Uh . . . Anyway . . .
That’s not how I see it. But it’s also more than a hobby. It’s my genuine passion. I love discussing comic books and the characters. I love saying what I love about it and what I don’t like about it. Often times what I don’t like about it is more fun because I can laugh about it. But then again, I laugh when I like it too. So it goes both ways! It’s the same with the movies. When I was a kid they were making Batman movies and I thought they were so cool. I kept hearing that more superheroes were going to get movies but it was not happening. I was a huge fan of the X-Men and Spider-Man cartoons and of course Batman: the Animated Series. It’s funny because I watch them now and I feel that Batman has held up very well but X-Men and Spider-Man seem so dated and corny to me now. Oh well, that’s a list for another day . . .
Growing up during the superhero movie boom was really exciting. When I was a kid, I was picked on a lot for liking superheroes and comics. It was so exciting to see that there were movies coming out that were not only exciting to watch but told fantastic stories. I watch them now as an adult the same way I did as a kid. In hindsight, these films were very important to the films that we’re getting now. We would never have had the Avengers or the Dark Knight or maybe even the Walking Dead without these movies.
Then we wouldn't have these awesome memes
There’s a scary thought right? Now, you’ve probably seen lists like this before but now you’re seeing it from my perspective, as a fan and as an adult that refuses to grow up :)
THE TOP 5 MOST IMPORTANT COMIC BOOK MOVIES:
BLADE:
More often than not, this film is overlooked and forgotten. It’s a real shame because this movie is freaking awesome and just about perfect. It’s simple, direct, and not afraid to be exactly what it is. It’s a film about vampires and a vampire hunter. A tale as old as time (or whenever the original Dracula novel came out) but this one had a slightly different spin on it. Blade is half human, half vampire that takes it upon himself to travel from city to city ridding the world of vampires. Armed with an amazing arsenal and superhuman strength, Blade must fight Deacon Frost, a vampire determined to bring forth an old vampire god and rule the world of humans. Wow that sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud. But the movie is very well done. It’s got great action, decent acting, and, like I said, tells a very direct story. It’s pretty true to the comic books but didn’t treat itself like a live action comic book (which is how Schumacher treated his Batman films). The filmmakers were the first ones to see that comic book movies didn’t have to look like comic books to be entertaining. They could be a little more realistic looking while maintaining the feel of the books. Plus, it’s a bad ass movie. If you like action movies then you’d like it. Also Donal Logue is in it and he’s hilarious.
X-MEN:
Blade is often overlooked as the first realistic looking comic book movie due to X-Men’s success. The X-Men, at its core, has always been an allegory for racism. Truth be told when you really think about it, is it wrong to be fearful of people born with crazy superpowers? I’d argue that that form of racism is justified because you know . . . that’s kinda scary.
Unless you're really hot. Then it's ok to be different and have superpowers
Anyway, the film follows Rogue and Wolverine to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters where they learn about the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants. The Brotherhood kidnaps Rogue in an attempt to turn all the world’s leaders from humans into mutants. The X-Men recruit Wolverine to stop them. The funny thing about this movie is how tame it is. There is not a lot of action in it. The story is fantastic and the characters are just about spot on and the special effects are really good for the time but again, not a lot happens in the movie. It's pretty much a character driven film. I think Bryan Singer knew that he didn’t have any experience with big budget movies and wanted to test the waters before he went big. It was a smart move and luckily it turned out really great. A lot of people complained about the uniforms but it never bothered me. It’s interesting to me that a man who is supposed to be this vicious killer is dressed in tight yellow spandex.
Bright yellow and blue spandex! The 90s were a strange time
Putting him in a black uniform actually makes a little more sense. I liked the costumes in the film and felt they were more practical. The movie didn’t forget it’s comic book origins but made a genuine attempt at grounding the film in reality. It hasn’t worked for every comic book adaptation but it worked great here. And we got Hugh Jackman out of it!
Just look at him!
X-Men is definitely one of my favorite films. I loved every minute of it and I still love watching it now as an adult. It holds up really well. Summer 2000 was a great time to be an X-Men fan. And with the recent success of X-Men: Days of Future Past it's clear that these films are as popular as ever.
SPIDER-MAN:
If X-Men started the fire that is the modern comic book movie then Spider-Man is the gasoline. High school student Peter Parker is bitten by a genetically modified spider and given superpowers. He decides to use these powers to make some money, but when his cash is denied him he lets a thief get away with the guy's money. That thief ends up murdering Peter’s beloved uncle. Peter then decides to make amends and use his powers for the greater good learning that with great power, comes great responsibility. Oh and his best friend’s dad has turned cuckoo for cocoa puffs.
That origin is super realistic isn’t? If you got superpowers wouldn’t you use them to make a lot of money? And when some dude stiffed you, you’d be like "ah screw off" only to feel super bad when a family member died? THAT’S the origin of Spider-Man. It’s in the first comic he appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15. While X-Men toned down the costumes and attempted to make them more realistic, Spidey went the other way and fully embraced it’s comic book origins. True the Goblin’s costume is a bit wonky looking but if it had been adapted straight from the comics it would have looked super goofy.
Spider-Man wearing leather or some sort of Kevlar would have looked off, so a spandex suit makes sense for him. After all, he does whatever a spider can. Except shoot webbing from his butt. Thank goodness they changed that! Either way, this film was a blockbuster making obscene amounts of money. I’ll never forget being a kid and seeing one of my favorite heroes come to life and suddenly everyone was cheering for him. In Summer 2002 if it had Spider-Man on it, I bought it. This included the Spider-Man cereal . . . Yeah it was terrible.
More than anything, this film proved that summer blockbusters, while fun and entertaining, can tell a deeper story and appeal to a large audience. It's not a perfect film, but it was so much fun that it was contagious!
BATMAN BEGINS:
We all knew this was coming. Batman Begins tells the story of Bruce Wayne. Orphaned in an act of violence, Bruce’s life is flipped upside down. He grows up confused, angry, and alone. He travels the world searching for secrets on how to fight injustice. He finds these secrets with a group called the League of Shadows. He’s trained to become an agent of justice. Bruce takes this knowledge back to Gotham City and fights crime as the vigilante known as Batman. That’s the coolest description of any movie ever!
Anyway, just like Spider-Man and X-Men helped audiences get over the "comic book" of comic book films, Batman Begins took it a step further and reminded them that Batman is awesome and should be treated as such. Most people will look at the Dark Knight and say that it revolutionized the comic book movie industry (hell the movie industry in general) but the truth is that it wouldn’t exist without Batman Begins paving the way. Begins gave us a solid Bruce Wayne movie. It told the story of one man trying to make a difference and deal with his personal demons. The film did what the other Bat-films lacked. It gave us a Bruce Wayne story that we could relate to and care about long before he becomes Batman. Like X-Men before it, it went for realism over comic book-esque science. Nolan described it as an extraordinary man in an ordinary world. Bruce Wayne lives in our world and has built himself up as a superhero. It didn’t forget its comic book origins and pays respect to it. There was a lot of debate as to whether or not the Dark Knight should have been nominated for more Oscars, but truthfully I was more surprised Batman Begins didn't get any major nominations. Oh well, maybe next time . . .
SPIDER-MAN:
If X-Men started the fire that is the modern comic book movie then Spider-Man is the gasoline. High school student Peter Parker is bitten by a genetically modified spider and given superpowers. He decides to use these powers to make some money, but when his cash is denied him he lets a thief get away with the guy's money. That thief ends up murdering Peter’s beloved uncle. Peter then decides to make amends and use his powers for the greater good learning that with great power, comes great responsibility. Oh and his best friend’s dad has turned cuckoo for cocoa puffs.
Under all that Willem Dafoe make up is the Green Goblin
That origin is super realistic isn’t? If you got superpowers wouldn’t you use them to make a lot of money? And when some dude stiffed you, you’d be like "ah screw off" only to feel super bad when a family member died? THAT’S the origin of Spider-Man. It’s in the first comic he appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15. While X-Men toned down the costumes and attempted to make them more realistic, Spidey went the other way and fully embraced it’s comic book origins. True the Goblin’s costume is a bit wonky looking but if it had been adapted straight from the comics it would have looked super goofy.
Oh yeah. This is much better!
Spider-Man wearing leather or some sort of Kevlar would have looked off, so a spandex suit makes sense for him. After all, he does whatever a spider can. Except shoot webbing from his butt. Thank goodness they changed that! Either way, this film was a blockbuster making obscene amounts of money. I’ll never forget being a kid and seeing one of my favorite heroes come to life and suddenly everyone was cheering for him. In Summer 2002 if it had Spider-Man on it, I bought it. This included the Spider-Man cereal . . . Yeah it was terrible.
I can still taste the awfulness . . .
More than anything, this film proved that summer blockbusters, while fun and entertaining, can tell a deeper story and appeal to a large audience. It's not a perfect film, but it was so much fun that it was contagious!
BATMAN BEGINS:
We all knew this was coming. Batman Begins tells the story of Bruce Wayne. Orphaned in an act of violence, Bruce’s life is flipped upside down. He grows up confused, angry, and alone. He travels the world searching for secrets on how to fight injustice. He finds these secrets with a group called the League of Shadows. He’s trained to become an agent of justice. Bruce takes this knowledge back to Gotham City and fights crime as the vigilante known as Batman. That’s the coolest description of any movie ever!
The fighting style of a ninja, the wingspan of a Pterodactyl
Anyway, just like Spider-Man and X-Men helped audiences get over the "comic book" of comic book films, Batman Begins took it a step further and reminded them that Batman is awesome and should be treated as such. Most people will look at the Dark Knight and say that it revolutionized the comic book movie industry (hell the movie industry in general) but the truth is that it wouldn’t exist without Batman Begins paving the way. Begins gave us a solid Bruce Wayne movie. It told the story of one man trying to make a difference and deal with his personal demons. The film did what the other Bat-films lacked. It gave us a Bruce Wayne story that we could relate to and care about long before he becomes Batman. Like X-Men before it, it went for realism over comic book-esque science. Nolan described it as an extraordinary man in an ordinary world. Bruce Wayne lives in our world and has built himself up as a superhero. It didn’t forget its comic book origins and pays respect to it. There was a lot of debate as to whether or not the Dark Knight should have been nominated for more Oscars, but truthfully I was more surprised Batman Begins didn't get any major nominations. Oh well, maybe next time . . .
I'm gonna get that Best Actor Nomination if it's the last thing I do!
IRON MAN:
Iron Man tells the story of egotistical billionaire Tony Stark. He sells weapons to the military and loves the perks that come with his job. However, once he’s kidnapped and tortured to build more weapons for terrorists he realizes the error of his ways. He builds himself a suit of armor and returns home, determined to make things right. Also his mentor and father’s business partner is evil. There’s that too.
You're Mr. Stark! I'm the Dude!
Now you might say that the Avengers is WAY more important but I disagree. Avengers wouldn’t exist without Iron Man’s success. Iron Man introduced the concept that the world was ready for a different type of superhero and with that came the idea that the world was ready for a whole TEAM of heroes that were different from what they’ve seen before. Iron Man, like Spider-Man, followed the comic books pretty faithfully, even giving a reason for Tony to have several different armors throughout the film. But what makes Iron Man really important is that it introduced S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury to audiences. Suddenly, within one film, the Marvel world just got a whole lot bigger! If this film had been unsuccessful then the Avengers would never have been made and the idea of a shared universe would still just be a fan’s dream.
At least this dream came true!
While these films have a cultural significance they also have significance to me. They may have proved to audiences that comic books are cool and you should check them out (and you should) but more than anything they helped me say, “HA HA! Told ya so!” After being mocked for many years as a kid for liking comic books and superheroes it was great to see that I wasn’t wrong. These stories were awesome and now everyone knew it! Suddenly everyone wanted in and I became the expert. It’s a great feeling. And it just keeps getting better! Since these movies came out we've gotten their superior sequels like X2: X-Men United, Spider-Man 2, the Dark Knight, and the Avengers. With no less than 40 comic book films coming out in the next few years, we've got a lot to look forward to!
Till Next Time!
JJ - The Comic Junkie!
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