Go to your local movie theater at any point this summer and you’ll see advertisements for at least three or four different movies based on popular comic books. The genre has grown from the occasional summer blockbuster to having a stranglehold on the movie business for the past decade. Flicks like Blade, X-Men, and Spider-Man kicked the trend into high gear nearly a decade ago; since then, high-profile box office hits such as Spider-Man 2, Batman Begins, and Iron Man have kept the genre alive.
Yet, there's a catch. It seems that for every comic book movie that comes out and blows audiences away, there are two or three that simply blow. Whether they ignore the source material, miscast the lead characters, or just tell an awful story, the genre isn’t as bulletproof as some people think.
The latest victim seems to be DC Comics' storied character Green Lantern, the subject of a messy, underwhelming disappointment starring Ryan Reynolds. The reviews from both critics (including our own) and fans haven’t been so kind, and the movie seems to be the first legitimate bomb of the summer. So in honor of this big green failure, we’re taking a look back at the 25 Worst Comic Book Movies, just to show Reynolds and company that, yes, it could have been worse. Much, much worse.
Written by Jason Serafino (@serafinoj1)