“Watch his awesome approach! Listen to his ponderous footsteps as he lumbers closer and closer, for today you are destined to encounter— The Invincible Iron Man!”
With these words (along with some scrap metal and a lot of WD-40 one assumes), Iron Man was released on the world.
This summer, he will be making another debut, following the paths of Spider-Man, Superman and the like as “Iron Man” hits the silver screen.
And he is not alone.
In the next year, no fewer than five movies based on comic books will be released.
Some comic fans said they were reluctantly optimistic about the upcoming movies.
John Mullins, owner of Collector’s Corner in Auburn, said he felt many of the past movie adaptations have not been good because of a lack of character development.
“If you’ve ever read a book and then gone to see the movie, how often is the movie anywhere near as good as the book?” Mullins said. “It’s even more so with comics.”
Greg Britton, a longtime comic reader, said he “gets very excited” over the movies, only to have been disappointed many times.
However, several movies have gone over well with comic book fans.
The “Spider-Man” and “X-Men” series, along with “300” and “Batman Begins,” to name a few, have won the approval of many comic readers in recent past.
Fans said they hoped for more of the same from the upcoming offerings.
“The Incredible Hulk,” starring Edward Norton and Liv Tyler, will come out June 13.
This is a do-over of sorts, after 2003’s “Hulk” could have ended the careers of Ang Lee and Eric Bana. Nick Nolte remains the lone career casualty.
“The Dark Knight” on July 18 has most of the major players returning from “Batman Begins.” Maggie Gyllenhaal takes over the role previously played by Katie Holmes.
The late Heath Ledger plays The Joker in one of his final roles.
“Watchmen,” from DC Comics, has been scheduled for March 2009 and is directed by Zack Snyder (300).
Perhaps less known to the general public, “Watchmen” is based on the 1980s mini-series written by legendary scribe Alan Moore.
“‘Watchmen’ is considered the comic that changed how comics were written,” Mullins said.
Moore (“From Hell,” “V for Vendetta,” “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”) tells the story of the Crimebusters, a disbanded group of super heroes.
When one of them is murdered, the group comes back together to investigate.
Several fans said they feel good about “Iron Man” and see “The Dark Knight” as a sure thing.
But Mitch Reaves, a collector for 18 years, said for every successful adaptation there has been one equally unsuccessful.
“For every ‘300’ there’s a ‘Catwoman,’ and for every ‘Sin City’ there’s an ‘Elektra,’” Reaves said.