Not all of the best superhero movies are inspired by comics and as such since the revival of the comic book movie, the superhero film has taken on a sub-genre of its own. There are plenty of films out there based on anime, manga, and comic books, but sometimes directors and studios pick up original properties that take on a life of their own as potential comic book bait. From the animated to the cult, these are the best superhero movies not based on comic books.
Young Justice: Season One, Volume One (DVD)
After the success that was “Teen Titans,” it was only a matter of time until the Cartoon Network in America decided to re-tap the well that provided them with top ratings and dive in to a famous title from the comic world. This time around, Warner has tackled the “Young Justice” brand, a title about the second tier young cohorts of DC Comics titan elite and their efforts to prove themselves to their elders. This time providing a sterner tone and more defined animation styles, “Young Justice” is a definite contender for breakout series of the DC label.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Fourth time’s a charm for Marvel who have finally stopped trying to retrofit their banner first tier character Captain America and just outright accepted that for better or for worse their most iconic superhero is meant for his time period, a time during world war II where Cap Am could mostly come to use to bring down the Nazis and the evil Hydra. Who better to bring this retro character to the big screen than Joe Johnston, a man who successfully brought us “The Rocketeer” in the early nineties? Much of that same child-like enthusiasm and movie serial aura is carried over in to this new version of Captain America where Marvel finally gets it right.
I Am Number Four (2011)
Flawed and by no means a masterpiece, I sense “I Am Number Four” is a film that will become one of my favorites that I’ll be defending for years to come. I won’t sit here and claim this is a flawless piece of science fiction action cinema, but for what it promises in the beginning, it works wonders in delivering what’s essentially a teen oriented action film. “I Am Number Four” touches on my weak points in fiction concerning teens realizing their destinies and aliens from another world battling it out on mid-west suburbia confronting each other in a war that neither of us can fathom.
The Fantastic Four (1994)
Say whatever you want about 1994’s guilty pleasure “The Fantastic Four” but I’ll take it any day over the god awful big budget films released in 2005 by director Tim Story. There may not be much of a budget to draw on, but at least there’s Dr. Doom in all of his glory and much of what made the comics so readable back in the early nineties. Plus, while much of it is generally in line with the kid friendly tone of the big budget films, director Oley Sassone opts for a darker tone that works much more than the big budget successors in the next decade.
The Surge (2002)
I guess it’s too much to ask for a good time from a film from The Asylum, but I’m an ever so optimistic movie watcher. Some would say naive, in fact. “The Surge,” also known as “The Secret Craft” also known as “The Source,” has a relatively good idea on its shoulder that could be turned in to something of a magnificent low budget epic if it really had some talent in its corner. Alas it doesn’t, thus we’re subjected to what is primarily a really bad rip-off of “The Craft.”
Batman: Year One (2011) [Blu-Ray]
Frank Miller basically re-thought how we look at Batman today. Everyone from Bruce Timm to Christopher Nolan has taken a cue from the master writer who completely re-worked Batman for the modern era where the camp was no longer present and the grim takes on morality and justice became ever present in what we know as the character so well. “Batman: Year One” attempts to take the original Frank Miller graphic novel and transform it in to a small film that does its job in telling the tale of two forces of good that would walk in to Gotham City almost at the same time and become a true force of nature in changing the law and transforming the seedy underworld in to a haven for cowards and thugs.