COMIC BOOK ADAPTIONS // THEY GOT IT RIGHT

COMIC BOOK ADAPTIONS // THEY GOT IT RIGHT

Comics are a unique medium in print. They take some characters and then tell their stories over years and sometimes decades. When comics fans invest in characters they invest big time which is why it’s understandable when they get their fanboy hate on over film adaptations.
There are comic book movie adaptions that have been done the right way, wrong way and the wow I never thought of doing them that way. Here are my top picks.

THE RIGHT WAY.
The Avengers introduction movies of Iron Man, Thor and Captain America were all good movies in their own right. For me Captain America suffered from a weak ending and some strange editing choices but it was a decent and entertaining movie. Marvel approached the movies the right way. They tool the source material that the comics have been running with and they turned them into movies. How hard was that? The characters were set in a realistic universe and the more ridiculous outfit choices like winged helmets were left out. Reasons were given for the choices the characters make that lead them on the path to the Avengers but the movies were self contained stories that could stand out with the upcoming film. Marvel realised that comics are a medium where the stories don’t stop so why not have lots of characters in their own movies and then bring them together in some huge adventures.

THE WRONG WAY.
DC have had their problems when it comes to movies about their characters. Batman and Superman are always box office draws. People
will always turn out for those films but what about their other characters like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the Flash. They’re not too popular. This was proven when the Green Lantern film came out last year and failed to enjoy the same kind of success that Iron Man did. The character of Hal Jordan played by Ryan Reynolds was changed a little to be more like Tony Stark and to also reflect the personality of Reynolds. The Green Lantern wasn’t a bad movie by any standard but it would be hard to call it great. I think the problem lies with the source material for that one. An intergalactic cop with a green lantern just doesn’t get very excited. I could sat the same thing for Captain America but Marvel cleverly marketed it as the first of the Avengers. The story is an introduction to a larger world whereas Green Lantern was just a bunch of stuff that happened.