By Jason Zinger

There’s so many movies made about characters in the comic book world. The Marvel Universe is, of course, at the top of what we’re seeing in theatres with DC making the occasional good movie, but unfortunately, mostly missing the mark (let’s be honest, does Shazam really need a geek comedy movie?) There’s been a couple of good outliers like Watchmen, but here’s a short list of comic book characters and groups of characters I’d love to see get their day on the big screen.

The top 5 comics that I think should get a movie (and geek comedy improv show)

5. Spider-Man 2099

There’s been plenty of Spider-Man movies but, in the right writer’s and director’s hands, it would be so fun to see what Spider-Man is like in the future. It would be a creative smorgasbord. You have New York City and society at a time that hasn’t happened yet. If Hollywood nails it, Spider-Man 2099 could be pretty epic.

4. Thunderbolts

This is a group of villains that become a group of superheroes. Especially at their start, there’s a lot of conflict in the group about what’s right, what’s wrong, what should be done, and what shouldn’t be done. Also, there’s a bunch of debate on who should be the leader. There’s plenty there for a scriptwriter to work with and for the audience to be entertained by.

3. Gambit

If you’ve read my previous blogs, you know that the 90s X-Men cartoon is one of my fave shows of all time – and Gambit is one of my favourite characters. I’d love to see him in his own solo movie. There’s a lot of character and backstory to support a full length movie. I know the world has seen enough of the X-Men on the big screen at this point, but I feel like this is a character that goes unfortunately overlooked. There’s been talks of a movie in the works for a long time and one is currently slated for a 2020 release according to IMDB. Let’s see if Hollywood actually follows through.

2. Gen 13

I don’t know how many of you know who this group is. It was a comic produced by Image comics in the 2000s. It was also my favourite comic as a teenager. To be honest, it’s a pretty typical storyline. A group of young kids with abilities get taken under the wing of a top secret branch of the government. Although the artistry was obviously over sexualized, it was the first time I remember there being a strong female as the leader of the group. As someone with a single mom, I had a lot of respect for that. It wouldn’t be a ground-breaking film; but, for the nostalgia’s sake of seeing some of my favourite comic book characters ever on film, I’d love to see a Gen 13 movie get made.

1. Captain Planet

Ok, not technically a comic book character but who wouldn’t love seeing this series adapted in to some sort of live action version!? The only example we’ve seen is that hilarious Don Cheadle Funny or Die geek comedy short. I’d love to see something a little more serious. Global warming is a very serious issue in our society. We might need a Captain Planet very soon.

Looking for more Zinger’s Top 5 lists?

Check out Jason’s top geeky TV shows and top super people! And don’t forget to check out The Dandies daily geek comedy shows at Toronto ComiCon!