do is reprint Graphic Novels of the 60 issue run of the Ultimate FF, which was originally run between 2004 and 2009.  After all, that's what the new movie is based on (with a slight 'diversity' twist.)

[Arcana]

I'm guessing that if there is a movie impact, it's the other way around. 

If the new take by Fox on the characters is popular, they don't want to be publishing a comic that doesn't fit.  If two million new fans from the movies want to suddenly buy a comic about their favorite characters...

I'm pretty sure Marvel comics isn't afraid of being out of sync with Fox studios.  While its still speculation that Marvel is canceling FF explicitly to spite Fox, there's strong evidence that Marvel is deliberately downplaying FF because they don't own the movie rights and do not want to promote a competitor.  And of course there are stories like this: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/05/30/artists-given-specific-instructions-not-to-use-fantastic-four-characters/marvel-49/

My own guess is that while there might be some spite involved, I think its equally likely that its a cross-pollination fear that is causing them to shut down FF.  Canceling the comic book at this point has no chance to help or hurt the Fox movie, so that's not really an issue either way.  But in the long run, the Marvel comics universe is one where everyone keeps crossing over with everyone else.  If you're trying to reflect (to a degree) the movies in the comics and the comics in the movies, having properties around that you cannot put on screen creates an editorial problem where every time someone comes up with a bright idea for the comics that happens to include the FF you already know you can't translate it to the movies you make without serious changes.  That's actually the problem they had with Civil War before a miracle happened and Spiderman dropped back into their lap.

Saying "screw Fox lets kill off the FF" seems possible but unlikely.  "Fox is being a pain, lets try to limit how much their stuff intrudes on the rest of the Marvel Universe" seems more likely.  And if it comes off as a jab on Fox, all the better.

[Vee]

It's a bit ironic that their strategy is downplay the FF but harp on the inhumans as a mutant substitute given that the inhumans started in FF and have been closely tied to them ever since.

i wasn't aware they were using the ultimate FF stuff. the actors they got seem a little long in the tooth to be that young so i guess they're not going with the teenage thinktank bit.

[Arcana]

i wasn't aware they were using the ultimate FF stuff. the actors they got seem a little long in the tooth to be that young so i guess they're not going with the teenage thinktank bit.

Using elements from Ultimate FF including the new origin story and connecting the team to (presumably) interdimensional travel is possibly a very canny move on the part of Fox.  It simultaneously allows them the freedom to make X-Men and FF completely separate realities while laying the groundwork for connecting the two down the road.  X-Men is already dealing with reality-altering time travel which would be difficult to keep consistent in any fashion with the FF movies, but if they exist in different universes then nothing that happens in X-Men necessarily affects FF and vice versa - until they want it to.

[darkgob]

Saying "screw Fox lets kill off the FF" seems possible but unlikely.  "Fox is being a pain, lets try to limit how much their stuff intrudes on the rest of the Marvel Universe" seems more likely.  And if it comes off as a jab on Fox, all the better.

I don't view these as completely distinct hypothetical statements, frankly.

[Harpospoke]

They are probably keeping a close eye on the Sony deal to see how it works out.  If it looks lucrative, they will look into it, because making money is where their interest lie, but they were never going to fire the first shot.  Their X-Men movies (even the so-so entries) have made them money consistently, so why muddy the waters if you don't have anything to gain by it.  Fan love, and appreciation for a contribution to comic movie continuity does not pay the bills you know! 

The last X-movie made a ton.  $748,121,534 worldwide!   So Fox will be keeping that franchise for a long time unfortunately.  ("fortunately" if you like the Fox X-movies)

I'm totally rooting for failure for the FF movie Fox is making.   Would love to see Marvel get those rights back.   Although I guess "rooting for failure" is the same as "rooting for Fox to make a FF movie".        I will never ever ever forgive them for what they did to the Silver Surfer and Galactus. ...and to a lesser degree, Dr Doom.

[Vee]

Doh, i'd repressed purple cloud Galactus.

I thought they'd decided AOA would be the last x-movie before another reboot. i know jackman is out after that one and the next wolverine. i wish they'd make "Magneto: Nazi Hunter!" instead because i know they're going to screw up apocalypse. of course they couldn't do anything worse to him than marvel's writers after the early 90s have.

[MWRuger]

The last X-movie made a ton.  $748,121,534 worldwide!   So Fox will be keeping that franchise for a long time unfortunately.  ("fortunately" if you like the Fox X-movies)

I'm totally rooting for failure for the FF movie Fox is making.   Would love to see Marvel get those rights back.   Although I guess "rooting for failure" is the same as "rooting for Fox to make a FF movie".        I will never ever ever forgive them for what they did to the Silver Surfer and Galactus. ...and to a lesser degree, Dr Doom.

I don't think I could ever root for a creative effort to be a failure just so someone else can have another shot at it. It also assumes that Fox would be willing to lease it out ala Sony instead of just sitting on it, which certainly hasn't been demonstrated.

So much work goes into a movie and, even it's not to my taste, someone worked pretty hard to make it.

I would also add that Marvel leasing out their big characters was not done at gun point. They may regret the deal now, but they didn't when they got paid. In light of the way things turned out, I am sure they have regrets, but who doesn't?