Comments on: A Childhood Friend Commits Suicide

A Childhood Friend Commits Suicide

jdroth — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:15:45 -0800

Marvel to finance up to ten new films — Marvel Entertainment has received a line of credit to produce new superhero films. The characters in the arrangement are Captain America, The Avengers, Nick Fury, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Cloak & Dagger, Dr. Strange, Hawkeye, Power Pack, and Shang-Chi. "These movies are tentpoles for either summer or the holidays," said Marvel chairman and CEO, Avi Arad. Right. Because who wouldn't want to see a film about Hawkeye? Or Ant-Man? I can't wait! (Related: how to make a superhero movie that doesn't suck. My first thought? Have a superhero that doesn't suck.)

By: Stynxno

Stynxno — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:19:24 -0800

i find your lack of faith disturbing. where the fuck is the iron man film damnit?!

By: craniac

craniac — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:22:50 -0800

I honestly can't think of a superhero film that I want to see made, unless it was "Red Son" with Superman as a Russian, or some similar alternate universe take. Maybe Frank Miller's Batman.

By: luriete

luriete — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:23:45 -0800

<nerd> They better use the Ultimate Universe Samuel L. Jackson Nick Fury, is all I gotta say about it!</nerd>

By: luriete

luriete — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:24:19 -0800

PS, isn't Ant Man a wifebeater and an alcoholic? That movie's gonna suck.

By: teece

teece — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:24:35 -0800

I don't want to see any of those. But then again, I'm not a comic fan, and they might be good. Quit laughing. It could happen.

By: aburd

aburd — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:24:39 -0800

Ant-Man over Alias?

By: DragonBoy

DragonBoy — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:24:57 -0800

Hey, come on now... Hawkeye is cool. First off, he's just an archer, so that makes him one of those 'attainable' heroes. Secondly, his first name is Clint, a name that has now been banned from comics. You see, in comics all the letters are in uppercase, and when I read them the ink would smudge sometimes. This would make names like Clint look a bit like something else. Squint your eyes at "CLINT".

By: illovich

illovich — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:26:19 -0800

Different heroes appeal to different people. I would have agreed with you about the Hawkeye movie, but given my wife's reaction to Orlando Bloom's Legolas, I'd say that a Hawkeye movie could do pretty well (bow and arrow mastery is still impressive, especially when demonstatred by a "hottie elf" as my wife would put it). Marvel has been largely good about transitioning their heroes to the big screen, if you ignore the cesspool that was daredevil. I'm totally psyched for the Cloak and Dagger movie, I thought they were totally cool when I was a teenager (runaways that get super powers from a heroin overdose! Woo!)

By: jonson

jonson — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:26:41 -0800

PowerPack? Seriously? They couldn't even make it as a comic book, let alone an adaptation of a comic book into a movie. I mean, none of these are particularly good, but holy lord, Power Pack? The only Power Pack related item I ever had was an advertisement they did with Spider Man warning kids to report people who touch them inappropriately.

By: sonofsamiam

sonofsamiam — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:26:50 -0800

Cloak and Dagger?!!! Nice!

By: selfnoise

selfnoise — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:29:27 -0800

Power Pack is grotesque. I'd be in for an interesting take on Dr. Strange, but I think that's probably too much to hope for. My guess is that maybe 2 of these movies get made.

By: robocop is bleeding

robocop is bleeding — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:30:34 -0800

Everyone knows that David Hasselhoff is the One and Only Nick Fury. Maybe DC will lurch slowly off its butt and make a decent Flash movie at some point. One possible benefit from superhero movies being over done in the next five years is the hope that in fifteen years they can make a good movie of Kingdom Come. Or 1602. Or even House of M.

By: elgilito

elgilito — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:30:58 -0800

I want a live action Corto Maltese movie.

By: NationalKato

NationalKato — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:31:30 -0800

/ditto on Cloak & Dagger...that could be a great film if they kept it really dark.

By: grabbingsand

grabbingsand — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:32:20 -0800

Dr Strange has already had his movie. Of all of these possibilities, Captain America might turn out better than expected. Of course, he had his late 70s turn, too. Now, Cloak & Dagger ... if given to the right people, that might be a hell of a good movie. But if it was up to me, I'd just save them for use in a Spider-Man sequel.

By: davros42

davros42 — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:32:34 -0800

As long as Captain America takes place during WW2 and features a lot of Indiana Jones style Nazi bashing and adventure, it'll rock... If they try to set it in the modern era, it'll blow. Power Pack could be a really cool kiddy movie. Since only the first 6 or so issues were any good they wouldn't have to worry about cutting out huge chunks of plot or 30 years of tightly clung to continuity. Dr. Strange might be OK. Avengers too.

By: nervousfritz

nervousfritz — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:32:54 -0800

It's not Marvel, but I wouldn't mind seeing a movie version of The Maxx if it was done well.

By: Slothrop

Slothrop — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:34:33 -0800

I have this crazy theory that Arnold Schwarzenegger would have been the best Batman, because I think Frank Miller does the definitive Batman in DKR (besides doing the definitive superhero comic at the same time - he nails the vengeance element of comics perfectly). Ah-nold would be perfect as the craggy, wily nutjob Dark Knight, except perhaps he's a bit too evil in real life... I think Avengers could be good, except I agree with the Salon article on the team issue. Black Panther?! I like the character but that would be pretty disturbing as a summer action flick. I guess all of the violence glorification of comics is problematic, but I'd hate to see some Michael Bay-ish take on Somalia or other civil war-torn African nation.

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:34:42 -0800

PS, isn't Ant Man a wifebeater and an alcoholic? That movie's gonna suck. hmmmm .... Ant man ? .... abusive ? ..... booze? .... redemption? ... interesting ... this could work... is Mickey Rourke available willing to wear antennae?

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:35:38 -0800

Ant-Man? ANT-MAN? Jesus. I'm not really sure how they can make a Ultimates-style Nick Fury, considering Jackson is already doing pretty much the exact same role for XXX. The Avengers, I think, would never work because you couldn't sum up 4-5 origin stories plus a plot in two hours. X-Men were sort of easier: okay, we're all mutants. Done. And unless they're already doing it, I don't understand why half those properties are on the list and Iron Man isn't.

By: fet

fet — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:38:29 -0800

The Avengers, as a group, kinda suck. I was reading something recently (can't remember where) about how the Avengers was kind of a failure as a long-term title for Marvel, primarily because the team kept changing. Adding people, starting 'West Coast Avengers,' etc etc. Crap. Cloak and Dagger could fully kick ass though. Of course, they'll cast Cameron Diaz as Dagger or something, and then I'll light myself on fire. Where's Power Man and Iron Fist?!?! Or Alpha Force!?@ -s

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:38:54 -0800

Will the Power Pack movie be an adaptation of the anti drug comics? And I love Dr. Strange. He's the best character Marvel had during the '60s. Of the ones above, Captain America has already had a shitty movie, the Avengers are huge and unweildly (and will destroy having an Iron Man solo movie), Nick Fury's easy (just remake any John Wayne-esque Green Beret thing), Black Panther could be pretty cool (though it's more likely to be a pandering black folks flick), Ant Man could be cool if done in a Barfly sort of explosion of the mythos (fuckin' Pym particles), Cloak and Dagger could be cool but probably won't be, Hawkeye will be pretty gay (if by costume alone) and therefore campy, Dr. Strange should be good but will probably disappoint me and I'll cry, Power Pack will suck (Incredibles), and Shaing-Chi is already a fuckin' Jet Li flick waiting to happen.

By: GhostintheMachine

GhostintheMachine — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:39:06 -0800

Hey Stynxno and XQUZYPHYR, it's over here along with Ghost Rider and Iron Fist. It's easy to make a good superhero movie. You just have to start with a good idea, and not screw the damned thing up.

By: Espy Gillespie

Espy Gillespie — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:39:23 -0800

This slashdot comment, purportedly by an employee of "the company that brokered the deal" sheds some light on the subject.

By: jdroth

jdroth — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:42:30 -0800

My guess is that maybe 2 of these movies get made. The line of credit in question provides $525 million in funding. I'm not clear on the exact details, but it seems that if things go poorly, the financiers could end up owning the properties in question. Marvel could lose Captain America, for example. Or Ant-Man: As a life-long fan of comics, I hope this deal works out well. As a resident of the Real World, I have my doubts.

By: fenriq

fenriq — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:42:53 -0800

Where is the Iron Man movie? That could be a damned good movie and an interesting one at that. Especially if they get Benny Afleck to be Tony Stark, no wait, how about Colin Farrell? No, no wait, I've got it, Will Ferrell, damn, hold on, how about Johnny Depp? Damn, this is harder than I thought.

By: grabbingsand

grabbingsand — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:43:22 -0800

Alpha Force!? Ahem. That's Alpha Flight.

By: prostyle

prostyle — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:46:09 -0800

Those old Captain America movies were downright awful. I rented them when I was young and sick and got stuck with them all day... I'm still scarred by memories of the pathetic costume for the Red Skull.

By: sour cream

sour cream — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:46:19 -0800

All this "who on earth would want to see ..." aside, a lot of people did want to see a bunch of films with Marvel characters. However, those were produced by movie companies, i.e. companies that know how to make a successful movie. And even those produce flops 70% of the time. Marvel got royalties for that, but those were probably only in the single-digit range. So now, Marvel says it wants to take ALL responsibility in return for the entire cake. This is a pretty risky move for a company that doesn't know how to make movies.

By: KirkJobSluder

KirkJobSluder — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:47:14 -0800

From the slashdot comment: Those cats aren't so old - there's a very real chance that they'll get to executive produce (at the very least) their own movies like no comic book geek has ever done before. And movie lovers quake in fear. Or, roll their eyes in disgust.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:49:16 -0800

Characters who could have really cool movies: (Marvel) Iron Man Silver Surfer Mike Allred's X-Force Vision Luke Cage Dial-a-Hero Iron Fist Thor (maybe not) New Mutants Sub-Mariner (nazi) (DC) Plastic Man Animal Man Swamp Thing Sandman (Silver Age) The Flash (Golden Age) Bizarro (Other) Preacher Bone The Tick Lone Wolf and Cub Daniel Boring Quimby the Mouse (that's a kids movie waiting to happen!) Milk and Cheese (another great kids movie waiting to happen).

By: jdroth

jdroth — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:52:30 -0800

Personally, I'd like to see a movie based on Brian Michael Bendis' Powers. (Actually, I'd probably go see nearly any film he wrote. I wonder if he'll get a chance...) I'd also like to see a non-sucky film version of something from Alan Moore. Top 10? Promethea?

By: KirkJobSluder

KirkJobSluder — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:55:45 -0800

sour cream: So now, Marvel says it wants to take ALL responsibility in return for the entire cake. This is a pretty risky move for a company that doesn't know how to make movies. Giving an artist from another genre creative control over the movie-making process has been a recipe for disaster since Frank Baum created his own movie studio to produce Oz. Marvel can't make a comic title worth reading these days, does anyone really think that their market pandering will end up creating good movies?

By: grabbingsand

grabbingsand — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:57:07 -0800

The Flash (Golden Age) There you go. Jay Garrick's Mercury-helmed Flash.

By: aburd

aburd — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:57:31 -0800

Characters who could have really cool movies: (DC) Animal Man So will Grant Morrison get a chance to write himself into the movie? Personally, I would love to see The Filth filmed just for oddness sake, but something tells me that anything Morrison touches will not be that commercially viable.

By: ooga_booga

ooga_booga — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:59:49 -0800

Marvel will be shaking in their shoes when the Aquaman movie comes out. No, it's not real. Thank god!

By: kaemaril

kaemaril — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 10:59:59 -0800

I'm not interested in any of those. ROM, on the other hand, I would totally watch :)

By: wakko

wakko — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:02:19 -0800

Captain America said, "You gotta be like me, or you're gonna wind up dead."

By: jdroth

jdroth — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:02:26 -0800

I'm not interested in any of those. ROM, on the other hand, I would totally watch. Or Micronauts! I loved Micronauts. I'd also love it if time could reverse itself and George Lucas would base the Star Wars prequels on some of the ideas from the Marvel comics. Heresy, I know, but I loved them.

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:03:08 -0800

Hulk: "So. Let me get this straight. You have the power of an ANT?" Ant Man: "No. No. Common misconception. I can shrink down to the SIZE of an ant. But. I maintain the strength of a man." Hulk: "So. You have the strength of a Man? What the hell kind of super power is that? everybody is as strong as a man. Ant Man: "No. you see proportionally I... Hulk: "HEY. THOR! Check this out. This guy says he has the strength of a Man! Whooo whee! A man. Ha hahaha..." Ant Man: (Sighs)

By: mrhappysad

mrhappysad — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:03:26 -0800

Yeah, Cloak and Dagger is way kool! I used to have the first issue of Power Pack... I clicked on the link here, what happened to their innocence? Yikes! I vote for Alpha Flight! Yeah, am tired of 'em mutants already! Ant-Man, o lord!!

By: mrhappysad

mrhappysad — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:04:37 -0800

I'm gonna get my Raid!

By: Ber

Ber — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:08:50 -0800

If they want to make an Avengers movie, base it on either The Ultimates or New Avengers. I favor the former only because it has Thor as a far-left Norse hippie god who only goes into action when Bush caves and signs a foreign-aid bill.

By: poppo

poppo — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:11:08 -0800

man that is lame. lamest comics to ever lame and now they will make them into lame movies

By: stinkycheese

stinkycheese — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:17:03 -0800

An Alpha Flight movie could be great, esp. if they evoke the FLQ...well, actually that might not be such a good idea. But still, Pink Pearl! How great would that be? And a super-high-budget Thor movie set in Asgard would rule! Also, there's already been a Swamp Thing movie and I can't imagine how it could be topped.

By: stinkycheese

stinkycheese — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:18:34 -0800

Pink Pearl! I have this issue signed by John Byrne. /geek

By: COBRA!

COBRA! — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:21:26 -0800

An Ultimates-style Avenegers movie could be pretty interesting, if they were willing to take some risks. That's the only way I see the concept working. Beyond that, this slate looks like a big load of bad. The Marvel slide in the past few years is really depressing... In the early years of the Jemas/Quesada regime, they really had their shit together and were doing interesting stuff all across the line. Now they seem afraid to take chances with anything, and just spit out dull pap. I want the Marvel Entertainment that gave us X-Statix, not the one that gave their blessing to the Elektra movie.

By: Verdant

Verdant — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:28:58 -0800

Ant Man?

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:32:22 -0800

I'm still holding out for a revival...

By: zoogleplex

zoogleplex — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:34:48 -0800

"The line of credit in question provides $525 million in funding." Yeah, that will get you precisely TWO summer blockbuster quality level movies these days. And doesn't cover the marketing expenses or the attendant merchandise and inevitable video games. Both X-Men movies cost well over $100 mil to make, Spidey movies around $200 mil each. Unless they think they can make 10 movies for $50 mil apiece, in which case all 10 of them will suck harder than the gateway to the Negative Zone. As far as Silver Surfer, he probably won't get his own movie, since we'll probably see him in Fantastic 4 II: Cosmic Boogaloo. Cap as a WWII period piece would be really awesome if they can do it right... Cap storming the beach at Anzio, hell yeah!

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:42:26 -0800

What elgilito said; knowing the industry, however, a live adaptation of Hugo Pratt's work: 1) Would revise Rasputin into a dimension-hopping sorcerer, intent on bridging the worlds of the living and the dead with a nearly-invincible army of giant robots. 2) Would call for historic characters from incorrect time periods encountering Corto - such as John Lennon and Sir Issac Netwon. 3) Rather than follow the quest for gold, would envision Corto aiming to locate Atlantis, which would contain a mysterious machine that could change the weather. 4) May opt to recast Corto's father as an unnamed American soldier, and his mother a Swiss nurse. 5) Aiming for wider audiences and hip appeal, would cast a caucasian pop starlet in the role of Gold Mouth. 6) Will inevitably feature a male lead who looks and dresses nothing at all like the main character. 7) Undoubtedly have Corto marry Venexiana Stevenson and travel to New York, where the two spend their honeymoon at the 1939 World's Fair.

By: fet

fet — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:49:38 -0800

Ahem. That's Alpha Flight. Whatever. They're Canadian ;) *holding out for Power Man and Iron Fist*

By: daq

daq — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:58:27 -0800

klangklangston: Lone Wolf and Cub has already been done. In the '70's. And it rocked hard core. http://imdb.com/find?q=Lone%20Wolf%20and%20Cub;s=all Chambara at it's finest.

By: Kickstart70

Kickstart70 — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:59:01 -0800

Characters who could have really cool movies: (Marvel) ... New Mutants I'd love that. It'd make a good kids movie, if nothing else. On the DC side: Ambush Bug. I'd sell my mother for that.

By: grabbingsand

grabbingsand — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:10:23 -0800

And you know, Lone Wolf & Cub was done again more recently.

By: Zack_Replica

Zack_Replica — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:10:38 -0800

It's the (in)sane choice: Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman. "I thought I told you to shut up!"

By: QuietDesperation

QuietDesperation — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:14:08 -0800

The greatest superhero of them all might warrant a movie. But who would play him?

By: willmize

willmize — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:14:48 -0800

I read somewhere on the Intermanets that Blade himself, Wesley Snipes, was very interested in playing T'Challa, The Black Panther. Considering how he and David Goyer took a promising series and drove it into the ground, I am highly doubtful that the movie would not be a crapfest. And now they've given golden boy Goyer the greenlight to do a Flash movie with Ryan Reynolds. And Watchmen will never get made.

By: lodurr

lodurr — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:16:02 -0800

Reid Fleming?! No way! I'm holding out for the Flaming Carrot. Of course, it would probably end up just like The Mystery Men....

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:16:20 -0800

I'm waiting for a Caterer movie, myself.

By: eclectist

eclectist — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:20:53 -0800

Replace Ant Man with Iron Man, Hawkeye with Silver Surfer, and the Avengers with Damage Control, Inc (and do it as the hilarious send-up that it would be), and you have a decent, doable, list. I mean, I'm not really keen on Power Pack, but I could see it happening; same thing with Cloak and Dagger, and like klangklangston said, Shang-Chi has Jet Li written all over it.Honestly, though - Ant Man and Hawkeye?

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:23:04 -0800

"in which case all 10 of them will suck harder than the gateway to the Negative Zone." Dork. What about The Invisibles? That'd kick all ass if, you know, the Warchoskis hadn't already tried their hand at ripping it off. (And what about the JLE, when they took on Deconstructo?) Or oooh... what about the Excalibur, especially when they were doing the dimension hopping?

By: Karmakaze

Karmakaze — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:23:56 -0800

Power Pack had a tv pilot (unaired) made once, so someone thought it had promise.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:25:03 -0800

Oh, Flaming Carrot, god... My dorkheart would explode.

By: Kickstart70

Kickstart70 — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:27:09 -0800

What about Green Lantern? Green Arrow? Iceman? Supergirl? She-Hulk (hubba hubba)?

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:28:22 -0800

Or Guardians of the Galaxy? I think that would have the potential to be the worst Marvel movie possible. (Aside from maybe She-Hulk. Who would you get to play She-Hulk anyway?) Or remember the '80s naming craze? Darkhawk and Deathlok are due for their own starring vehicles! (Moon Knight could be done, and done well...) I admit it. I'm going through my old comic cards. Anybody need the Hulk hologram? I've got doubles.

By: robocop is bleeding

robocop is bleeding — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:31:40 -0800

I thought Jack Black was going Green Lantern?

By: zoogleplex

zoogleplex — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:33:04 -0800

" "in which case all 10 of them will suck harder than the gateway to the Negative Zone." Dork." Oh my yes. You didn't know that already? heh... (disclaimer: I am a published comic book artist. very high on the nerd scale.)

By: bshort

bshort — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:37:15 -0800

Isn't Green Lantern DC?

By: keswick

keswick — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:47:54 -0800

"This is terrible, this idea." Most of these movies will su-diddily-uck. However, there is an animated "Ultimates" movie coming out that blends the Ultimates and the Avengers. If Sam Jackson isn't playing Fury, I don't care, though. PS: Ultimate Captain America and Ultimate Hulk rule. Freddie Prinze Jr. can't love you like Hulk can, Betty!

By: Zack_Replica

Zack_Replica — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:50:11 -0800

Well, what about The Reid Fleming & Flaming Carrot Crossover, with Fabio, Pavarotti, and Christopher Walken and vampires! I'm seeing blockbuster! Oh, and Watchmen. It'd be _amazing_ to see as a movie, but there are so few people who'd do it right and so many that would do it wrong, and the latter would get the funding and it'd suck like a cheap Hoover. You know it would.

By: fenriq

fenriq — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:50:39 -0800

Dreadstar would make a decent flick if only for the anti-religious bend to it. Deadpool would be entertaining. I'd watch a movie based on Armor as well, maybe one or two of the other titles by that publisher who's name is escaping me right now. They also had CrazyMan and Toy Boy comics that were good.

By: daq

daq — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:50:50 -0800

What I'd like to see is either an animated or possibly "live action/CG'ed up the wazoo" of Cerebus by Dave Sims. But that's just because I like the absurdity of it.

By: ToasT

ToasT — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:50:50 -0800

The sad part, for Marvel devotees, is that the various characters are being farmed out to different production companies, meaning that crossovers, the meat and potatoes of the Marvel Universe, will not happen. Each movie takes place in its own, lonely little pocket universe. I second the vote for a Milk and Cheese movie. Booze up and riot!

By: fenriq

fenriq — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:51:45 -0800

Oh yeah, second the vote for Watchmen. It would be damned difficult to scrunch into a 2 hour flick though, maybe four 2 hour movies but one would be very, very hard to do.

By: ToasT

ToasT — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:53:02 -0800

but one would be very, very hard to do Or very easy to do very badly.

By: squarehead

squarehead — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:55:17 -0800

Cloak and Dagger could be interesting, but for some reason I feel it will turn out to be another "Spawn" in terms of tone and what not. Even as a kid I could tell that their symbiotic, dualistic, yin-and-yangness was a bit heavy handed.

By: robocop is bleeding

robocop is bleeding — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:55:37 -0800

Watchmen would make a great season's worth of an HBO show.

By: COBRA!

COBRA! — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 13:07:00 -0800

Watchmen would make a great season's worth of an HBO show. Yep. That's the only way it should be approached, I think. Even then it's chancey.

By: ooga_booga

ooga_booga — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 13:11:11 -0800

A movie adaptation of Milk & Cheese would only work if it was based on the Merv Griffin strip.

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 13:14:11 -0800

What I'd like to see is either an animated or possibly "live action/CG'ed up the wazoo" of Cerebus by Dave Sims. Because the live-action/CGed versions of Rocky & Bullwinkle and Howard the Duck did so well. You know what'd be really great? Give Bruce Timm two hundred million dollars and just make more fucking cartoons, for Christ's sake. Do the comic people need another ten years before they realize the animated Batman and DCU shows are better than ANY comic movie made in the same time period?

By: kosher_jenny

kosher_jenny — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 13:18:18 -0800

Thirding the HBO approach to Watchmen. It would really work better as a big mini-series rather than a two-hour movie. I heard rumors a while back that Tom Cruise was interested in playing Iron Man (this was way before his whole Katie Holmes public batshitiness thing) and I think he wouldn't be too bad as the character. (Am I the only one who wants to see a Runaways movie?)

By: kosher_jenny

kosher_jenny — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 13:20:05 -0800

On preview, XQUZYPHYR's suggestion is much better. B:TAS kicked ass. (<3's Bruce Timm)

By: WolfDaddy

WolfDaddy — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 13:38:21 -0800

A Justice Society of America movie would be cool. Warning: your browser might resize

By: signal

signal — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 13:44:48 -0800

They should make "Y the last man".

By: Robot Johnny

Robot Johnny — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 13:45:08 -0800

...Squint your eyes at "CLINT" Does this mean you're not in favour of a CLINT FLICK?

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 13:46:26 -0800

Luke Cage (only if he's the Hero for Hire version) Ghost Rider Dr. Strange Iron Man (on the way, hope it doesn't suck) Silver Surfer Thor (maybe) Forget about the rest.

By: zoogleplex

zoogleplex — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 13:48:24 -0800

"I second the vote for a Milk and Cheese movie. Booze up and riot!" Or, just film Evan Dorkin hanging out and talking for a week, and cut the very best moments into a 3-hour epic. That guy is mind-bendingly funny and interesting to have a conversation with.

By: mikeh

mikeh — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 13:48:58 -0800

Why no one want make Hulk 2?

By: signal

signal — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 13:51:07 -0800

You know how you make a comic-book based movie that doesn't suck? You work straight off of Frank Miller's panels as your storyboard.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 13:51:50 -0800

but holy lord, Power Pack? The only Power Pack related item I ever had was an advertisement Huh. Well then I'm not sure how qualified your comments are. But remember, if this happens to you it is NOT YOUR FAULT. I liked some Power Pack. Not much, but in the comic book world there's a hell of a lot lower to go. And for the Hollywoody, kid-centric style that Marvel has been cranking the films out in, it seems like a good enough idea. It's a title they can cater to kids and not actually screw up. Why in hell would they ever bother touching Hawkeye, though? That doof was never anything but some crusty NYer's idea of what Californians are supposed to be like.

By: dreamsign

dreamsign — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 13:53:09 -0800

My list would be Iron Man Silver Surfer Sandman Green Arrow The Tick oh, and The Watchmen, if done right. PLEASE.

By: keswick

keswick — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 14:00:08 -0800

A Watchmen movie *will* suck. A Watchmen mini-series on HBO, on the other hand... could rule.

By: Zack_Replica

Zack_Replica — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 14:01:48 -0800

Um, Kirth Gerson, you were aware of this, yes? Ghost Rider Official / Imdb. (crosses fingers, hopes for a good flick, or at least a not-bad movie and no sequels.)

By: Zack_Replica

Zack_Replica — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 14:05:38 -0800

let's try those links again... wonder twin powers activate, form of official site / imdb.

By: phearlez

phearlez — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 14:17:09 -0800

jdroth, Bendis was closely associated with the MTV animated Spider-man cartoon if you're not aware. All out on DVD and at your local Lackluster Video. Worth a look.

By: Coda

Coda — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 14:18:14 -0800

Please, please, please: dear mother of God, please: Do not let anyone make films based on the works of Alan Moore or Grant Morrison. They are way, way, way too conceptual for that. Way. Moore's heavily footnoted characterization and Morrison's fascination with mimetic autopoiesis do not lend themselves to cinema. Anyone making movies about superheros needs to knock it off and throw more whiskey and smokes at Warren Ellis. Now there's a man what could write a screenplay. Can you imagine a Planetary or Global Frequency plot as a film? Brian Michael Bendis needs a damn movie or three as well. And a fuckin' amen to the whiskey-tango-foxtrot reaction to yes for Ant-Man but no for Alias (which has, mind you, some of the best Luke Cage material ever). I'm gonna read some comics now.

By: Sphinx

Sphinx — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 14:19:24 -0800

The Watchmen was written in an episodic format, why change that? Use the GN as a storyboard, cast Joe Piscopo as the Comedian, et voila! The alternate reality of the GN holds true, why alter it?

By: cell divide

cell divide — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 14:23:22 -0800

How about Mort, the Dead Teenager?

By: Zack_Replica

Zack_Replica — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 14:32:22 -0800

Coda: Can you imagine a Planetary or Global Frequency plot as a film? Yep, you're right on the money with that one. I'd choose G.F. over Planetary*, as one may as well assume that most of the moviegoing public wouldn't 'get' the various Superhero/Pulp comics references, as some are more oblique than others (the FF is easy to spot, but I'm sure most don't know of Doc Savage). *Though I think they're both amazing.

By: dances_with_sneetches

dances_with_sneetches — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 14:34:34 -0800

Someone needs to stop this onslaught of superhero movies before it destroys Hollywood forever. How about Captain LawyerGuy!

By: sandking

sandking — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 15:18:07 -0800

Jonny the homicidal maniac, bitches.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 15:38:42 -0800

Happy Noodle Boy.

By: keswick

keswick — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 15:45:49 -0800

I'd like to see a Space Moose movie. "You can't do that, Space! "I can do whatever I want; I'm the master of time!

By: Joeforking

Joeforking — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:00:44 -0800

I just wish someone would make a decent Judge Dredd movie.

By: Zack_Replica

Zack_Replica — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:07:45 -0800

I'd nearly forgotten about Jonny! I always hoped that he and Lenore the Cute Little Dead Girl woulda got together and slayed some people and made sa-weeet looove. All done by Tim Burton. Hmm. That'd rock, actually...

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:14:48 -0800

Characters who could have really cool movies: D.C.: Vigilante Yeah, bitches. People forget Vig was a DC character... now those were some extreme storylines. Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to clarify something: Captain America, Black Panther and Hawkeye were all part of the Avengers, so the title is a bit redundant. Of course, so was Spider-Man, but he resigned. Anyway, the point is, I'm a comic book geek, but at least I have the entire Avengers series (X-Men, too!) So there.

By: vhsiv

vhsiv — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:15:11 -0800

The Avengers, I think, would never work because you couldn't sum up 4-5 origin stories plus a plot in two hours. X-Men were sort of easier: okay, we're all mutants. Done. And unless they're already doing it, I don't understand why half those properties are on the list and Iron Man isn't. posted by XQUZYPHYR at 1:35 PM EST on September 7 I'm a big geek, not to mention something of a writer myself and I'm of the opinion that origin stories are unnecessary - if a story is written well, you can drop an audience into the thick of things and force them to understand what each character's powers are. Did Wolverine have an origin in the X-Men movie? Any of them, besides Magneto? See. It's up to the writer to demonstrate the characters and their attributes with a minimum of on-the-nose exposition. And Coda, Global Frequency is already a half-done deal - it was going to be a mid-season pick-up on the WB, but the Frog got cold feet. There's an EXCELLENT GF pilot (my review) floating out on BitTorrent, leaked by some angel someplace. The Executive Producer, John Rogers, spent half of his summer talking about it on his blog. The internet leak has given the show something of a second chance, but nothing's written in stone yet. And XQUZYPHYR, The Ultimates and Bendis' New Avengers are tight enough that a skilled creative team could make a good film from either, but it would be far more economical to make an Ultimates movie.

By: PinkStainlessTail

PinkStainlessTail — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:18:13 -0800

YOu didn't hear it from me, but Johnny Depp has been approached to play Brother Power the Geek. And he's very, very interested.

By: starscream

starscream — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:19:10 -0800

Did anyone here see Man-Thing? He was always one of my favorite Marvel characters that no one ever heard of. I learned just now that this existed!

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:19:59 -0800

Also, I hereby nominate Julianne Moore as The Scarlet Witch. I would have gone with Kirsten Dunst, but, well... she's Peter Parker's girl now.

By: Zack_Replica

Zack_Replica — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:20:37 -0800

vhsiv - thank you for that GF info!

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:25:19 -0800

How about The Authority. That'd be a fun 'un.

By: gorgor_balabala

gorgor_balabala — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:31:01 -0800

i'm not good at this comic-geek game. . . but has anyone mentioned aeon flux yet?

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:51:41 -0800

I wanna see a Bipolar Bear movie.

By: Kickstart70

Kickstart70 — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 17:00:26 -0800

Anyone know when this film about Lobo will be made/released?

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 17:06:15 -0800

Kickstart: God willing, never.

By: Zack_Replica

Zack_Replica — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 17:16:14 -0800

I'm hoping Aeon Flux won't be a stinker. I thought the cartoons were really well done as the animation, artwork and expecially the stories didn't follow conventional stylings, and maybe, just maybe the movie'll be as edgy too. Also, I'm hoping V for Vendetta won't be too poopy, but I haven't really read much about the general feelings about it (and AICN doesn't really count much, as they freak over everything).

By: Ber

Ber — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 17:47:06 -0800

Fourth for the Watchmen, but again, it must be a HBO series. But we definitely need a decent Marvel movie, because Brett Ratner is going to skull-fuck X-3 about ten different ways. And does anyone know when the Batman Begins DVD comes out. I'm starting to jones for that.

By: kaemaril

kaemaril — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 17:47:31 -0800

I'd watch an Authority movie. But only if Seth the Bionic Hillbilly was in it :)

By: thecjm

thecjm — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 18:15:00 -0800

But Ryan Reynolds would be a good Flash. All wisecracky and cocky with a hint of overbearing self-doubt. That's what the Flash should be

By: papakwanz

papakwanz — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 18:23:18 -0800

Am I the only person on the planet who thought Daredevil wasn't bad? I mean, it had its share of problems, but it wasn't awful. I'd see a sequel (which might get made, but probably not). Now Elektra... that's a stinker. And honestly, I wouldn't mind a Hulk 2. The first had enough promise that a 2nd one could be good if they tightened up the writing. An Avengers movie will blow chunks, because unlike X-Men, there's no common theme tying the characters together. Too many disparate characters, too many different backstories, too complicated, a 2 hour movie that blows. A Black Panther movie could be good, if they had balls and did a kind of Constant Gardner thing with BP going up against corrupt companies trying to exploit his country. Wakanda as the state that stands up to the Western rape of Africa. Captain America I think might be OK, but they'd have to go 1 of 2 ways with it. 1) completely WW2, fighting the Red Skull, etc. Or, 2) first 1/4 in WW2, then the frozen in ice story. Cap wakes up in 2005, finds himself out of place in a USA that doesn't match up to his ideal of self-sacrifice and freedom, leads a rebellion of the people. But, not likely to happen. I agree with whomever said a Runaways movie would be good. That could be a great film for the teen crowd. Hawkeye is, honestly, pretty gay. A Green Arrow film would be much better, because he's a much more interesting character. From what I've heard, Iron Man might star Leo Dicaprio as Tony Stark, but I don't know if that's still the case. And the Rock was rumored to play Silver Surfer. Those again could be good, but they'd have to play up the trippy cosmic aspects of the Surfer, and not just some big dude who body slams people. The only other Marvel movie that I want to see (besides X-Men 3 and the spinoffs which are in pre-production, Wolverine and Magneto) would be Supreme Power. Come on man, that would be the shit. Powers, which Marvel now publishes, was optioned by Frank Oz a while back, but I don't know what's happening with that. It is one of the best continuing series on the market, though. Besides additional Batman films, DC should do a Green Arrow movie, maybe a Green Lantern movie too (no, Jack Black is not going to be GL. That was mostly rumor, I think). And I know Goyer is doing Flash, but I don't think Ryan Reynolds is official. Honestly, most of their really good stuff is in the Vertigo imprint. A Preacher movie has long been in development, with Cyclops from X-Men starring. Also, Ex Machina is in development, with Brian Vaughn writing the screenplay. A Sandman (Gaiman version) movie wouldn't fly, because the story is just too big to do in 2 hours. Y the last Man has been optioned, I believe, but I'm not sure what's coming of it. Personally, I'd love to see an ongoing animated series of Fables, but done on HBO so they could keep the adult aspects of it, but that's never gonna happen. They could do an interesting movie with that, though. But, you know, all these other characters, like Sub-Mariner, Ant Man, even Cloak and Dagger who are, admittedly, kinda cool, they just won't work because the potential market to watch a guy who can shrink down to ant size just isn't big enough, thus the movie won't get a decent budget, which will mean it will suck even more, and thus have even less of a potential audience. Rather than making 10 films based on some questionable choices of characters, Marvel should make 3 films based on solid characters, and use the money to hire good actors, directors, and screenwriters. Oh, and as others have said, no one should be allowed to touch anything Alan Moore does, because no one except a true visionary with free reign and a huge budget would be able to do it justice (Imagine: Watchmen, directed by Stanley Kubrick. Or maybe not)

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 18:53:54 -0800

Papakwanz: The story being big isn't what stops Sandman; what stops Sandman is the same thing that stops Watchmen— that it's really an example of comics at their highest form, and translating it inot a different medium would rob the piece of some of what makes it great. But a silver age Sandman could totally be done (with his gas mask). And what about the Invisibles? Too bad the Matrix took a lot of its best ideas...

By: jdroth

jdroth — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 19:20:02 -0800

If I could mark best answers here, they'd go to the last two comments from papakwanz and klangklangston. I especially like this: The story being big isn't what stops Sandman; what stops Sandman is the same thing that stops Watchmen— that it's really an example of comics at their highest form, and translating it inot a different medium would rob the piece of some of what makes it great. On the way home from work, I picked up the first Invisibles and Alias compilations. Those are two series I haven't checked out yet. I'm on my way downstairs to take a hot bath and read comic books — i.e. paradise.

By: dreamsign

dreamsign — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 20:08:39 -0800

A Watchmen mini-series on HBO, on the other hand... could rule. Ooh, me like.

By: oddman

oddman — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 20:42:13 -0800

Screw you guys, Power Pack rocked. I have every issue.

By: Man-Thing

Man-Thing — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 21:24:26 -0800

Reid Fleming! Years ago, 1982 it would be, I had a brief conversation with David Boswell, who said Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis were interested in doing something with Reid Fleming. It obviously never happened. Peter Boyle would have been great for it back then, but he's too old now. Pity. Even I haven't seen the Man-Thing movie.

By: PurplePorpoise

PurplePorpoise — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 22:05:28 -0800

Ber - amazon.com sez Oct 18 although I've been badly burnt on the release/availability on other things by their .ca affiliate.

By: Darkman

Darkman — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 22:54:09 -0800

If they make the Dr. Strange movie, they'd better get Ed Asner to play Baron Mordo. Or maybe Rosie O'Donnell. She'd have to cultivate the mustache a little more...

By: rob511

rob511 — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 02:54:42 -0800

When you find yourself in danger, When you're threatened by a stranger ... Call for Super Chicken! (buk, buk, buk, buk!)

By: Irontom

Irontom — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 04:59:07 -0800

Here's a question for you (us) comic nerds - does anyone have a link to a complete list of all the various comic book movies that have been made? I want to put together a complete library, from the good to the terrible, but I'm too lazy/not obsessive enough to do the research on my own.

By: pracowity

pracowity — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 05:56:48 -0800

When you are ready to have a serious conversation about Green Lantern, you have my e-mail address.

By: COBRA!

COBRA! — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 06:45:37 -0800

When you are ready to have a serious conversation about Green Lantern, you have my e-mail address. Y'know, pulling out that quote reminded me that the Onion's archives are free now, and I went back and reread the story. I'm impressed; whoever wrote that for the Onion really knows their shit. Oh, and Guy Gardner is clearly the greatest GL of them all.

By: reidfleming

reidfleming — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 11:16:44 -0800

I've got a great idea...........Howard The Duck! {crickets}

By: papakwanz

papakwanz — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 13:46:17 -0800

Latest rumor on Ant-Man is that it will be a comedy directed by Edgar Wright of "Shaun of the Dead" fame. Now that... that might work.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 22:20:50 -0800

Kwanz: If by "work" you mean "suck."

By: papakwanz

papakwanz — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 21:57:55 -0800

Oh come on man, Edgar Wright doing it as a kind of lovable send-up of comic book heroes, just the way Shaun of the Dead was a lovable send-up of zombie movies... if anyone could do anything with a lame property like Ant Man, it'd be Wright. That said, it's pie-in-the-sky rumor for now anyway.

By: yankeefog

yankeefog — Sat, 01 Oct 2005 00:51:40 -0800

I realize I am nearly a month late to this conversation, but I would just like to say that you all are wrong and oddman is right. Power Pack rocked (or, at least, it did for the first few years.) Plus, when I was 12, I had a huge crush on Louise Simonson, the series' author.