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.
