Top 10 Third-tier Marvel Characters that need Movies

With Marvel’s plan to introduce the characters that will be in the 2012 Avengers film with Thor, Iron Man 2, and Captain America, the only other certain film from them is a Spider-Man redo. With nothing in the pipeline, Marvel has turned their eyes to lesser known characters from the comics, in hopes of producing lower budgeted films from these characters (here).

Awesome, but which ones? Oh, Spider-Woman has been thrown around, but let us at Killer Film tell you the Top 10 Third-tier Marvel Characters that need Movies.

10 – She-Hulk

Okay, so people are ho-hum on the two previous Hulk films, but the She-Hulk is different than the Bruce Banner monster. She’s dynamically interesting. A ideal candidate for a film due to Jennifer Waters ‘freedom, confidence, and assertiveness’ as a hero, making for a powerful message in an action film.

9 – Luke Cage

Certainly not the coolest of heroes, Luke Cage (also known as Power Man) does have the chance, under the right script and director to become a new symbol of power and justice. In the 1970′s I could have seen this film become a cult classic in the blaxploitation genre, with someone like Fred “The Hammer” Williams playing him, and with current success of Black Dynamite and the election of Barack Obama, the world is due for a new African-American hero – not named Blade - in movies. Hopefully, this could be more successful than Shaq’s Steel.

8 – Deathlok

This character has been involved in a few developmental stages, once in the early 1990′s with Randall Frankes, and again recently at Paramount. He’s visually interesting, and while a Robocop wanna-be, the chance at a more horror-centric action film could work.

7 - Marvel 2099 Characters

I bet many don’t remember this line of Marvel comics a decade plus ago. I do, because the stories and attitudes of these characters like X-Men, Doom, Ravage, and Spider-Man were unique and interesting. These were reinvented looks at the characters, but in the year 2099. But different. Spider-Man 2009 wasn’t Peter Parker. X-Men 2099 didn’t have Wolverine or Storm. These were all-new characters and they were cool. I can see Spider-Man 2099 not being made because it would clash with Sony’s new reboot, but Doom 2099, Ravage (an all-new Stan Lee character) Ghost Rider 2099, and X-Men 2099 could all work. At least they’re visually cool and unique (using that word a lot because, well, they are) in the stories making for a fresh film experience.

6 – Black Panther

He was the first black superhero in mainstream comics when he first appeared in the late 1960′s, and while the character has been written into better stories, I think the political nature of his existence, especially in Africa could prove to be something well-mined for a movie. He was another character long rumored to have a film for, but outside of 1992′s rumor of having Wesley Snipes as the character, the only tangible evidence was David Goyer taking a crack at a script. It’s time.

5 – Carnage

Okay, maybe not as a solo film, but he needs to be in a film. Outside a brief bit of mid-1990s popularity with the epic storyline Maximum Carnage, he has always been a bastard character related to Venom. So? He’s mean, violent, and interesting, the makings of a great villain for a possible film, right? We think so.

4 - Cloak and Dagger

These characters could easily be featured in a gritty, crime drama. A touch of mystery, fantasy, and vigilantism, these heroes could easily make the transition to film. Place them against the mob, or drug pushers in New Orleans or New York, and for Marvel’s limited budgeted ideas, a Cloak and Dagger film would succeed.

3 – Iron Fist

Cast Ray Park. Now. He is Iron Fist. With the martial arts action, mythical stories, and what Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction have done recently with the character in The Immortal Iron Fist, this is easily the most no-brainer idea waiting for a film in the superhero genre.

2 - Doctor Strange

For what Marvel wants to do with their lesser known characters, Dr. Strange seems like a character that might need a bigger budget than what they want to do, but he could easily be the launching film to start this new plan on. He has actually appeared in a TV movie back in 1970, when The Incredible Hulk television series was popular, but who remembers that? With numerous rumors for a planned film, his character has a long-lasting appeal after debuting in the early 1960′s, with the sorcery aspects and the outlandish stories. Trust me, a Doctor Strange film would be very cool.

1 - Moon Knight

Dark, moody, violent, a potential Moon Knight film could really work, even if his character is the least known on this list. Yes, he feels like Batman, but that’s all the more reason why his transition to film could work the best. With his normal origin, the use of Egyptian curses mixed with a violent underbelly of a crime-ridden city makes this a very tantalizing proposition. Using a quote from the Moon Knight comics, this could be the hook and tag line for the film: “Who do you think you are, a hero?”

Agree or disagree? What characters would you like to see in movies? Comment below! Who knows maybe Marvel is listening.