Great Movies You Didn't Know Were Based on Comics
When we think of comic books and graphic novels, the majority of us comic-illiterates are familiar with that world only through the superhero movies we've seen. Yet over time I've seen enough to know that it's an extremely varied medium, and is certainly not limited to the typical superpowered heroes and villains. Dig a little deeper and you find that comic books and graphic novels are at the root of a lot of other great movies. Here are just a few that you might have heard of or seen, but might not have know their pictorial origin stories.
1. The Losers (2010)
As the leader of a crack special-ops team, Colonel Clay is ready for almost every contingency. But when the team is betrayed by a mysterious voice on the phone and are left for dead, they'll have to cross more than enemy lines to get back home. Seriously short of options and thirsty for vengeance, they're approached by a fiery and unpredictable woman with intel on a certain shadowy businessman. She promises that if they can bag the guy she can get them home and clear their names. The catch? It's pretty much a suicide mission. But with their skills, resourcefulness, and attitude, these Losers are ready to try it. Will they succeed where individuals and nations have failed? Or will they succumb under the weight of henchmen and secrets? There's only one way to know for sure.
2. RED (2010)
Frank Moses seems like a very normal retiree. But with a long and storied history as a field agent for the CIA, Moses finds it a bit difficult to adjust to a quieter life. It gets even more difficult when a squad of hitmen show up at his door. Trying to figure out which parts of his past might have inspired such a reception, Moses goes on the run and hopes to keep the few people he truly cares about safe. Along the way he reaches out to old friends and old enemies alike, and teaches a more recent generation of the CIA not to underestimate the old guard of spies and assassins still out there.
The original comic came out in a mini-series in 2003-2004 published under Wildstorm and Homage Comics, which ultimately belong to DC. And though the comic may go a little differently and is much darker in scope, the same themes ring true in this film adaptation. Bruce Willis makes a fantastic Frank Moses, a mild-mannered badass we can't help but root for as he tries to stay alive and find new purpose. The ensemble includes a charismatic Morgan Freeman, perfectly unhinged John Malkovich, sweet and relatable Mary-Louise Parker, and too many others to name here. There's a lot of room for dark humor, but its fast pacing and action means that it never truly goes to a dark place. The success of this romping adventure inspired a sequel, but to me you can't beat this comic-inspired original.
3. Men in Black (1997)
When a New York detective runs down a suspect who's not-quite-human and has a hazy encounter with a nondescript agent, he has to wonder how deep the rabbit hole goes. He gets his chance to find out when an Agent K recruits him into the ranks of the Men in Black, erasing his identity and becoming Agent J. Soon the by-the-book agent K and the quipping agent J are neck-deep in trouble, following a trail of unexplained lights and murdered aliens to find the culprit. With the Earth and a galaxy at stake, the two agents will have to outgun, outwit, and neutralize their way to the truth, and hopefully keep the public safely oblivious to the bizarre reality.
This one's the oldest film on my short list, but it still packs a punch today and its legacy is still going strong. The origin of the term "men in black" originates back in the 1950s, and today largely survives as a cross between a conspiracy theory and an urban legend. These men in black are generally feared, sometimes thought of as otherworldly or inhuman, and are believed to have covered up everything from UFOs to Mothman. Fascinated by this concept, Lowell Cunningham of Aircel Comics wrote a series of the same title from 1990-1991. In the way of many comic book companies, Aircel was eventually bought out by Malibu Comics, which was then absorbed by Marvel. The film in 1997 struck a good balance of scifi, action, and humor, but what made it truly a classic is the buddy-cop pairing of Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. To me it will always be one of those films that screams the Nineties, but is still fresh and relevant when re-watched today. Its enduring success inspired one great sequel (Men in Black II), one mediocre sequel (Men in Black 3), and a couple more months will release Men in Black: International. This newest installment will be starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, who did pretty well together in Thor: Ragnarok, so we'll have to see if this will bring new life to the franchise or kill it stone dead.
4. Cowboys and Aliens (2011)
A man wakes up in the desert with no memory and an odd device on his wrist. But in this sleepy frontier town in Arizona, this gun-slinging stranger is the least of their worries. When flying machines and strange creatures come in the night to steal townsfolk, the surviving cowboys, shopkeepers, and criminals band together in pursuit of their enemy. Overwhelmingly outmatched in numbers and technology, their best hope is the stranger's mystery device and recovering his lost memories.
The graphic novel Cowboys and Aliens was originally conceived in 1997 but wasn't developed and published until 2006. Right from the start this was being pitched as a film, which makes a lot of sense to me. Who can resist a crossover of two fantastic genres, western and science fiction? Although something like this can easily become too complicated to handle, I thought the filmmakers did a pretty good job here. The plot and characters were definitely "adapted", but to me that actually works in the film's favor. The film is built around the classic redemption plot and characters of a western, and ends up weaving in aliens and their technology as an interesting bad guy. Jon Favreau directs, with high-flying actors like Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, and Adam Beach combining their talents. The visuals are pretty good, with the technology, aliens, and settings reminding me a lot of Edgar Rice Burrough's descriptions of Barsoom in A Princess of Mars.
1. The Losers (2010)
As the leader of a crack special-ops team, Colonel Clay is ready for almost every contingency. But when the team is betrayed by a mysterious voice on the phone and are left for dead, they'll have to cross more than enemy lines to get back home. Seriously short of options and thirsty for vengeance, they're approached by a fiery and unpredictable woman with intel on a certain shadowy businessman. She promises that if they can bag the guy she can get them home and clear their names. The catch? It's pretty much a suicide mission. But with their skills, resourcefulness, and attitude, these Losers are ready to try it. Will they succeed where individuals and nations have failed? Or will they succumb under the weight of henchmen and secrets? There's only one way to know for sure.
The reason this storyline might seem pretty familiar is it's basically the plot of The A-Team, and unfortunately they also came out within a month of each other. Hard to compete with a well-known name reboot with headliners like Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper. And yet I'd argue that The Losers is better. It has arguably more star power, with notables Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Supernatural, Watchmen), Idris Elba (Thor, The Dark Tower), Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy), and Chris Evans (Captain America: Winter Soldier, Snowpiercer). Both movies have a great mixture of action and humor, but The Losers has a slicker, quirkier style. But does that just make this movie a copy of The A-Team? I'd say the answer is 'no.' If anything, The A-Team may be a copy of The Losers. The original The Losers was a DC comic based on a team of WWII soldiers and published in 1970. The A-Team television series didn't come out until 1983. True, the more "A-Team"-style plot of being betrayed by a shadowy organization didn't show up until the revamped DC Vertigo series came out in 2003, but I guess that's an argument for another day.
2. RED (2010)
Frank Moses seems like a very normal retiree. But with a long and storied history as a field agent for the CIA, Moses finds it a bit difficult to adjust to a quieter life. It gets even more difficult when a squad of hitmen show up at his door. Trying to figure out which parts of his past might have inspired such a reception, Moses goes on the run and hopes to keep the few people he truly cares about safe. Along the way he reaches out to old friends and old enemies alike, and teaches a more recent generation of the CIA not to underestimate the old guard of spies and assassins still out there.
The original comic came out in a mini-series in 2003-2004 published under Wildstorm and Homage Comics, which ultimately belong to DC. And though the comic may go a little differently and is much darker in scope, the same themes ring true in this film adaptation. Bruce Willis makes a fantastic Frank Moses, a mild-mannered badass we can't help but root for as he tries to stay alive and find new purpose. The ensemble includes a charismatic Morgan Freeman, perfectly unhinged John Malkovich, sweet and relatable Mary-Louise Parker, and too many others to name here. There's a lot of room for dark humor, but its fast pacing and action means that it never truly goes to a dark place. The success of this romping adventure inspired a sequel, but to me you can't beat this comic-inspired original.
3. Men in Black (1997)
When a New York detective runs down a suspect who's not-quite-human and has a hazy encounter with a nondescript agent, he has to wonder how deep the rabbit hole goes. He gets his chance to find out when an Agent K recruits him into the ranks of the Men in Black, erasing his identity and becoming Agent J. Soon the by-the-book agent K and the quipping agent J are neck-deep in trouble, following a trail of unexplained lights and murdered aliens to find the culprit. With the Earth and a galaxy at stake, the two agents will have to outgun, outwit, and neutralize their way to the truth, and hopefully keep the public safely oblivious to the bizarre reality.
This one's the oldest film on my short list, but it still packs a punch today and its legacy is still going strong. The origin of the term "men in black" originates back in the 1950s, and today largely survives as a cross between a conspiracy theory and an urban legend. These men in black are generally feared, sometimes thought of as otherworldly or inhuman, and are believed to have covered up everything from UFOs to Mothman. Fascinated by this concept, Lowell Cunningham of Aircel Comics wrote a series of the same title from 1990-1991. In the way of many comic book companies, Aircel was eventually bought out by Malibu Comics, which was then absorbed by Marvel. The film in 1997 struck a good balance of scifi, action, and humor, but what made it truly a classic is the buddy-cop pairing of Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. To me it will always be one of those films that screams the Nineties, but is still fresh and relevant when re-watched today. Its enduring success inspired one great sequel (Men in Black II), one mediocre sequel (Men in Black 3), and a couple more months will release Men in Black: International. This newest installment will be starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, who did pretty well together in Thor: Ragnarok, so we'll have to see if this will bring new life to the franchise or kill it stone dead.
4. Cowboys and Aliens (2011)
A man wakes up in the desert with no memory and an odd device on his wrist. But in this sleepy frontier town in Arizona, this gun-slinging stranger is the least of their worries. When flying machines and strange creatures come in the night to steal townsfolk, the surviving cowboys, shopkeepers, and criminals band together in pursuit of their enemy. Overwhelmingly outmatched in numbers and technology, their best hope is the stranger's mystery device and recovering his lost memories.
The graphic novel Cowboys and Aliens was originally conceived in 1997 but wasn't developed and published until 2006. Right from the start this was being pitched as a film, which makes a lot of sense to me. Who can resist a crossover of two fantastic genres, western and science fiction? Although something like this can easily become too complicated to handle, I thought the filmmakers did a pretty good job here. The plot and characters were definitely "adapted", but to me that actually works in the film's favor. The film is built around the classic redemption plot and characters of a western, and ends up weaving in aliens and their technology as an interesting bad guy. Jon Favreau directs, with high-flying actors like Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, and Adam Beach combining their talents. The visuals are pretty good, with the technology, aliens, and settings reminding me a lot of Edgar Rice Burrough's descriptions of Barsoom in A Princess of Mars.
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