Once upon a time, the idea of Marvel's Avengers becoming a movie--on film with actual actors, that people might pay cash money to see!--was a pipe dream. And like yesterday's Moon Knight Special, this issue has a weird view of Hollywood around about 1990: preening, talentless egoists trying to make money by piecing together films from the latest fads and biggest names. (Probably, but they're pretty up-front about it here!) From 1991's Avengers West Coast Annual #6, "A Wasp in Hollywood!" Written by Roy Thomas, pencils by Jeff Moore, inks by Mark McKenna.
Janet Van Dyne takes a meeting with a big-wheel/little man producer, pitching her screenplay the Coming of the Avengers. Her origin, which included a giant alien that killed her father, is the first thing on the cutting room floor; or at least set for a rewrite: a giant alien not being in the budget, the producer rolls the idea into Egghead instead. And that's only the first of many rewrites; as Ant-Man is made Giant-Man a little early, and what the hell, why not make the Wasp a giant Queen Wasp instead? As a Schwarzenegger-type is offered the villain's role, Jan's shown the door, but a writer's input is probably never especially welcome anyway...
Mind you, "Dr. Pimp" may not be the worst change I've ever heard...
I didn't scan any, but there are Arkon posters in the producers office: I've mentioned the character Arkon the Imperion before, but in the Marvel Universe, his brief appearances on earth were enough for someone to
This issue is pretty awful overall (the West Coast Avengers recap "West Side Story" is a terrible title recapping mostly terrible issues...) as was most of the "Subterranean Wars" crossover, although one chapter was pretty great and we may come back to it soon...
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And then the real Avengers movie rolls out.....At least it didn't follow this contrived story, although Hank Pym not creating Ultron is still going to be damn weird no matter what.
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