13 Iconic Movies You Didn't Know Were Based On Comics
Some of the greatest books and stories of all time have been adapted to the big screen. Films like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Blade Runner, and Pride & Prejudice have all been lauded as masterpieces of cinema and have gone on to win many awards and garner cult followings.
On the other side of film adaptations is comic book movies. Marvel and DC have turned their comics into billion-dollar monopolies with deep cinematic universes and beloved characters. Comic book adaptations have helped push the longtime niche reading material into mainstream audiences. Before the MCU, though, many other movies were made in the '90s and early 2000s based on the most popular (and sometimes obscure) comics of their day.
Updated on December 13th, 2022, by Hannah Saab:
Marvel and DC haven't slowed down when it comes to releasing blockbusters, with some of their hotly anticipated releases including Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 5, 2023) and DC's Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March 17, 2023). Viewers looking for comic-based movies not made by Marvel or DC will be happy to know there are plenty of iconic films to choose from (that audiences might have never known were actually based on comics, graphic novels and manga).
'The Fifth Element' (1997)
Available to stream on Showtime.
Many believe that the luscious sci-fi world of The Fifth Element came solely from the mind of its writer and director, Luc Besson. He did create an entirely new language for LeeLoo (Milla Jovovich) to speak and had the last decision on production design, hair and makeup, and costumes. But it has been said that Besson was heavily inspired by the French graphic novel, The Incal by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
According to Popular Mechanics, the comic publishers even sued Besson, claiming that the film borrowed graphic and story elements from the novel. The lawsuit was squashed, though, when Jodorowsky said that The Incal's editor had “betrayed” him by secretly working with Besson at some point. Regardless of the similarities, The Fifth Element stands as a pioneer of campy '90s space operas.
'Tank Girl' (1995)
Available to stream on Hoopla and Tubi TV.
Lori Petty simply owned the screen in the ambitious Tank Girl that launched with a kiss of outlaw destruction. The character was a breath of fresh air in a cinematic world full of reserved female traits. Tank Girl's personality is gross, foul-mouthed, and as violent (or more so) than any of her male adversaries, giving her an underlying punk feminist twist.
The movie is based on the popular post-apocalyptic comic book series created by Jamie Hewlitt in 1988. Tank Girl is an essential part of comic books, as it has inspired other media like Margot Robbie's version of Harley Quinn and Mad Max: Fury Road. Tank Girl's art is familiar to many because its creator also does the art for the popular virtual band Gorillaz.
'Wanted' (2008)
Available to stream on Netflix.
Wanted puts the pedal to the metal in its opening act and never slows down until the end. It is a unique adrenaline rush of a movie that succeeds in staying true to the thrilling rush of the comic that it comes from. With a stellar cast of Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, and Morgan Freeman, the film takes you through a web of lies, betrayal, and never knowing who's telling the truth.
The movie is based on the Wanted comic book series by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones. It tells the story of an amoral protagonist who discovers he is the heir to a super-assassin. The comic is considered one of the best stories about supervillains ever made.
'Barb Wire' (1996)
Available to stream on Paramount+ Showtime.
Pamela Anderson's leather-and-bullets turn as Barb Wire cemented her iconic blonde bombshell status. While the movie is not a feat in story-telling, it is full of comic book campiness, sleazy characters, and some very slick outfits. The film follows a nightclub owner named Barb Wire, who moonlights as a mercenary in one of the last free zones in a fascist United States.
The actual Barb Wire comics take place in an alternate version of Earth, though, with a lot of superhumans, alien experiments, and highly advanced technology. Barb Wire is considered a superhero and first appeared in Comics' Greatest World: Steel Harbor.
'Ghost World' (2001)
Available to stream on Tubi TV and Kanopy.
Unlike most comic book movie adaptations, Ghost World is not based on any superhero. It is instead a slice-of-life comic, following the day-to-day lives of best friends Enid and Rebecca. The two girls are severely cynical, and their high school lives revolve around their pseudo-intelligence and the belief that they are better than everyone else.
The movie adaptation starred Thora Birch and Scarlett Johannsson and received critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. The comic and movie became renowned for their dark humor and frank treatment of teenage adolescence.
'The Fountain' (2006)
Available to rent on Apple TV.
Darren Aronofsky has taken inspiration from many forms of media in his most popular movies. Black Swan resembles the anime Perfect Blue, and Mother! is based on the Book of Genesis. It is no surprise that his film, The Fountain, was based on the 2005 graphic novel of the same name by Kent Williams.
The Fountain is considered one of the best movies Aronofsky has made. In the film version, Hugh Jackman's character searches through time for the Fountain of Youth while struggling to find a cure for his wife's cancer. The movie is visually stunning and captures the grief of a man trying to accept the completeness of death.
'A History of Violence' (2005)
Available to rent on Apple TV.
A History of Violence follows mild-mannered diner owner Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen). Tom is a seemingly heroic man who easily kills a pair of thieves that ride into his small town. When Tom's actions make it onto the news, a stranger enters town to unravel his dark past as a long-missing mobster. David Cronenberg's eccentric complexity turned this straightforward narrative into something spectacular and has even warranted a potential upcoming sequel.
The movie is based on the graphic novel of the same name by John Wagner and Vince Locke. The movie stayed pretty true to the novel's story, though the film surpassed the popularity of the comic book at the time of its release. The adaptation even received Academy Award nominations.
'Oblivion' (2013)
Available to stream on Netflix.
Tom Cruise has mastered the sci-fi genre throughout his career with films like War of the Worlds, Minority Report, and Vanilla Sky. His most otherworldy yet, though, was Joseph Kosinski's space mystery, Oblivion. The movie tells the story of Jack Harper's mission in space as a security repairman in the year 2077. Jack's world is turned upside down when he meets a stranger whose arrival sets off a dangerous chain of events.
The strange part about Oblivion is that it is partially adapted from a “non-existent” graphic novel. The film's director had initially planned to write a larger version of a small comic book he created several years before the film came to fruition. Kosinski did things a little backward — he made a masterful sci-fi movie before finishing its accompanying graphic novel.
'The Mask' (1994)
Available to rent on Apple TV.
The Mask is an '80s comic book series that was created by Doug Mahnke and John Arcudi. It told the story of a supernatural mask that granted the person wearing it unlimited powers, at the cost of them losing their mind. It made an appearance in several different comics throughout the years and even got expanded into various spin-offs.
Jim Carrey is the one who pushed The Mask character into pop culture, though. His genius transformed the supernatural mask into comedy gold in the 1994 film, The Mask. Carrey and Cameron Diaz turned an otherwise goofy premise into one of the '90s most memorable comedies.
'Barbarella' (1968)
Available to stream on Paramount+ Showtime.
Jane Fonda plays the titular kitschy, space sex kitten, Barbarella, with such perfection that it's sometimes hard to remember that it was first a comic strip. The movie was adapted from a 1960s French science-fiction comic created by Jean-Claude Forest. The comics were about a woman who travels from planet to planet on adventures that often involved sex and a machine known as the “orgasmatron.”
Barbarella has become known as the alluring space adventurer with underlying feminist themes of female sexual liberation. While critics mostly panned the movie because of its poor production values and script, it became a cult classic among many film lovers. Its incredible set and costume designs even helped shape the '60s psychedelia movement.
'Snowpiercer' (2013)
Available to stream on Showtime.
Before Parasite, director Bong Joon-ho was already tackling themes of inequality with films like Snowpiercer. Set in a dystopian icy future, the sci-fi action movie takes place on a luxury train where the survivors are separated into sections. Those in the tail section suffer harsh conditions and abuse from authorities, while those in the front enjoy ludicrous privileges. Curtis (Chris Evans) leads a revolution in an attempt to change everything.
Snowpiercer is based on Jacques Lob's 1982 graphic novel Le Transperceneige. Both the film and the source material focus on climate change, but the movie notably emphasizes its allegorical take on humanity and the immovable societal structures that have endured through time.
'Blue is the Warmest Color' (2013)
Available to stream on AMC+ and Kanopy.
Blue is the Warmest Color (La Vie d'Adèle – Chapitres 1 & 2) is an award-winning coming-of-age romance film centered on the awkward 15-year-old Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos), who meets and falls in love with the older more confident art student Emma (Léa Seydoux). The lengthy movie follows the different stages of Adèle's life and depicts her increasingly tumultuous relationship with Emma.
Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, the film is touching, heartbreaking and beautifully profound all at once – it reflects universal emotions audiences can easily identify with. Its premise is based on Jul Maroh's eponymous 2010 graphic novel, which is rarely cited alongside the movie adaptation.
'Oldboy' (2003)
For fans of South Korean cinema, director Park Chan-wook's Oldboy is a film that needs no introduction. The legendary action movie follows Oh Dae-Su (Choi Min-sik), who is mysteriously abducted from the street, kept locked in a room and drugged for fifteen years. When he's finally released, he sets out to look for whoever is responsible for his suffering, but soon finds himself entangled in a conspiracy.
Oldboy is known for several things, from its jaw-dropping hallway fight scene to its shockingly disturbing twist. One aspect of the movie that doesn't get nearly enough credit, though, is that it's actually based on a Japanese manga series of the same name by Garon Tsuchiya. Fans who thought the movie was difficult to watch may want to check out the source material.
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