Bob Layton. Sebastian Gollnow / EPA
Bob Layton. Sebastian Gollnow / EPA
Bob Layton. Sebastian Gollnow / EPA
Bob Layton. Sebastian Gollnow / EPA

Marvel legend Bob Layton: Black Panther is the perfect film for Saudi Arabia


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Marvel legend Bob Layton was in Dubai over the weekend for Comic Con, and he was full of praise for Saudi Arabia’s choice of movie to usher the era of cinema back into the kingdom after a break of over 35 years since cinemas were closed down.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” the writer and artist states. “It’s a wonderful, multi-cultural movie to open with for a country that wants to move forward. It had real cultural significance.”

We don't know yet what effect Black Panther may have on Saudi audiences when it screens in Riyadh on April 18, but Layton is in no doubt of the positive effect it has already had on American society.

"You see little white kids across America now in Black Panther costumes, and that's when the race barrier starts to crumble in the face of that," he said. "All my grandkids took pictures of themselves doing the Black Panther salute. Obviously, we have a race problem in the US, and these things always start to change first through popular culture. The media has a lot to do with getting people to wake up and join the 21st century, and I hope it's the start of something great for the people of both America and Saudi Arabia."

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Middle East Film & Comic Con

Guide: Middle East Film & Comic Con in Dubai

Ezra Miller and Jenna Coleman in as late addition for Middle East Film & Comic Con

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Layton isn’t exactly a household name outside of comic book circles, so you may reasonably ask what qualifies him to comment. The simple answer would be: he’s the man who sparked the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In 1978, aspiring comic book writer and artist Layton, along with his collaborator David Michelinie, were drafted in to finish off the final few issues of a struggling Marvel title that was due for cancellation. That title was Iron Man.

Layton takes up the story: “In those days, with the Mafia running distribution for comics, if you had a contract for distribution of 12 issues, you weren’t getting out of it. So if a title was struggling, the publishers would take the writer off it and bring in some of the young talent, just as a try out, until they could put the title to bed.”

Iron Man, as it turned out, was not ready for bed just yet, thanks entirely to Layton and Michelinie’s intervention.

"I always hated Iron Man as a kid," Layton said. "People forget that Stan [Lee, creator of many of Marvel's most popular characters] didn't write Iron Man. He came up with the idea and gave it his brother Larry, and Larry had Iron Man fighting giant 30-foot robots made by aliens that looked like cavemen. It just made no sense."

With a few key changes in mind, Layton felt could revitalise the comic. Primarily, he felt the story should be about the man inside the suit, Tony Stark, rather than an unrealistic metal warrior. "To me, Tony Stark was way cooler than Iron Man. He was an attainable goal. He was a rock star. As a teenage kid, that was what you'd look up to, not Iron Man."

With nothing to lose on a doomed title, Marvel gave Layton the green light to make his amendments.

“I asked if I could change a few things and they were ‘we don’t care, we’re cancelling it anyway.’ So we changed the whole emphasis of the book. It became about Tony Stark, and the technology became real, I started drawing it like it was real armour and the rest is history.”

Iron Man went on to be one of Marvel's biggest successes, and Layton says it's no coincidence that the character was used for the very first Marvel Cinematic Universe adaptation.

"If you go into [Marvel Studios founder] David Maisel's office, it looks like the Bob Layton museum. My artwork's everywhere," he said. "We were at Wonder Con together a while ago and he paid $40,000 for one of my covers. The guys nuts, but he said to me 'Iron Man was the first thing we did because to me your Iron Man was what my childhood was about and what made Marvel Comics what they are. That was always the movie I wanted to make first. The movie that would resonate with the public most'."

Layton is clearly flattered by the statement, but he also understands its logic.

"He's right. If you look at all the Marvel characters, Iron Man is the one that's easiest to believe," he said. "As long as you believe in the technology, that's it. It's not like he was bitten by a radioactive water buffalo. You buy the technology and it's just a story about a man who learns from his mistakes and turns over a new leaf. I still think it's the best comic to film adaptation ever done, in my humble opinion."

Layton believes that making characters believable is where some of Marvel’s rivals have failed in creating their own cinematic universes.

"When you look at all the films Marvel has created, they're still very much in the same spirit as those characters we created," he said. "This [DC] Justice League is not the Justice League I remember. The thing that resonates is the original characters. Green Lantern is a prime example too. If you have 500 Green Lanterns and the one you decide to focus on is a boob who can't do anything right, it just dilutes the character."

Layton is even more scathing about Universal's efforts to rebrand its classic monster movies as a new universe: "What resonates in the parents' minds who are going to take their kids to those movies is Lon Cheney and Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. They've gone so far away from that," he said. "Sofia Boutella playing The Mummy? She's great but she's nowhere near Boris Karloff. It's a disaster. I've nothing against making the villain female - Marvel has done that with Ant-Man and The Wasp.

"The villain is The Ghost, actually one of my characters from Iron Man. They’ve made her female, but it’s the same character, they just happen to have made her female. It’s not going to change anything  – gender has nothing to do with it. But retain the spirit of the original if you want it to work.”

Despite his criticisms of other cinematic efforts, it’s in the field of creating strong female characters that he has some praise for Marvel’s arch rivals, DC.

“For the first time in my memory, Wonder Woman actually resonates with the general public in a way she never has. My 10-year-old granddaughter gets to grow up with a female superhero role model which previous generations never had and that’s great. It gives me real hope for the future.”

Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

ON%20TRACK
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ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20myZoi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Syed%20Ali%2C%20Christian%20Buchholz%2C%20Shanawaz%20Rouf%2C%20Arsalan%20Siddiqui%2C%20Nabid%20Hassan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2037%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Initial%20undisclosed%20funding%20from%20SC%20Ventures%3B%20second%20round%20of%20funding%20totalling%20%2414%20million%20from%20a%20consortium%20of%20SBI%2C%20a%20Japanese%20VC%20firm%2C%20and%20SC%20Venture%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
INFO
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
  • 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
  • 2nd Test India won by innings and 53 runs at Colombo
  • 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
The%C2%A0specs%20
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Profile

Company name: Jaib

Started: January 2018

Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour

Based: Jordan

Sector: FinTech

Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018

Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups

MATCH INFO

Inter Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Watch the match on BeIN Sports

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

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ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

The Matrix Resurrections

Director: Lana Wachowski

Stars:  Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick 

Rating:****

Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

UAE v IRELAND

All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi

1st ODI, Friday, January 8

2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10

3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12

4th ODI, Thursday, January 14

Honeymoonish
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Pakistan v New Zealand Test series

Pakistan: Sarfraz (c), Hafeez, Imam, Azhar, Sohail, Shafiq, Azam, Saad, Yasir, Asif, Abbas, Hassan, Afridi, Ashraf, Hamza

New Zealand: Williamson (c), Blundell, Boult, De Grandhomme, Henry, Latham, Nicholls, Ajaz, Raval, Sodhi, Somerville, Southee, Taylor, Wagner

Umpires: Bruce Oxerford (AUS) and Ian Gould (ENG); TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS); Match referee: David Boon (AUS)

Tickets and schedule: Entry is free for all spectators. Gates open at 9am. Play commences at 10am

MATCH INFO

FA Cup fifth round

Chelsea v Manchester United, Monday, 11.30pm (UAE), BeIN Sports

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
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