10 Great Ideas Wasted In Disappointing Comic Book Movies

Some brilliant concepts and epic superhero moments have been wasted in the most disappointing movies produced by Marvel and DC. In the last few decades, Marvel and DC have managed to bring superheroes into the mainstream with their respective live-action franchises, with some of their movies being among the highest-grossing and most popular movies of all time. However, not all projects coming from Marvel Studios, Sony Pictures, or DC Studios are so successful, yet even the worst of the bunch have included some strong moments.

Superhero franchises including the Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC Extended Universe (soon to be rebooted into the DC Universe), Fox X-Men Universe, and Sony Spider-Man Universe have all delivered some divisive and controversial movies. All too often, these franchises’ worst films actually include moments that are pretty great, but perhaps were handled poorly, or would have been more effective in another project. Movies such as Madame Web, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Thor: Love and Thunder have all fallen victim to this pattern.

10 Madame Web’s Villain Was A Great Idea, Badly Handled

Madame Web (2024)

The most recent installment in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, Madame Web, debuted Tahar Rahim as Ezekiel Sims, a villain hell-bent on tracking down Cassandra Webb’s new allies, who he has witnessed killing him in a premonition. Ezekiel Sims was wildly different in Madame Web compared to his Marvel Comics counterpart, who is depicted more as a mentor to Peter Parker. While the changes made to Ezekiel Sims actually made sense for the 2024 movie’s narrative, Madame Web’s handling of the character made these alterations meaningless.

Madame Web’s questionable script certainly didn’t help Rahim’s performance as Ezekiel Sims, but to make matters worse, the majority of the villain’s lines were redubbed and presumably added in post-production. Many of Rahim’s lines weren’t synced up properly with his movements, making most of his time on-screen distracting and embarrassing. Sims is a complicated character in Marvel Comics, but Madame Web reduced him to a self-obsessed, egotistical, and awkward mess.

9 Wolverine & Sabretooth’s Historical Montage Was Epic

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was originally expected to kick-start a new series of spinoffs from 20th Century Fox’s original X-Men trilogy, but the movie’s poor performance canceled these plans before they really began. The weakest solo movie featuring Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, X-Men Origins told a story packed full of annoying contradictions, gratuitous and meaningless action sequences, and controversial twists on fan-favorite characters. There was, however, one shining moment in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

The very beginning of the movie explores Wolverine’s mutant abilities manifesting in 1845, culminating in the future X-Men member running off with his half-brother, Sabretooth. The montage showing the pair battling in the American Civil War, both World Wars, and the Vietnam War was a fantastic way to detail their long lives, brotherly bond, and fighting experience. This epic moment was overshadowed by the rest of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but perhaps provided more insight into Wolverine’s movie backstory than any previous project.

8 The Justice Society Was Failed In The DCEU

Black Adam (2022)

The DCEU was experiencing problems almost from the very start, but 2022’s Black Adam really highlighted how disjointed and confusing the franchise had become. Led by Dwayne Johnson in the titular role, Black Adam’s poor visual effects, awkward script, and complicated narrative helped to make the movie one of DC’s biggest box office bombs. Despite its failure, however, Black Adam did provide the first appearance of the DCEU’s Justice Society of America, though this would ultimately turn out to also be their final appearance.

Comprising Aldis Hodge’s Hawkman, Pierce Brosnan’s Doctor Fate, Quintessa Swindell’s Cyclone, and Noah Centineo’s Atom Smasher, the Justice Society was an exciting inclusion in Black Adam. The Justice Society’s scenes formed some of the strongest, most emotional, and most intense moments of the 2022 movie, though it’s a shame that they were tied to Black Adam, and not a stronger DCEU project. It’s also a shame that this iteration of the team likely won’t be revisited in James Gunn’s new DC Universe.

7 Colin Farrell’s Bullseye Was Objectively Great

Daredevil (2003)

Long before his Academy Award nomination for The Banshees of Inisherin and his debut in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, Colin Farrell portrayed iconic Marvel villain Bullseye in 2003’s Daredevil, which starred Ben Affleck as the titular Man Without Fear. Daredevil received criticism for its lack of grandeur and dull, brooding storyline, but Farrell’s depiction of Bullseye was praised. Opposite Affleck’s wooden interpretation of Matt Murdock, Farrell’s Bullseye was full of personality, making him a stand-out in the disappointing movie.

Of course, even Farrell’s Bullseye had his problems, most notably the fact that the villain was about as far from comic-accurate as he possibly could have been. However, Bullseye’s theatricality and dark humor made certain moments of Daredevil much more entertaining. It’s very possible that this iteration of Bullseye could be seen in the MCU’s upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine, meaning Farrell could once again deliver a strong performance as his threatening Marvel villain.

6 The X-Men Trained In The Danger Room Once

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

After Fox’s original X-Men were featured in strong stories in 2000’s X-Men and its 2003 sequel, X-Men: The Last Stand couldn’t decide on a particular story to focus on. The blending of many different narratives made The Last Stand a confusing mess, which completely overshadowed the X-Men team’s only live-action training sequence in the Danger Room. The X-Men should have used the Danger Room a lot more, as their training simulations give them valuable lessons to be used in real battles, but Fox completely wasted the important Marvel location.

A new line-up of X-Men did appear in the Danger Room at the very end of 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse, but the movie ended before they were shown actually fighting the simulated Sentinel robots. There is so much mythos surrounding the Danger Room in Marvel Comics, particularly in stories when it gains sentience, but none of this was seen in Fox’s X-Men franchise. Perhaps Marvel Studios can finally do the Danger Room justice in the MCU’s official X-Men reboot.

5 The Guardians Of The Galaxy Deserved A Bigger Phase 4 Role

Thor: Love & Thunder (2022)

After the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor found himself traveling with the Guardians of the Galaxy. This team-up made sense for the MCU, but was barely explored at all before Thor left the team to embark on his own adventure in 2022’s divisive Thor: Love and Thunder. One major criticism of Love and Thunder was that the movie undid the majority of Thor’s complex and emotional storyline from Phase 3, and the fast removal of the Guardians of the Galaxy was one symptom of this.

It would have been fantastic to see the Guardians of the Galaxy team’s dynamic change with Thor and Korg along for the ride, but the team was featured too briefly to explore any of this. The Guardians team is one of the cornerstones of the MCU’s cosmic storylines, so it was a shame that its appearance in Love and Thunder was relegated to a perfunctory and unnecessary montage. Thor could certainly cross paths with the new Guardians of the Galaxy team in the MCU’s future, but his bonds with the original line-up deserved more attention.

4 Sasha Calle’s Dark Supergirl Will Never Be Seen Again

The Flash (2023)

As one of the biggest box office bombs of all time, 2023’s The Flash was a huge failure for the DCEU, despite being billed to reset the franchise ahead of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s reboot. Controversies surrounding lead actor Ezra Miller also impacted the movie’s success, though lackluster visual effects, the movie’s messy third act, and a storyline that was not at all faithful to DC Comics’ Flashpoint event were also major criticisms. One shining light was Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, however, but, similarly to Black Adam’s Justice Society, she was wasted in The Flash.

Sasha Calle portrayed a darker version of Supergirl in Barry Allen’s new timeline, and delivered an incredibly strong performance as the troubled and traumatized superhero. Additionally, Calle’s Supergirl costume was one of the best superhero suits seen in the DCEU, so it’s an even more dire shame that this outfit won’t be seen again in live-action. Milly Alcock will portray a new version of Kara Zor-El’s Supergirl in the DCU, meaning Sasha Calle’s iteration made her first and last appearance in The Flash.

3 Morbius Tried To Set Up Sinister Six

Morbius (2022)

While Sony’s Venom franchise has been rather popular, the other movies of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe have faltered massively. Madame Web was a huge disappointment in 2024, but, prior to that, 2022’s Morbius received criticism for its script, visual effects, and overall narrative. Morbius’ post-credits scenes were especially confusing, as Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes somehow traveled from the MCU to the SSU, where he was freed to continue his career as the Vulture, and made an attempt at teasing the formation of the Sinister Six.

Sony has toyed with the idea of bringing Marvel Comics’ iconic Sinister Six team into live-action for over a decade, as the team was originally teased in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2. For Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, the Vulture and Morbius’ meeting was an attempt to tease the team, but given the poor performances of Morbius and Madame Web, it’s unclear whether Sony will continue with these plans. Upcoming movies Venom: The Last Dance and Kraven the Hunter have the chance to build on these plans, but the Sinister Six may be doomed to never make their live-action debut.

2 Makkari Became The Best On-Screen Speedster

Eternals (2021)

Eternals is far from the worst project in the MCU, but Chloé Zhao’s Marvel Studios directorial debut became incredibly divisive following its release in 2021. Eternals has received retrospective praise more recently, but the movie was initially criticized for its writing and pacing, perhaps a symptom of trying to introduce ten powerful superheroes all in one go. Despite its flaws, Eternals managed to deliver the most effective depiction of a speedster superhero in the form of Lauren Ridloff’s Makkari.

Compared to those of The Flash’s Barry Allen, and even Avengers: Age of Ultron’s Quicksilver, Makkari’s speeding scenes were second-to-none. Her sheer speed can almost be felt through the screen, and the added touch of her being depicted as deaf was clever, as traveling so fast would cause her eardrums to rupture. Due to Eternals’ mixed reception, Marvel Studios hasn’t yet confirmed the future of the franchise or its characters, so it’s unclear when Makkari will return to the MCU, but hopefully this will happen soon.

1 Bruce Wayne Witnessing Superman & Zod’s Battle Was Clever

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)

After 2013’s Man of Steel debuted Henry Cavill as Superman, director Zack Snyder rushed to bring DC’s signature heroes together only three-years-later. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was an over-saturated second installment for the DCEU, but the movie’s opening moments, which detailed Bruce Wayne’s childhood and his witnessing of Superman and General Zod’s battle in Metropolis, were very strong. In fact, the opening of Dawn of Justice could have formed the content for a Batman solo movie in the DCEU introducing Ben Affleck’s Caped Crusader, prior to bringing him and Superman together.

The idea of Bruce Wayne being in Metropolis during the events of Man of Steel was inspired, and formed a believable and relatable motivation for his vendetta against Superman. If Batman v Superman had detailed only this revenge plot, it may have been a much stronger movie, but Superman and Batman’s ridiculous reconciliation and bonding over their mothers’ shared name ruined this intention. Perhaps the new live-action DC franchise will do a better job at handling their relationship, and the future of Marvel seems to be looking up, too, though both franchises may still have their ups and downs.