{"id":111491,"date":"2019-04-03T07:00:20","date_gmt":"2019-04-03T12:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=111491"},"modified":"2019-04-03T13:49:11","modified_gmt":"2019-04-03T18:49:11","slug":"5-infamous-80s-comic-book-movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/5-infamous-80s-comic-book-movies\/","title":{"rendered":"Back Issues: 5 Infamous Comic Book Movies from the 1980s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before the Avengers, before the Suicide Squad, even before ’90s Batman and his . . . anatomic batsuit, Hollywood relied on comic book heroes.<\/h2>\n

Hot take: Marvel\u2019s upcoming Avengers: Endgame<\/a><\/em> is probably going to do okay at the box office. This radical opinion is based on the fact that, even though the media loves to paint a picture of a public suffering from “superhero fatigue<\/a>,” an exceptionally meh<\/em> film like Suicide Squad<\/a><\/em>\u00a0can still manage to make serious bank.<\/p>\n

Yeah, Marvel definitely changed the cinematic landscape back in 2008 when Nick Fury appeared post-Iron-Man<\/em>-credits<\/a> to foreshadow a cinematic universe that now spans twenty films. But it is medium-worth remembering that Marvel didn\u2019t create the \u2014 Hey, wasn\u2019t that a comic book?<\/em> \u2014 landscape.<\/p>\n

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Image via Warner Bros.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

So, while the nerdiest\/most committed of us marathon 11 years’ worth of films<\/a>\u00a0to prepare for Avengers: Endgame,<\/em> let\u2019s look back at five comic book movies that attempted to stick the superhero landing<\/a> in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

(Oh, and it\u2019s twenty-one<\/em> Marvel films. Sorry, Ed Norton<\/a>. Totally forgot.)<\/p>\n

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Swamp Thing<\/em> (1982)<\/h3>\n
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Image via Warner Bros.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

DC\u2019s most famous human-scientist\/swamp-plant hybrid gets his\/its own television show in May<\/a>. But your dad no doubt remembers Wes Craven\u2019s<\/a> (1982) Hollywood iteration<\/a>, starring Adrienne Barbeau<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here’s the critical consensus from Rotten Tomatoes<\/a>: “Unabashedly campy \u2014 often to its detriment \u2014 Swamp Thing<\/em> is not without its charms, among them Adrienne Barbeau as the damsel in distress.”<\/p>\n

While that\u2019s faint praise for anyone involved \u2014 who isn\u2019t Adrienne Barbeau \u2014 none less than the great Roger Ebert offered a livelier take on the film, one that involved three out of four stars: “Swamp Thing<\/em> had already won my heart, before its moment of greatness, but when that moment came, I knew I’d discovered another one of those movies that fall somewhere between buried treasures and guilty pleasures.”<\/p>\n

Read Ebert\u2019s review<\/a> for yourself.<\/p>\n

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Supergirl<\/em> (1984)<\/h3>\n
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Image via Columbia.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Christopher Reeve<\/a> had already truth’d-and-justice’d<\/em> his American way through three Superman<\/em> movies by the time Supergirl<\/a><\/em> premiered in 1984. The film starred Helen Slater<\/a> in the titular role, making her the first woman to play the lead in an English-language superhero film. Unfortunately, with a plot spotlighting a warlock named Nigel, a mouthful of a McGuffin called the Omegahedron, and a “Hey, small world” appearance by Lois Lane\u2019s kid sister, the film flopped among critics and audiences alike.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, even though the film didn\u2019t spawn a big-screen franchise, Slater went on to get a few more Krypton-related gigs on the small screen. She played Clark Kent\u2019s biological mother in the WB\u2019s Smallville<\/a><\/em>\u00a0and the adoptive mother of Kara Danvers in The CW\u2019s Supergirl<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

(Interesting aside: Supergirl<\/em> (1984) is canon with the Christopher Reeves run. The movies share Marc McClure’s<\/a> Jimmy Olsen, and Reeves\u2019s Superman<\/em> appears on a poster in the film.)<\/p>\n

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Sheena<\/em> (1984)<\/h3>\n
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Image via Columbia.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Here\u2019s another one to ask your dad about. Sheena, Queen of the Jungle<\/a><\/em> was the first female character to have her own comic book title \u2014 debuting on racks in 1937 \u2014 just a couple of years before Wonder Woman was introduced to the world.<\/p>\n

The film adaptation<\/a> bounced around studios for several years, struggling to get made \u2014 even with big-time names like Raquel Welch<\/a> and Bo Derek<\/a>\u00a0attached to the starring role. Eventually, ex-Charlie\u2019s Angel<\/a> (and future Bond<\/a> girl) Tanya Roberts<\/a>\u00a0was cast in the production.<\/p>\n

In a quote Wikipedia<\/a> sourced from a broken link to the LA Times,<\/em> producer Paul Aratow explained his reasons for never giving up on his quest to bring Sheena<\/em> to theaters: “Girls today need superheroes. And I want Sheena to be that superhero. I also want Sheena to be a character that parents will want to send their kids to see, and the type of picture that parents can go see with their children.”<\/p>\n

It seems, however, Aratow fell short of his goals<\/a> (skip to 6:25).<\/p>\n

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Red Sonja<\/em> (1985)<\/h3>\n
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Image via MGM.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Here\u2019s your Red<\/em> Sonja<\/em><\/a> movie summary: Swords. Sorcery. A talisman. Castles. Sex. Someone probably transforms into a snake-priest at some point \u2014 I don\u2019t know, and it doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

Instead of digging into the story told in this movie, let\u2019s look at a story about<\/em> the movie called A Tale of Two Sonyas\/Sonjas (and One Arnold). It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. (It was the ’80s, so it was the worst of times.) Please try to follow along.<\/p>\n

Author Robert E. Howard<\/a> created the character Red Sonya in 1934. (Red Sonya is a 16th-century woman who fights Turks<\/a>.) Howard also created Conan the Barbarian<\/a><\/em> in 1934. Conan the Barbarian is a Hyborian-Age man who fights transforming snake-priests (probably). Red Sonya<\/em> has nothing to do with Conan the Barbarian \u2014 though Red Sonja<\/em> really does.<\/p>\n

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Image via MGM.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The comic book character, Red Sonja, was created by Roy Thomas<\/a>. She first appeared in Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian<\/em> series<\/a> in 1973 with Robert E. Howard\u2019s creations Conan the Barbarian and the Hyborian Age.<\/p>\n

Conan<\/em> the Barbarian<\/em><\/a> (the movie) is set in the Hyborian Age. It hit theaters in 1982, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger<\/a> as Conan the Barbarian. The sequel, Conan the Destroyer<\/a><\/em>, is also set in the Hyborian Age. It hit theaters in 1984, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan the Barbarian<\/del> Destroyer.<\/p>\n

The movie Red Sonja<\/em> is also set in the Hyborian Age. It hit theaters in 1985, starring Brigitte Nielsen<\/a> as Red Sonja.<\/p>\n

It also stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Hyborian-Age warrior Conan the Barbarian<\/del> Destroyer<\/del> King<\/del> Lord Kalidor<\/a>, who may or may not be a transforming snake-priest but who is definitely<\/em> not<\/em> Conan the Whatever or might very well be actually<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Howard the Duck<\/em> (1986)<\/h3>\n
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Image via Universal.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The first Marvel movie. Produced by George Lucas<\/a>, just two years after Return of the Jedi<\/a><\/em>. Visual effects by Industrial Light & Magic<\/a>. Lea Thompson<\/a> as the female lead, fresh off the success of Back to the Future<\/a><\/em>. A popular, counter-culture character, whose edgy adventures were sharp exercises in satire and parody. What could go wrong?<\/p>\n

Everything. Just, so much of everything.<\/p>\n

Howard the Duck<\/em><\/a> is one of the most famous flops in Hollywood history. Its problems are myriad. Shockingly, one of the problems isn\u2019t that the main character is an anthropomorphic duck. In fact, Howard was a beloved fixture of ’70s pop culture \u2014 prominent enough to get threatened by Disney\u2019s legal department<\/a> due to Howard\u2019s Donald Duck-like appearance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the greatest problem was that the minds behind the movie were unconcerned with the very essence of what people loved about the comic books.<\/p>\n

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Image via Universal.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Co-creator Steve Gerber<\/a> describes the existential heart of the comic he wrote: “There is no joke! There it is. The cosmic giggle. The funniest gag in the universe. That life\u2019s most serious moments, and most incredibly dumb moments, are often distinguishable only by a momentary point of view. Anyone who doesn\u2019t believe this probably cannot enjoy reading Howard the Duck<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

The film\u2019s screenwriter, Gloria Katz<\/a>, felt differently: “It’s a film about a duck from outer space . . . It’s not supposed to be an existential experience.”<\/p>\n

The movie was marketed as a family-friendly, light-hearted romp, full of duck puns and wackiness. Fans of the comic book stayed away on opening day \u2014 and every day after \u2014 disappointed that the movie had strayed so far from the decidedly non-family-friendly source material.<\/p>\n

The $37 million production made just over $16 million. Marvel didn\u2019t allow another film adaptation until 2002\u2019s Spiderman<\/a>,<\/em> and director Willard Hyuck<\/a> never helmed a feature film again. Frank Price, head of Universal’s motion picture group, was forced to resign (leading to the legendary Variety<\/em><\/a> headline, “Duck Cooks Price\u2019s Goose”).<\/p>\n

Additionally, George Lucas ended up in debt and was forced to sell off Lucasfilm\u2019s upstart computer animation division to Steve Jobs \u2014 who turned it into an independent company called Pixar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Howard the Duck himself is doing okay in 2019. He\u2019s an official part of the Marvel cinematic universe, having appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em><\/a> \u2014 and its sequel<\/a> \u2014 and there\u2019s no reason to think he won\u2019t appear on the big screen again.<\/p>\n

After all, he didn\u2019t just survive one of the greatest film disasters of all time \u2014\u00a0he also survived the snap<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Cover image via Red Sonja (MGM).<\/em><\/p>\n

Looking for more on the film and video industry? Check out these articles.<\/p>\n