io9
Hollywood often does such a bad job translating comic books to film, it's better to start from scratch. When movies create their own original superheroes, they can have the cool comic booky trappings, without the need to include/ignore/defile decades of print history. If it works (The Incredibles) you get something really fresh. When it doesn't... it's only about as bad as a superhero movie based on a comic. Click through for our list of superhero movies that didn't have a direct comic-book heritage.
Sky High (Disney). Comic books already gave us a high-school for superheroes (P.S. 238), but did it have Kurt Russell as a famous superhero and father to the next generation of heroes? I didn't think so. Plus Lynda Carter is the school's principal. The business about the school separating kids into Heroes and Sidekicks is a bit too comic book-y, in some ways. But it's a cute romp, despite the fact that the main character's superpowers suddenly manifest themselves at the most convenient moment.
Meteor Man (Not Disney). we already assassinated this one recently. I loved Robert Townsend's Hollywood Shuffle, and really wanted this movie to be amazing. It actually had its good moments, but dissolved into incoherence and luke-warm gags. Townsend plays Jefferson Reed, a school teacher who finds a piece of meteorite that gives him superpowers, and uses it to confront gangs in his inner-city neighborhood.
The Incredibles (Disney/Pixar). Yes, I know you're going to say this movie is a rip-off of the Fantastic Four. But it's actually just different enough to have its own identity — nobody would confuse Mr. Incredible's big-lunk persona with Mr. Fantastic's brainy gumby schtick. And this is a textbook case for why superhero movies can be better without a direct comic-book source. The Pixar crew are free to create their own backstory for the Incredibles, including an anti-hero law and a special superhero tailor. it doesn't have to try and shoehorn in Doctor Doom, the Negative Zone, or any of the other trappings of the FF.
Darkman (Not Disney). Supposedly Sam Raimi wanted to do a movie starring Batman or The Shadow, but couldn't get the rights. So instead he created his own hero, a scientist who gets disfigured in an attack by mobsters, then gains the ability to disguise himself as anyone thanks to a new synthetic skin. An incredible cast, including Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand, helps elevate this movie above the usual superhero fare, and it's easily as good as Raimi's first two Spider-Man movies. (And much, much better than the third one.)
Unbreakable (Disney's Touchstone Pictures). I harshed on M. Night Shyamalan yesterday, but this one actually isn't bad. It's sort of a meditation on how a comic-book villain (Samuel L. Jackson, with his wackiest hair yet) actually creates his own superhero (Bruce Willis). Given that many movies and comics now revolve around the idea of superheroes like Batman creating villains like the Joker, it's refreshing to see it the other way around.
Underdog (Disney). A movie based on the 1970s cartoon series about a superpowered dog who comes here to save the day. A failed police dog gets experimented on, and develops amazing superpowers. Then he gets adopted and renamed Shoeshine, but secretly sneaks out to fight crime on the side.
Greatest American Hero (Disney). Another movie based on a TV show, this time the live-action show about a schoolteacher (again) who finds a costume that gives him amazing powers — but he doesn't have the instruction manual for how to use them. Luckily, he does have a cranky FBI agent snarking at him. Why is that lucky? Actually, I'm not sure. The movie starts filming in July, and it features a new villain, another schoolteacher who gets his own superpowered costume from aliens who want to exploit the Earth.
The Green Hornet (Not Disney). Originally a radio serial about a Batman-esque rich guy who runs a crusading newspaper and fights crime at night in a mask, with his Korean chauffeur Kato, the Green Hornet became a series of movies in the 1940s. And in the 1960s, it was a short-lived TV series that included Bruce Lee as Kato. And now it's going to be a movie again, supposedly starring Seth (Knocked Up) Rogen. Somehow Rogen beat out George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg for the lead role (or, more likely, they turned it down.) I'm imagining with Rogen in the lead role, it's not going to be a dead serious rendering of the Hornet's story.
Blankman (Not Disney). Another blaxploitation superhero spoof, this time starring Damon Wayans as a genius inventor who learns to make clothes bulletproof and becomes the lowest-budget superhero ever, Blankman. David Allen Grier stars as the friend, who's skeptical but winds up becoming Blankman's sidekick, Other Guy.
Black Scorpion (Not Disney). On the heels of Tim Burton's slightly less campy reinvention of Batman, Roger Corman decided to bring back the camp with Black Scorpion, his story of a policewoman (Joan Severance) who can't find justice. So she straps on a shiny black rubber bustier and a black fetishy mask and prowls the streets in her high-powered car. The original film includes a character named Tender Lovin', which is really all you need to know. (Actually the Corman connection might be all you need to know.) The film earned a sequel, Black Scorpion II: Aftershock, and a short-lived TV series on, wait for it... the Sci Fi Channel. Slogan: Justice has a nasty sting. 
The Specials (Not Disney). I actually meant to include this one originally, but couldn't remember the title and had a hard time finding it online. Thanks to Whitworthian for reminding me of its name. The Specials deals with a group of misfit third-string superheroes on their day off, leading their dysfunctional lives and horrifying their newest member, Nightbird. One of the few superhero comedies that doesn't go for the super-broad humor and stereotypes, unlike...
My Super Ex-Girlfriend (Not Disney). I forgot to include this one originally, maybe just because I was repressing it. I did blog about it a while ago. Luke Wilson dumps Uma Thurman's superhero, G-Girl, and she goes on a vengeful rampage. So he sells her out to a supervillain, Professor Bedlam, and nearly destroys the world in the process. Blah.
Orgazmo (Definitely Not Disney). Another classic I somehow overlooked, even though it's one of my favorite movies. (Thanks, tralu!) Orgazmo is a porno superhero whose schtick is that he can cause people to climax with his raygun. But when he decides to fight back against his sleazy producer, he discovers he can wield the power of Orgazmo for real.
Comments
I kind of liked Sky High.
Also: Darkman.
No love for Pluto Nash?
/quickly ducks
@DeepFriar: Is Pluto Nash a superhero? I thought he was just a space explorer guy.
Dug Darkman, but loved Unbreakable.
Hands-down the movie where Shyamalan a) thought the details through and b) made a movie you can actually watch again and again.
Great characters (plus, I'm an inexplicably huge fan of both Jackson and Willis.)
I mean really, Jackson as the totally fragile character rather than the tough-as-nails character? "I've had it with this motherfucking very, very slight pressure on these motherfucking bones."
I always thought that Unbreakable was brilliant. I realize that his movies tend to be slow-paced. But the concept of a supervillian finding his antithesis was so cool. And the ambiguity of whether he really has super powers at all stays with you right through the final scene.
@Charlie Jane Anders: Pluto Nash owned a night club on the moon. So you're both wrong.
No one should have to apologize for or qualify any mention of The Incredibles. It is simply a fine, fine movie.
No Bibleman? WTF
As someone who watched Underdog the cartoon as a kid, Underdog the live-action movie left a bitter taste in my mouth.
@KiddChaos: Okay, so why wasn't he called Moon Nash then?
@Charlie Jane Anders: after further review, he was a nightclub owner with no special powers.
I guess I should have actually seen the movie before making a joke about it.
What about Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Punisher and Catwoman. Those clearly weren't based on any source material I ever read.
@moff: Agreed, but I'll do it anyway, brilliant, just brilliant.
Jayhawks FTW!
Wow! I saw Black Scorpion at a club the other night! She had even caught this bad guy and had him totally tied up with all this rope. She kept yelling her battle cry at him, "justice has a nasty sting!", while she smacked him around.
It was truly inspiring to see a real crime fighter at work. One thing I didn't get though, was why she kept squirting him with whipped cream..
I never made the Incredibles/Fantastic Four connection. Now that you mention it... no, Pixar's creation is far superior.
@CaptainCynic: I agree... I think this is MKS most thoughtful work.
@Charlie Jane Anders: You've just touched on one of the many reasons that movie was a failure.
No M.A.N.T.I.S.
Darkman was cool but I always thought he's stink real bad.
I loved the Incredibles and Unbreakable.
I didn't even know Black Scorpion had a movie let alone a sequel... It was another show SciFi could have held onto longer.
Yes 'Unbreakable' was a great surprise. @braak: Sky High was alright. Nice plot twists. Funny etc. @pandorasmittens: Yea I can't get myself to watch it. It feels wrong somehow. Some things are best left in the innocence of childhood.
@Miranda Kali: Hey! I was there too! Good times...
There's not enough Bruce Campbell love in this post.
I've never understood why the Incredibles did so well, it was kinda boring.
@BlindKarma: I loved MANTIS... it was amazing. I know I looked at it last night and decided it didn't belong in this post, but now I'm not sure why. There wasn't a MANTIS comic, was there? I guess MANTIS was just a TV show. But still, much love for MANTIS.
If you're doing TV then there's:
The Misfits of Science (with a very young Courtney Cox)
Manimal
Powers of Matthew Star
Man Called Sloane (technically not a superhero but a secret agent with gadgets more ridiculous than James Bond)
Streethawk (Knight Rider on a motorcycle)
Automan (A Superhero with the powers of...Tron?)
1. are there people who knock The Incredibles? and if so, are they dead inside? i thought that was damn good movie making. there's an argument in me somewhere that Pixar is making the best movies out there (tho i missed CARS, so i cant vouch). I hadn't really put the Fantastic Four thing together either, and now i feel dumber.
2. can we count disney's CONDORMAN?
[www.hollywoodteenmovies.com]
i remember liking it as a kid, but everything on the innernetz talks about it being crap. hmm.
I caught some shit for making my friends go to see Unbreakable at the movie theaters because they thought I had lured them to a comic book movie (Which at the time still had a bit of a negative connotaiton to most people.) when I had no idea it was anything other than the second movie by M. Night and it had Bruce Willis and Samuel Jackson in it. It really was awesome though. I had always hoped I'd get to see a sequel to it.
IIRC, the Greatest American Hero's costume DID have a instruction book, but it somehow got shrunk, and dropped on the ground. I think it got shrunk along w/someone wearing the suit, but they didn't have it when they got big again. Anyone else remember this?
Oh dear lord, I remember Automan and Streethawk. Terrible, just terrible.
Also, what about Puma Man?
Puma Man, the Slacks-Wearing Superhero!
I got the Fantastic Four connection almost immediately, and it was cemented when Jack-Jack did the Human Torch and Thing thing at the end. It covered all the bases then.
@Git Em SteveDave: I actually rewatched the GAH pilot a couple years ago, and don't remember that scene. I think the instruction book just gets dropped in the woods somewhere.
@BullfightsOnAcid: He did have Tron like powers, but only during the night when the demand on the power grid wasn't too high. I liked the little sprite/byte that followed him around. But like Tron, he was just a computer program.
@BullfightsOnAcid: My Secret Identity
Sid & Marty Kroft's Electra Woman & Dyna Girl & their rockin' theme song:
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@Charlie Jane Anders: I found this one a website.
"In the premiere episode of the third season, which is not yet scheduled for DVD release, Ralph gets a new instruction book for one very fun episode, only to lose it again after being shrunk and menaced by ants. For real."
Found it here. [www.gapersblock.com] It's sad I remember this, but NOTHING else about the series.
@Bluecell: A young Jerry O'Connell, and the Dr. was a "troubled" ex-maquis crew member on V'ger.
Unbreakable was a great premise, but the pacing of the movie was so freaking irritating. It was like it was hooked up to a metronome.
Sky High was actually a lot of fun and anytime Dave Foley and /or Kevin McDonald is involved in a project, I'm there.
Um, Captain Planet, anyone?
@moff: He's our hero! He's gonna take pollution down to zero.
@Git Em SteveDave: Yep, in the pilot, he loses the book somehow. In the third season, the aliens stop by to check up on him, and they give him a new book. He shrinks himself, then sets the book on a large boulder (a grain of sand). When he returns himself to normal size, he forgets to grab the book, so it stays shrunk.
I loved that show. Robert Culp as FBI agent Bill Maxwell always using the term "scenario."
Sky High was a lot of fun...
Unbreakable was brilliant.
anyone remember [www.imdb.com]
not really a super hero...but..
@moff: Or Captain Power... The original Wii.
@goldfarb: I remember 'The Phoenix'. That actor later went on to play Khan's son in Star Trek II.
I thought Rogen was writing, not starring in, the Green Hornet.
@Jesse Mrozowski: Can you imagine going to see Dusk 'Til Dawn having no idea that it was anything other than the new Tarantino gangster flick? I never laughed so hard in all my life!
@Nudemanatee: It is truly sad that except for the insignia on his costume, this ONE scene comprises all of my memories of this show.
What about Too Much Coffee Man?
You mentioned "The Shadow" but I think you should have included him; he debuted on the radio before he was ever in pulp or comic books.
Sky High rules. I wish Warren Peace had gone to my high school.
@foolish-rain: Man, I wish Too Much Coffee Man would star in a movie. But only if Gwyneth Paltrow could play Too Much White Chocolate With German Almonds Woman.
@StrangelyBrown: Hmmm good point... there was a Shadow movie, right? I should check...
@Charlie Jane Anders: Yes, and I believe it starred a Baldwin. Might very well have been Alec. I still think his best movie was Team America.
I loved Darkman. And The Incredibles was very cool. I can't say I've watched any of the others.
@Charlie Jane Anders: There was. Alec Baldwin was in it, Tim Curry, Ian McKellan.
It was sometimes very good, and sometimes very bad. I'll watch it if it comes on TV, once in a while.
What, no mention of Leonard Parker from "Leonard Part 6"? I'm aghast.
I go back farther than all of you.
I watched 'Mr. Terrific' & 'Captain Nice'1
'Mr. Terrific' was terrible, but 'Captain Nice' was a parody of superheroes & he was good to his mother!
Also the star was William Daniels.
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nuff said