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…

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.

X-Men: Days of Future Past Review (With and Without Spoilers)

As I said last time, I’m a huge fan of the “Days of Future Past” story arc in X-Men. So going to see the movie based on that story was a highly anticipated moment for me this summer. Aside from the fanboy in me that loves the characters and the story, this was going to a movie event unlike any other: seeing two timelines in the same franchise thrown together. Critics and movie-goers have been raving about the film. It opened to a huge weekend. All of this had pushed my expectations level even higher than it already was.

 

Sadly, my expectations weren’t really met. Let me first say, I didn’t hate this movie. I didn’t even dislike it. I enjoyed it and was entertained by it. But I just couldn’t help but feel a little let down.

 

There was plenty to like in this installment in the successful X-Men franchise. The acting is (for the most part) top-notch. Patrick Stewart is great reprising his role as the older version of Professor X. Peter Dinklage was excellent as the antagonist Boliver Trask. Nicholas Hoult is very good as The Beast. But the real stars are James McAvoy as the younger, angrier Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as the young Magneto, and the lovely (gotta love a Kentucky girl!) Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. The action is fast paced. The visual effects are some of the best I’ve ever seen. There’s a good balance between drama, action, and comic relief. The writers did a nice job of blurring the lines between good and evil in the fight for acceptance for mutants.

 

Hugh Jackman, however, was a little underwhelming this time around as Wolverine. Maybe I’m just too used to him playing the character that it takes too much to impress me….I don’t know. I was very disappointed in the actual Sentinels. The Nimrod Sentinels in the future were awesome, but the originals from the 70’s were pretty lame. The biggest problem I had with the movie were the multiple, giant plot holes (more on these in the spoilers section). They tried very hard to do some ambitious things with the script, and some of it worked, but a lot of it either fell flat or just left even more things unexplained.

 

I’d encourage anyone to go see the movie. I wholeheartedly disagree with those claiming this is the best X-Men film yet (I’d probably place it 3rd or 4th) and even more so with some I’ve heard say it’s possibly the best movie based on a Marvel Comics property. It’s not even close. But it is a very fun, entertaining ride.

 

***Warning: SPOILERS BELOW!!!***

 

Plot holes, plot holes, plot holes. This movie suffers from several of them. How exactly does Kitty Pryde have the ability to send someone’s consciousness back in time? How did her powers evolve into that? I’ll give Bryan Singer credit for pulling off what is essentially a retcon in a movie series. He righted a lot of the wrongs perpetrated in the awful X-Men: The Last Stand, and has basically hit the reset button for future movies. Cyclops and Jean Grey are both alive again, which is a great thing. Now hopefully Scott Summers can finally get the movie treatment he deserves!

 

However, in resetting the timeline, they’ve left a ton of lingering questions. With Jean alive and still a part of the team, did the events in 1973 change the history of Jean having the dormant uncontrollable power that we saw in previous films? Or did Professor X do a better job of helping her control it than he did before? The final shot before the credits shows that the William Stryker that takes Logan is actually Mystique…so is Mystique the one that creates the Weapon X program? If so, why would she do that? If she did, how are she and Stryker seen on screen together in X2? Or are they saying that the events of that movie never took place? If those events never took place, does Wolverine not have adamantium fused to his skeleton? After the climactic battle, Magneto and Mystique leave separately and are not on good terms as each shot the other at one point during the movie. So how/why to they end up back together and just as close as ever at the beginning of the first film?

 

I was really looking forward to seeing the Sentinels in action. Unfortunately, the ones in 1973 weren’t really shown as being particularly formidable, and spent more time under the control of Magneto than they did as being a threat to all mutants.

 

Then there’s the stinger. We get a tease of what’s coming up next in the series: Apocalypse…complete with the Four Horsemen. I have to admit that I’m extremely excited about this prospect. Apocalypse is one of my absolute favorite villains in all of comics. I’m a little disappointed to see them bringing in the telekinetic powers of the character, as I think he’s pretty freaking awesome without them, and have thought they were terribly unnecessary since they first brought them into the comics.

Even with all the questions left unanswered, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I just feel it could have been better. However, it looks like the movie franchise about our favorite mutants is going in a much better direction.

Our Favorite Ragin’ Cajun is Going to Be Played By…Magic Mike?

It was announced last week that Channing Tatum will be playing Gambit in at least one future X-Men film. I decided to give myself a few days to process this information (i.e., calm down and let my rage subside) before I posted my thoughts on the matter. I want to start off by saying that I don’t hate Channing Tatum as a person. Obviously I’ve never met the man. I have read about several very cool things he’s done and I’m sure he’s a wonderful human being and all that.

This is our new Gambit, folks…

Now that the pleasantries are out of the way…I do, however, hate Channing Tatum as an actor. He has zero range and plays every character basically the same. He is either a guy from the wrong side of the tracks or a dancer…or both (Step Up).

But most importantly, he doesn’t fit the character of Gambit at all. Remy LeBeau is a slender, athletic thief, not a thick meat-head. Gambit is mysterious with a sharp, clever wit, a silver tongue, and thick Cajun accent…things that leave me extremely skeptical of Channing Tatum’s ability to pull off.

Instead of just bashing Mr. Tatum relentlessly…though I’m not opposed to that…I’ll also offer my pick of who SHOULD play Gambit: Gaspard Ulliel.

If you’re unfamiliar with his work, he is most notable in the US as the young Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal Rising. Seriously, this guy looks JUST like the Gambit from the comics. He has the build, the dark look, he’s even French, so one would think that it wouldn’t be hard for him to nail the Cajun accent. After a terribly disappointing portrayal of Remy LeBeau by Taylor Kitsch in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and now the character being played by a sub-par thespian, I’m beginning to wonder if the character will ever get the great movie treatment it deserves. I certainly hope so.