Right now Disney and Marvel Studios are basically on a roll as they continue to churn out one hit after another in the super hero genre. All while DC flounders around trying to figure out how to get their heads out of their butts. Still even with all the fantastic movies getting made, and the sloppy seconds, there are still a ton of great comic book properties that have yet to be tapped for the big-budget Hollywood treatment. If we truly are in the glory days of super hero movies, then I suspect there has to be a few years left before the bottom falls outs. Here is my top ten list of comic book and super hero characters that need their own movies A.S.A.P. As with all of my lists, this is not a rank the numbers are just for organizational purposes. Thanks.
1. Dawn- Cry for Dawn
The goddess herself is perfect for a stand alone movie. Her iconic look is something even casual comics fans might recognize even if they won’t know much about the character. It’s also a perfect way to get the character more exposure and would most certainly be a hard R rated movie.
2. The Tick
I know, I know he has been treated fairly well on the small screen. But imagine a movie with the budget and creative force that could match something like The Mask and you might have yourself one of those super hero comedies that could have wide appeal. I would hope for this film to be set in the PG-13 super hero world with just enough mature jokes to appeal to the older fans while being accessible to the younger movie goers, especially teenagers.
3. Cadillac’s and Dinosaurs
I shouldn’t have to make a very strong case for this one. It’s obscure enough to fall outside of the mainstream to avoid direct competition with Disney, while being an interesting enough idea it could have a strong enough appeal.
4. Martian Manhunter
Let’s face it DC and Warner Bros. have no clue what they are doing when it comes to the Justice League. It might be time to just give up on the shared universe and give one of the cooler, lesser known characters a shot. I have zero faith in their ability to pull it off but am still hoping something gets made sooner rather than later.
5. Cyclops and Phoenix
I know they are doing the Phoenix Saga but damn it Wolverine has gotten 3 stand alone films and Cyclops continues to get treated like a throw away character. As a fan, Scott Summers was always my favorite X-Man, and his lovely wife Phoenix was a perfect counter to his personality. The duo went on plenty of solo adventures away from the rest of the team and their wedding was a major event back in the 90’s why not give these two their own feature film. Base it on their mini series or do something original, throw the kids in there for good measure and I am all in. It’s not like they could possibly make it any worse than Origins Wolverine.
6. Jimmy Olsen
It doesn’t have to be a super hero movie but the character could be perfect for scaling down the Justice League debacle with the opportunity to do a stand a lone movie centered on a side character. It would work best as a political thriller with the super hero world being only passively referenced as needed. Cameos would also need to be bare minimum for this to work.
7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Okay before you scream there already is a film based on that series, or that the comic books came later just remember reboots are all he rage right now and a good Buffy movie based more on the show and comics that followed but with a darker tone and maybe a good hard R might be just what this vampire slaying franchise needs.
8. The Human Torch
It would seem as though Hollywood can’t seem to figure out how to make a Fantastic Four movie fans can agree on. While I personally loved the original I disliked the sequel and still recognize the flaws of the movie. Why not just remove the most popular character and give him a stand alone film first, skipping the origin story and bring the unit together Avengers style in the third film, following a stand alone Thing movie.
9. The Mask
Again with reboots being so popular, Freddy Krueger being dead an buried and New Line Cinema just a fading memory, why not reboot this comic with an R-rated gore fest that more closely resembles the comics. Let Jim Carrey have a brief cameo if you must but why not this movie is screaming for a remake.
10. Silver Surfer
There were a lot of things wrong with Rise of the Silver Surfer. One of them was the terrible special effects of Galactus. The other mistake was using him as the center piece of a Fantastic Four movie when he would have been better off getting his own film. I am not exactly sure where Disney and Fox are on their deal but if they really want to get the FF characters back into the fold they need to do it right. Step one, make a Silver Surfer movie and tie it into the MCU. Step two make a stand alone Human Torch film skipping the origin story and jumping right into the action, also making it part of the MCU. Then give the Thing his own stand alone film before bringing the group together or better yet, Silver Surfer, then Human Torch then FF then Thing stand alone, similar to how they handled the X-Men and then Wolverine movies but don’t make another origin story.
There you go a list of comic book movies to hope for but probably never get made.
Stephanie Bri 