Summary
Comic book movies are always in need of strong antagonists, but it often isn’t until the second time around that they’re able to perfect the adaptation of a famous comic villain. Establishing a compelling villain is nearly as important as the protagonist themselves in a given superhero movie, driving the narrative tension through their misdeeds.Unfortunately, thebest comic book movie villainssometimes had to go through some rough iterationsbefore landing on a successful adaptation.
Filmmakers are often lucky when they’re able to re-use previously adapted villains from other films, able to take what worked and what didn’t from their earlier appearances and refine them for the next installment. In this way,thegreatest comic book moviesget to benefit from the pitfalls of the worst. Whether it’s a poor performance, bizarre story changes, or simply a terrible costume, the most disappointing comic book villain adaptations often make room for the greatest.
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With almost a century behind it, the comic book industry has experimented with various genres, producing some oddball series. These are the strangest.
10The Juggernaut
Deadpool 2
The Juggernaut is not an easy character to adapt into a live-action film. With his impossible monstrous physique, fish-bowl helmet, and association with the X-Men despite not being a mutant himself,The Juggernaut is an iconic villain that presents a litany of problems for adaptation.X-Men: The Last Standturned the Juggernaut into a silly minor character whose outfit was reminiscent of a He-Man character, Juggernaut in name-only as he referenced an old meme.
WIth an intimidating voice, an impressive level of power, and one of the best Marvel movie musical themes to his name
Luckily,Deadpool 2was there to pick up the pieces, once again putting the Juggernaut on the big screen.This time around, Juggernaut is a wholly CGI character, allowing him to fully live up to the impossible expectations of his comic illustrations. WIth an intimidating voice, an impressive level of power, and one of thebest Marvel movie musical themesto his name, this more comic-accurate version of The Juggernaut improved on the original in every way.
Cast
The Merc With the Mouth returns in Deadpool 2, “the sequel to the first one.” Wade Wilson finds himself alone and without purpose until he reluctantly agrees to join the X-Men. Things take a turn for the strange when Wade finds himself in prison after trying to help a young mutant named Russell, and a time-traveling mutant cyborg arrives to slay Russell to save the future. Determined to save Russell and do the right thing, Wade creates a new team of heroes to fight back and save the world the only way Deadpool knows how - as ridiculously as possible.
9Bane
The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Risesis certainly not without its problems, but one arena in which the third entry of the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy unequivocally succeeds is in its depiction of the villain Bane.Bane was represented in the movies once before with the infamousBatman & Robin, in which Bane was a minor antagonist. Essentially a brutish minion of Poison Ivy, this Bane’s costume may have been more faithful to the source material, but his dimwitted personality betrayed Bane’s famous tactical mind from the comics.
Though Tom Hardy’s vocal performance may have been questionable, he’s nevertheless an intimidating presence worthy of Bane’s name
InThe Dark Knight Rises, Bane is given the credit he deserves as a cunning mastermind as well as a Venom-enhanced heavy-hitter. Though Tom Hardy’s vocal performance may have been questionable, he’s nevertheless an intimidating presence worthy of Bane’s name,unlike the oafish fetish-gear-wearing Bane of the character’s previous Batman movie appearance. There’s still room for improvement in Tom Hardy’s Bane, but he was a unanimous upgrade from what was shown off inBatman & Robin.
The Dark Knight Rises follows Batman as he returns to Gotham City eight years after the death of Harvey Dent. Now pursued by law enforcement, he faces new challenges from Selina Kyle and Bane, a formidable terrorist leader who threatens the city’s safety, compelling Batman to defend a city that sees him as a foe.
8General Zod
Man of Steel
If there’s one thingMan of Steelgot right that previous Superman films struggled with, it was the terrifying presence of a non-Lex Luthor villain. Originally,Zod was played by Terence Stamp, who imbued the alien invader with a hilarious level of melodrama that made his iconic demands to “Kneel before Zod!” more silly than threatening. Looking more like a Las Vegas strip performer than a world-conquering tyrant, Stamp’s Zod had his own charm to him, but wasn’t a compelling villain.
Meanwhile, Michael Shannon’s General Zod earns a worthy spot as one of thegreatest Superman movie villainsof all time.His cruelty towards humans and frustration with Superman’s sympathy for them is reprehensible, but almost sympatheticconsidering the devastation he suffered from Krypton’s destruction. Not to mention, Shannon’s alien armor puts Stamp’s open-chested suede robes to shame. Zod certainly benefited from a second-draft as a cinematic Superman antagonist.
Man of Steel is a 2013 reboot of the Superman franchise, directed by Zack Snyder. Henry Cavill stars as Clark Kent, who discovers his extraterrestrial origins and extraordinary powers.
7Venom
Venom
Topher Grace’s Venom had plenty of issues to contend with in Sam Raimi’sSpider-Man 3.Fighting for screen time with two other unique antagonists, not to mention Peter Parker’s own arc with the symbiote,Spider-Man 3doesn’t have a ton of time to explore the relationship between Eddie Brock and his newfound alien parasite buddy. Not only that, but the cheesy performances of Raimi’s films further dilluted the impact of finally seeing one of Spider-Man’s greatest villains come to life on the big screen for the first time.
Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock is by far the better of his two comic book movie villain performances
Luckily, Sony has been there to not only give Venom a second chance at the silver screen, but to have him headline his own solo series as an anti-hero. Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock is by far the better of his two comic book movie villain performances, illustrating the life of a man with nothing to lose who is overtaken by his relationship with an unknowable alien entity.The chemistry Eddie Brock and Venom have in this version is off-the-charts, owing to the film being successful enough to spawn a wholeVenomtrilogy.
Venom is an action sci-fi movie that stars Tom Hardy as the titular Marvel anti-hero. When the Life Foundation begins experimenting on alien lifeforms they find on a comet that landed nearby, Investigative Journalist Eddie Brock begins to investigate them. When an infiltration goes wrong, Eddie finds that one of the aliens has bonded to him, forcing him to learn to live with his new uninvited host. Giving him superhuman powers, the two begin to work together to stop the rest of the symbiote’s invasive species.
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6Rhino
Kraven the Hunter
Like the Juggernaut, Rhino is a headstrong bruiser from the comic books that isn’t exactly a straightforward character to make look cool in a feature film appearance.The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s solution was to make Rhino a simple gangster who comes into possession of a rhinoceros-like mech suit. Paul Giamatti’s ludicrous Russian accent and bizarre blink-and-you’ll-miss-it performance in the film ended up just being one entry on a long list of problemsThe Amazing Spider-Man 2had.
Once again, Sony seems willing to provide more faithful adaptations of Spider-Man villains in solo films where the mainline Spider-Man films fail.The mostrecently-released trailer forKraven the Huntershows off a Rhino with a comic-accurate appearance, featuring scaly gray skin, a massive size, and an imposing horn sticking out of his head. Somehow, this appearance that should be goofy-looking on paper ends up looking quite impressive, leaving high hopes for the character in the upcoming film.
Kraven the Hunter explores the origin story of Sergei Kravinoff, known as Kraven, as he navigates his tumultuous relationship with his father, Nikolai. This path of vengeance sets Kraven on a journey to become a formidable hunter with a reputation for fearsome brutality.
5The Joker
Batman (1989), The Dark Knight
Few cinematic superhero villains are as famous as the Joker, and for good reason. With so many different on-screen interpretations, many prestigious actors have thrown their hat in the ring in an attempt to portray the Clown Prince of Crime. However,the character’s first movie appearance in the Adam WestBatmanseries tie-in movie left much to be desired. Caesar Romero’s Joker placed a heavy emphasis on the clown theme without being particularly threatening, and the actor famously didn’t respect the role enough to shave his mustache for it.
Jack Nicholson’s take on the Joker in 1989’sBatmanwas a far more menacing approach, adding a layer of genuine terror to the psychotic clown-themed gangster. Of course, years later,Heath Ledger would make history as the character with one of the most iconic movie performances in general of all time, let alone within the context of a superhero villain. It’s safe to say that almost every live-action interpretation of the Joker has been an improvement over the painted-over mustache of the original Batman film’s version.
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, is the second installment in the Batman trilogy starring Christian Bale as Batman. Released in 2008, the film follows Batman’s alliance with Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent as they combat the organized crime that threatens Gotham, facing the menacing Joker.
4The Penguin
The Batman
Batman Returns’version of Selina Kyle may have been one of the singlebest movie Catwomandesigns ever, but Tim Burton’s interpretation of The Penguin left much to be desired. In the comics, Oswald Cobblepot is a disgraced socialite desperate to win back the wealth and influence of his fallen old-money family by criminal means,despite his ill reputation and diminutive physical presence.Batman Returnstook Penguin’s physical characteristics to the extreme, diminishing him into a feral sewer monster fond of eating raw fish.
Meanwhile, the second major movie version of The Penguin leaned much further into the organized crime aspect of the character, makingThe Penguin into a fast-talking Italian mobster with a New Jersey accent. Colin Farrel excellently portrays this villain through astounding layers of makeup, crafting a much more multi-faceted and realistic character compared to Danny DeVito’s nightmarish goblin. Reeves' version of The Penguin has been successful enough to get his own self-titled prequel spin-off series on HBO.
The Batman follows a young Bruce Wayne as he investigates a sadistic serial killer targeting key political figures in Gotham. As he delves deeper, he is confronted by the city’s hidden corruption and questions surrounding his own family’s legacy.
3The Riddler
The Penguin isn’t the only Batman villain Matt Reeves was able to reform in the eyes of the movie-going public after a previously-disastrous film incarnation.InBatman Forever, Jim Carrey lends his performance as a woefully over-the-top version of Edward Nygma, a.k.a. The Riddler. Dancing around in a bright green jumpsuit, the enigmatic mastermind villain from the comics is reduced to a shrieking, oddly sexual jester inBatman Forever,contributing to the film’s unfortunate reputation.
InThe Batman, The Riddler is given the respect he deserves, being more of an unknowable criminal with dark plans in lieu of the Jigsaw killer fromSawrather than a Saturday-morning cartoon villain.His intimidating mask and ghoulish voice-disguiser makes The Riddler into a very realistic serial murderer, shockingly brutal from the earliest opening moments of the film. Even if Dano’s performance echoes Jim Carrey’s eccentricities once he’s captured, his version of The Riddler is far more compelling.
Batman Forever
After Tim Burton’s plans for a third Batman film fell through, director Joel Schumacher took over the franchise with 1995’s Batman Forever. Replacing Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer stars as Bruce Wayne opposite to Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones, who play The Riddler and Two-Face, respectively. Batman Forever also marks the first time Robin appears on the big screen since Burt Ward reprised his Boy Wonder role in 1966’s Batman: The Movie.
2Two-Face
The Riddler wasn’t the only villain fromBatman Foreverto be done justice in a later Batman continuity. Enter Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face,a strange, feverish take on Harvey Dent that creates more questions than answers. While Two-Face inBatman Foreverstays true to his obsession with duality and random justice, he isn’t given enough backstory to make memorable, ultimately turning him into a colorful goon for Jim Carrey’s The Riddler to exploit.
Meanwhile, Aaron Eckhart’s Two-Face is an underrated gem ofThe Dark Knight.Rather than simply showing him already as Two-Face,Christopher Nolan’sDark Knighttrilogyfirst introduces Harvey Dent as an honorable district attorney trying to do the right thing for Gotham City, driven to madness by the insidious criminal elements therein. The CGI and makeup of Two-Face’s scarred visage still holds up today, and Ekchart gives a commanding performance as the chance-obsessed villain.
1Galactus
Fantastic Four: First Steps
Galactus' inclusion in Fox’sFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfermay be one of the single most disappointing comic book villain adaptations of all time. In the comics,Galactus is one of the most threatening and iconic Marvel villains ever conceived, devouring entire planets in his eternal hunger. Traditionally, Galactus is depicted as a massive humanoid wearing a signature purple Celestial armor, giving him a recognizable profile in his journeys throughout the Marvel cosmos.
While his full character design has yet to be revealed, hopes are high for a redemption for the initially poor adaptation
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Sadly, inFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,Galactus was reduced to little more than an angry sentient purple cloud, much to the dismay of Fantastic Four fans. Thankfully,the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to be presenting a more faithful version of Galactus inFantastic Four: First Steps, which revealed early footage of a humanoid Galactus peering through the top floor of the famous Baxter Building. While his full character design has yet to be revealed, hopes are high for a redemption for the initially poor adaptation of thiscomic book movievillain.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer follows the superhero team as they confront the enigmatic Silver Surfer, whose arrival on Earth heralds impending global danger. While grappling with new and old adversaries, the Fantastic Four must unravel the mystery behind the Silver Surfer’s true intentions.
