Adaptations! How close to the source material do we all want our movies?

I totally agree

I agree too. I liked the movie quite a bit, but was let down with the characterizations.

I think what works in a week-to-week comic book might not work in a 2 hour movie. I think what comic book movies need to do is get the material which people most associate with the character and put it in the movie. Perhaps the most famous storylines and interpretations of the character, etc. Comic book movies are really a way of selling a character. I think that movies are always going to have to go into their own dirction, otherwise they are just literally copying stories frame-by-frame. I do not think movie adaptations need to do that exactly, but just re-create everything most fans love about the character/ comics. For instance Marc Webb never understood that Peter Parker is a decent pretty responsible guy even BEFORE the spider bite, instead he turned him into a douchebag who revels in the power. Like I said, no-one expects a frame-by-frame adaptation, but to at least get down the concept of the character is something most people hope for.

I think it depends on the type of movie you're trying to make. The advantage of most superhero movies is they've been around for decades, so there is plenty of material to mine from. That means they can pull from familiar stories (which pleases fans) while also being something completely new (which pleases everyone else).
They have the freedom to mix it up.

Then you have the tales that are a singular experience. Like Sin City, 300, Kick-Ass or Watchmen. Those actually should and have to follow the books closer, because they are complete narratives, beginnings middles and ends. Not on-going like the long-running heroes mentioned above. if one decides to stick with following the comic, don't break that rule by then changing too much crap. The point isn't to not be predictable, it's to translate a great story so even more people can enjoy it.

Watchmen has 12 issues.

Superman, Batman, Spider-man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Green Lantern, etc... all have over 1,000 issues of very different stories. Many of these stories are contradictory for the characters, and feature slight or drastic retcons. In short, those characters are in a constant state of change. Yes, there are critically acclaimed storylines and publications that have become defining and amazingly popular, but again, someone is going to do something radical afterwards.

With that in mind, some things just don't make much sense, and for all the fun the X-Men movies produce, they are just as guilty of throwing stuff out there that just doesn't work.

Emma - YES, that is meant to be Emma Frost - it's no coincidence Silver Fox has limited psychic powers... Emma is a teenager in the 70s, but a 30-something adult in the 60s.

Leech is a very normal boy with a bald head, a huge departure from the half-mute and slimy green mutant kid with no visible pupils. Lazy change, probably didn't want to do make-up.

Deadpool, aka the Merc with the Mouth has optic blasts, blades in his forearms, and has NO MOUTH.

In the end, did these affect how a major audience saw the movies? Not really. Some people probably thought "the Deadpool" was cool, having never heard of Wade. Leech is such an obscure character in the comics, regardless of the role he plays in the Mutant Massacre (a favorite of mine), that no one would ever care. And Emma - well that might cause SOME confusion, but not enough to make anyone dislike the movie.

How accurate do we want them? I'd say enough that if it encourages audiences to read a comic book, they can easily identify the characters. For fanboys, it's a moment of glory when Hulk says: "Hulk Smash", when Cap "calls it", when Rorschach sidesteps all of his murder attempts in prison, when the Symbiote howled in pain to the sound of a church bell and latched onto Eddie, even when Johnny said "flame on!"

We'll bitch and complain because of the quality of the production, the story, the actors, the script and dialogue.... but it's the small things that make all the difference.

i agree with @sotojuiceman changes do need to be made, and its great to get original ideas on charaters we have loved for so long. sometimes i completely reject changes but most times i welcome because it just adds to the mythology and adds to the history of each character. i will always have the source material and its not like i dont want to see the source material on screen, i just dont have an issue with someone giving their take on it. because you know every fan that wants to make one of these movies has either made up their own story with their toys or friends orvideo gmaes or RPGs... everyone should be able to add something to the characters we love, thats what will makes it OUR character

If the ending results are good, than it's okay to go different from source material.

Here's some other things that need fixed too.

In X 2 Xavier says that Magneto helped him build Cerebro. In first class, Beast built the whole thing without the help from either of those two.

In X3 Xavier is still older in that flashback with young jean grey than he was in First Class, yet he's still walking.

At the end of X 3 we seen in the little after credits scene that the cure wasn't a cure but temporary. Magneto got his powers back. Yet nothing to confirm YET that the other mutants got their powers back.

In First Class Havok was never explained to be a relative of Cyclops, if Havok isn't going to be in Days of Future Past, I hope fox doesn't leave that unexplained too.

There's more but I can't think of any right now. If anybody else can let em rip.

Well, Storm shouldn't have ever been in the Cerebro search, unless she looks REALLY young for her age.... anyone born in the 50s would NOT look like Halle Berry in the 2000s.

Moira is also ageless - wait no, she aged about 11 years between 1962 and 2006 (or further).

Ah, worse things have happened.

I think that whenever you completely change established characters, that's where a line should be drawn. CBM's are up for artist interpretation, which is great and allows for originality of character, that's awesome., and you even see it in comics. Different artists draw the same characters different ways, the new 52 skewed some origin stories, Superior is throwing us all for a loop and that's all fine. But Bat-Nipples and TMNT aliens? C'Mon now.

i prefer a good movie over a restrictive adaptation, i am after all watching a movie and i understand that not all things transfer well to cinema.