Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Four Marvel heroes who need on-screen appearances

I am a long-time fan of Marvel comics. I will choose Captain America over Superman any day of the week and twice again on Sunday. Thanos kicks Darkseid’s ass every time. Not that I don’t like DC characters, movies, and TV shows. But I’m a Marvel guy to the core.

So, with all of the MCU movies past, present and future, as well as some really well done DTV animated films and TV cartoons, this is truly the Marvel Age of Film, IMHO. And here are four characters from the Marvel Universe that have no current plans for film adaptations (that I know of), but I think need to be seen somewhere.

Hercules
Given a choice, I prefer Hercules over Thor any day. The charismatic, battle-loving, tragic hero of Greek mythology (sorta), the Prince of Power himself, Hercules needs to be seen on screen. Ideally, I’d love to see him in his own film. I’d even settle for an animated, DTV film. But, if they could just have him guest star in a good TV series, or co-star in a film, that would be cool. I’m looking at the whole “Hulk vs….” idea as a great way to introduce him. Hulk vs. Hercules. Imagine the action!

Union Jack
Technically, the original Union Jack has already been seen on screen. The British soldier in Captain America – The First Avenger is none other than James Montgomery Falsworth, the first Union Jack. I think the perfect way to introduce the character would be in Captain America 3, where the current Union Jack helps Cap out, and Cap learns from Nick Fury the history of the persona, dating back to his old war-buddy. The character would be perfect for the gritty, low-powered, espionage direction Captain America is going in the MCU.

Moon Knight
Although he is loosely based on Batman (Marvel and DC have been doing this for decades), Marc Spector, aka Steven Grant, aka Jake Lockley, aka The Fist of Khonshu, aka Moon Knight has an original enough origin and background that he could make a good street-level vigilante, without being too derivative. They could also introduce some more supernatural elements, as MK’s first appearance was in Werewolf By Night. I’m hoping he makes an appearance in one of the “Marvel Knights” shows coming from NetFlix. Otherwise, an animated short similar to what DC did would be very cool.

Shang Chi
Created in the 70’s in order to capitalize on the Bruce Lee craze, Shang Chi, the Master of Kung Fu, is actually a pretty nuanced character, with a lot of potential. And with the number of Hollywood/Hong Kong collaborations these days, you could really go all over the place with him. Realistically, though, I am hoping he does make an appearance in the Iron Fist NetFlix series.



So, do you have a favorite Marvel character that you think needs some screen time?

2 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

I didn't know Hercules was a marvel hero. Other than that I've only heard of Moon Knight.

Tom Doolan said...

Marvel introduced their version of Hercules in the 60's, initially as a foe for Thor. Eventually, he became a good guy (in a storyline that involved an imposter Herc, I believe). His appearance was mainly based on Steve Reeves, but his personality was more like Nigel Green from the 1963 Jason and the Argonauts film.