Over the years, there have been bad movies, and then there have been movies that are so bad that characters literally go into retirement until people can forget those movies ever happened. But should those ill-advised attempts at bringing these characters to life stop us from ever seeing them in their full glory? No! Blame the script, blame the director, blame the actor, but the character had absolutely no say in the matter of them being butchered. For that reason, I have put together a list of 5 characters who deserve another chance at the big screen so that mainstream audiences can see just what they have to offer.
Ghost Rider
Nicolas Cage has done more for the meme community than can ever be truly comprehended, but the Ghost Rider character deserved more grit and moral questioning than his 2007 debut ever allowed for. Having made his first appearance in Marvel Spotlight #5 in 1972, Ghost Rider has been one of Marvel’s darkest and most brutal characters throughout its history. With a rogues gallery that includes Blackheart, Mephisto, Vengeance, and more of the most twisted paranormal villains within comics, Ghost Rider has the potential to have some of the most visually interesting fight scenes of any character. His own iconic appearance (a flaming head and motorcycle) is a visual feast in itself and when you add his chain and some magic wielding villains to the ensemble, this movie looks ripe for some Doctor Strange level action sequences.
Of course, Robbie Reyes featured prominently on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and, while that version of the character captured some of the moral ambiguity within Ghost Rider and his obligation to the devil he sold his soul to, we have to admit that the ABC budget held this character back from being the full visceral figure that he deserves to be. With the coming of Blade with Mahershala Ali, a Marvel Knights label could begin to form and Ghost Rider deserves to be given his time to shine.
Daredevil
It’s clear after seeing Matt Murdock on Netflix for three compelling seasons of fighting off mob bosses, supervillains, and ninjas that there is a lot that you can do with this character and while I would love to see Charlie Cox return to the role in the greater MCU, I just don’t think Kevin Feige would. That being said, The Man Without Fear will undoubtedly return and there are even rumors that he’ll show up as Peter Parker’s lawyer in the next Spider-Man movie, but moving past that, Daredevil could open up a street-level crime fighting element that the MCU lacks at the moment. Daredevil has some of the most iconic storylines in Marvel Comics (Born Again, End of Days, Badlands, Shadowland) and these stories would give writers plenty of content for legendary trilogy.
Whether we see Daredevil again on the big screen or within Disney+, I’m sure that Marvel will have more than enough material to draw from to continue making this character known as one of the deepest character studies within their roster. If we do find ourselves faced with Daredevil being just a side character within someone else’s movies, I would honestly see it as a sorely missed opportunity to bring out some of the best stories within Marvel Comics.
Green Lantern
Catwoman
Widely proclaimed as the worst comic book movie of all time, Catwoman (2004) may have been a contributor to the lack of representation in comic book movies for so many years. However, as we have seen the bar raised on genre filmmaking and the number of female-led movies rise, I argue that Catwoman is a prime candidate for redemption. Catwoman is one of the original femme-fatales within comics and has been leading the life of a criminal with a concious since she was introduced in Batman #1 in 1940. Since then, writers like Jeph Loeb (When In Rome, The Long Halloween) have made her one of Batman’s most interesting side-characters with motivations and methods uniquely her own.
With films like Atomic Blonde and Red Sparrow becoming relatively popular without the backings of a cinematic universe or franchise, Catwoman could very well have a superhero spy/heist movie that stands out among other films. The potential of having a fiercely independent, female-led anti-hero movie (that wouldn’t break the bank because of her lower budget abilities) should give DC and Warner Bros. reason to investigate how a film like this would work and who would be the right fit for the role to get fans excited.
Fantastic Four
I’m sure this comes as no surprise. Marvel’s first family has had a rough two decades. As pioneer characters for the brand, the Fantastic Four should be at the center of conversations about Marvel, but they’re not. Fantastic Four (2005) may not have been the worst exposure for these characters at the time, but the film definitely does not hold up when you place it next to even average comic book movies today. Fantastic Four (2015) was the nail in the coffin that got these characters placed on the shelf. It’s a shame that these characters have already missed out on events in the MCU like Civil War because the character moments within the comics for this event were spectacular and really worked to define moral differences between Sue and Reed.
When the Fantastic Four do make their first appearance, I hope that Marvel finds ways to compensate for lost time and puts them in contact with the greater MCU in a big way. This team is a pillar within the Marvel Universe and has solved many of the biggest challenges Earth faced in the comics (e.g. Galactus). I have no doubt that we will get a comics accurate Fantastic Four and look forward to sharing my love of these characters with mainstream audiences once they finally see how great they really are.
Conclusion
That's my list of characters that deserve redemption after years of being sidelined after a devestating blow. Let me know what you think of this list and tell me if you have any other characters that deserve to be given a second or third chance at stardom!