‘Ghostbusters 101’ Comic Book Series Will Be A Crossover Between Classic And 2016 Members
When there’s something strange in the neighborhood, it seems the comics are ready to “answer the call.” Ghostbusters 101 appears to be the closest thing fans will get to an apology for 2016’s big-screen debacle.
Ray (Dan Aykroyd), Peter (Bill Murray), Winston (Ernie Hudson), and Egon (Harold Ramis) won us over in the 80s as scientists fighting law enforcement and the Environmental Protection Agency to curb a rising problem with the paranormal. Ghosts were overrunning New York City, and the four decided to take their expertise in an unexpected direction. Armed with experimental nuclear reactors and psycho-kinetic energy meters, as Bill Murray put it back then, they came, they saw, and they kicked some hindside.
The movie wasn’t as critically acclaimed as it was loved by fans, even sporting a catchy tune, merchandising everywhere, and even a cartoon series which went to some really dark places while sporting that catchy tune. The cast of Saturday Night Live had found their uber-hit. The sequel wasn’t so well-received, though, as Dana Barrett’s (Sigourney Weaver) baby had become the focus alongside a creepy animated painting of a mass murderer. A face-off ensued between said painting and its equally creepy caretaker, and the Ghostbusters.
For years, there were rumors of another film being planned. Ghostbusters 3 was scrapped, as was a “next generation” spin-off. It wasn’t until someone came up with the idea of an all-female Ghostbusters team that Sony Pictures gave the film the green light.
Paul Feig’s remake/reboot happened in 2016, angering nostalgia fans everywhere. Ray and the team were thrown out for a team of women, only two of which actually seemed to have any positive effect on the entertainment value. Even cameos from most of the surviving original cast couldn’t save it from bad or mid-range reviews and general internet hate. Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones just weren’t enough to make up for the mostly dismiss-able Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig.
The film even polarized feminists against internet critic James Rolfe (The Angry Video Game Nerd), who refused to see it on the grounds that he “knew” it was going to be bad.
It appears that fans of both teams might have a truce in the works, as Erik Burnham, Dan Schoening, and Luis Antonio Delgado are working to bring the 1984 and 2016 cast together, at least on the printed page.
The one format most famous for crossovers is comic books, of course. The X-Men met the original crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, Superman helped sell Radio Shack products, and Archie even met the Predator. Almost nothing is out of bounds on the comic book page, a trend which extended into video games with franchises like Marvel Vs Capcom and Mortal Kombat Vs DC. While the latter nearly killed the Mortal Kombat franchise, the former has a new entry coming out likely next year featuring a subplot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The backstory for Ghostbusters 101 involves a massive paranormal threat as the two universes combine. You can probably expect Peter Venkman to clash with the 2016 team, as Bill Murray’s performance in the 1984 original was a tad bit misogynistic. Winston Zeddmore could have an ironic clash with Patty Tolan’s (Leslie Jones) dad, just for chuckles, since they’re both played by the same guy (Ernie Hudson) in the movies.
Producer Ivan Reitman had once claimed he’d wanted to meld the two teams together, according to Yahoo News. If the comic book sells well, it could lead to a new cartoon series or even another chance for Paul Feig and his cast to return, alongside the surviving original cast.
A crossover film isn’t likely, though, as the 2016 film wasn’t well-received at all, with the most hated video on YouTube, respectively.
[Feature Image by Sony Pictures]
