Comic Book Movies: The New Blockbusters

Now, more than ever, comic books are a huge part of our society. Ever since the 1930s we’ve been snatching the books of the shelves to read about our favorite heroes, but today, with the ever growing galaxy of comic book movies on the shelf, a whole new audience has been introduced to the great heroes of Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse. You don’t have to be a nerd to like Spider Man anymore, and in the years to come, there will be even more superhero glory hit the big screen, including another Batman film as a follow up to Batman Begins, first movies for Wonder Woman and Captain America, the fifth Superman film, and part 3s to Spider Man and X-Men.

In the next few months you can catch Batman Begins and The Fantastic Four in theaters, and all your favorites are available on video and DVD. What follows here is a look at the most significant comic books films that got us to the point, the films that cemented the genre into the movie industry through their amazing cavalcades of heroes, villains, and special effects. I’d like to apologize in advance if I’ve left your favorite hero or favorite flick out, but I couldn’t do them all. These are just the biggies, and this is just the overview. If you really want to know the heroes, go see the flicks and buy the books.

SUPERMAN (1978):

The film that launched comic book movies as a viable force in Hollywood, Superman was an adaptation of Joe Siegel and Jerry Shuster’s legendary DC comics character done by Godfather writer Mario Puzo and directed by Marathon Man’s Richard Donner. The film star’s Christopher Reeve as Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent, Margot Kidder as his friend and colleague Lois Lane, and Gene Hackman as criminal genius Lex Luthor.

The first thing that strikes you about Superman is John Williams theme music that plays over the opening credits. It prepares you for adventure and excitement. From there Donner takes us to Krypton, Superman’s home world, where Superman’s father Jor-El (the great Marlon Brando) convicts a group of criminals for spreading chaos on the planet, and sentences them to imprisonment in The Phantom Zone, a floating prism in which they will be eternally trapped in sheer nothingness. From there we find out that Krypton is about to self-destruct due the gravitational pull of its two sons. Fearing for his family, Jor-El sends his son, Kal-El away in a special pod to Earth. On the way he is given immense knowledge of the planet. He crashes and is raised by the Kents, hiding his abilities from all but his adopted parents. When he reaches his teens, Clark Kent witnesses the death of his father, and embarks on a journey with a mysterious green crystal.

It leads him far into the North, where he finds his fortress of solitude; there he is instructed by a projected image of his father. Fully grown, Clark Kent gets a job as a reporter for the Daily Planet, where he meets Lois Lane. Over the weeks, Superman becomes a prominent hero figure as he saves kittens in trees and falling helicopters, as well as Air Force One.

Finally, Superman must combat Lex Luthor’s plan to sink California into the Pacific in order to increase the value of the desert land he has bought by making it oceanfront property. Superman must also stop a nuclear warhead from destroying a major part of New York and New Jersey. The film’s finale is astonishingly tense as Superman flies back and forth stopping disaster after disaster, until finally he can’t stop Lois from behind buried alive in her own car. To save her, Superman flies around the world so fast that he reverses time, then sets it back to the moment before Lois is buried alive, and therein lies the only problem with the film’s story.

The disaster doesn’t continue after the time is wound back like it should, it just completely stops as though it never happened. Other than that, Superman is great fun. Reeve is a remarkable portrayal of the Man of Steel, and Hackman is delightfully diabolical as Luthor. The film is a little campy, but after all, it’s a comic book. This one you should definitely see. Superman was a blockbuster hit that spawned three sequels, and the fourth, Superman Returns, is currently in the works.

BATMAN (1989)

The first foray of the Dark Knight onto the big screen, Tim Burton’s gothic adaptation of Bob Kane’s legendary comic book stars Michael Keaton as Batman, Jack Nicholson as The Joker, and Kim Basinger as photojournalist Vicky Vale. Burton’s film is definitely one of the most believable comic book films ever made, due to the fact that there really isn’t anything supernatural about it and it’s set against the gloomy noir background of Gotham City. In this initial film in the Batman saga a relatively green Batman is up against a newly created Joker who launches a plan to destroy Gotham by means of his “Smiley” laughing gas.

Filled with oddball black comedy and memorable dramatic moments, this is a definite film for the ages. Burton’s directing elevates the comic book genre to the stuff of great action drama, and his design team creates a Gotham for the ages and a Batmobile that anyone would want to drive. Nicholson, although he isn’t the proper build or leanness to play the Joker, captures the feel of the Bat’s arch nemesis like no one else ever can. His sadistic silliness is unbelievably potent, and Keaton is equally adept at playing the fierce warrior Batman and the uncertain, withdrawn Bruce Wayne. Add in Kim Basinger’s sex appeal and outstanding talent for playing ambitious photographer Vicky Vale, and you’ve got a brilliant portrayal of the Caped Crusader in action.

X-MEN (2000)

After DC Comics long running domination of comic cinema, Marvel finally decided the time was right to step up to the plate with their own fantastically successful run of comic book movies that began in 2000 with the release of Bryan Singer’s film X-Men. Based on Stan Lee’s 1963 creation that has evolved over 40 years of writers and artists, it is the story of two renegade mutants, Anna Paquin as Rogue and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, who find their way to a school for mutants in upstate New York after they are attacked by a mutant in Canada.

There they meet the X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), and featuring Jean Grey (Famke Jannsen), Storm (Halle Berry), and Cyclops (James Marsden). The X-Men are facing off against a brotherhood of mutants, led by Magneto (Ian McKellen) and his trusted infiltrator Mystique (Rebecca Romijn). Magneto has devised a machine that will use mutant energy to transform all of humanity into mutants in response to the hostility against mutants led by Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison). The film is marvelously rich in character development, such as Wolverine’s search to find his identity, Rogue’s quest for acceptance, and the love triangle between Jean, Cyclops, and Wolverine. Combined with Singer’s knack for finding the humanity in the supernatural, X-Men is a much more human journey than comic book films past, and it also has the action kick to make it cool.

SPIDER-MAN (2002)

Sam Raimi’s colorful and furious adaptation of Stan Lee’s most memorable creation stars Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker aka Spider-Man, Kirsten Dunst as his love Mary Jane Watson, James Franco as his best friend Harry Osborn, and Willem Dafoe as Harry’s driven scientist father Norman Osborn. After bitten by a genetically engineered super spider, super geek Peter Parker is transformed into the wall climbing, web shooting, super strong Spider-Man. He enters an amateur wrestling competition and is not paid the full amount he was promised, so when the place is robbed he lets the burglar pass, only to find out that the same burglar shot and killed his Uncle Ben shortly thereafter.

Now faced with guilt and responsibility, he begins fighting crime and comes into contact with the mysterious and menacing Green Goblin, who is actually Norman Osborn gone schizophrenic after taking a super soldier serum that enhanced his physical strength and agility and made him into a murderous madman. The most striking thing about the film is it doesn’t involve a master plot by the villain, it is simply The Goblin trying to kill Spider Man in any way he can. Maguire’s performance is just a little bit wooden (well, more than a little), but the rest of the cast is unbelievable. Raimi’s sensibilities are perfect for the sometimes comic; sometimes touching world of America’s favorite web slinger, and Spider Man is without a doubt one of the best comic book films of our time.

HULK (2003)

Ang Lee’s odd and surprisingly actionless adaptation of Stan Lee’s comic, Hulk is the story of Bruce Banner (Eric Bana), a scientist who comes into contact with gamma radiation during a failed experiment that allows him to transform into a giant green monster with superhuman strength. In Lee’s film, much emphasis is given to Banner’s childhood, and how his father injected him with hormones as a child that set the process in motion. This seems like a healthy attempt at intrigue, but in the end it’s boring and serves no purpose other than to facilitate the appearance of Bruce’s father, David (Nick Nolte), who tries to coax his son into permanent hulktitude and attacks Bruce’s girlfriend Betty (Jennifer Connelly) with a trio of hulk dogs.

The main problem with Hulk is there is not much development. Dialogue only comes in tiny snippets, coupled with incoherent flashbacks and dream sequences and Lee’s endless split screens, screen wipes, and all sorts of CGI transitions. Connelly and Nolte work hard and deliver good performances, but in the end it all comes down to the Hulk itself, and in the end he is nothing but a giant green computer thing that we can’t relate to. Plus, the Hulk is given far too much power. Nothing seems to be able to beat him, so we aren’t worried when he’s in danger. Overall, a poor attempt at a comic book movie, I’m sorry to say, but still worth seeing so you’ll understand what I mean.

DAREDEVIL (2003)

Written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson, this adaptation of the legendary Man Without Fear stars Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, Jennifer Garner as the mysterious Elektra Natchios, Michael Clarke Duncan as the Kingpin, and Collin Farrell as deadly Irish assassin Bullseye. Matt Murdock was blinded in his youth by a vat of toxic waste, but somehow sound and touch are able to create a mental image in his brain, allowing him to maneuver almost as well as any normal person.

The death of his father at the hand of mobsters motivated him to train and prepare himself to fight evil. Now grown, Matt is a struggling attorney by day and a crime fighting mystery by night. One day he meets the lovely Elektra and they immediately strike up a relationship until her father is murder by the Kingpin by Bullseye hand and Daredevil is framed. Elektra immediately sets out to kill Daredevil, until she discovers its Matt. They both face off against Bullseye, resulting in Elektra’s death, and then Daredevil takes down the Kingpin. Daredevil is a well-made journey, following Murdock through his days as a merciless killer through to his emergence as a bringer of justice. This film is also done with very little CG, giving it a gritty crime movie film that is reminiscent of the original Batman.

THE PUNISHER (2004)

Written and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, the writer of Die Hard: With a Vengeance, the Punisher is by far the most gritty and brutal film in the Marvel canon, starring Tom Jane as Frank Castle/The Punisher and John Travolta as Howard Saint. After an undercover police bust turns up a dead Saint son, Howard Saint and his wife order the death of FBI operative Frank Castle and his whole family at a family reunion in the tropics, but one thing goes wrong; Frank doesn’t die. Instead, he embarks on a rage filled quest for vengeance. While some people criticize the Punisher for its graphic violence, it is all done through the eyes of a man pushed to the edge, a man who has lost everything and wants nothing more than to put his family to rest.

This film is very different from the rest of the Marvel Universe because nothing supernatural is going on here. The Punisher plays like a spaghetti western with machine guns, shot in a comic book frame style that gives it a wonderfully artistic look, combined with a savagery that makes it intensely believable. Jane brilliantly portrays Castle’s inner conflict, while Travolta brings a wonderful practical villainy to Howard Saint. The film also brings in comic relief in the form of Castle’s three housemates, led by Rebecca Romijn Stamos. Overall, this film is brilliant, a fantastic shoot em up with a heart that is a welcome difference from the usual spandex clad heroes in comic book films.

HELLBOY (2004)

Dark Horse Comics first triumphant foray into comic cinema, Hellboy is Guillermo del Toro’s film about a demon raised from hell by Nazis as a baby and raised under American supervision to fight the supernatural threat to humanity. It stars Ron Perlman as Hellboy, Selma Blair as pyrokinetic Liz Sherman, Doug Jones and David Hyde Pierce as the body and voice of fishlike Abe Sapien, Rupert Evans as agent John Myers, and John Hurt as Hellboy’s earthly father Dr. Broom. When a demon called Sammael is raised in a museum, Hellboy and his crew find that it is the beginning of something much bigger.

The evil Grigori Rasputin (Karel Roden) has risen from the netherworld to bring about the coming of the seven gods of chaos and end the world. Meanwhile, Hellboy has to deal with his love for the human Liz as well as her developing relationship with Agent Myers and the sudden death of Dr. Broom at the hands of an assassin named Kroenen.

The film is a wonderful exploration of Nazi occultism and the supernatural, prompting inner questions about the netherworld, and the world of ancient beings and good versus evil provides an epic background to the surprisingly human story. Hellboy may be a giant demon with a stone hand, but on the whole he is just a regular cigar-smoking working stiff with a thing for cats. The cast gives stellar performances while Del Toro works hard to make this odd world seem real, and succeeds.

With many more comic book adaptations to come, it is certain that the genre is now a major player in Hollywood and shouldn’t be treated as though it’s a trifle. Comic book movies have now become works of art tended to by hard working artists who wish to give a human face to the superhuman characters created in the books. Most importantly, comics are to us what the gods were to the Greeks, supreme beings to rule us and teach us, and give us hope, and that’s why we still go to the movies to see them; hope.