Geeks logo

Superheroes Who Don't Have Movies But Deserve Them

Many of our favorite comic book heroes have found their way to the big screen, and we couldn't be happier. But there are still some well-deserving superheroes who don't have movies —yet.

By Nicola P. YoungPublished 5 years ago 9 min read
1
Photo by Lena Orwig on Unsplash

It might seem like every superhero under the sun has his or her own movie or series now, with Marvel and DC in an ever-escalating race to crank out thrilling Hollywood adaptations of our favorite comic book heroes. I'm sure we're all thankful for all of the Avengers, the Justice League characters, the Defenders and each of their individual stories. (Okay, most of them at least. It's not like there haven't been flops.)

But the fact remains, even the largest superhero franchises have barely scratched the surface when it comes to the intriguing, multi-faceted heroes available in the comic book world. As a result, there are far too many superheroes who don't have movies—and really, really should.

Batwoman (DC)

The success of The Dark Knight and Wonder Woman—at the box office and at the Oscars—should tell Warner Bros. something: it's about time for a Batwoman movie. Perhaps part of the reason she has yet to appear in the DC movies is her similarity to Batman, but this could be a pro just as well as a con. Regardless, as far as superheroes who don't have movies yet go, she's a great candidate for a live-action appearance at the very least.

Batwoman is, like Batman, a high-flying wealthy heiress who puts her special talents and money to the fight against corruption and evil. In her original incarnation, she was meant to be a love interest of Batman's, and in fact came to vigilante crime-fighting in part for those feelings. However, after a period of absence from the DCU, she was re-introduced as a lesbian, and her adventures have since diverged from those of Batman.

She-Hulk (Marvel)

She-Hulk is basically the Hulk, but without the catch. Her origin story begins with Bruce Banner, her cousin, and as I'm sure you're aware, the Hulk. Her real identity is Jennifer Walters, a savvy defense lawyer in New York. After her cousin gave her a blood transfusion to save her life, she took on the superhero identity She-Hulk, appearing in just about every major superhero team at some point or another.

Like the Hulk, she transforms into a much larger creature, with incredible strength, endurance, and increased healing powers. But unlike the Hulk, she is able from the beginning to remain in control of herself as She-Hulk, making her a much less dangerous threat to her allies, and more so to her enemies.

The fact that she has fought with The Avengers, The Defenders, and The Fantastic Four (among others) makes it quite a surprise that She-Hulk has never made an appearance in Marvel movies, much less had her own story.

Best of all, we already know that Rosario Dawson would be honored to play She-Hulk in the MCU—so finding the right actress should be easy!

Lobo (DC)

Photo by Jordon Conner on Unsplash

I'm a little bummed that Jason Momoa has already entered the DCU movie world as Aquaman, because I had always pictured him as a perfect Lobo. But that doesn't mean I'm not still itching to see Lobo on the big screen, quite possibly opposing or aiding Aquaman and the rest of the Justice League.

It would be somewhat false to call Lobo a superhero, as he's pretty much out for violence and destruction against anyone and everyone, with occasional exceptions. Lobo is the last of an alien race, and thoroughly violent and bloodthirsty. However, he does have a strict code of honor, leading him to occasional alliances and friendships.

Northstar and Aurora (Marvel)

The Beaubier twins are a perfect choice for introducing new blood into the X-Men franchise. The mutant twins are able to fly at near-light speeds, as well as boasting heightened reflexes and endurance. Aurora particularly makes for an interesting addition to the X-Men universe, as she was known to have a dissociative identity disorder, effectively changing her entire personality between her real identity, Jean-Marie Beaubier, and her superhero identity as Aurora.

As the two first develop their powers with the Alpha Flight team, they could be good candidates for a whole new MCU team, opening up the possibility of introducing many other superheroes who don't have movies. But they—especially Northstar—are also involved with the later X-Men groups, making them good potential additions to those existing storylines.

Nova (Marvel)

Given that the Nova Corps plays a role in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, it seems possible that we may yet get an appearance from Nova, or Richard Rider. The space hero's adventures range far and wide in the comics, bringing him into contact with many of our favorite heroes and characters and making him a prime candidate for Marvel studios to adopt into the MCU movie world.

Nova gets his name from Nova Corps, who were responsible for giving him his powers of flight, speed, strength and endurance. He appears again and again to save the world alongside others—including the Guardians of the Galaxy and briefly brushing with the Avengers.

Cosmo (Marvel)

As he plays more of a supporting role in most of his MCU appearances, maybe it's not quite fair to include Cosmo among the superheroes who don't have movies. But I can't think of anyone who wouldn't go see a movie about a super-space-dog. At the very least, we should get an appearance from him somewhere in Guardians of the Galaxy. His adventures with Nova would also make for some great superhero movies, killing two birds with one stone.

Cosmo is essentially the guardian of Knowhere, which has already made its appearances in Guardians of the Galaxy. His powers include all the special skills and senses of dogs, magnified, some telekinetic and other psychic abilities, as well as all the knowledge of Knowhere, making him a powerful source for many of our favorite superheroes.

Inspired by Laika, the first dog in space, Cosmo began as an ordinary dog sent into orbit by the Soviet Union. After drifting out of orbit and out of range of Earth technologies, he was considered lost. But cosmic rays gave him the ability to talk, as well as heightening his senses, and he eventually became the chief security officer of the space station, Knowhere.

Vixen (DC)

Although Vixen has actually appeared briefly in the Arrowverse, she is definitely one superhero who deserves a movie just for her, and well as significantly more screen- and page-time in the whole DCU. Her powers are certainly some of the most interesting and variable, as she is able to harness the abilities of any animal that has ever lived on Earth. This makes her extremely adaptable to any environment or situation.

Mari Jiwe McCabe, who would eventually become Vixen, grew up in Africa and eventually moved to America after the death of her parents. When circumstances led her to visit Africa again, she fell into possession of the Tantu Totem, the device that would give her her powers. The mythology surrounding this device, which Mari had been told of as a child, was that it would bestow these abilities on its owner as long as he or she used them for the protection of the innocent and the fight against evil.

Spider-Woman (Marvel)

Just as She-Hulk is basically a slightly more effective, female version of the Hulk, Spider-Woman is much like Spider-Man, but with the added ability to blast her enemies with venom. Also like Spider-Man, her origin stories and timelines have been frequently re-written and altered, offering a huge range of potential storylines for Marvel studios to pursue.

In the Marvel comics and a couple of animated superhero series, Spider-Woman has made appearances with both the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as on her own. The original iteration of Spider-Woman was as Jessica Drew, who was injected with a spidey-serum as a child in order to save her life. However, later iterations had different origins, so there are plenty of options for how Marvel should introduce Spider-Woman to the big screen, and finally remove her from this sad list of superheroes who don't have movies.

Martian Manhunter (DC)

Though he has yet to make an appearance in the recent Justice League movies, the Martian Manhunter was, in fact, one of the group's founding members, joining up with the likes of Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lantern and others to defend the Earth from alien attacks.

As his superhero name suggests, J'onn J'onzz is a Green Martian, which basically means he can do just about anything. The race is gifted with heightened strength, speed, reflexes and endurance, as well as powers ranging from telekinesis to mind-reading to regeneration. Perhaps his exclusion from Warner Bros.' recent DC movies is because he is simply too powerful, able to control and defend against even the most powerful of villains. But, as his success in the DC comics shows, that doesn't mean he makes for a boring superhero—quite the opposite.

Spectrum/Monica Rambeau (Marvel)

Monica Rambeau has had multiple aliases in the MCU, including many years as Captain Marvel, she has most recently appeared under the alias Spectrum. She has made appearances alongside many of our MCU favorites, including as one of the main members of the Avengers for many years. She has also worked with mutants of the X-Men franchise and Black Panther.

After exposure to an alien energy blast, Rambeau developed the ability to turn herself into electromagnetic energy of any kind—a power that lead to nearly infinite possibilities in terms of both offense and defense—she could travel at the speed of light, turn herself into a deadly laser beam, even make herself appear differently to others, effectively shape-shifting—though her true body would remain the same.

The Question

Photo by Craig Whitehead on Unsplash

There's no denying that the superhero genre is wildly popular. The reason there are so many superheroes who don't have movies is simply that there are so many great superheroes that deserve them. But another of the public's most popular genres is that of the hard-boiled detective. So there's no doubt in my mind that there's room in Hollywood for The Question, a superhero that combines these genres into one gritty, relentless crime-fighting investigator.

The Question originated as Vic Sage, an investigative journalist, who stumbled onto a substance that would allow him to completely disguise his face—or rather, to make him appear more or less faceless. With this new technology and his innate intelligence and quick thinking, Sage became a ruthless investigator and crime-fighter. Eventually, the title would be passed on to his protégé, Renee Montoya—and I, for one, would very much both of them to make their movie debuts.

Given the faceless nature of his work, DC could probably find at least ten actors who could play The Question that every fan could get behind.

superheroes
1

About the Creator

Nicola P. Young

Lover of Books, Saxophone, Blogs, and Dogs. Not necessarily in that order. Book blogger at heartofinkandpaper.com.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.