Superhero movies are a major movie staple, but they weren’t always popular.
Throughout the 1970s, '80s, and '90s, movie and television producers adapted comics titles
with varying degrees of success.
For every Superman or Batman, there were a half a dozen heroes who flopped.
Here are a few superhero movies most people have completely forgotten about.
The Shadow
This this 1994 Alec Baldwin vehicle adapted the 1930s pulp hero to the big screen.
Lamont Cranston is a wealthy playboy who, as the Shadow, uses a handful of mystical
powers, such as mind control, to fight crime.
Universal Studios poured a lot of money into what it wanted to be a big franchise...but
they didn’t spend quite enough on the story, about a descendant of Genghis Khan determined
to detonate an atomic bomb.
There ultimately just wasn’t a huge built-in audience for a property that was popular before
most of its potential consumers were even alive.
The Phantom
Based on the classic comic strip, 1996's The Phantom stars Billy Zane as Kit Walker, another
wealthy playboy who secretly fights crime as a masked hero.
But let’s be honest: it's hard to take a hero seriously while he's running around in
a goofy purple jumpsuit.
If you're daring enough to watch The Phantom, look for an early performance from Catherine
Zeta-Jones as the villain's female sidekick.
“Get a good look.”
Fantastic Four
“It’s clobbering time”
Ten years before 20th Century Fox made its first Fantastic Four movie, legendary B-movie
producer Roger Corman developed his own super-low-budget adaptation.
Few people saw it because it was never officially released in theaters or on video.
But bootleg copies have been widely available at comic conventions and online.
It was only ever made in the first place so that the studio could retain the rights to
the characters before they expired.
Doctor Strange
Years before making his 2016 big-screen debut, Marvel's Doctor Strange starred in a 1978
made-for-TV movie.
It tells the origin story of Strange, played by journeyman actor Peter Hooten, who transforms
from being a medical doctor into a sorcerer.
The effects are pretty dated, and the costumes look like they came out of a circus.
One notable thing about the 1978 Strange: a young, foxy Jessica Walter portrays the
villain, Morgan Le Fay.
But these days, you're probably more likely to recognize her as Lucille Bluth from Arrested
Development and the voice of Malory from Archer.
The Punisher
If you need to watch Dolph Lundgren murder dozens of Yakuza, then the 1989 adaptation
of Marvel’s The Punisher is right up your alley.
Lundgren plays Frank Castle, a grieving cop who avenges his family's death.
The greatest fight in the film, however, may be Lundgren's struggle with the English language.
“I don't need your help."
Darkman
Liam Neeson portrays scientist Peyton Westlake, whose life is forever altered after he's attacked
by ruthless mobsters and left horribly scarred.
In a convenient twist, he’s also now super strong and resistant to pain, allowing him
to pay back those who've wronged him.
Sam Raimi, director of the Evil Dead and original Spider-Man movies, co-wrote and directed Darkman.
It's got many hallmarks of his work, including slapstick humor, over-the-top action, and
of course, a cameo from Bruce Campbell.
A bunch of Captain America movies
In 2011, Captain America: The First Avenger, was a hit.
But The First Avenger wasn't actually the first Captain America movie—not by a long
shot.
Filmed in 1990, and released on video two years later, Captain America starred Matt
Salinger, son of the legendarily reclusive author J.D. Salinger.
It tells the now familiar tale of would-be soldier Steve Rogers, who becomes a superhero
and fights his Nazi nemesis: the Red Skull.
And back in 1979, CBS aired two made-for-TV movies, appropriately titled Captain America
and Captain America 2.
Both starred B-movie action king Reb Brown as Cap.
The daredevil stunts Evel Knievel was popular at the time, so Captain America spends most
of his time on a motorcycle.
Condorman
In this 1981 Disney movie, a guy named Woody Wilkins is a comic book artist who decides
to become a real-world version of his creation.
He comes to the attention of the CIA, and the agency recruits Wilkins for a mission
to save a beautiful KGB agent who plans to defect to the United States.
And apparently in a bid to fully waste taxpayer's money, they build Wilkins his own Condorman-themed
car and boat.
You know, for a guy who can fly.
Various ‘70s Spider-Man movies
Spider-Man was the star of a made-for-TV movie in the late 1970s, called, appropriately Spider-Man.
The 90-minute film served as the pilot to the CBS show The Amazing Spider-Man.
Episodes from the show's two-season run were eventually repackaged as standalone movies
and sold on video around the world as Spider-Man Strikes Back and Spider-Man: The Dragon's
Challenge.
Though the show must've been pretty cool for comics fans at the time, let's just say it
hasn't aged very well.
Swamp Thing / The Return of Swamp Thing
A scientist is transformed into Swamp Thing after soldiers working for the evil Anton
Arcane attack his laboratory in the Louisiana bayou.
The results are more corny than horrific, with some pretty cheap special effects—even
for 1982.
And yet, a sequel called The Return of Swamp Thing was produced in 1989.
This time the scientist turned walking lily pad must once again defeat his nemesis, Anton
Arcane, who somehow survived being horrifically mutated in the first movie.
The only positive thing to say about The Return of Swamp Thing is that the costume looks a
little better.
Well, that, and the super-hot romance between Swamp Thing and a young Heather Locklear.
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