As the superhero film genre grows larger and larger, with more films being put out each year, more characters being introduced to set up new films, the pressure to come up with new, interesting storylines increases. However, there is one good thing about working with comic book characters. They already have great stories from their original medium. Since the comic book movie boom really started back in 2000 we've seen adaptations of Spider-Man No More, Wolverine's Origins, The Galactus Saga, Knightfall, Extremis, Days Of Future Past, Civil War, The Age Of Apocalypse and The Death of Superman, all to varying degrees of success. But there are still classics from Marvel and DC's long histories that, If Done Right (Warner Bros. and Disney, but mostly Warner Bros.!), could make for excellent movies and perfect additions to their cinematic universes. So here are my 10 storylines I'd like to see make it from the comics to the big screen (in no particular order)
So, Marvel:
Marvel Knights: Black Widow
I think we're all in agreement that a Black Widow solo movie has to happen at some point right? I mean, I'm pretty sure the only people who haven't come out and said "we really want this to happen" are Disney, because toys of girls don't sell well to boys and girls only buy Disney Princess toys (sic). So why this story? Well it has the right villain in Yelena Belova, the right stakes (being a potential world threat without needing someone like Thor getting involved) and the right feel, being a spy-thriller. It would be different to most other films in the MCU, more Jason Bourne than Star Trek reboot, and that's what Black Widow should be. She isn't a superpowered superhero, she's a spy, so give her spy things to do.
Hawkeye: Blindspot
This one is a bit different. Hawkeye is the lame duck of the MCU, he's the guy who shouldn't really be there, they haven't put any time into him as a character, and the character development they have given him was rushed. So, what to do with a solo movie? Well, I like the central premise of Blindspot as a starting point. In this storyline, Hawkeye starts to lose his sight and he is forced to fight a new version of Trickshot (who turns out to be his brother) during this incredibly troubled time. Now, I love the idea of Hawkeye losing his sight. He's a man who relies on his sight and aim in order to hang with Gods and superhumans on the Avengers, so how would he cope with losing his greatest advantage. However, I don't know how well the rest of the storyline would play out, so it might also be worth mixing in some elements of his 2012 series (maybe introduce Kate Bishop?). But either way, it'd be a great character building move for Hawkeye. Again, the stakes aren't as high as massive city wide destruction, so it would be a bit of a break from the norm for the MCU.
Panther's Rage
With Machael B. Jordan being confirmed as playing Killmonger in 2018's Black Panther film and the current synopsis being "T'Challa must defend his land from being torn apart by forces from outside and inside Wakanda", I think it's a fairly safe bet that we're going to see this storyline at least partially adapted. And why not, it's a fantastic story, one of Marvel's best from the 70's. It touches heavily on the always odd premise of T'Challa being both the ruler of a kingdom in Africa and a member of the Avengers in America, and what could happen to his country whilst he is away with the Avengers. We get to see T'Challa as both a statesman and at his best as Black Panther. And it fits quite neatly into the MCU as it is, with T'Challa having had good reason to be away from Wakanda for an extended period of time, reason for his people to be concerned by this (see Avengers 2) and the introduction of Klaw already, meaning Killmonger's original origin story is good to go.
Kraven's Last Hunt/ Fearful Symmetry
This is just the best Spider-Man story of all time. It took a classic but highly underappreciated villain in Kraven and had him win, outsmarting and outmanoeuvring Spider-Man at every corner. The premise is simple, Kraven sets out to prove he is superior to Spider-Man by being a superior Spider-Man (though not THE Superior Spider-Man, because that storyline was just a bad imitation of this masterpiece). It would make a change from the current Marvel status quo of having the villains being mirrors of the heroes by actually having the villain take the place of the hero. Of course, this would have to come a few movies down the line (certainly after Homecoming) just to set Spidey up in the MCU, plus the ending with Kraven offing himself would have to change, but still... Oh, and while we're on the subject: Javier Bardem as Kraven The Hunter. Just run that around your head for a bit and then tell me you don't want to see that, I dare you.
Messiah Complex
Ok, finishing off our Marvel portion of the list with a non-MCU film. At the moment, the X-Men Movie Series is a mess. They have no continuity left, making sequels to prequels to films which the sequel to the prequel they're making has no connection and it's stupid. So, what they need to do if they're going to keep the series going (and honestly, I don't think they should. I think Logan is as good a point as any to stop, but hey, money) is to basically soft-reset again and streamline the series. By the looks of the Logan trailer, they've gone all no more mutants, which is good. If we have one or two exceptions to that rule, we can then have the Messiah Complex, which, if scaled down slightly, can provide a jumping point for the series to start afresh. Have this one big movie where everyone tries to find the first mutant child born since all mutants lost their powers and then you have that kid as the focus for the next films, along with the girl from Logan, and start a new generation so you don't have to keep going and doing sequels to prequels to keep the cast young. Also, it's a good Cyclops story and by God does he need a good showing in a film because he got shafted by the original trilogy.
Ok, with the red team out of the way, let's take a look at the blue team shall we. To DC:
Sinestro Corps Wars
So, the last attempt at a Green Lantern movie was utterly cowpats wasn't it. As it was at what was meant to be the start of a cinematic universe, they couldn't go all out on it like they wanted to (as well as everything about the film being wrong in every way). However, placing the GLC movie in the middle of the DCEU means that they can go all out. Obviously, there are a lot of things that will need to be trimmed back (half of the human Lanterns, Superboy-Prime and Cyborg Superman as well as the Anti-Monitor, maybe move the finale off Earth to Oa?), but the Sinestro Corps Wars makes the most sense to be used as one of the first stories they tell for the Lanterns in the DCEU. All of the Green Lantern stories of the last 10 years have been based around things that originated from this storyline, it has the most iconic GL villain of all time, the premise is simple and hard to mess up (it's a war between order and chaos, good vs. evil come on) and the story has the sort of impact you'd want to reintroduce people to the characters after such a disappointing previous outing.
Aquaman: Death Of A Prince
Once again, this storyline could use some massaging before it would work on screen (stuff like the robotic beluga and the villains motivation being to create an underwater colony for black people might need to be removed for being a tiny tad bit stupid). However, this is one of the most recognised Aquaman stories, one of the most important moments in DC continuity and one of the best examples of Aquaman's heroism. Black Manta is a hugely underrated villain in terms of popular perception and his presence in the DCEU would be highly welcome. It doesn't have to be the first Aquaman movie they make, in fact I'd prefer if they tried out an Ocean Master-centric story first, however it is a story that DC should look to adapt further down the line if the DCEU continues.
JLA#1-#4 (1997)
One of the bigger problems the DCEU has right now is that its heroes aren't really that heroic. Superman levels entire cities and doesn't really seem all that bothered about it, even less so when a room he's in suddenly blows up and everyone around him is killed. And then you have the very Dark Knight, who seems to have forgotten that he took a vow never to kill anyone. Why should the public get behind these people, or mourn Superman's death? So, that's where this storyline comes in. Presenting a group of White Martians posing as better superheroes than the Justice League in order to facilitate and invasion of Earth, the storyline is a good jumping off point because it makes sense, why should the people of Earth support these destructive Gods when they've got these other superheroes who are solving legitimate problems like world hunger, a story that even makes Superman a believable underdog. Plus, it is the perfect way to introduce the Martian Manhunter to the DCEU.
The Judas Contract
I WANT A TEEN TITANS FILM!!! I would very much like to see Nightwing, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven and Donna Troy on the big screen please. And personally, I think this is one of the easier stories to work with for a film. You just tweak Deathstroke's motivations a bit, having him want to get at Dick in revenge for Batman foiling his plan in the DCEU Dark Knight movie (just don't fall into the Marvel pattern of killing off your bad guys DC) and boom. It's got everything, an engaging story, a heart-breaking betrayal, a truly threatening villain and a proper heroic journey of Dick Greyson casting aside Robin, stepping out of his mentor's shadow and becoming Nightwing. If you didn't want this to be the debut storyline, just do the Trigon arc from the first New Teen titans comic. But either way, WE NEED A TEEN TITANS MOVIE!!!
The Origins of Mr. Freeze
Ok, so who is the Batman villain who is present in the most great Batman stories? Yes, it's the Joker. And by now I'm pretty sure everyone's sick of the Joker. So, who to turn to next? Well, Riddler is a good option, but doesn't have many truly memorable storylines. Catwoman is another classic but works better as a morally ambiguous potential ally to the Dark Knight. Bane's best storyline has been done, and they've done Two-Face twice already. However, we still haven't got a really good Mr. Freeze. Yes, we've seen him before in a truly terrible film, but can anyone honestly say that film did the character justice? Just look at The Animated Series. Freeze is one of the best villains, because he's believable (as believable as a guy who is cryogenically frozen can be) and sympathetic. he doesn't crack corny ice-puns and manically laugh with his stupid day-glow teeth, he is a man who was turned into a monster through pretty much no fault of his own and he lost everything he loved because of it. Take that story, translate it to live action (without Poison Ivy thanks) and put a really good actor in the suit (Christoph Waltz? I mean, it doesn't have to be an Austrian, but if it does might as well get the best) and you could have a great movie.
So what do you guys think? Any comic book storylines you'd like to see made into films? Let us know in the comments below.
And with that
JR out.
What about . . . “MAXIMUM CARNAGE”?!
I’d give anything to see that moment in mid-story when a beaten Spidey looks up to see Cap standing there saying, “Need some help?”
@Nick Hentschel- You obviously didn’t read my run down of the top 10 worst Spider-Man storylines did you?
I have wanted Kraven’s Last Hunt on the big screen ever since I bought the series fresh off the rack! Perhaps the best story in all of comic-dom. I totally see Javier Bardem in the role. However, I don’t think you could use Tom Holland as Spidey for that one. Unless you film the roles about 10 years apart.
Sorry, Green Lantern is dead to me. Sinestro Corps would have to be an outright reboot. Good pick for Aquaman. Yes to a Teen Titans movie! A live-action TV series is coming soon to Turner Network Television.
The one for me that has been in Development Hades forever is Alien Legion. Either A Grey Day to Die or Slaughter World would work.
How about Nightcrawler’s crazy solo adventure (1985)? Sure, it was only four issues but you have a lot of material to work with. For a full-length feature, knit the movie with the storyline of X-Men #153 “Kitty’s Fairy Tale Theater.” Extra-dimensional portals and all that. Bamf!
I would like to see another Judge Dredd movie but that window is probably closed.
Know what? With Tom Holland, how about Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends? Iceman and Firestorm. Homecoming might be a good set up for other teenage heroes. *cough* Squirrel Girl *cough*
JLA#1-#4 (1997)
I had forgotten this, but this is an awesome idea. I loved this storyline and the way you present it makes real sense for the DCEU as it is.
So of course, it won’t be done. What a shame!
I’d love to see a New Warriors movie! I loved that comic when it first came out. Night Thrasher, Firestar, Marvel Boy, “Kid” Nova, Speedball, and Namorita where a great team!
oh and I would also like a Elemental war Firestorm movie, Of course that would require 2 or 3 additional movies before it could happen too establish the character and then transform him into “Elemental Firestorm”
It doesn’t matter if I read it or not: I happen to have a different opinion.
@Atomic Punk: Wait, did you just say live action Teen Titans TV show? Firstly, who is in it? And secondly, why not in the Arrowverse? Kid Flash is a thing, Deadshot is a thing and aliens/ demons aren’t that far fetched when there’s already time travel involved and you have Supergirl.
I mean, I heard about something to do with the Titans earlier this year on some network but I thought the didn’t go with it.
Oh and Spider-Man and Friends is a no go, especially for Iceman, because X-Men. See my reply to Kaldath after this for my thoughts on Firestar (too many characters with variations on the Fire theme that have similar names: Firestar, Firestorm, Starfire).
@Kaldath: I think the New Warriors would be better suited to a TV show personally. You can tie it into stuff that has happened on AoS (make Firestar an Inhuman rather than a mutant for example). And lets keep Firestorm in the Arrowverse for now.
@Nick Hentschel: Yeah, and you’re entitled to it. But don’t expect me to put it on a positive list ever. Besides, you have to build way too much for it to work. You can’t do the story without Venom, so that requires another film, then you need to bring in Daredevil, Iron Fist, Cloak and Dagger, three extra villains alongside Carnage, it’s too much. I mean, Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 sunk with only three villains and no extra heroes, imagine what would happen with 10 other notable characters they’d have to cram in. Plus, you honestly want them to try to trim down 13 issues into a two hour movie? Don’t expect half the stuff you love from the comic to make it.
Honestly, without being biased, that storyline is one that just wouldn’t work on the big screen. On a small screen TV series it could work, but on film, no. It’s one that won’t translate from the comics, purely because it’s too intrinsically “comic-book”. That style of massive crossover works in comics because you can stretch it out over multiple issues and multiple titles, were-as with films you’ve got two and a half hours at most, so everything needs to be more condensed. If you just want to see that one moment you mentioned, hope that it turns up in an Avengers film, it’s a decent possibility.
[[AHEM]]
I’m afraid that the tone of this conversation is getting far too snappish for my taste. Which fact is particularly annoying to me (my fault notwithstanding), because I edited that comment to be far more polite, but unfortunately, it didn’t take. What you should have read (and what I insist that you respond to exclusively), was this:
“It may be that I haven’t read it: I come here more to draw, than to read the editorials. This being the case, I apologize for the oversight. But regardless, I do have a different opinion, and with all due respect, I’m sticking to it.”
THAT is my official comment, my official opinion, word-for-word, not the snippity one above. That is the comment I would prefer be responded to, both in tone and in content. I bent over backwards trying to take the rudeness out of my remarks, and only this [[BLEEP]] computer kept me from doing it. Hold to your opinion, by all means, but please do NOT be angry with me.
@Nick Hentschel- Apologies, I didn’t mean for it to come off snappy. I’m not angry with you by any means. I don’t care for the Maximum Carnage storyline, you do. That’s fine, as I said, you’re entitled to your opinion, as am I.
I do also lay out a good few reasons why the storyline in question may not translate very well to the big screen in my original comment and I’m a tad disappointed that you chose only to respond to the first two lines, especially as it paints my whole comment as rude and mean-spirited. Even to your edited comment, my response remains the same. I don’t like the storyline and, even taking that bias out of the equation, I think it would be too messy to work on-screen outside of TV. And for my supporting evidence, I will again point you to Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, both of which tried their hands at 3 villains and failed, let alone having 4 villains (5 if you count Venom) and 6 other supporting major name heroes. I would not be adverse to seeing Carnage on-screen. The MCU is a better place to have the symbiotes anyway, as we already have aliens as a known commodity with the GotG, so it wouldn’t be a leap of the imagination to have Spider-Man meet those guys and get the Venom symbiote some how, that then leading on to Carnage. However, if they were to do a Carnage storyline, I think that Carnage’s origin story would suffice and if any aspects of Maximum Carnage had to be involved, it should just be kept to Venom and if Cap is also a requirement than he’s the guy Spidey turns to before allying with Venom. Too many other villains has been shown not to work and too many other characters just gets too overblown and unwieldy.
Teen Titans has been in the works since 2015. With the success of the Arrowverse, Gotham, and Marvel on Netflix, rumor is TNT has committed to the project. If true, then Teen Titans will be outside of the Arrowverse. Fox owns the rights to the X-Men, so FX’s Legion will be outside of the MCU.
I would like to see live-action Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends for sheer nostalgia. The conflict of teaming Peter Parker with Bobby Drake is not continuity within the MCU. It’s the rights to the characters between Disney and Fox.
Such a team-up would also introduce into the MCU. Given the direction of the MCU with Inhumans and now magic with Dr. Strange and spiritual forces with Ghost Rider, plus Fox’s direction with the X-Men, it probably wouldn’t work. To think, X-Men is pigeon-holed with mutants while the MCU has exploded cosmic.
Spidey and Pals would have to be its own thing. Maybe on Netflix but still separate from Hell’s Kitchen. A one-shot full-length movie would be fun.
As for “fire” characters? You can’t tell me that you don’t want to see the ingenious ways that Iceman and Firestar would combine their powers to stop villains. Captain Cold and Heat Wave used their guns for epic heists and almost took down The Flash. (Spoiler: I don’t think that Leonard Snart is dead; perhaps caught in a temporal vortex).
Given the surprise success of Guardians of the Galaxy, the MCU is in a prime position to add other “less popular” titles such as New Warriors. Then, New Warriors could be a major release to introduce a new series for Marvel on Netflix (Hell’s Kitchen).
That’s because it was more important both to apologize for any misunderstandings, and to neutralize any sense of hostility, than to debate the minutiae of the post. “Painting” you in any light whatsoever, good or bad, is precisely what I am trying to avoid.
Tone had to be addressed before debating *anything*, lest the conversation become overly personal and overheated. I’m not an admin here, and I’m well aware that my participation can be halted if things get out of hand, with no warnings and no second chances. I’m not letting that happen.
And honestly, I’m not prepared to debate in detail, since I only was trying to contribute a fun comment, in the first place, and never expected to make this big a deal about it. My opinion simply isn’t as vehement or as extensive as yours; I was just trying to be cute.
That’s a perfectly valid argument (if you’ll please excuse my abbreviating it). And for the record, I’d be willing to adapt it for TV, too: whatever works.
Like I said, I was just trying to make a fun, silly suggestion.