Superheroes we'd like to see get their own movies

This is a slight troll on Warner Bros. A Batgirl movie exists. We aren’t talking about Alicia Silverstone being in Batman and Robin, by the way. Sure, she’s in the film, but note that the movie’s title mentioned Batman and Robin but doesn’t give her any shine. However, a 2022 Batgirl film was made. Like, they literally shot it. With a $90 million budget! And Michael Keaton as Batman! However, Warner Bros. decided to shelve it for whatever reason, so as of now, Batgirl will not see the light of day.

Now, Cage did get his own TV show on Netflix before Disney completely enveloped the Marvel storytelling. That show did reasonably well, and Mike Colter could easily play the super strong superhero on the screen. If the MCU wants to get grittier, Luke Cage is a fine choice.

While Luke Cage and Jessica Jones had their fans on Netflix, Iron Fist flopped…hard. Nobody was happy with it, but that leaves an opportunity open. Iron Fist could get revamped, as the character should be fresh and have no connection to the show. Also, since we mentioned Jessica Jones, her stories tend to be a little too bleak to work in the MCU — at least on film. At best, she could get the Moon Knight treatment, which would work for us.

No, not the Kree robot Sentry from back in the day for Marvel. We’re talking about Bob Reynolds, who was introduced in 2000 and bore striking similarities to Superman. Superman is as old school as it comes on the superhero front, and he’s not always terribly exciting as a character. However, we bet a lot of people don’t know Sentry, so they could do Superman but from the ground up. Although, if you are tired of origins stories, we understand.

Marvel and DC don’t have a monopoly on superheroes. Hanna-Barbera invented a few of them, including Space Ghost. Of course, the best-remembered version of Space Ghost is the one from Space Ghost Coast to Coast, the absurdist comedy show that featured the superhero as a talk show host. This is the version of Space Ghost we want to see in a film. If Harvey Birdman comes along for the ride, even better.

Let’s get spooky! Horror and superhero films have not really clicked yet. Maybe Raven can make that happen. A staple of the Teen Titans, the daughter of a demon may be played for laughs on Teen Titans Go!, but there is a lot of potential for real horror in her as a character.

The Tick has gotten a few TV shows — a silly cartoon, a goofy and lighthearted superhero parody, and a kind of funny and weirdly sincere. None of them has been a success…but what if a movie worked? Look, the character can be quite funny, and a parody of superheroes could potentially click right now in this world highly saturated with costumed crime fighters. Maybe we could get a little multiverse action on and get all three TV versions in a movie?

The Nova Corps showed up in Guardians of the Galaxy, but we saw neither hide nor hair of Nova. As the superhero face of a crimefighting group, and with his mask, there are Judge Dredd vibes to Nova, though he is decidedly nobler. There are talks of a Nova show on Disney+, so perhaps it is just a matter of time.

The dude eats matter! Like, all matter. That is his superhero ability. If something needs to be eaten, no matter what it is, Matter-Eater Lad can do it. Plus, his name is “Matter-Eater Lad.” Who doesn’t want to see that on a marquee? Who doesn’t dream of walking into a theater and saying, “Two for ‘Matter-Eater Lad’, please?”

The character of Blue Beetle originated back in 1939. Since then, he’s been through a few iterations. Also, in 1983, DC bought the rights to the character. These days, we are on the third Beetle, Jaime Reyes, who has been a Teen Titan at times. This is the version that would presumably hit the silver screen.

Oh, Canada! The Great White North has its own superheroes, and one of them is Northguard. The Maple-Leaf-clad good guy loves his home country. In his first adventures, he was called upon to defeat an extreme right-wing group known as “ManDes,” short for “manifest destiny.” Who wouldn’t want to see that in a film? Ideally, it would be made in Canada by Canadians, a superhero version of Men with Brooms.

She does what the name says. Scarlet O’Neil has the power of invisibility. Hey, she was created in 1940, so at the time, invisibility was a new idea for a superpower. The comic strip ran from 1940 until 1956 and was created by a guy who had worked on Dıck Tracy. In a way, it was created as a lighthearted counterpoint to Dıck Tracy, and why not do a lighthearted but not overtly comedic superhero movie now?

Rang-a-Tang is a German shepherd with an “almost-human brain.” He’s circus trained. He solves crimes at a movie studio in Hollywood. His sidekicks are a detective named Hy Speed and a former child actor named Richy the Amazing Boy. Yes, Rang-a-Tang was inspired by Rin Tin Tin. Yes, the comic debuted in the 1930s. It all sounds awesome to us.

OK, we know we’ve gotten a little silly for a few entries. Let’s get serious. Hangman has been passed around from imprint to imprint, but his story tends to be wild. When DC got the rights, they made Robert Dickering, a Union soldier and doctor during the Civil War who was left for dead behind enemy lines. To survive being hanged, he makes a deal with a mysterious figure to walk the earth forever, punishing guilty people who refuse to repent. Not intense enough for you? The most recent Hangman, Michael Minetta, is a hitman hanged from a street lamp by Dickering and then makes a deal with SATAN to become the new Hangman.

Remember when 3-D became big again for a minute? Maybe Captain 3-D is who we need to bring it back. The character was introduced in 1953 to try and sell 3-D comic books. He lasted all of two issues. However, he was co-created by Jack Kirby, and the second issue marked the art debut of Steve Ditko. Hey, Captain 3-D is comic book history!

A lot of people who sat down for the fortnight it takes to watch the Snyder Cut of Justice League came away saying, “Hey, there’s a lot of good Cyborg stuff in this.” In the theatrical release, Cyborg basically doesn’t factor in at all. Why not build on that? It would be a way to say to Ray Fisher, “Sorry about Joss Whedon,” and “Thanks for not being Ezra Miller.” Boo-yah!

In the world of The Simpsons, they tried to make a Radioactive Man movie, but it failed. Why shouldn’t there be one in our world? We’ve only ever gotten one Simpsons movie. This could be a fun way to do a second. Sure, Mickey Rooney isn’t alive to play Fall Out Boy, but let’s not let that get in the way.

We hesitate to quote Wikipedia, but on Booster Gold’s Wikipedia page, he’s described as a “glory-seeking showboat from the future.” Sure, his character has gotten some depth over the years, but that’s a fun idea for a superhero. There have been attempts at Booster Gold projects in the past, but that doesn’t mean they should give up.

Vigilante superheroes can get iffy quickly if the story doesn’t have the right tone and isn’t pointed in the right direction. However, Batman has shown us the upper limit of that concept. There have been eight Manhunters in the history of DC, but the most recent is Kate Spencer. A one-time member of the Birds of Prey, she didn’t make the cut for that film, so let’s see what she can do on her own.

Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. Scarlet Witch, has found her footing over in the MCU. She got her own show. She got to be the main baddie in a Dr. Strange movie. Wanda is killing it. Maybe DC needs to get witchy themselves. White Witch is the choice there. She’s got, you know, witch powers and also has been a member of the Legion of Superheroes on occasion.