8. Spider-Man (2002) - The first great superhero blockbuster, I met Spider-Man with wide-eyed wonder when it was first released (even moreso than with X-Men two years previous). While subsequent viewings take a bit of the shine off the movie (it drags a bit in the origin section), it's still a fun movie that proved what the genre could do, bringing in the average moviegoer alongside the fanboys. For a long time, comic book fans were weary of big screen adaptations because budget restrictions would prevent directors from achieving even a fraction of what comic book creators can with their budget-free worlds. Spider-Man changed that, not only with its wisely spent $140 million budget, but more with its $400 million plus grosses that encouraged studios to invest in comic book movies, leading to some of the great films that top this list.
7. Persepolis (2007) - Not that one needs a big budget to make a great comic book adaptation. Persepolis was made for just over $7 million, or slightly less than what was probably spent on craft services for Spider-Man 3. One of the problems with adapting graphic novels for the screen is that they lose the visual flare that is an essential part of the story (as the comic book medium is more than the written story). Persepolis didn't have that issue, as the animation matched Marjane Satrapi's art, which was a large part of the film's charm. Without the art, the story still would have been affecting, but it wouldn't have been so special (which is, of course, also true of comic books themselves in comparison to books).
6. Iron Man (2008) - This one surprised me. Before the movie, I'd have ranked Iron Man as the top B character in the Marvel comics stable. His stature in Marvel Comics (and especially the Avengers) lore always gave Tony Stark the feel of an A-lister, but the reality is that his comic has never been a top seller, disappearing at times only to be resurrected in a new form, hoping to bring him into the A-list once and for all. So it surprised me that this is exactly what Robert Downey, Jr and Jon Favreau were able to do, successfully bringing a less famous character to the general movie-going public, and making him more popular than he ever was in the original medium. Given their iconic place in our popular culture, it's not as surprising when a Batman or Spider-Man or even an X-Men movie makes a tonne of money. But when Iron Man breaks box office records, that says something about the movie itself.
Article comments
1 - Dusty Somers
Nice piece. Not sure if I agree with the Spiderman movies ranking so high - first viewing was great, but they haven't held up over time very well for me.
Here's hoping Nolan's third Batman film won't go the way of the Spiderman and X-Men franchises.
2 - Dan Coloman
I Think your list is pretty solid, however you did leave out some pretty good movies.
1. Fantastic Four- rise of the Silver Surfer. Although the first FF movie seemed way too campy and the Doom character was not as menacing as in the comics, it did have a better storyline and more action than the first.
2. Blade- the first movie was the better of the bunch. It had some weak points, but overall very entertaining.
The Punisher(Tom Janes)- not that great, mainly for the Vincent Vega Villan, but the new one for this fall rumors to have Jig Saw, one of the better advisaries.
Dare Devil and Electra- Again, entertaining and somewhat loyal to the book. not my favorite.
Ghost Rider- Not a big Nicholas Cage fan, but I love the fact that They used Peter Fonda and his Easy rider bike in the film.
3 - Andy
I've seen all but two of those (Ghost Rider and Elektra), but must say that none of them were contenders for this list. In fact, I thought Rise of the Silver Surfer was worse than the first Fantastic Four movie.
That said, I am somewhat looking forward to the new re-casted Punisher movie.