Website Review: Marvel.com
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that Marvel comics have ratings that
range from "all ages" to "explicit content, 18+" for its MAX
imprint of adults-only comics. Marvel doesn't offer MAX
downloads or subscriptions online, so kids won't find any
nudity, strong sexual content, or drug use on this site.
Message boards are free of bad language and rude behavior, but
the site's blogs may not be as squeaky clean: a few have
off-color comments like "anyone who don't like wat i say suck
it, f--k it, and do it all nite long." Parents also need to
know that the site is very product heavy, sending users to
toybiz.com to buy Marvel toys, to amazon.com to buy video
games, and to a Marvel e-commerce site to subscribe to
comics.
Families can talk about if comics have the same affect on kids as "real" images. Does a shocking or inappropriate drawing make less of an impression than a photo or video of the same nature, or can it be just as detrimental? Families can also talk about their favorite superheroes. What admirable qualities do they have? What makes superheroes good and villains evil? What do they think of movies and video games that are adapted from comic books like Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four ?
Common Sense Media Review
Years before
Tobey
Maguire donned
Spidey
tights, the Webbed One crawled through the pages of Marvel
Comics, home to 5,000+ superheroes and villains. Fans can
follow Spidey, the
X-Men,
the Fantastic Four, and more on MARVEL.COM, which features
blogs, videos, newsletters -- and plenty of plugs for Marvel
toys, video games, and comic book subscriptions. Users need to
register to do a lot of the fun things on the site, like
download wallpaper, view digital comics, or post on message
boards (kids younger than 13 have to get a parent's permission
to register). The coolest feature is the Marvel Universe -- a
wiki, or community encyclopedia, of all people, places, and
things Marvel. Registered users can add or edit entries;
posting guidelines include helpful tips on writing clearly and
succinctly.
Superhero fans might also enjoy the Spider-Man, Batman, and Superman movies, video games, and TV shows.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
