What Was the First Modern Comic Book Movie?

[zinfamous]

Spawn wasn't really a mainstream comic though.

I vote for X-Men. It came out in 2000, two years before Spiderman. Really the first of the modern style of superhero movies.

Tim Burton's Batman films probably pre-date that. They were the first really stylized and dark takes on the character. Until Jole Schumacher ruined the franchise anyway. Paved the way for the fabulous animated Batman series in the 90s.

well, that was meant to be a funny and I explained it in the later post. I think it does start with X-Men.

The Tim Burton Batman flicks were great, and pretty much proved that you can reinvent a universal icon and make it successful to a wide music audience. They were nothing like Adam West's Batman (as mentioned previous). ....if confusing the first two Burton flicks with the following Schumacker flicks, then that's a different story.

Blade still doesn't count. No one saw it as a comic book film. Same with the Crow. They were not established cultural icons. Hell, I was into comic books at the time and I had never heard of Blade. Producers saw it as an easy sell because it did not have that stigma.

The major coup was in selling the general public on a concept like X-Men and, especially, Spider-man (also punished by one of those early 90s D-grade jobs).

 

[crownjules]

The Tim Burton Batman flicks were great, and pretty much proved that you can reinvent a universal icon and make it successful to a wide music audience. They were nothing like Adam West's Batman (as mentioned previous). ....if confusing the first two Burton flicks with the following Schumacker flicks, then that's a different story.

I said "more like". As in, closer to that spectrum then say Batman: The Animated Series or the Nolan films. They're dark but in Burton's signature way where they also have this weird or odd humor in play. Almost a tongue in cheek way of making fun of itself and not taking itself too seriously. But not the WHAM! BAM! POW! slapstick type humor that was the 70s show.

 

[angminas]

It's a stepping stone thing. 2001 --> Jaws --> Star Wars --> Superman --> Batman --> Terminator 2 --> Jurassic Park --> The Matrix --> virtually all modern action movies.

But if I had to pick one, I'd say Batman. Its financial success is what really made all later superhero movies as we know them possible. Before Batman, Superman was considered a one-off rather than the first of a new wave. Batman is what got studios and the public to take the idea of superhero movies seriously, enough so that they spent a bajillion dollars over a decade trying to get the formula right.

Eventually they learned that superhero movies are unusual in that you can't use big names and talents to carry a weak picture. (Well, everyone but George Lucas learned that.) This may not have been as true in decades past, but as nerdity became less of a disease and more of a normal part of society (thanks AOL), the audience for superhero movies changed, meaning you actually had to make a good movie instead of coming up with a new punch-out Batarang to put on the box for the Riddler Taco Combo.

 

[n7]

X-Men was the first of the "modern" ones.

 

[Oyeve]

The Punisher - dolph lundren version.

 

[smackababy]

a new punch-out Batarang to put on the box for the Riddler Taco Combo.

I'd buy that for a dollar!

 

[bigrash]

I think X-Men started to whole modern comic book phase.

 

[KidNiki1]

X-Men, but I really think Spiderpig took it to new levels and sort of turned things into what they are now.

KT

dammit! now i have that spiderpig song in my head.

thanks...

 

[randay]

daredevil

 

[soulcougher73]

I'd say X-Men as well.

 

[Aikouka]

X-Men was probably the first, but Spider-Man was what really solidified the idea that these movies brought in money.

 

[KeithTalent]

dammit! now i have that spiderpig song in my head.

thanks...

My job is done for the day. :awe:

KT

 

[TerryMathews]

X-Men (not to beat a dead horse) was the first one to show you could take comic stories verbatim and still make money at it.

There were comic inspired movies (and TV shows- Hulk) but they were generally rewritten to keep them more grounded in reality.

Prior to X-Men, the ones that tried to portray the fantasy aspects flopped. They sucked, but Hollywood isnt normally good at recognizing those types of situations. Much easier to blame the customer.

 

[zinfamous]

I said "more like". As in, closer to that spectrum then say Batman: The Animated Series or the Nolan films. They're dark but in Burton's signature way where they also have this weird or odd humor in play. Almost a tongue in cheek way of making fun of itself and not taking itself too seriously. But not the WHAM! BAM! POW! slapstick type humor that was the 70s show.

yeah, there was still a little bit of that, sure, because it's what everyone knew about Batman.

It was a huge (public) reinvention of the character though. Yes, Frank Miller remade that storyline years before and every subsequent Batman story is based off the Dark Knight telling, but Burton was the first to showcase that for mass audiences.

It truly reinvented Batman for everyone. And there is also a clear difference between Burton's take and Joel Schumacker's take. Schumacker was far more Adam West than Burton.

Nicholson's Joker wasn't the clown buffoon, nor was Catwoman or the Penguin, that you saw with most of Schumacker's villains.

Joker was still quite twisted and dark, if not downright terrifying like Ledger's later version.

For me, the Nolan Batman's are simply way too serious. They're great action flicks, but I don't really like them as superhero movies.

 

[KeithTalent]

For me, the Nolan Batman's are simply way too serious. They're great action flicks, but I don't really like them as superhero movies.

I agree with you on the first and third movies, but I think The Dark Knight is actually very darkly comedic throughout (mostly because of Ledger), something not achieved in the other two films.

KT

 

[smackababy]

I agree with you on the first and third movies, but I think The Dark Knight is actually very darkly comedic throughout (mostly because of Ledger), something not achieved in the other two films.

KT

Perhaps, I spent too much time watching the animated series and reading the comics, because I think the Joker just wasn't as the Joker. He was just a crazy thug. Not to discredit Ledger's performance, but that just wasn't the Joker Gotham deserved. For someone who kept asking "Why so serious?" the Joker was certainly a serious fellow himself. He needed to be much more silly.

 

[zinfamous]

I agree with you on the first and third movies, but I think The Dark Knight is actually very darkly comedic throughout (mostly because of Ledger), something not achieved in the other two films.

KT

Oh, I think Ledger was the best thing about the whole series, without question. ...but he never seemed comedic to me. He was a complete sociopath.

Perhaps, I spent too much time watching the animated series and reading the comics, because I think the Joker just wasn't as the Joker. He was just a crazy thug. Not to discredit Ledger's performance, but that just wasn't the Joker Gotham deserved. For someone who kept asking "Why so serious?" the Joker was certainly a serious fellow himself. He needed to be much more silly.

yeah, kinda how I felt. I'm still not sure if I prefer Nicholson or Ledger. I still lean towards Nicholson, or even Mark Hammill's animated version, because they embody the Joker for me.

 

[Insomniator]

Xmen, that movie rules.

 

[KeithTalent]

Perhaps, I spent too much time watching the animated series and reading the comics, because I think the Joker just wasn't as the Joker. He was just a crazy thug. Not to discredit Ledger's performance, but that just wasn't the Joker Gotham deserved. For someone who kept asking "Why so serious?" the Joker was certainly a serious fellow himself. He needed to be much more silly.

Fair enough, but I guess for me the only real Joker I really knew prior to this was Nicholson from the Burton film (and a bit of Cesar Romero from when I was really little) so I did not have any attachment to the comic book version since I never really read any of the comics. The Nicholson version was amazing at the time, but re-watching it years later, I became less enamoured with it. It's something I should give another shot though since it has been several year since I last watched it.

Oh, I think Ledger was the best thing about the whole series, without question. ...but he never seemed comedic to me. He was a complete sociopath.


yeah, kinda how I felt. I'm still not sure if I prefer Nicholson or Ledger. I still lean towards Nicholson, or even Mark Hammill's animated version, because they embody the Joker for me.

Maybe it was just because I recently watched the movies in a row, so the complete moroseness of the two surrounding films made the The Dark Knight seem hilarious in comparison. I do like Hamill's version in the few animated films I've watched, but I have a hard time equating/comparing a cartoon with a live-action performance.

KT

 

[poofyhairguy]

I still lean towards Nicholson, or even Mark Hammill's animated version, because they embody the Joker for me.

I do that with every Batman character. The villains were at their best in the animated series.

 

[smackababy]

Oh, I think Ledger was the best thing about the whole series, without question. ...but he never seemed comedic to me. He was a complete sociopath.



yeah, kinda how I felt. I'm still not sure if I prefer Nicholson or Ledger. I still lean towards Nicholson, or even Mark Hammill's animated version, because they embody the Joker for me.

Some of the things Nicholson did was pretty good for the Joker, and some of the things Ledger did was equally good. They just did different parts of him great.

That is a problem with me for Superhero movies though, the animated versions just portray a more Superhero world and the character's aren't hamstrung by being stuck in the real world. Some of the Marvel movies have kind of gotten around this (Iron Man, for example), but some of just doesn't seem to fit. There is no way Batman would be able to maintain his vigilantism without getting caught.

Strange enough though, I am one of the few people who loved Man of Steel. I think it was just a phenomenal movie up until Zod invades. But, I am a sucker for Kevin Costner.

 

[nickbits]

What about Josie and the Pussycats? Long tails and ears for hats.

KT

I thought you had it but xmen came out a year earlier. When you mentioned Josie, I thought it came out in the 90s but it was 2001.

 

[smackababy]

I thought you had it but xmen came out a year earlier. When you mentioned Josie, I thought it came out in the 90s but it was 2001.

Well, it was filled with 90s stars! Rachael Leigh Cook left the planet after that movie.

 

[Fritzo]

I think Tim Burton's Batman was the big turning point. Superhero movies were corny (on purpose) before that. In fact, before Batman came out in 1989, people were speculating how Batman wouldn't work on a big screen because they thought it was going to be like the 1960's TV show.

Wow were they wrong.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

I think Tim Burton's Batman was the big turning point. Superhero movies were corny (on purpose) before that. In fact, before Batman came out in 1989, people were speculating how Batman wouldn't work on a big screen because they thought it was going to be like the 1960's TV show.

Wow were they wrong.

Tim Burton Batman still pretty corny, although in more of a creepy way that Burton is famous for. However the latter 2 Batman films from that era completely reversed any progress that Burton might have made, of which we could even argue that Burton's 2nd Batman movie started that all...

But as far as modern era comic movies, X-Men definitely takes the cake, the Burton Batman was practical effects, and the fact that it failed to spurn a golden age of comic movies soon after its debut is pretty much all the proof in the pudding we need to write it off. Important? Definitely, it helped pave way for comics with a darker tone. Turning point? Not really. The 90s was completely devoid of any major comics other than the downward spiral of Batman. The best comic book movies in the 90s were the likes of The Crow, Spawn, and Blade, all who might owe thanks to Burton's Batman, but at the same time definitely did not establish a trend we would see starting with X-Men in 2000.