Superheroes Unnoticed

Share on Facebook posted 02-17-10 by Angelo D'Argenio

All you have to do is turn on the TV for a few minutes these days and you will see advertisements for superhero movie after superhero movie. However, most people forget that many of our favorite superheroes got started on the small screen, and even more forget that their original video home lay in animation. However, with our current level of special effects technology, these superheroes can take the leap to live action, and as such we have seen rendition after rendition of Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and the like. However, there are heroes from comics and animation that for some reason simply get the stiff, and end up stuck on page and ink, never getting their share of the spotlight. Here are just a few.

Jonah Hex

Jonah Hex was one of the baddest heroes ever to grace the old west, and what does he get in modern days? A random cameo in a Batman cartoon… what a gyp! You can’t tell me that a cowboy hero with a half scarred face that can make his bullets do tricks you haven’t even thought of isn’t a cool idea for the big screen. I mean we have had quite a few interesting old west movies, and plenty of good bullet trick movies. Why not combine them into one and give Jonah his time in the spotlight…. What’s that? We are getting a Jonah Hex movie in 2010? Josh Brolin as Jonah Hex, John Malkovich as Turnbull? AWESOME!

Dr. Strange

There is never any love for the sorcerer supreme. This guy has the power of the universe at his fingertips. He has made pacts with gods and demons, squared off with the Hulk, and generally has been one of the best dues ex machinas ever to grace a Marvel comics page. He recently played a big part in the Marvel Civil War storyline, and fans have turned their eyes to him again, but does he get a movie… noooooooo. Infinite power and not one ounce of silver screen time. What is fair about that?

The Green Arrow

Otherwise known as “Batman with a sense of humor” The Green Arrow has been fighting crime for ages now. In fact, he is so popular he has trailers made for nonexistent movies about him! So the question is, why not? What is stopping us from giving this modern day Robin Hood his time on screen. Gang violence, futuristic gadgets, assassination plots, and spectacular archery stunts would make for a summer blockbuster we wouldn’t soon forget.

Samurai Jack

I’m sorry, this is a cop out on my part, because Samurai Jack was a cartoon before he was a comic. Still this guy, oddly enough created by the same people behind Dexter’s Laboratory, was epic beyond belief. Let’s run this down. Samurai Jack is about an ancient samurai with a sword of the gods who trained with all the greatest warriors of his time, sent to battle with an ancient shape shifting primordial evil who was taking over the land. The evil demon in question, Aku, is fated to lose to this samurai, so instead of fighting him directly, he sends him into the future where, due to the thousands of years of absence of our protagonist, Aku has taken over pretty much the known universe. In the future, Jack has to slay robots, mutants, ninjas, pirates with lasers in their eyes, zombies, evil clones, and much much more on his quest to go back in time and finish his duties. What about this doesn’t scream movie blockbuster?