MHS – Chapter 168

Will’s conference room was filled with animators and employees from Dream's Pixar. Among the crowd, Stan Lee and some other writers from Marvel comics were also present. 

Will entered the meeting five minutes late, but by seeing how enthusiastic everyone was, he started the meeting right away with talking about the idea of Ultimate Spider-man. 

“How is everyone doing on this fine afternoon?” Will asked with a smile.

A few replies with ‘Good’, ‘Waiting for this to start’, ‘work has been great’, ‘how are you’ came out one by one. Will saw how Stan Lee sat to the left of where he was with a smile which made it seem like he was just happy to be here. The environment came off as happy and workable in the senses of Will, which made him more thrilled to talk about Ultimate Spider-man.

“Alright, I’m doing great, too. Let’s start off with our next series, Ultimate Spider-man. This is going to be different from other Spider-man stories of the comics. It would mainly be because of a special reason which you might catch on to once I’m done explaining how the entire series goes,” Will said and switched the projector on for everyone to see the idea he came ready with. 

“So, right back to where the story ended, Peter Parker has been Spider-Man for one year. Our superhero has saved lives and fought supervillains, but… BUT, he is still in the process of learning how to be a superhero. Since Peter's superhero life barely started, he is still figuring some stuff out. Nick Fury, the head of the meta-human regulation organisation, S.H.I.E.L.D.  will offer Peter the chance to train to be a real superhero and become "The Ultimate Spider-Man". However, Peter will first have to learn how to work with a team of four fellow teenage superheroes, Nova, White Tiger, Iron Fist, and Power Man. This would basically be the idea of Ultimate Spiderman," Will said while everyone nodded approvingly. 

Will continued with what he was saying, “And the speciality as I mentioned would be Spider-man being a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. More than anything, we are going for a comedy super-hero show,” 

“How about if we go with the general backstory of Peter Parker at the start?” Stan Lee questioned. 

Will calmly explained why they should not start the show with the general backstory of Peter Parker, “Well, in the first season we would slowly unfold the back-story of Peter. Uncle Ben’s death, and so on; so on. The prime goal is to attract the attention of kids, because if kids are not going to love the show, that would be the end of it. We need to make a general impact on it, if you get what I mean,” 

Stan Lee nodded knowing Will was right. 

Will remembered in his previous life how this was the first plan of an animated marvel universe which Disney also did. But it wasn’t as successful as they hoped. In fact, Will wanted to make the characters popular and get the fan-base it deserved. 

“So, in general this series would be a totally different version of the character of Spider-man because of the way it would be presented. I want the people to embrace the characters and in fact, make them really popular among the crowd. There are many things that can actually attract eyes. Especially when there’s other superheroes in it,” Will took a breath in before explaining what he wanted to. 

“Ultimate Spider-man will have Marvel Super Heroes who have never seen before in Spider-man, with a new life that has like so many great challenges, new friends, intense action and character growth. Ultimate Spider-Man will tell a coming of age story, where hapless Peter Parker evolves from a naive teen hotshot to a true hero who comes to terms with his origins and abilities. Along the way, he will have to navigate challenging relationships with mentors and super-colleagues, and emerge with a better understanding of his parents' legacy and his own destiny,” He completed while the entire conference hall went into a pin-drop silence. 

“So basically, it will be a naive orphan with a reluctance to embrace his powers, audiences connect with the fish-out-of-water experience of Peter Parker as he discovers what he is capable of, all while dealing with the stresses of being a teenager, right?” A writer questioned. 

“Exactly. Talking about the character development,  Peter's personality is very likeable; likeable enough to be loved even at the worst kind of situations.  His attitude in facing his problems could help every kid and even inspire them. And then some other things that can make people love would be the voice casting, the character development, the characters, the plots, and even the lines of every character. Even Flash Thompson will later develop his personality; from bully to a hero, of course thanks to spiderman who helped him. So it is a simple concept where kids will be inspired to be a good person like Peter,” Will commented. 

“So, are there any more questions?” Will asked and others shook their heads while some muttered a small ‘no’.

“So, how would we move on with the plot? Like, won’t spider-man vibes as a loner superhero would ruin from the fact that he would be in a team? I mean people would obviously view him in a certain corner where they would question how he was before and how he is now, right?” An animator questioned.

“Not really. It would be a question if I had no plans for the future, but the plot will mostly be Peter juggling with his private and professional life and how he's trying to break away from the stereotype as the loner Spiderman. The loner version will be there in the live action version of the movie that I’ll be directing next, so it is all good,” 

“PG- 13, right?” A blonde who was one of the employees asked. 

“Yeah, PG-13. It is because it comes from a couple of swear words, a clingy wet T-shirt, and, particularly, a great deal of comic book-style violence. The whole show can get very intense and has not just fires and explosions, but people getting vaporised, shot; off-camera, and impaled. And some characters even lose people close to them. There would be an episode which includes a  group of schoolchildren in peril; and parents emotionally abuse their children. But on the good hand, the movie's core message would be about empathy and responsibility. Also that Peter Parker is one of the comic book world's more thoughtful heroes, who is strong and would appear as a true superhero in the eyes of kids,” 

“Won’t it be something mixed with too many ideas? Like with all the other superheroes and villains?” A guy with glasses who works under Stan Lee questioned as soon as Will completed answering. 

“Not really. The main concept behind Ultimate Spider-man is to introduce him into the world of Super-heros. And as I mentioned once, he is NOT used to being a superhero. This is more likely a refreshing series, so, anymore questions?” He asked while every other person shook their heads signalling a ‘no’ and some muttered a small ‘no’. 

“Okay then, let’s take a look at some concept arts,”

The projector showed some pre-drawn art which looked so much better at first sight. 

The meeting went on by discussing and knowing ideas and illustrations of Ultimate Spider-man. 

-

“Everyone would at least know that I did not die like a coward! Or like someone who is trying to make heroes disappear! This would be the end of me and look at you! Is this what you will say to your future disciples?”

The screen in front of the man showed a cartoon character who was on his knees looking enraged and disgusted at the villain in front of him. The character was blood-shot. All in all, it was clear he would be down the abyss behind him in no time. 

“Hahaha! A master of true reign can never be destroyed! If it is not me someone else would have been in my position! But t-trust my WORDS! That someone will come! And that day, you would not be the one with the sword! The sword that killed so many! The sword which holds so many sins!”

The voice of the man behind the mic grew louder and angrier. It held promise, authority and a true feeling of a warrior. His voice appeared rough yet broken. Just like the character who was on the screen. 

“My end is here! Kill me! K-Kill meeee!” 

The character on the screen fell deep down and wasn’t visible with the darkness. The voice actor sounded like he was falling down the abyss. Yet, his posture stood straight. 

In fact, there are two types of voice actors. One, the type to act with the words. The type who showed the emotions from their own face and posture while doing their job. The second type was, who did things perfectly by standing tall and strong without even moving an inch. The true talent was the latter. Those types of voice actors were highly demanded due to how good they were, it was not the experience but the talent. Even some experienced voice artists aren’t able to possess this skill. 

The person who was behind the microphone just ended the dubbing for the cartoon he had been working on for quite a long time. 

“That was so good! Perfect!” The director of the cartoon walked towards where the man in front of the mic was. 

“Thank you, I tried my best. And I think this would be the last day for Asim and me,”

Asim was the character he dubbed. The story was set during the ages of kings and wars. The role was small but the cartoon was somewhat popular with American kids. Popular enough to reach top 10 in kids TV shows. 

“Last day for Asim, yes. But you know what, you truly possess the talent. You did extremely well with your character.” The Director of the show said before thinking of something and asking.

"By the way, do you have other jobs after this?"

"No, I don't."

"I actually have some good news for you then. Dream Vision is recruiting voice actors."