The Death of the MCU on Netflix

It’s over. With the cancellations of The Punisher and Jessica Jones, the Netflix corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has officially come to an end. Well, it will once season 3 of Jessica Jones airs later this year. It is truly a sad day. True, the Netflix series weren’t all amazing (looking at you, season 1 of Iron Fist), but none of them were awful nor deserved this fate. So why has the streaming service dumped them?

The answer, I’d assume, has at least a little to do with the fact that while Netflix was producing the series, they did not own the characters. Marvel is making a ton of money off these characters and the merchandising of them, with Netflix getting very little if any. For proof of this, look no further than the Marvel Legends action figure line. They released a wave containing the Netflix series versions of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Elektra, and the Punisher, with no mention whatsoever of the streaming service on the packaging.

But I’d imagine that the major reason for the split between Netflix and Marvel Studios boils down to the fact that Marvel’s parent company, Disney, is set to launch its own streaming service, Disney Plus, this fall. It has already been announced that Disney Plus will feature several MCU series in The Vision & Scarlet Witch, Loki, and a currently untitled Winter Soldier and Falcon show. With all the links and references that connect the MCU together, one can assume that there would have been plenty of connective tissue between the Disney Plus and Netflix series. So if Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, or The Punisher series had continued they’d have essentially been advertising for programming on a competing streaming service. No way Netflix was going to do that, especially after they had briefly had an exclusive contract with Disney for its library of movies and television series before they announced their intentions to launch Disney Plus.

The subject of whether Marvel Studios could revive these series on Disney Plus has been breached. At the moment it appears that that cannot happen, as there was a clause in the contract between them and Netflix that prevents Marvel from producing any movie or television series featuring these characters outside of Netflix for 2 years after the latter officially cancels them. It looks like it will be a long time before we see these characters in new live action media, unless some sort of buyout can be agreed upon. Such a buyout would be almost certainly be costly for Marvel Studios. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t happen, it would probably mean that it would take some time to be worked through. Meaning, it could take almost that 2 year time frame before it could be worked out and production be greenlit for new projects.

So while I’m every bit as bummed as you about the fact that we’re losing these shows, especially the fantastic and ground-breaking Daredevil, I understand the reasoning behind their cancellations. I’ll just have to console myself with the 160+ hours of content that we were fortunate enough to get from Marvel and Netflix’s collaboration…and hold to the hope that one day we’ll get to see more from these characters we love.

Greatest Comic Book Villain Portrayals – Part 5

Welcome to the epic conclusion of the countdown of the greatest live action portrayals of comic book villains! It’s been fun making this least and writing about it. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey as much as I have. Without further ado, I give you the best of the best…or perhaps the best of the worst, as we are dealing with the bad guys, right? The best at being bad? However you want to put it.

As always, here’s a quick recap of the previous entrants:

25. The Penguin – Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham)
24. The Joker – Cesar Romero (Batman – TV Series)
23. Deacon Frost – Stephen Dorff (Blade)
22. Saint of Killers – Graham McTavish (Preacher)
21. Doctor Octopus – Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2)
20. Vulture – Michael Keaton (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
19. Deathstroke – Manu Bennett (Arrow)
18. Green Goblin – Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man)
17. The Governor – David Morrissey (The Walking Dead)
16. Catwoman – Julie Newmar (Batman – TV Series)
15. Hela – Cate Blanchett (Thor: Ragnarok)
14. Captain Cold – Wentworth Miller (The Flash)
13. The Joker – Jack Nicholson (Batman)
12. Helmut Zemo – Daniel Brühl (Captain America: Civil War)
11. Magneto – Ian McKellen (X-Men)
10. Cottonmouth – Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage)
9. Bane – Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises)
8. Ra’s al Ghul – Liam Neeson (Batman Begins)
7. Erik Killmonger – Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther)
6. Negan – Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead)

On to the Top 5!

5. Kilgrave – David Tennant (Jessica Jones)

Performed to icky perfection, David Tennant took a surprise turn as not only a villain, but an altogether sleazy and irredeemable one like Kilgrave. It’s hard to take a character that uses their ability to control people’s minds to rape and murder, and actually make it charismatic without going into sympathetic territory, but Tennant pulled it off wonderfully. In fact, the writers’ brief attempts late in the season to try to make Kilgrave seem somewhat sympathetic by showing the tragedy of his backstory is the only real knock on the portrayal. The character is evil and manipulative, period.

4. Loki – Tom Hiddleston (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Now, Loki on the other hand, while being manipulative and selfish, rarely comes across as actually evil. Oozing charisma and charm, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki quickly became one of the most recognizable and popular characters in the MCU. Even when he does things that are in conflict with the hero (most often his half-brother, Thor), you can’t help but like him. Easily the best portrayal at blurring the lines between hero and villain of any performance on this list, and even finally achieved heroic status in the opening scene of Infinity War, in a final sacrificial act of standing up to Thanos to attempt to protect the Space Stone.

3. Thanos – Josh Brolin (The Avengers: Infinity War)

Speaking of the Mad Titan. While he may have had brief appearances in the first Guardians of the Galaxy and mid-credit stinger of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Josh Brolin’s Thanos didn’t really become a thing until The Avengers: Infinity War. There was a lot riding on his performance, as Thanos was the biggest of big bads in the MCU…the villain that they’d been building to for 10 years. And he did not disappoint! Brolin delivers a powerful, layered, even emotional performance. The shifting of the character’s motivations from simply wanting to impress Death by wiping out half the universe in order to “balance the scales” to instead callously feeling like he’s actually “saving” half the universe due to dwindling resources added another layer of depth to an already incredible character.

2. Kingpin – Vincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil – TV Series)

As far as real-world type villains in the comics, the Kingpin reigns supreme. And Vincent D’Onofrio’s take on him in the Daredevil series on Netflix follows suit in the realm of comic book media properties. Charlie Cox is great as the titular hero, but D’Onofrio brings such a weight and depth to the Kingpin that they seem almost equals in importance and interest. Menacing and prone to tantrums of ultra violence, yet brilliant, calculating, and methodical in his schemes, he makes for a truly captivating villain. His performance is also a fantastic example of explaining a villain’s tragic backstory and motivation without generating sympathy for them.

1. The Joker – Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

As if there were anywhere else to go with the top spot. Not only is Heath Ledger’s Joker the greatest villain live action portrayal, it is the greatest character portrayal in a comic book property, period. As captivating a characters as you’ll find, Ledger’s performance is everything you could want in a villain: compelling, menacing, devious, cunning, and completely insane…not to mention insanely quotable. While the other two Jokers that made the list played up the crazy a bit over-the-top, Ledger delivered a grounded, utterly horrifying view of chaos personified.

 

25 Greatest Comic Character Portrayals (First Revision)

It’s been a couple of years since I made the first edition of this list. With the plethora of new comic films that have been released since then, several of which have introduced us to new characters or at least new takes on established ones, I figured it was time to dust off the old list and give her a revision. As before, I looked at a combination of performances that stayed true to the comic counterpart and just plain old great acting to create a compelling character. Some of them lean more towards one side of the equation, but I feel like all of them touch on at least a little of both. Some portrayals have risen in the ranks, some have fallen, and several fell off all together. Also like before, with several of these characters having been played by multiple people, I list the actor and what movie(s)/television show the portrayal is in.

Portrayals that fell off from the previous list:
Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) – Road to Perdition, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) – The Amazing Spider-Man, Marv (Mickey Rourke) – Sin City, Professor X (Patrick Stewart) – X-Men, Superman (Christopher Reeves) – Superman, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) – Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) – The Dark Knight trilogy

25. The Flash (Grant Gustin) – The Flash

 

24. Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) – Black Panther

 

23. Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) The Walking Dead

 

22. X-23 (Dafne Keen) – Logan

 

21. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) – The Walking Dead

 

20. Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) – Marvel Cinematic Universe

 

19. Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) – Marvel Cinematic Universe

 

18. Kilgrave (David Tennant) – Jessica Jones

 

17. V (Hugo Weaving) – V for Vendetta

 

16. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) – Marvel Cinematic Universe

 

15. The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) – Watchmen

 

14. Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) – Marvel Cinematic Universe

 

13. Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) – Watchmen

 

12. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) – X-Men

 

11. Spider-Man (Tom Holland) – Marvel Cinematic Universe

 

10. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) – Marvel Cinematic Universe

 

9. Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) – Deadpool

 

8. Thanos (Josh Brolin) – Marvel Cinematic Universe

 

7. Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) – Daredevil (TV series)

 

6. Daredevil (Charlie Cox) – Daredevil (TV series)

 

5. Batman (Christian Bale) – The Dark Knight trilogy

 

4. Captain America (Chris Evans) – Marvel Cinematic Universe

 

3. Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr) – Marvel Cinematic Universe

 

2. J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) – Spider-Man

 

1. The Joker (Heath Ledger) – The Dark Knight

 

So what do you think? Who’s too low? Who’s too high? Who got left off that shouldn’t have been? Let me know in the comments.

20 Greatest Comic Book Television Series

* = indicates an animated series

20. Spider-Man*

Kicking things off on the list is the Spider-Man animated series from the 90’s. Did a fantastic job weaving together both classic and modern elements of the Wall Crawler and his vast array of supporting characters. Was, along with Batman: The Animated Series, largely responsible for the resurgence of comic book properties in the mainstream and the corresponding boom in merchandise.

19. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

After the flop that was Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, the Man of Steel laid virtually dormant as a media property outside of comics. This is the show that really brought him back to the public eye. Dean Cain played a serviceable, if not spectacular Superman, but his chemistry between he and the beautiful Teri Hatcher was the driving force of the series.

18. Sabrina the Teenage Witch

Fun and easily accessible. A good portion of the fanbase for this teen supernatural comedy have no idea that it was actually a modernized take on an Archie Comics series. While Melissa Joan Hart was great in the titular role, the real star of the show was the animatronic cat, Salem.

17. Batman

Yes, it’s campy. Yes, it strips away all of the darkness and edge from the Caped Crusader. Yes, it is just downright silly at times. And yes, it is ridiculously entertaining in its own right.

16. Legends of Tomorrow

The first of 3 of CW’s series of inter-connected DC properties known as the “Arrowverse.” A ragtag team of former villains and fallen/disgraced heroes all in search of redemption as they travel through time battling threats to humanity. Not as consistent as Arrow, but at its best, I actually think it’s better.

15. Agent Carter

Simultaneously a spin-off of both Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Captain America film franchise, Agent Carter followed the life of Cap’s old love interest Peggy Carter and her struggles to prove herself as not only a capable agent, but actually the best agent in a male-dominated world. Really bridges the gap between the MCU movies and television series.

14. Arrow

The show that launched CW’s “Arrowverse.” Much darker in tone than the other series in the shared universe, without being too dark. While Stephen Amell looks the part of Oliver Queen pretty well, and I appreciate his commitment to the parkour and training regimen for the role, his acting always seems to fall a bit flat, especially in comparison to some of his co-stars like Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity Smoak) and David Ramsey (Spartan). Known for strangely consistently using Batman villains instead of digging deep into Green Arrow’s rogues gallery.

13. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles*

Considered by many to be the definitive take on Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s iconic crime fighting reptiles. Much more lighthearted and funny, and less faithful to and focused on the samurai culture than the original comic, but responsible for creating many of the personality traits and characteristics that have become widely-accepted parts of these beloved characters, including the turtles wearing different colored masks and making April O’Neil a reporter instead of a computer programmer and lab assistant.

12. Luke Cage

While the series’ first season feels a bit uneven, with a fantastic, engaging first half followed by a slow, sometimes to the point of boring, second half, when it’s good, it’s very good. A huge part of that imbalance comes from the lack of Cottonmouth (played brilliantly by Mahershala Ali) in the back half, and the antagonist focus shifting to the poorly developed, far less interesting, Diamondback. Here’s hoping the second season can reach a little more consistency.

11. Preacher

Loosely based on Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s seminal comic series of the same name, about a Texas preacher who becomes imbued with supernatural powers on his journey to literally find God. The first season serves almost as a prequel, with small pieces of the early issues woven in. While there are several great performances on the show, the true stand out is Joseph Gilgun as the hard-drinking Irish vampire, Cassidy.

10. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The first television entrant in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Started off a bit slow, but by the end of the first season, it really found its legs, thanks in large part to direct connections to the plot of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Focuses on a team of specialized agents on clandestine missions for the government lead by Phil Coulson (resurrected after the events of The Avengers), and features one of the most diverse ensembles on television.

9. X-Men*

Piggybacking off of Jim Lee’s excellent, highly successful run on the X-Men comics, the animated series was largely faithful to the source material and served as the entry point into the X-Men universe for a lot of kids in the mid- to late-90’s. And how much sadder would the Internet be without the overdubbed parody clip “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!”?

8. The Tick*

Off-beat, quirky, and incredibly funny, The Tick may have only lasted for a mere 36 episodes, but it quickly developed a large cult following. Detailing the exploits of the extremely strong, but equally as dim-witted superhero, The Tick, the show did a tremendous job lampooning superhero archetypes and cliches.

7. Tales From the Crypt

HBO’s horror anthology series is famous for the amazing guest starring roles it seemed to pull in every episode and the iconic pun-spewing host, the Crypt-Keeper. Borrowing several stories directly from the 1950’s EC Comics series, and paying homage to the classic horror style in the stories that weren’t, one of the best series in the genre.

6. Jessica Jones

Heavy and gritty, the Netflix series delves deep into the scarred psyche of the super-powered titular hero (Krysten Ritter) and the effects of the PTSD she suffers after being raped and forced to kill by the mind-controlling sociopath Kilgrave (played to surprisingly icky perfection by David Tenant). Might have been even higher if not for a somewhat disappointing second season.

5. The Flash

Proof that you don’t have to be dark to make a great comic TV show. Centered around the Barry Allen version of the Scarlet Speedster, The Flash is compelling, smart, and just downright entertaining. Grant Gustin is wonderful in the lead role and is surrounded by a great cast of supporting characters, with Wentworth Miller’s take on Captain Cold being a personal favorite. The only real issue with the series has been its over-reliance on speedsters as the primary villain, finally breaking that mold in the 4th season.

4. The Punisher

Spinning off of Daredevil, Netflix’s The Punisher is as violent and brooding as you’ll find in a comic book based TV series. Jon Bernthal finally brings us the live action version of Frank Castle we’ve been waiting for. Even as violent as it is, the mayhem and blood never seem forced or over the top, but instead feel like a necessary part of the story of brutal justice for a man who had his family taken from him.

3. Batman: The Animated Series*

Definitely the top animated series in the world of comics, and in the discussion for best cartoons period. Darker and more well-written than the average animated fare. For many people, myself included, this is THE definitive portrayal of both Batman and the Joker, played to perfection by Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, respectively. Also responsible for creating the beloved Harley Quinn and the now-canonical tragic backstory for Mr. Freeze.

2. Daredevil

Netflix’s dark, gritty take on Marvel’s Man Without Fear, is the greatest superhero show ever produced. Compelling storytelling and some of the best fight choreography you’ll ever see are highlighted by incredible performances from Charlie Cox as the titular hero and Vincent D’Onofrio as his nemesis Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin.

1. The Walking Dead

Easily the greatest television adaptation of a comic book, and arguably one of the greatest series in general. While the show has definitely taken a step down in quality as of late, it is still a fantastic journey into the human condition. When all of society crumbles after a zombie outbreak, you get to see who people really are. Watching the character progressions of Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) are especially captivating.

Worst Comic Book Character Portrayals

While there have been many truly incredible portrayals of characters in comic book movies and television series, there have also been more than a few absolute clunkers. Some of these aren’t necessarily the actor’s fault; they were just written horribly, given awful dialogue, or were stuck with crappy plots. But whatever the reason, they still flopped. Here are my worst of the worst.

25. Iron Fist (Finn Jones) – Iron Fist

Netflix’s Iron Fist isn’t very good. It lacks an identity, has subpar fight choreography for a show about a Kung Fu master, and the worst thing about it is the lead. There’s literally nothing interesting about Danny Rand. He comes across as whiny and immature. For someone that’s supposed to be a “living weapon”, I wasn’t blown away by his fighting ability. In fact, I’d take Charlie Cox’s Daredevil over his Iron Fist any day.

24. Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) – X-Men First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men:Apocalypse

Jennifer Lawrence is a fine actress and seems quite likable as a person, but her portrayal of Mystique is so inconsistent. Her motivations and characterization seem to change from movie to movie, and are whatever the writer needed her to be in that story.

23. Ghost Rider (Nicholas Cage) – Ghost Rider, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance 

Ghost Rider would be a very easy character to make silly and over-the-top, and Nicholas Cage didn’t even attempt to play it otherwise. He’s already known for being quite the over-actor, and it’s on full display here, complete with terrible puns and one-liners.

22.  Dr. Doom (Toby Kebbell) – Fantastic Four

Will we ever get a good Dr. Doom in a live action movie? Hollywood writers just can’t seem to understand the things that make the character great and compelling. Sadly, another entrance in a long line of failed attempts at bringing Victor Von Doom to life.

21. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) – Thor, Thor: The Dark World

Natalie Portman reportedly hated being in Marvel movies, and it shows. For such a talented actress, her performance is flat and uninteresting. She also has zero charisma with Chris Hemsworth, making for a very blah love story.

20. Batman (Ben Affleck) – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Justice League

If there’s anyone that clearly hates playing their role in a comic movie more than Natalie Portman, it’s Ben Affleck when he dons the cape and cowl. He seems like he’d literally rather be anywhere but making these movies. With the quality of the 3 DC movies he’s been in, I can’t entirely blame him.

19. Colossus (Daniel Cudmore) – X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand , X-Men: Days of Future Past

One of several prominent X-Men characters that are supposed to be from countries other than the US that are passed off as American in the films. Piotr Rasputin, otherwise known as Colossus, is supposed to be from Russia, yet there’s no hint of a Russian accent on him whatsoever. And for a character whose power is to turn his skin into organic steel, we actually see him transform once for all of about 15 seconds in 3 movies.

18. Electro (Jamie Foxx) – The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Another example of a good actor being stuck in a crappy role. Completely devoid of interest, and despite what was clearly meant to be a sympathetic role, you don’t even feel sorry for the guy because he’s so badly written.

17. Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) – X-Men: First Class

Kevin Bacon delivers one of the most one-dimensional performances of his career. You just don’t care about his character whatsoever, nor is the character anything close to resembling his comic book counterpart.

16. Storm (Halle Berry) – X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men: Days of Future Past

Here’s where the “drop the accent” game started in the X-Men franchise. Halle Berry at least attempted an inconsistent one in the first film, but then dropped it all together in the second movie on. Spoiler alert: this isn’t the only time Ms. Berry will be appearing on this list. I promise I’m not picking on her as a performer in general…just in comic movies apparently.

15. Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) – X-Men: Apocalypse

Everything about this take on Marvel’s first mutant falls completely flat. Poorly acted. Poorly written. Poorly designed. Even his plans and motivations don’t make sense. Severely disappointing as I love Apocalypse in the comics and had high hopes for him here.

14. Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) – Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3

Could they have made audiences care less about the love interest of the hero? Mary Jane is supposed to be a constant, grounding force in Peter Parker’s otherwise tumultuous life, but here she’s flighty, annoying, and really serves no other purpose than damsel in distress and creating relationship drama…bouncing around between 7 different relationships in 3 movies.

13. Diamondback (Erik LaRay Harvey) – Luke Cage

I am unfamiliar with Harvey’s work outside of Luke Cage, but I seriously hope it’s better than what we got in the Marvel Netflix series. Tries way too hard to come across as a cool villain, but it doesn’t work at all. Just rather boring to be honest, especially in the shadow of Mahershala Ali’s brilliant performance as Cottonmouth.

12. Elektra (Jennifer Garner) – Daredevil, Elektra

There’s plenty to hate about the Daredevil movie, and Jennifer Garner’s bland turn as Elektra is definitely one of them. For a character that’s supposed to be exotic and enticing to Matt Murdock, she gives a performance about as compelling as watching paint dry. Oh and on the topic of being exotic, they claim she’s Greek (as she’s supposed to be), yet she makes no attempt to speak with an accent.

11. Gambit (Taylor Kitsch) – X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Much like Daredevil, there’s a lot to hate about X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a stupid story with plot holes big enough to fly the X-Jet through being first and foremost, but it also contains some of the absolute worst comic character portrayals ever (there’s another to come on this list). A primary example of writers shoehorning a character into a story that he had no business being in…and the version we got has very little in common with his comic counterpart other than his name. Gambit is known for his silver-tongued charm and razor sharp wit, yet Kitsch plays him with all the charisma of a coma patient…and seriously, why doesn’t his staff explode like everything else when he charges it with kinetic energy?

10. Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Oh, the DCEU and their consistent misunderstanding of their own properties. Whiny, neurotic, and just plain stupid…that’s really the only way I can describe this version of Superman’s nemesis. And talk about idiotic motivations: Luthor wants to show the world how dangerous Superman is, so he creates Doomsday, which is even more powerful and dangerous…um, what?

9. The Joker (Jared Leto) – Suicide Squad 

Easily the DCEU’s biggest bomb as a character is Leto’s pseudo-Joker (I refuse to refer to that as the actual Joker). Before I trash his utterly stupid look (which I’m going to), I’ll focus on the actual performance. It’s bad. Just plain bad. Not once did I believe I was watching the Clown Prince of Crime. His motivations are counter to those of the actual Joker, who would never have attempted to break Harley out prison. He would have let her rot until she found her own way out. Ok now for his appearance: what on Earth made them think that THAT is a look people wanted? This “Joker” looks like he’s a douchy rapper that’s part of a drug cartel, who just got some stupid tats in prison, and is on his way to a crappy Avenged Sevenfold concert. Oooo…how “dark and gritty”…

8. The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) – Iron Man 3

Speaking of pseudo characters. What was meant to be the MCU’s greatest plot twist ended up being nothing more than its biggest middle finger to comic book fans. Turning Iron Man’s nemesis into a fake and nothing but a distraction from the “real” villain, was a giant “F you” to longtime readers who were excited to see this major villain brought to life.

7. Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones) – X-Men: The Last Stand 

If there’s one thing 20th Century Fox knows better than making terrible Fantastic Four movies, it’s delivering awful performances in its X-Men franchise, and sadly this isn’t the worst. A cheap rubber muscle suit and a stupid-looking helmet that’s purpose is never explained in the movie, so he just runs around with a trashcan on his head for the sake of looking dumb. Also, Cain Marko is not a mutant, yet he’s somehow effected by Leech’s power draining ability?

6. Bane (Jeep Swenson) – Batman & Robin 

The first of 3 craptacular portrayals from Joel Schumacher’s equally awful Batman & Robin, making up half of the top 6. Take one of Batman’s most brilliant and strategic enemies and turn him into a mindless monster just because he’s big. Great choice. *insert eye roll*

5. Venom (Topher Grace) – Spider-Man 3

You can tell that Sam Raimi didn’t want Venom in this movie, but was forced to by Avi Arad (former head of Marvel), as he gave the character no direction or seemingly any thought. Totally unbelievable as an antagonist. Why does the symbiote make Eddie Brock bigger, but didn’t Peter Parker? Why did it latch on to Brock and mutate immediately since he didn’t have adrenal cancer like he did in the comic? The only thing worse than Venom in this movie is watching the My Chemical Romance version of Peter Parker dance.

4. Catwoman (Halle Berry) – Catwoman 

Here I am to crap on Halle Berry again. Everything about this role is bad. The acting, the writing, the direction, the costume…all of it. I appreciate the attempted homage to Eartha Kitt’s Catwoman from the 1960’s Batman television series, but the cheesiness and camp are just too much and it comes across like a B-movie performance.

3. Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) – Batman & Robin

But no one out camps Arnold’s turn as Mr. Freeze. Seriously, 75% of his dialogue is cold puns. One at the right moment would have been acceptable and might have gotten a little chuckle, but not a constant bombardment of “chill out’s” and “everybody freeze’s”. It really makes you hate a villain that should actually be one of the most sympathetic antagonists in comic movies.

2. Batman (George Clooney) – Batman & Robin 

The final entrant in my dump on Batman & Robin trilogy. Completely unbelievable as Batman. Not even a decent Bruce Wayne. All the things that make Batman special are absent and quite frankly not things that Clooney is capable of pulling off. He was cast simply because he was a hot name.

1. Deadpool (Scott Adkins) – X-Men Origins: Wolverine 

Here we are: the worst of the worst of the worst. Take everything about Deadpool that makes him unique and special and compelling…Hell take literally EVERYTHING away. Instead of kitanas, slap on some blades that pop out of his forearms like he’s freaking Baraka from Mortal Kombat. Instead of guns, have him shoot lasers out of his eyes. Instead of being a mercenary, make him a science experiment and slave. Oh and sew his mouth shut. Wouldn’t want the Merc with the Mouth to actually talk. Because I mean, come on…a source material faithful Deadpool would NEVER work…oh…wait…

Reader’s Poll: Who Has the Best Rogues Gallery in Comics?

What good is a hero without great villains? No matter how incredible or interesting the protagonist in a story may be, if he/she is not met by equally incredible or interesting antagonists, the story just feels flat. Aside from Star Wars‘ Darth Vader, who is without a doubt the coolest bad guy in pop culture, there’s no better place to find villains than comic books. So which hero has the best rogues gallery? You as the reader get to determine which ones I write about. Vote below and I’ll feature the top 5 vote-getters in a future post (might be a multi-parter).

 

Quick Shots from Comic-Con – Part 1

Comic-Con International took place in San Diego over the weekend. The annual geek convergence is always a hotbed of trailer debuts, logo/information reveals, and cast panels. Marvel gave us a new, much longer trailer for Doctor Strange, showed off the logos for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Black Panther, and dropped a bombshell in the casting of titular Captain Marvel. DC debuted a full-length trailer for Wonder Woman and dropped a sizzle reel for the upcoming Justice League. And just as importantly, first trailer for Season 7 of The Walking Dead debuted as well. With so much to cover, I’m just going to hit the highlights and give my condensed opinion on each.

 

The Walking Dead trailer –

We’re only 3 months away from finally finding out who lost their life at the hands of new big bad Negan. The trailer is brilliantly constructed with the first half running down the potential victims and giving us a very brief history of each characters, and the second half showing us the few characters that didn’t find themselves at Negan’s mercy and giving us some huge reveals: The Kingdom, Ezekiel, and Shiva! Forget Negan; King Ezekiel’s pet tiger is going to be in the show this season! Just kidding (mostly), because I can’t wait to see Jeffrey Dean Morgan tear it up this season.

 

Doctor Strange trailer –

Finally opening the doors to the supernatural corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this movie looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun. Benedict Cumberbatch is genius casting and I can’t wait to see his take on Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme. We also finally got a good look at the films villain (potentially villains, but I won’t spoil that for those not familiar with the comics). Boy does the trailer get trippy. Like Inception on acid.

 

Daredevil Season 3 announcement –

I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Daredevil had officially been renewed for its third season. I had assumed that with the upcoming Defenders cross-over on horizon that the Man Without Fear’s solo series would be put on hold temporarily. I’m very glad to see that that isn’t the case. The greatest superhero television show ever produced will be gracing us with a new installment soon.

 

Wonder Woman trailer –

As big of dumpster fire as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was, this movie looks incredible. For many, Wonder Woman was one of the few bright spots in BvS, and it appears that that bright spot is ready to shine on her own. Being set in World War II, this movie appears to be in a lot of ways what I had hoped the Captain America: The First Avenger would have been: a gritty, realistic war movie with a superhero dropped in the middle of it. My only real issue is the continued overly-dark cinematography that is apparently going to be the signature of the DCEU. Aside from Batman and some of their imprints, I’ve never seen DC as a particularly dark comic brand. So why are the movies so dark?

Greatest Comic Artists – Part 2

In today’s installment, we have a father and son, a couple of comic book hall of famers, and some of the grittiest artists comics has to offer.

John Romita, Sr. – (Spider-Man, Captain America)

With so many great artists having drawn the character, you can’t really say that there is a definitive Spider-Man artist. But if there is one, it might be John Romita, Sr. He was the artist for most of Spidey’s defining moments in the 70’s. With his son following in his footsteps, he also created one of the greatest legacies is comic history.

John Romita, Jr. – (Spider-Man, Daredevil, Kick-Ass, Iron Man)

Undaunted by the immense shadow cast by his father, John Romita Jr. became a legendary artist as well. And while his humble nature won’t allow him to admit it, I’d argue that his skill probably surpassed that of his famous father. After notable runs drawing for Spider-Man and Daredevil, Romita Jr. went on to co-create the ultra-violent Kick-Ass.

Denys Cowan – (The Question, Deathlok, Steel, Power Man & Iron Fist)

One of the best in the business at telling a story with artwork and framing an action scene. Gritty, emotional art is his calling card. Denys Cowan is so good that he managed to actually make Steel seem interesting. Cowan even drew the cover art for GZA’s album Liquid Swords. He has since gone on to work for BET.

Frank Miller – (Daredevil, Batman, Sin City, 300)

The standard bearer for gritty, ultra-stylized comic art. Also an acclaimed writer. Miller is credited with saving the Daredevil franchise and returning Batman to his darker roots by turning both into the violent vigilantes we know them as today. Created the Sin City franchise and drew/wrote some of the Caped Crusader’s greatest stories, including The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One.

Steve Ditko – (Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, The Question, Blue Beetle)

Originally working in Jack Kirby’s studio, Ditko eventually became a major artist in his own right having created Dr. Strange and co-created Spider-Man and The Question. His tendency to focus on intricacy and fantasy elements allowed him to become a legend in the realms of science fiction, horror, and the supernatural.

Come back next time where I’ll finish the list of the greatest comic book artists of all-time!

100 Greatest Comic Book Characters of All Time – Part 15

Because I’m kind of just ready to move on to other things, instead of just giving a 5 character entry with descriptions, I’m just going to list the Top 30 with a picture. Sorry if you were enjoying it in the original format. Maybe one day I’ll go back and finish it that way. But until then, here goes:

 

30. Jesse Custer

 

29. Dr. Strange

 

28. Green Goblin

 

27. Darkseid

 

26. Thor

 

25. Nightcrawler

 

24. Rorschach

 

23. The Thing

 

22. Martian Manhunter

 

 

21. Jean Grey

 

20. Cyclops

 

19. Deadpool

 

18. Lex Luthor

 

17. Mr. Fantastic

 

16. Catwoman

 

15. Daredevil

 

14. Nightwing

 

13. The Flash (Barry Allen)

 

12. The Hulk

 

11. Wolverine

 

10. Iron Man

 

9. Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)

 

8. Magneto

 

7. The Joker

 

6. Dr. Doom

 

5. Superman

 

4. Captain America

 

3. Wonder Woman

 

2. Batman

 

1. Spider-Man

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

100 Greatest Comic Characters of All-Time – Part 6

75. Miyamoto Usagi

It takes a pretty good writer to turn a story about a rabbit ronin into an epic tale on par with some of the greatest samurai films ever made, and that is exactly what you have in Stan Sakai. Despite some appearances on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoons and toy line, he’s never gotten quite the popularity he deserves. A combination of historically accurate samurai culture, grand story-telling, and just the right amount of childish accessibility, Usagi is a great example of the types of characters you find only in the world of comic books.

74. The Kingpin

Marvel’s resident crime boss and nemesis of the Man Without Fear, Daredevil. Part business man, part violent crime lord, the real-world believability of Wilson Fisk stands in stark contrast to the super-powered beings in spandex that dominate the landscape of the vast majority of comic books. This is a big reason why he is such a compelling villain. The fact that he’s crossed paths with The Punisher and managed to remain among the living is a testament to his awesomeness.

73. Gambit

The X-Men’s smooth talking Cajun. From his humble beginnings as a pick-pocket and thief, to his rise as a bona fide badass on the X-Men roster, everything about Remy LeBeau adds to his appeal to comics fans. Armed with his charm, a silver tongue, his trusty staff, and a super-power that can turn anything into an explosive weapon, Gambit is one of the coolest Marvel mutants.

72. Black Widow

A former Russian assassin, turned American super spy, Natasha Romanoff is the epitome of a femme fatale. A skilled marksman, a fierce hand-to-hand combatant, and a master interrogator, she is one of SHIELD’s greatest assets. Black Widow’s terribly dark past adds to her cool factor and makes her one of the more complex females in all of comics. The lovely Scarlett Johansson’s portrayal of Black Widow for the Marvel Cinematic Universe has lead to a well-deserved sharp increase in the character’s popularity as well.

71. Moon Knight

I’ve said it on here before, you don’t mess with a guy that wears white to a fight because he obviously doesn’t plan on getting dirty. That’s exactly what you have with Moon Knight. Chosen as the avatar of the Egyptian moon god Knoshu, Marc Spector is a straight-up badass. Imagine all the high-tech and traditional weaponry that Batman utilizes, but in the hands of someone that has no problem killing the villains unfortunate enough to cross his path. With his connection to the lunar cycle, and having a god taking up shop inside his body, he tiptoes the line between sanity and madness…and sometimes falls completely into the crazy side. This makes Moon Knight an extremely volatile, yet utterly entertaining character.