“Too feminine!” : Tom Cruise’s face prompted Marvel to destroy thousands of comics

Unless you’re an avid comic book reader, and especially not an English speaker, this is an anecdote that has completely flown under the radar, which is still especially delicious.

Released 27 years ago, the first installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise, starring and produced by Tom Cruise as Agent Ethan Hunt, was as much a poker move as a masterstroke. A huge success at the international box office as well, which once again favored, albeit ultimately briefly, director Brian De Palma, who had been crowned barely three years earlier for what is considered one of his best: The Impasse.

It turns out that Marvel Comics had the idea that the release of the movie would be accompanied by a comic that was supposed to be a prequel to the story seen on screen. In particular, we had to find the reasons why the character played by Ving Rhames was fired from the CIA and found himself working with Jon Voight’s character, aka Jim Phelps.

Written by Marv Wolfman and illustrated by Rob Liefeld in particular, this comic had a major flaw from the start: Marvel did not have the rights to use Tom Cruise’s face. It should also be said that the actor is known to be particularly stubborn and stubborn about the use of his image and the transfer of related rights… especially for this reason, Video game Mission: ImpossibleA spin-off from the film and released for the Nintendo 64 system in 1998, only used a completely generic look for Ethan Hunt.

So the comic artists gave free rein to their inspiration for Ethan Hunt’s characterization… Marvel still sent a copy to the actor for feedback. From there, interpretations vary. According to rumors, the actor did not like the features of his character, he was judged “too feminine”Specifically pointing to page 3 of the comic.

This interpretation does not seem to be confirmed by designer Rob Liefeld, who revealed on his Instagram account in July 2018 that he even received a letter of thanks from Tom Cruise.

However, Marvel ordered the incriminating boards to be changed, with Ethan Hunt having different facial features.

An example. Below, left, the original version, which looks like an ersatz Joker. On the right, the final version:

The firm was forced toSend thousands of copies to Pestil from the first printing of the comic book; respectively before changes. Some specimens still managed to fall into the drops. We found them in the UK, where some copies were apparently pre-shipped before the recall. very rare They sell at a high price. In February 2013, a copy of the original comic sold for $800.