Words by Kathlene Masilongan
We live in a day and age where superheroes practically walk the Earth. Ask someone who their favorite Avenger is and they’d probably have an answer. Everyone either likes Batman or Superman more. Captain Marvel is set to come out in a couple of days and Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse just bagged an Oscar!
But what about the heroes still left within the pages of their comic books? The characters that casual superhero movie audiences don’t know about? What about the unknown character arcs of the heroes you’re already familiar with?
Well, as usual, I asked my friends and strangers on the internet who they would want to see on the big (or small) screen next, and here’s what I gathered:
10. Hawkman and Hawkgirl (DC)
In true comic book fashion, Hawkman and Hawkgirl have various origins that have been rebooted and retconned over and over through the decades. Sometimes they’re powerful immortal gods, other times they’re some sort of space police. It’s a history that’s long, confusing, and kind of hard to follow. Personally, my reference when it comes to the Hawkpeople comes from the Justice League animated series from way back. The pair recently made their live-action debut in “Legends of Tomorrow” where they took the Egyptian gods route, so it would be nice if we see them on the big screen alongside fellow Justice League members. Perhaps with a more solid backstory?
9. Godspeed (DC)
August Heart aka Godspeed first appeared in Barry Allen’s (The Flash) dreams, claiming they would “kill them all”. He obtained his speedster powers when he was struck by lightning from a Speed Force storm. He also possesses the ability to create a duplicate of himself by dividing the Speed Force powers within him, and through this, he could be in two places at once. As someone connected to the Flash’s storyline, it would be interesting to see Godspeed alongside him, whether in the series or on the big screen when Ezra Miller’s Flash (hopefully) gets his own film.
8. Nova (Marvel)
Nova is a teenager who’s given cosmic power when he’s recruited into the Nova Corps, an intergalactic police force. (Think the Green Lanter Corps, except they’re not green.) The Corps has a lot of members but main storylines usually revolve around Richard Rider and Sam Alexander, both from Earth. The Nova Corps was already introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014, however, in the recent Infinity War film, it was alluded to that Thanos successfully eradicated the Nova Corps and their homeworld of Xandar. Still, with the upcoming continuation of the film, who knows what’ll happen. But we’d definitely love to see Nova step in and lend the Avengers a hand in the future!
7. She-Hulk (Marvel)
After getting into an accident, Jessica Walters transforms into a milder version of the Hulk after getting a blood transfusion from her cousin, Bruce Banner. Unlike Banner’s Hulk, Jessica maintains her personality and most of her emotional control when she transforms. In her regular form, she’s a badass but shy and timid lawyer. Later on, she decides to switch into her Hulk form permanently because she likes how being the She-Hulk makes her more assertive and confident. While we aren’t seeing a solo movie from Hulk, probably ever, why not give Jessica the chance instead?
6. Spider-Woman (Marvel)
Yes, more Spider-people, because we love them! Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman has been around for decades. She first appeared in a Marvel Spotlight issue in 1977. She was supposed to be an actual spider who only evolved as a human but Marvel decided to retcon that and gave her a human backstory where she was once a HYDRA agent. She became part of the New Avengers line-up and has been a consistent character in the comics as well as an essential component in the Spider-verse event. With the success of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, maybe we’ll get a Spider-Woman cameo one day somewhere. Or better yet, a series!
5. Young Justice (DC)
It probably won’t be for a while since the Justice League has only been set up recently in the DCEU, but we’d love to see these kids on the big screen too! For me, any younger counterparts of my well-loved superheroes are my children. Young Justice includes Kon-el/Connor Kent (Superboy), Tim Drake (Robin), Cassandra Sandsmark (Wonder Girl), and Bart Allen (Kid Flash). The team has had their run in the animated series named after them, but not much has been said about them making their way to the big (or small) screen. Seeing this rowdy bunch of teen heroes live in action would make for a great addition to the DCEU!
4. Green Arrow (DC)
Yes, there’s a show somewhere out there about the Green Arrow, but in a lot of people’s opinions, Oliver Queen deserves a spot on the big screen alongside the other Justice League members. With the DCEUÂ expanding with Aquaman and news of a Green Lantern movie in the works, I don’t think it’s too much to ask for the rest of the Justice League to show up eventually. After all, the DC has stated that their TV shows aren’t connected at all with the movies. It wouldn’t hurt if they bring along Black Canary too!
3. Adam Warlock (Marvel)
Adam Warlock was created and was intended to be the perfect human being and was originally called “Him”. He possesses superhuman strength because of his genetic modification and enhancement. I’ve personally read and watched so many theories about Adam Warlock over the past year since the release of Avengers: Infinity War. The general consensus is that Adam Warlock is the key to saving the entire universe, including our beloved superhero team.
The good news is that we do know he exists in the MCU since Ayesha (Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2) hinted at his existence already. However, he might not appear until the third installment of the series though, which is way after the Infinity War is over. And that doesn’t make a lot of sense since he played a major role in the Infinity Gauntlet saga, fighting against Thanos, and winning.
2. Black Widow (Marvel)
I know she’s getting her movie and it’s going to happen eventually, but a lot of people really wanted to highlight that Black Widow has one of the most extensive histories in Marvel Comics history. Based on what the MCU has given us, she grew up in the Soviet Union and was trained to be a Soviet spy. That’s true and all, but did you know that when she was a kid she was trained by one uncle Logan? Did you know that she was once married? Did you know that The Winter Soldier is one of, if not the greatest loves of her life?
Black Widow fans (including myself) have a checklist. Hopefully, Natasha’s movie explores all of the most interesting, most human parts of her. She’s not just an ace spy with fancy fight skills. She struggled with her humanity for a long time. Oh! And she has a cat!
1. Young Avengers (Marvel)
Imagine this: the current Avengers start retiring one by one. Not all of them are immortal gods after all. Maybe they aren’t as active as they used to be, or maybe they’re just busy handling “grown-up stuff”. Enter: the Young Avengers. The team is (currently) composed of Kate Bishop (Hawkeye), Teddy Altman (Hulkling), Noh Varr (Marvel Boy), America Chavez (Miss America), David Alleyne (Prodigy), Tommy Shepherd (Speed), and Billy Kaplan (Wiccan). Cassie Lang, Scott Lang aka Ant-Man’s daughter, was even part of the original line up before unexpected things happened. With her already existing in the MCU, it’s not a stretch to expect the Young Avengers to unite one day, with her in it.
Bonus: Funny Komiks
Photo by Inoue Jaena/Rappler
Since Trese is getting the Netflix show she deserves, why not look back at Pilipino Funny Komiks! It’s the oldest running children’s comic book publication in the Philippines with heroes such as Combatron and Istarkid. They probably don’t ring any bells for the younger generation, but Funny Komiks was where it was at for a lot of kids of the ’80s and ’90s.
A respondent from my crowdsoursing shares: “Back when I was a kid, di ko afford ang Marvel or DC stuff. Tiyaga lang sa Funny Komiks. The stuff there colored my childhood.”
It would be fun to see these comic book characters come to life, not just in a live-action sense but as animated cartoons for children, especially since animation is advancing in the country!
How about you? Which superheroes do you want to see on the big or small screen next?
