Editorials

Comic Books Characters and Series that Deserve Screen Time

Comic books provide a wide variety of material for all sorts of entertainment, and as a society, we are living in an era where a majority of our blockbuster films have been based off of these comics.

With box office record breaking films, such as The Dark Knight, The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy (along with so many others), you can’t help but wonder, what will come next? Which daunting new comic book character will grace the silver screen next time around? Which midnight release movie will I be standing in line for next year? With so many comic book series available, we have decided to list the ones that we would like to see be made into major motion pictures.

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MOON KNIGHT

It’s undeniable that Moon Knight is one of Marvel’s more obscure and troubled characters. Cloaked in the robe of the Egyptian Moon God, Khonshu, Moon Knight fights crime as a human god-like vessel. Being mentally unstable accompanied by a heart full of vengeance, Moon Knight (or Mark Spector) has life revolving around lucid dreaming and mental degradation, at one point in his long running series, Moon Knight is officially deemed “mentally unstable” by Marvel’s very own Tony Stark.

Moon Knight may be an Avenger who fights for good cause, but that doesn’t make him any less troubled. Fighting with his own demons and off and on again romances, Moon Knight’s comic book adventures vary from passionate to incomprehensible. With Moon Knight’s legacy recently resurrected through the minds of Brian Wood and Greg Smallwood, Moon Knight has officially come out of the darkness and has entered into a new era that would be all too fitting for the silver screen.

-Written by Stephanie Burdo

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Sinestro

As many of you already know, the Green Lantern film starring Ryan Reynolds was a complete flop. With a script filled with corny quips, a strangely vacant cast of characters and overall rushed plot line, fans of the Lantern series felt completely disappointed at the film’s close.

One character that was not poorly cast however, was Sinestro. With a steady alignment of “Lawful Evil,” Sinestro plays the part of both the villain and the anti-hero. We do realize however, that before the dream of Sinestro having his own movie can be realized, someone would have to take another whack at a Green Lantern film, which is a title that deserves a second shot—as long as the movie has only one screenwriter this time around!

-Written by Stephanie Burdo

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Black Science

Written by Rick Remender and published by Image Comics, Black Science is one of the most creative comic series of the age. The story follows a self absorbed scientist who creates a machine that can teleport anyone or anything into different dimensions of unknown existence. From neon amphibian planets to civil war cyber dimensions, Grant and his family are unintentionally beamed from plane to plane, and it’s up to Grant and his team to find their way back.

Black Science is a story filled with betrayal, deep secrets and plot twists, which would make for a perfect film. Combining actual animatronics with special effects would be a perfect marriage for a story such as this. Although popular amongst Image readers, a film rendition of this comic seems more like a farfetched dream, but one can’t help but wonder what it would look like on the big screen.

-Written by Stephanie Burdo

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Nailbiter

Set in Oregon, Nailbiter follows the mystery surrounding the small, strange town of Buckaroo that is unlike any other—it breeds serial killers. Hometown to psychopaths such as the Book Burner and the notorious Nailbiter, local detectives search rigorously for the strange link tying these murderous individuals together. What about this town causes people to go mad with bloodlust? As people begin to disappear and events come full circle, readers begin to wonder just how deep into the town this darkness goes.

With each book ending in a new twist or strange development, it’s clear that this comic’s plot line would be better suited as a television series. And although it would be episodic, it would be very creepy, to say the least.

-Written by Stephanie Burdo

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Fables

Coined as the “girly” comic of this generation, Fables is everything but. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the Fables series is composed of numerous stories following the lives of individual living, breathing, fairytale creatures. Typically adorned in high castles of glass and far away lands of magical bliss, these characters, both human and non-human, live among us in the very slums of New York City, more commonly known as “Fabletown.” Forced out of their fairytale homeland, they are forced to live among us and essentially, do as we do, which means covering up their magical heritage.

While some Fables have resorted to prostitution, some live among the Fables economically elite. Although the stories are many, one common theme that is typically introduced into each series is one of mystery. One Fable is always betraying another and quite often enough,  causing a stir amongst the community. Much like Nailbiter, this storyline would be much more befitting as a television series, and no—nothing like Once Upon a Time. Fables is a series that filled with dark and mysterious goodies, which would make for quite the television show.

-Written by Stephanie Burdo

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Invincible

Invincible follows the story of Mark Grayson, an average high schooler with above average super powers. Similar to his famous father, Omni-Man, Mark Grayson’s possesses superhuman powers, which become more and more powerful throughout the series. When comparing Grayson to other superheros, you would find him close in personality to Spider-Man but with abilities akin to Superman. With strength and agility of a demi god, Grayson experiences not only his new powers, but struggles with the fact that even your greatest friends can be your greatest enemies.

What makes makes Invincible so deserving of a full fledged film is its young essence, which incorporates the “Who am I?” identity conflicts.  Created by none other than the mastermind and father of The Walking Dead series, Robert Kirkman, Invincible carries on wild adventures while still managing to touch on extremely emotional and social issues. With over 100+ issues to date, an amazing set of story arcs, countless heroes and villains, it is undeniable that Invincible could potentially touch on current themes that have yet to grace movie theaters.

– Written by Jaydon Goss

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Nightwing

Nightwing is a character that deserves his own film, and it can absolutely happen. If you take a look at what DC is planning on doing with Batman v Superman and the rest of the DC movie universe (DCMU for short), you’ll find that they’re attempting to make Batman an already established superhero in order to extend the Batman universe further.

Along with that, you can tell that Carrie Kelly will represent the character Robin in future DCMU films. Now, if you think back to Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns book, Carrie Kelly was obviously Robin, but Batman mentions that Dick Grayson and Jason Todd are also former Robins.

This means that in the DCMU, they could have Nightwing also be an established superhero with his own film. With provided flashbacks; back story and exposition are provided to detail what happened with him and Batman, and in turn Nightwing develops his own unique persona, making him far more than just a former Robin. He has fought alongside some of the greatest heroes in the DC universe and has stood up to some of the biggest baddies. Taking up the mantle of Batman after Bruce Wayne died, Nightwing has proven that he can hold his own repertoire of compelling and interesting stories. All in all, Nightwing doesn’t need Batman in order to be interesting, and so, he deserves his own film.

-Written by Matthew Dixon