8 Great Comic Book Characters Who Were Completely Wasted In DC Comics Movies

WB has a spotty track record when it comes to their DC Comics adaptations, so them dropping the ball on some fan-favourite characters probably won't surprise you. Those highlighted here might though.

By JoshWilding - Sep 22, 2016 08:09 AM EST

Filed Under: Batman

The DC Films Universe may be getting a tough time of it thanks to the mixed response to movies like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, but Warner Bros.' adaptations of DC Comics properties have always been pretty hit and miss. For every Batman Begins and, er, Batman, there's a Superman Returns and Green Lantern. As a result, a lot of characters have been let down in a big way.

For whatever reason, it seems like the studio just struggles when it comes to the best way to portray their most iconic heroes and villains on the big screen (something they have acknowledged themselves on multiple occasions). What you'll find here though is a look at the eight characters who ended up being completely wasted not just in recent DC Comics movies, but from the past couple of decades.

8. Superman

I like Henry Cavill's Superman and think that he can still be "saved", but there's no denying that the ball has so far been dropped on this version of the iconic DC Comics superhero. Putting the mass destrction and neck breaking in Man of Steel aside, arguably the biggest issue with this Superman is the way his origin story was handled. Rather than having Clark Kent suit up and start saving people in his early 20s, Man of Steel waited until he was well past 30 before having him finally stop shying away from his responsibilities.

Sure, he'd made the odd save here and there, but between letting his father (who also told him to let a school bus full of kids drown) die and the fact that he seems to hate being a superhero, this Superman really isn't the one fans know and love from the comic books. You need only look at how miserable he was in Batman v Superman for proof of that, so here's hoping he's resurrected with a smile in Justice League, eh?

For the most part, Ryan Reynolds was actually pretty good as Hal Jordan in Green Lantern. When he was cast, most fans seemed pretty concerned that he'd be playing a wisecracking Hannibal King/Wade Wilson type, but he thankfully left that behind and delivered a mostly satisfying take on the ring wielding superhero. Unfortunately, that simply wasn't enough to save this 2011 box office flop as Warner Bros. and director Martin Campbell just made way too many mistakes here.

The costume was obviously one of the biggest as the fully CGI suit looked horrible, but superficial problems aside and the fact that he was just a very poorly written character stuffed into a plot with predictable beats ensured that no one wanted to see more of him on the big screen (Reynolds included). Hal just didn't matter in his own movie, and with everything from his training to final battle botched by this movie, it's now up to 2020's reboot to redeem Green Lantern.

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6. Robin

Batman Forever may have included The Flying Graysons, but that's where the similarities between the comic books and this version of Robin come to a screeching halt. Make no mistakes about it, this was Dick Grayson in name alone as Warner Bros. crammed the sidekick into the movie solely with the intention of selling toys featuring his likeness. In his early 20s at the time, Chris O'Donnell was an odd choice to play the Dark Knight's teenage ally and that just made Bruce Wayne's decision to take this fully grown man into his home as his ward all the more bizarre.

This Robin had little in common with his comic book counterpart and ended up failing to have pretty much every character trait which makes that version so beloved. Things would only get worse when Batman and Robin rolled around and he tried to make it on his own, especially if that was an attempt by Joel Shumacher to have him make the transition into his Nightwing persona. Here's hoping the DC Films Universe can make up for this down the line.

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5. Sinestro

Screwing up two fan-favourite characters in the space of two hours is no easy feat, but Warner Bros. did exactly that in Green Lantern after dropping the ball on Sinestro as badly as they did with Hal Jordan. The movie spent pretty much no time exploring the complicated relationship between the two characters and devoted nowhere near enough time to Sinestro before deciding to have him suddenly take a villainous turn in the baffling and unearned mid-credits scene.

Had that not happened, a sequel could have at least tried to make up for the first movie's failings by showing these two working together, but immediately having the arrogant Sinestro Corps member wielding a yellow ring pointed to things just getting worse for the villain down the line. The most upsetting thing about this of course was the fact that Mark Strong was perfectly cast in the role. We're obviously never going to get to see him take another crack at the character, but hopefully the next version will do the comic books justice.

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4. Constantine

Constantine is watchable as a movie, but as a comic book adaptation, it completely misses the point. Ditching the character's British background (which is a massive part of his personality), the casting of Keanu Reeves placed the demon hunting anti-hero squarely in the realm of generic leading man in an action movie. It definitely had its moments, but similarities between this Constantine and his comic book counterpart were superfluous at best, and Reeves didn't even have any physical similarities to the character.

The actor also failed to get across John's cocky attitude and disregard for the safety of those around him, instead coming over as confident, self absorbed, and having only one facial expression for every emotion thanks to a horribly wooden performance. Matt Ryan's small screen version was a massive improvement, but following the cancellation of that series, all hopes are now on Justice League Dark.

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3. Doomsday

Look, we already know that Doomsday was a complete failure in terms of his appearance, so there's really no need to go back over that once again. The character's other failings far outweigh that anyway, and while he proved to be a formidable threat for The Trinity, his big screen debut could and should have been handled so much better.

Making him a completely mindless monster without so much of a modicum of intelligence made this final battle feel meaningless, and it's a shame Batman v Superman didn't make a greater effort to play up the fact that Doomsday had been transformed from the remains of General Zod and that that may have further intensified his hatred of the Man of Steel. The decision to have him absorb energy was also rather strange and seemed to be there just as an excuse to include some unecessary flashy CGI effects.

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2. Catwoman

If you're wondering why both Marvel Studios and Warner Bros. are so reluctant to give female led superhero movies the green light, look no further than the likes of box office flop Catwoman. We've obviously seen a couple of very interesting takes on Selina Kyle in Batman Returns and The Dark Knight Rises, but this movie removed her from the equation and instead decided to come up with a new creation called Patience Phillips.

Gone was the morally complex cat burglar, and in her place was a meek office worker who was granted cat-like powers after being brought back to life by an Egyptian Mau cat. Handled the right way, Patience could have even become an interesting new addition to the DC Universe, but that obviously didn't happen, and everything about this new Catwoman and her battle against the evil owner of a cosmetics company (really) was a complete misfire and insult to the character.

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1. Killer Croc

Looking back at Suicide Squad, I think there are probably a few different characters who could have been placed here. For me though, the biggest let down in that movie was Killer Croc. Alarm bells started ringing following the release of that first official image, and while director David Ayer deserves some credit for going down the practical route for the character's appearance, that ultimately made no difference.

He simply didn't feel like the cannibalistic monster we were promised, and between being nearly impossible to understand and having only a couple of lines, he just didn't end up registering (despite the fact that he should have arguably been the most memorable member of Task Force X). The villain could very well be redeemed in a future movie, but it's hard to believe anyone came out of Suicide Squad desperately wanting to see more of him.

Which of these characters do you think has been wasted in the worst way in DC Comics adaptations? As always, be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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8 Great Comic Book Characters Who Were Completely Wasted In DC Comics Movies

WB has a spotty track record when it comes to their DC Comics adaptations, so them dropping the ball on some fan-favourite characters probably won't surprise you. Those highlighted here might though.

8. Superman

7. Green Lantern

6. Robin

5. Sinestro

4. Constantine

3. Doomsday

2. Catwoman

1. Killer Croc

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