Movies are one of the most enjoyed methods of entertainment in the world. But where do they get the idea for those movies? Comic books are a huge inspiration for many films.
Most people have seen some “comic book movies” and many are familiar with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC movies. But there are many comic book movies that most people don’t realize were originally comics.
My favorite movies are the Kingsman movies, that’s right, those wonderful spy movies were originally comic books. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. While we see Ironman and Superman flying around on the big screen there’s some that aren’t as known for their comic book origins.
Hellboy is one of those movies that nobody knew was a comic book hero. While most people were introduced to Hellboy in 2004 when the movie came out, he was actually first introduced to the world in 1993. While there are so many more none can top the well-known nature of The Mask. The mask movie was released in 1994 while he actually first appeared in comics in 1985.
Marvel and DC may be at the top of the pyramid when it comes to comic books and comic movies there are also some of their movies that went unnoticed as a comic book movie. The swamp thing movies from the 80’s were actually technically comic book movies as DC owns swamp thing. Marvel also has its fair share of movies nobody knew were comics. A lot of people remember those blade movies that showed Wesley Snipes as a vampire hunter, but not many people today know about the blade comic character.
Now there’s one comic book movie that stood out to everyone, Howard the Duck. Originally an ill-mannered comic book character he was adapted into a movie in 1986 and even got a cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
Now I doubt Marvel will ever go any further than just cameos with Howard, they have plenty of characters in their tool shed and are adding more to the movies each year. The way that they’ve handled their character has opened the door to movies like Infinity War. They recently introduced the character Adam Warlock into the universe in a post credit scene at the end of Guardians 2.
There are also the tons of movies that are recognized as comic book movies and people pretend to know what they’re talking about without reading the comics. My biggest current objection with a comic book movie is the fact that Cyborg is in the justice league, but Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter aren’t. On top of those two there is also the fact that Aquaman isn’t in his original orange and green suit. I refuse to recognize Aquaman without it.
On the Marvel side of things, they’re doing much better. They’re staying closer to the comics than DC has been. The incredible thing is that Marvel sold the rights to most of its characters but has since gotten them back and now own most of their heroes. There are two heroes and their villains that they don’t have rights to, Hulk and Spiderman. That being said, they still have the rights to use both of those characters in their movies. Plus Sony has started to let Marvel in on their movies and they have been doing a lot of cooperation as of late.
Now there are some heroes that I’m still waiting to see on the big screen. Such as my two favorites Beast Boy and Dr. Fate. Both of which have wondrous powers. Besides that, there is still one thing that upsets me about the current adaptations of comic books. The discrepancy between movies and T.V. show. Marvel just like with their movies is better at handling that problem. But if you look at The Flash television show and The Flash from Justice League they’re played by two different people. And The Arrow isn’t even allowed to use the villain Deathstroke anymore because he appeared for a short time in one of the DC movies and is possibly getting his own.
To conclude, many movies have been adapted from comic books and many people don’t even realize were comics. But there are also those movies that make their money because they are superhero movies, and some wear that mantle better than others. Being a comic book lover has never been better.
Story By:
Jadon Lamphear
Photo By:
Lena Orwig on Unsplash
