Supergirl 1984 and 8 other bad superhero movies that deserve the big reboot treatment
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's a second roll of the dice for these underserved superhero adaptations
When Supergirl hits cinemas later this week (June 26th to be precise), it’ll represent the latest step in James Gunn’s exciting DC Universe reboot following the troubled Zack Snyder years.
For a certain vintage of movie fans, it’ll represent a rather different kind of cinematic redemption, though. This will mark the first standalone Supergirl movie since 1984, when Helen Slater and Faye Dunaway starred in a downright weird spinoff from the Christopher Reeve Superman films. Here's a trailer to get you up to speed:
It was a critical and commercial disaster, thanks to a nonsensical plot, clumsy editing, and terrible special effects. It didn’t help that Christopher Reeve turned down the request for a universe-building cameo as the Man of Steel, either.
Hopes are high that some 42 years later, the second Supergirl movie won’t make the same mistakes. It appears to be sticking far closer to its comic book source material for one thing, and has evidently been given a healthy budget. It even features a cameo from David Corenswet’s current Superman, for whatever that’s worth. Catch a glimpse of that one below:
But which other superhero movies are in need of a Supergirl-style reboot? We’re thinking of those genre movies that have been forgotten, overlooked, or critically panned.
We’ve generally avoided movie picks where there are solid signs that some form of cinematic reboot is already in the works – hence no X-Men, Blade, or Flash Gordon.
With all that said, let’s take to the skies...
1. Green Lantern
Yes, yes, we know. DC Studios is about to release a glossy series all about those ring-wielding space cops, the Green Lantern Corps, in Lanterns. But the fact that James Gunn hasn’t seen fit to grant the IP its own standalone movie (yet) speaks volumes to the colossal balls-up that they made of the 2011 movie.
Ryan Reynolds continues to bear the scars of that production with trademark grace and humour – and has worked through his humiliation with the deeply meta Deadpool movies – but we all know there’s only one way to truly exorcise those green-tinted ghosts.
2. The Flash
Admit it – you’d forgotten 2023’s The Flash even existed, hadn’t you? It was a bit of a bomb, to put it mildly. Executives might justifiably argue that’s a reason not to rush a reboot through production, but there are a few reasons for a quick turn-around.
The last film was heavily delayed and released into an uncertain post-COVID environment, by which point the James Gunn DC era had begun. It never stood a chance. Add in the unsavoury reports surrounding The Flash actor Ezra Miller, and it might be best for everyone if they sprinted towards a remake.
3. The Shadow
It might be a bit of a stretch to say that there’s a renewed demand for ‘superhero noir’, but the Spider-Noir Amazon Prime series has been an undoubted hit. If any executives were to go hunting for IP operating in the same ballpark, they could do worse than revisit The Shadow.
Part gumshoe detective, part mystical ninja, this 1930s comic book character appeared in a bunch of movies and TV series in the first half of the 20th century, before being resurrected in 1994 for a terrible movie starring Alec Baldwin. Worth another shot?
4. Green Hornet
It’s difficult to remember a time when everything Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg touched didn’t turn to gold, but that time was just 15 years ago. 2011’s Green Hornet was a weirdly misjudged reboot of a classic 1930s superhero, who perhaps most famously featured in the 1966 TV series that gave Bruce Lee his break.
We could imagine a modern take that treated this masked detective as a kind of period Batman – ideally the tongue-in-cheek Adam West version. Give it a healthy dash of self-aware humour, and we’d book our tickets tomorrow.
5. The Phantom
Billy Zane has played a whole host of creeps and psychos in his time, but back in 1996 his chiselled chin and baritone voice were deployed in the service of this turkey of a superhero movie. Dating back to the early years of the superhero comic strip business, The Phantom’s form-hugging head-to-toe purple costume was the first of its kind.
While any reboot would need to update some of the more problematic areas of the IP (he was originally a wealthy white hero operating in Africa), we could well imagine an ‘Indiana Jones in tights’ adventure that nods to the serials of old.
6. The League Of Extraordinary Gentleman
There was a report back in 2022 that Alan Moore’s The League Of Extraordinary Gentleman comic series was receiving another adaptation, but we haven’t heard anything since. And while the Watchmen creator won’t thank me for saying this, it really needs to be revisited – if only to make up for the abomination that was the initial 2003 attempt.
It’s an enticing concept when you lay it out, assembling a motley crew of literary heroes and villains (Allan Quatermain, Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll) into a bickering superhero group, like some kind of Victorian Avengers.
7. The Hulk
Given that we’ve had two Hulk movies in the past 20 years or so, and a whole stack of big green guest appearances in other Marvel movies and TV shows, you might think that we should give Bruce Banner a bit of a break.
We don’t want him getting stressed, after all. To that we would respond with two simple facts. Fact one: those two 21st century Hulk films weren’t very good. Fact two: this current Mark Ruffalo version of the Hulk that we’ve all come to know and love doesn’t yet have a movie of his own. Licensing woes between Sony and Disney / Marvel have thus far relegated the green giant to supporting roles. Fingers crossed they can one day be resolved.
8. The Rocketeer
Back in the ‘90s, movies such as The Phantom, The Shadow and Dick Tracy resurrected the comic strips of the 1930s – with generally terrible results. Bucking the 'bad movie' trend on this list, bit still criminally overlooked, was The Rocketeer. It managed to ace the formula, but didn’t get anywhere near the attention that it deserved.
This swashbuckling romp starred Billy Campbell as a down-on-his-luck test pilot who stumbles upon a high-tech jetpack and uses it to thwart a Nazi plot. This is the film that prompted Marvel to turn to Joe Johnston for Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011, and it’s past due a reboot.
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