Welcome back to Part 2 of the 30 Most underrated comic book characters. Listing those overlooked supervillians and superheroes who could use a movie makeover and an expanded presence in pop culture.
Click here to read Part 1 (if you haven’t already) to see what’s been covered.
I’ll have Amazon and other affiliate links for Trade Paperback and collectibles for select characters.
And now for the final 15:
15. Metamorpho
First Appearance DC’s The Brave and the Bold #57 (January 1965)
Transformed by a radioactive meteorite (ain’t that always the way?) Rex Mason has the power to turn his body into any known element. Metamorpho is so weirdly inspired that he’s always under utilized, but he holds a lot of potential.
14. Black Lightning
First Appearance: Black Lightning #1 (1977)
DC’s first black superhero has immense electromagnetic powers; he can create lightning blasts, electromagnetic force fields, and once even restarted Superman’s heart. He was trained in combat fighting by Batman, making him an excellent utility player for a Justice League film or spin-off.
Click here for our list of Best Comic Book Movies
13. OMAC
First appearance: DC Comics OMAC # 1 (1974)
Buddy Blank is a member of O.M.A.C. (aka One Man Army Corps). He’s a genetically enhanced soldier powered by Brother Eye, a secret satellite that can beam down different weapons and repair bodily damage. Artist/creator Jack Kirby was always ahead of his time, thus OMAC didn’t quite connect with readers.
A few years back they made a comic series with a robot OMAC army, but it’s just cooler with a single human hero. He’s a sci-fi epic film waiting to happen.
12. TIE: Dr. Occult and Dr. Fate
Occult: New Fun Comics #6 (October1935)/Dr Fate More Fun Comics #55 (May 1940)
With Marvel likely green-lighting a Dr. Strange movie, let’s hope DC /WB will give their own mystical heroes some cinematic love, starting with Dr. Occult and Dr. Fate.
Dr. Occult is DC’s oldest comic character, pre-dating Superman (both were created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster). He’s a supernatural sleuth with impressive psychic and astral powers. His sparse appearance in the DCU is confounding.
Dr. Fate is equally awesome and overlooked. The root of his power lies in his mystical helmet, which chooses a new host when the previous one dies. He’s a powerful spell-caster whose lackluster appearance in a Smallville episode just doesn’t cut it.
Read Why The World Still Needs Superman
11. Firestorm
First Appearance DC Comics Firestorm The Nuclear Man (March 1978)
Firestorm should be in a movie for his awesome costume alone. But his powers are equally unique. He can rearrange atomic and subatomic structure of inorganic matter to whatever variations he chooses. He’s linked psychically to Dr Martin Stein, as the result of an atomic accident, and the two converse telepathically while dealing with global threats. Always a minor player in the DC Universe, he needs bigger stature.
10. Captain Marvel aka Shazam!
First Appearance; Whiz Comics #2 (February 1940)
Back in the 40’s Fawcett character Captain Marvel was outselling DC’s Superman. But after DC bought up his rights, they’ve never figured out how to integrate him alongside his former competition.
Why is he so cool? Ultimate kid wish-fulfillment. A boy named Billy Batson is transformed into the world’s mightiest mortal simply by calling out to the wizard Shazam!
His legacy has diminished due to convoluted story-lines with too many other ‘Marvel’ family members. And a lawsuit from Marvel Comics over his name didn’t help. This has cluttered beautiful simplicity. A clear-cut movie could be the key to reinvigorating this formerly iconic character.
9. Etrigan The Demon
First Appearance; DC Comics The Demon #1 (August 1972)
Legendary comic artist Jack Kirby created this unsung feisty anti-hero, who could make a very cool cinematic transition.
Whenever a supernatural threat emerges, Jason Blood transforms into the demonic entity Etrigan. His immense power and enjoyment of pain makes him practically unstoppable and his wry rhyming dialogue makes him an endearing creep. He’s a surly presence, but usually fights on the right side.
Honorable Mention; Marvel’s Gargoyle
Click here to for our list of Most Badass Pop-Culture Antiheroes
8. Man-Bat
First Appearance; Detective Comics #400 (1970)
Dr. Kirk Langstrom is transformed into the human-bat hybrid Man-Bat as a result of a botched experiment. Man-Bat can be a villain or hero depending on Langstom’s mental state. This unpredictability makes him a compelling Bat-Man friend/foe, who would look killer on the big screen.
Read Why Batman Is The Best Superhero Ever
7. Moon Knight
First Appearance; Marvel Comics Werewolf by Night #32 (1975)
He’s Marvel’s Bat-Man minus the acclaim. This needs to change. Moon Knight is a former mercenary who after nearly dying in battle is saved when he becomes the embodiment of Egyptian God Khonshu. There’s been too many interpretations of the character; just focus on his eerie presence and violent ass-kicking skills, and you have dark thriller potential.
Click here for my list of 3 Marvel Characters Who Need Netflix Shows
6. Black Panther
First Appearance; Marvel Comics Fantastic Four # 52 (1966)
On the last installment I praised the appearance of the underrated Falcon in the new Captain America movie. He was Marvel’s first African-American character; introduced in 1969 as a needed foil to get Cap up to speed during the civil rights era.
But pre-dating Falcon is the Black Panther aka T’Challa. He’s the leader of African nation Wakanda, one of the most technologically and magically protected countries on Earth. In addition to political duties, he’s a crime fighter with excellent tracking abilities aided by special tech and mystical powers.
He’s a compelling character that deserves more pop-culture love. And given his tenure in the Avengers comic series, let’s hope he shows up in a future sequel.
UPDATED: Looks like he might be showing up in Age of Ultron!
5. Martian Manhunter
First Appearance: Detective Comics (vol. 1) #225 (Nov. 1955)
Martian Manhunter has it all; a cool look, and awesome powers (telepathy, shape-shifting, super-strength, flight, to name just a few). He’s the last of his kind, trying to adjust to Earth life. But for whatever reason, DC often presents him as an ineffective character.
And it doesn’t look like he has a future in movies either. Why? He’s an awesome utility player in the JLA. I just don’t get it.
Speaking of underrated JLA members…
4. Aquaman
First appearance: DC’s More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941)
Heard any good Aquaman jokes lately? Always the butt of superhero put downs. But he’s a badass. Yeah, I said it, A BADASS. Why, you may ask?
Well he can communicate with all sea life to do his bidding; that comes in handy. Plus he’s the King of Atlantis!
Sure, he’s ocean based, so just make a movie set in the ocean. And he can show up in a Justice League movie when needed, and take off when he’s not. In an era of ecological ocean strife, isn’t he an ideal character to push a conservationist message without getting preachy? The world needs Aquaman, they just don’t know it yet.
Click here for my list of Lamest Comic Book Characters
3. The Shadow
First Appearance: Radio, 1930
There would be no Batman without the influence of the Shadow. In the 40’s he was a mainstay in radio, serials, books and comics. He’s a black clad avenger with the power to cloud men’s minds. He’s everywhere and nowhere, disorienting villains into confessing their crimes with his powers of hypnotism. And his violent, unpredictable nature makes him a distinctive presence.
But he’s no longer a household name , and a tepid 90s’ movie adaptation didn’t help matters. The Shadow is always a timely hero, and with some modern tweaking could be a great cinematic success.
2. The New Gods
First Appearance: DC The New Gods #1 (1971)
The New Gods is Jack Kirby’s unsung masterpiece. A cosmic odyssey on par with Star Wars, it’s the story of New Genesis and Apokolips, two twin planets in eternal conflict due to the peaceful beings of the former and the warring enemies of the latter. Like Star Wars it has an evil father (Darkseid) fighting against his heroic son Orion.
But the supporting cast is just as fantastic, and too rich to explain in full detail here (click here for more info).
Kirby got stuck trying to finish his series, so it’s never had a true conclusion, and DC has never figured out how to fully use his intriguing characters with the exception of Darkseid.
But it’s a rich world worth re-exploring, and a movie would do it best.
1. Daredevil
First Appearance; Marvel’s Daredevil #1 (April 1964)
The reason Daredevil is so underrated is hard to quantify. He got off to a tepid start, but was revived in the 80’s thanks to artist/writer Frank Miller’s gritty reinterpretation. But after Miller’s epic run ended, Daredevil’s story lines have varied in quality due to ever-changing creative teams.
And let’s not forget the wretched cinematic adaptation, which ruined him for any layman not familiar with his comic origins.
Click here for my list of the 12Worst Comic Book Movies
Despite being blind, he’s more nimble and aware of his surroundings that most humans; blessed with a sonar sense and intense psychical conditioning. And his alter ego Matt Murdoch is a tortured character, a lawyer driven to hunt down those that evade courtroom justice. He’s lost lovers to violence, and risked his life for a higher calling.
Perhaps he’s just too dark of a character to fully thrive in the more upbeat Marvel Universe.
Daredevil has been demoted from movie property to television, as an upcoming Netflix series. This sounds lackluster until you think about ‘House of Cards.’ Here’s hoping they get him right, and that he will have a bigger piece of the Marvel pie. He deserves it.
And let’s hope this Michael C. Hall casting rumor is true! If he isn’t playing Batman, at least let him play DD.
So that wraps up our list of the most underrated comic book characters. Honorable mentions goes to Hawk and Dove, Scorpion, Clayface II, Alpha Flight, Vermin, and Human Fly, just to name a few.
What character would make your list of unappreciated and in need of a cinematic rebirth? Tell me in the comments.
