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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-Mankicked 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 Manhave 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)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
25. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES III (1993)
Let’s be honest, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies were all pretty lame. They depended on cheesy one-liners and poorly choreographed fight scenes in order to be passable, but at least the first two were entertaining, especially for kids. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, on the other hand, just felt like a desperate cash grab from a dying franchise.
The budget was noticeably cut and the Turtles' costumes looked worse than ever, but nothing could compare to the idiotic time travel plot. None of the Turtles movies ever quite lived up to the sleazy, violent comics which they were based off of, but this third installment doesn’t even seem like it was trying to be a decent flick at all.
Spawn
24. SPAWN (1997)
No comic book character was as big as Spawn in the mid '90s. Todd McFarlane’s vision of a war between heaven and hell, with a hell-spawn named Al Simmons caught in the middle, was an instant hit amongst fans. The book routinely sold millions of copies a month. Of course, its success made some Hollywood suits salivate at the mere thought of a big budget blockbuster adaptation. The only problem was the whole “big budget” part.
Touting some cheap special effects and gruesome acting, Spawn turned out to be a huge disappointment. It had little resemblance to McFarlane’s ultra-violent comic and the whole thing was truncated into a scant 90-minute running time. But what’s even worse is the final battle between Spawn (Michael Jai White) and Malebolgia, which features Sega Saturn-level visuals.
Daredevil
23. DAREDEVIL (2003)
The potential for a Daredevil movie is off the charts. If done properly, it could easily rival The Dark Knight as the grittiest comic movie to ever grace the screen, but 2003’s attempt was a failure in almost every way. We’re not sure who decided to slap the red leather on Ben Affleck; it became apparent very quickly that he wasn’t up to the task of being the emotionally distant and obsessive Matt Murdock.
Colin Farrell and Michael Clarke Duncan may have been acceptable in their showy villain roles, but everything else was a mess, including cheesy special effects, hokey dialogue, and a horrendous playground fight midway through the movie. The characters had little to do other than take part in cartoonish fight scenes against each other and scowl a lot."The Man Without Fear" deserves much better.
The Phantom
22. THE PHANTOM (1996)
What’s more intimidating than a slender man dressed in purple spandex? Everything, actually. But the producers of The Phantom clearly didn’t think so as they plunked down a whole lot of money to make this odd little flick. Based on the old school pulp hero of the same name, The Phantom did little to update its storytelling for a modern audience and presented ticket-buyers with a very stilted and often corny misfire.
It’s certainly not a crime against cinema, but The Phantom’s good nature just didn’t jibe well enough, and it was quickly forgotten by fans and audiences. This is also the only movie to ever try to present Treat Williams as a global threat, or Billy Zane as an action hero. Both are terrible signs.
Spider-Man 3
21. SPIDER-MAN 3 (2007)
Few movies have had more money-making potential than Spider-Man 3. Taking advantage of a ravenous fan base after the beloved second installment, the anticipation for this movie was undeniably feverish in the months preceding its release. Though, there were odd little clues to its inferior quality along the way, such as Topher Grace being cast as Venom and character Gwen Stacy's pointless involvement. But, for the most part, people ignored these signs because it was another Spider-Man flick directed by the great Sam Raimi. What could posibly go wrong?
A hell of a lot, apparently. Once Spider-Man 3 hit theaters, it left most comic book fans feeling absolutely gutted by the experience. Cramming in way too many characters and foolishly ratcheting up the camp, Spidey's third go-round was a massive disappointment. The overblown script was too cluttered for one movie, the actors were clearly sleepwalking through their roles, and Peter Parker's great emotional journey was replaced by cartoonish action scenes and special effects. Any superhero movie that features two separate dance sequences is clearly in trouble.
Captain America
20. CAPTAIN AMERICA (1990)
Unbeknownst to casual movie watchers, this summer’s Captain America: The First Avenger will actually mark the second time the character has been on film. Back in 1990, Captain America, a poor attempt at bringing the Star Spangled Avenger to the big screen, continued the trend of terrible Marvel movies at the time.
Every aspect of this movie was a mess. The casting was atrocious (Cap was played by the son of reclusive author J.D. Salinger, oddly enough), the story was laughable, and the direction was well below Lifetime movie standards. Cap’s iconic costume also suffered from cost-cutting treatment and looked like a lycra nightmare. Even worse, Hitler’s right-hand-man, the villainous Red Skull, was turned into an Italian dude in order for the movie to be as inoffensive (yet still kind of offensive) as possible.
Captain America: The First Avenger star Chris Evans could basically stand in front of a brick wall and read Walden word-for-word and his flick would still be better than this monstrosity.
Barb Wire
19. BARB WIRE (1996)
Before Dark Horse Comics became the creative powerhouse that it is today, the company had some middling success with a few alternative titles back in the '90s. At the top of the heap was Barb Wire; in 1996, the property was turned into a movie starring Pamela Anderson. It was the Baywatch bombshell's first major film role, and, unsurprisingly, it earned her a Golden Raspberry award—that’s not a good thing.
Barb Wire, meant to be a satire, was actually a re-imagining of Casablanca set in a dystopian future. Even though the film was purposely campy, that didn’t help the humor and tone from being equally abysmal. Not even director David Hogan's liberal framing of Anderson's tremendous rack could save the film from being a complete failure.
The Shadow
18. THE SHADOW (1994)
The Shadow is actually one of the oldest comic book characters in existence. First appearing in a 1930 radio drama, and then a pulp magazine one year later, the enigmatic hero predates Batman and Superman by nearly a decade and has earned the affection of a loyal fan base for years. So the idea of a nostalgic retelling of some great Shadow stories is actually a pretty good one...if the creators behind it had any talent. Unfortunately, a visionless director, shoddy script, and a disinterested Alec Baldwin all contributed to The Shadow being a massive clunker.
Even though the original pulp stories had a naïve innocence to them that complimented '30s-era sensibilities, The Shadow's slightly modernized tone came across as cheesy and thin, instead of the noir crime drama it could have been. This isn’t a case of filmmakers blatantly disrespecting the source material; rather, they respected it too much and didn't recognize its datedness.
Fantastic Four (2005)
17. FANTASTIC FOUR (2005)
In 2005, Marvel’s first family was primed to finally hit the big screen and erase the stain of Roger Corman's shelved laugh-fest, made in 1994 (keep reading for that debacle). With decades of comic mythology and fan support backing them up, Fantastic Four's blockbuster incarnation was highly-anticipated.
But before the cameras ever started rolling, Fox ruined the movie by hiring Tim Story to helm the flick. Names like Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón were tossed around, but, apparently, Story's mildly entertaining Barber Shop was so momentous to Fox executives that he was deemed simply too talented (or cheap) to pass up.
What followed was a 105-minute mess that completely bastardized the Fantastic Four mythos, piling layers of camp and cheese on top of its cinematic corpse. Instead of hiring real actors, Fox decided on the lifeless talents of thespians such as Jessica Alba and Julian McMahon to carry the film's key roles; Alba played the Invisible Woman with the blandness of white toast, and McMahon turned Doctor Doom into the bargain bin version of Gordon Gekko.
X-Men: The Last Stand
16. X-MEN: THE LAST STAND (2006)
X2, released in 2003, holds up as one of the best comic book adaptations ever made. After the Bryan Singer-directed hit wowed critics and audiences alike, its 2006 follow-up quickly became the most anticipated movie of that summer. Too bad Fox replaced Singer with glorified music video guru, and widely reviled hack, Brett Ratner.
The result was an incoherent B-movie filled with gaping plot holes, pointless character deaths, and way too much Halle Berry. The flash, style, and sophisticated storytelling of the first two flicks were killed off in favor of over-the-top action scenes and characters that were turned into bloated caricatures of themselves. That didn't stop X-Men: The Last Stand from making over $450 million worldwide, though. Way to go, folks!
Blade: Trinity
15. BLADE: TRINITY (2004)
The IRS may know him best for tax evasion, but Wesley Snipes is regarded by everyone else as the one-time action movie champ who killed it as vampire hunter Blade. The first two Blade movies, both unflinchingly visceral, played a huge part in jump-starting the darker comic book movie trend that the likes of Christopher Nolan have capitalized upon in recent years.
Blade: Trinity, however, was a different story altogether. Gone were directors with a vision and in their place was David Goyer, a talented screenwriter who should never step away from his computer. Instead of the moody and realistic take on Blade that made the first two work, Trinity concerned itself more with shallow characters, vapid sex appeal (see: Jessica Biel), and Ryan Reynolds' incessant joke-cracking. It took a multi-million dollar flop for people to realize that decent script writers more often than not turn out to be lousy directors.
Ghost Rider
14. GHOST RIDER (2007)
One of the most important questions a Hollywood executive can ask is, “Who's the movie's star?” And, nowadays, when Nicolas Cage is the answer, there's a 95% chance that the film will be complete garbage.
The worst part about 2007’s Ghost Rider is that the character really does have potential. A flaming skeleton who rides a motorcycle and sends people to hell is rather badass, but not when you hire the guy who directed Daredevil to call the shots.
Comic heads weren't quick to believe Cage as a stunt cyclist in his 30s, nor would they buy into the notion that Eva Mendes wanted to jump his flaming bones. And, of course, there's the awful final fight, in which Ghost Rider battles an emo kid (Wes Bentley) who looks like he just got out of a Minus the Bear concert.
Judge Dredd
13. JUDGE DREDD (1995)
The character of Judge Dredd was created in the 1970s by John Wagner, the same guy who wrote the stunning 1997 graphic novel A History of Violence. The movie version of Judge Dredd, on the other hand, starred Sylvester Stallone and was directed by a guy who also shot I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. Need we say more?
When this flop was being made, people were still under the impression that Stallone was a good actor, but of course they were wrong. Judge Dredd turned out to be one of the biggest duds of the '90s. Fortunately, Hollywood is ready to amend its mistakes with a new Judge Dredd movie, slated for a 2012 release and starring the talented Karl Urban. At least the bar has been set incredibly low.
The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen
12. THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (2003)
Naïve comic book fans always wonder why Alan Moore hates all of the movie adaptations of his work, but then they see this colossal fuck-up and suddenly things start to make sense. Fox had the right idea in adapting Moore’s League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which put some of literature’s greatest heroes together on the same team to fight off evil, but the execution was simply abysmal.
The movie ignored most of Moore’s brilliant writing and basically treated the League like generic do-gooders instead of the complex, and sometimes morally bankrupt, characters that the book presented. In fact, production on this movie was so bad and the final product was such a joke that it prompted Sean Connery to retire from acting for good. Dr. No couldn’t kill him off, but director Stephen Norrington did it with ease.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
11. X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (2009)
This film had it all: a great cast, an Academy Award-winning director, and an iconic character. The result? An utter mess of Gigli proportions. The pervasive violence and surly nature of Wolverine was replaced by CGI claws and a memory erasing bullet. Seriously.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg that sunk this Titanic. There's also the complete bastardization of Deadpool and the never-ending cameos of useless characters (one played by Will.i.am). And while Hugh Jackman is still pretty good as Wolverine, he can’t keep the whole movie afloat on his own, especially with so little to work with.
The Fantastic Four (1994)
10. THE FANTASTIC FOUR (1994)
It may be hard to imagine, but for a long time Marvel Comics was striking out left and right at the movie theater while DC raked in the box office bucks. The latter company owned the market with well-received films such as Batman, Batman Returns, and Batman Forever; Marvel, meanwhile, assaulted viewers with nightmares like 1989's The Punisher.
No early Marvel film is as negatively infamous as 1994's crack at The Fantastic Four, though. Directed by Oley Sassone, this Roger Corman-produced shit-storm was only made so the rights for the characters wouldn’t revert back to Marvel. Thus, there was very little effort put into production.
Featuring some of the worst special effects ever produced since movies were referred to as “talkies,” The Fantastic Four never even saw the light of day after studio execs laid their eyes on it; with its horrible acting and Halloween store costumes, we can see why this never got a proper theatrical release. But, of course, nerds are relentless, and somehow this baby found its way online. Watch at your own risk.
The Spirit
9. THE SPIRIT (2008)
At one point, Frank Miller was one of the best talents working in comics. Reinventing classic characters such as Daredevil, Wolverine, and Batman, Miller turned the whole genre upside down back in the '80s. Then, he went on to create Sin City, which changed the medium forever. But somewhere along the way he started to believe that he could direct movies as well. He was sadly mistaken.
The Spirit completely butchers its Will Eisner-created source material, introducing a whole bunch of strange elements that could have only been the products of Miller’s hooker-addled mind. The strange thing is that some of The Spirit is actually entertaining. There's a fair amount of genuine humor and some unique pop-art visuals that make the first 30 minutes or so mildly amusing. Unfortunately, Miller's directorial debut falls apart so quickly that there isn’t an aspirin large enough to quell the eventual headache you'll have if you actually muster up the courage to sit through the whole thing.
Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer
8. FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER (2007)
There's nothing worse than wasted potential. Here, you have one of the greatest comic stories ever in the The Coming of Galactus and the special effects budget to pull it off, but what does Fox do instead? They rehire Tim Story to direct a truncated 90-minute version of the story, and, in the process, doom any potential the Fantastic Four ever had for a decent flick.
Story's first FF movie was bad enough, but Rise Of The Silver Surfer upped the shitty ante by wasting a perfectly rendered digital Silver Surfer and sticking him in a shallow children’s movie. In addition, Story decided to depict Galactus as a giant purple dust cloud rather than the world-eating force of nature seen in the comic books. Oh, and Doc Doom is still played by Julian McMahon. The less said about that, the better.
Elektra
7. ELEKTRA (2005)
Jennifer Garner looks like the sweetest Boy Scout den mother you'd ever want to meet, the type of lady who makes sure all of her kid’s friends have a plate full of macaroons and a juice box to get them through the day. What she doesn’t resemble, however, is the world’s most fearsome female assassin, Elektra.
Based on the Marvel Comic, Elektra is the spinoff to 2003’s trainwreck Daredevil, revolving around the assassin’s battles with the Japanese cult known as The Hand. In the '80s, Frank Miller carefully crafted a Daredevil epic involving Elektra and The Hand and turned it into one of the most successful comics of all time. In this 95-minute film, however, director Rob Bowman eviscerated the plot and characters and turned Elektra into a movie more comparable to Mortal Kombat than Batman Begins.
Jonah Hex
6. JONAH HEX (2010)
Warner Bros. simply doesn’t get it. They have a mountain of great heroes at their disposal, such as the Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, and the Flash, yet the studio always chooses the most obscure of the bunch. Jonah Hex is a serviceable enough character in the realm of comic books; he fills the hole left by the death of the Western comics in the early '70s, and fans tend to gravitate towards his Clint Eastwood-esque exterior and scarred face. Think of him as the Punisher as reimagined by Sergio Leone.
But apparently Warner Bros. saw everything interesting about Jonah Hex as negatives and decided to give the character a cheap-looking, neutered film that only clocked in at about 80 minutes long. Hex’s violent, gritty stories and anti-social personality were replaced by a clichéd supernatural plotline and the awful acting of Megan Fox. This isn’t one of those bad flicks that you can at least laugh at—it's about as bad as movie-making gets. It’s a shame, too, because Josh Brolin is the perfect actor to play Hex; the guy who co-directed Horton Hears A Who!, on the other hand, is a less inspired choice.
Steel
5. STEEL (1997)
Steel is a character that DC Comics keeps around because it helps diversify the company. He's never given strong creative teams or creative storylines—he’s just black and it helps DC seem less WASP-y. So, after Death Of Superman put Steel in the spotlight for a bit, Warner Bros. decided to put out a movie featuring the character and starring Shaquille O'Neal, an outspoken Superman fan.
Were executives just scrounging through a list of actors to play the role or did Shaq simply show up to Warner's offices brandishing a rifle demanding to play Steel? We’re betting on the latter. Even worse than the casting is the fact that Shaq’s Steel outfit looked like a cheap Halloween costume. At least it distracted people from the disgraceful plot.
Catwoman
4. CATWOMAN (2004)
Halle Berry is the worst thing to happen to comic book movies since...well, perhaps ever. Her “performance” in 2004’s Catwoman is a shining example as to why she should be kept as far away from DC, Marvel, or any other company's catalogs as possible. This film barely resembled the Catwoman from the comics, aside from the uterus, and spits in the face of decades of rich mythology.
Selina Kyle is out as Catwoman in favor of Patience Phillips, a shy artist, but that's not as bad of a decision as casting Stone to play the film's villain; on the positive side, her botox-infused face made her look somewhat like the Joker. All that's left is nothing more than a cheap fetishist tease designed to attract hardcore comic fans who'll praise any actress in tights. Then again, it’s not shocking that a director simply named Pitof was responsible for such a terrible film.
Howard The Duck
3. HOWARD THE DUCK (1986)
It seems like George Lucas was only a creative genius between the years 1977 and 1983, because since '83 he’s been turning out one dreadful film after another. We get that he was only a producer on this awful adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Howard the Duck, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that the whole film was basically a ploy to show off what his special effects company, ILM, could do with puppets. But no one should be surprised that the end result was so terrible because, apparently, goofy dialogue and unfunny humor are elements that Lucas crams into all of his crappy films post-The Empire Strikes Back.
Superman IV: The Quest For Peace
2. SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE (1987)
Poor Christopher Reeves. He was the greatest thing to happen to Superman since WWII, but after Superman II came out and kicked ass, he couldn’t seem to catch a break. Superman III was terrible, and just when it seemed like things couldn't get any worse, Superman IV: The Quest For Peace crash-landed in theaters.
The filmmakers' hearts were in the right place. The story revolves around Supes trying to rid the world of all of its nuclear weapons while fighting off the nefarious machinations of Lex Luthor. There was the promise of an actual message underneath, giving hope that The Quest For Peace would showcase the Man of Steel as humanity’s pacifistic savior rather than a knuckle-dragging demigod. But a minuscule budget and a creatively drained cast killed the film. Superman's cinematic self has yet to bounce back.
Batman & Robin
1. BATMAN & ROBIN (1997)
Batman & Robin is the holy grail of awful comic book flicks. Featuring costumes adorned with plastic nipples and enough neon lighting to turn Australia into a giant roller disco, this Joel Schumacher-directed atrocity is perhaps one of the greatest cinematic missteps in the history of show business.
We understand that George Clooney was the hottest thing in Hollywood at the time, but there's no reason to cast him as the Caped Crusader. And while he actually made for a convincing Bruce Wayne, he was less intimidating than Alfred once he donned the costume. Let's not forget the scenery-chewing performance from Arnold Schwarzenegger as the villainous Mr. Freeze; his stomach is probably still lined with chunks of the garishly decorated sets.
If you're looking for a way to punish your liver, simply watch Batman & Robin and take a shot every time Mr. Freeze makes a cold-related pun. Just make sure you have the number to a good mortician, first.