It’s a damn good time to be a comic book nerd. Arrow, Daredevil, Gotham, The Flash, Agent Carter… We’re inundated with excellent superhero television, with plenty more in the pipeline — DC’s Supergirl recently received a trailer, Marvel has plans for Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, not to mention hints at Ms Marvel. Even Image has Chew and Sex Criminals in talks to be made into TV shows… But what else would we like to see grace our small screens?
Hawkeye
Marvel Comics – The breakout star of this summer’s blockbuster Avengers film, Clint Barton – aka the self-made hero Hawkeye – fights for justice. With ex-Young Avenger Kate Bishop by his side, he’s out to prove himself as one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. SHIELD recruits Clint to intercept a packet of incriminating evidence – before he becomes the most wanted man in the world. Matt Fraction pens a Hawkeye thriller that spans the globe and the darkest parts of Hawkeye’s mind.
Hey, I know what you’re thinking. “We have Hawkeye in the movies!” Yes, we do. But lets imagine, for a moment, that we don’t. Let’s imagine a TV series based around Matt Fraction’s excellent Marvel Now run. Picture this — Clint Barton (Hawkeye,) played by Sons Of Anarchy’s Charlie Hunnam, living in a crappy apartment in Hell’s Kitchen (or close by.) Enter Parks And Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza as Kate Bishop (Hawkeye.) Include pizza dog. It could almost be a sitcom/crime show, with Hawkeye battling street-level crime, (something he’s far better suited to than maniacal robots,) with the occasional cameo from Daredevil and co. Also, comic Hawkeye is deaf. Alongside blind Matt Murdock, that gives huge potential for some truly unique and epic fight scenes, with both characters using their disabilities to their advantage. C’mon, tell me you don’t want that.
Copperhead
Image Comics – Welcome to Copperhead, a grimy mining town on the edge of a backwater planet. Single mom Clara Bronson is the new sheriff, and on her first day she’ll have to contend with a resentful deputy, a shady mining tycoon, and a family of alien hillbillies. And did we mention the massacre? Questions swirl around not only the murder mystery, but around Sheriff Bronson herself. What brought her to a place like Copperhead? Is she running from something? Or towards something?
Western in space, ala Firefly but better. Yeah, I said it! Female fronted with Jurassic World’s Bryce Dallas Howard as Sheriff Clara Bronson, and Deputy Boo as some kind of animatronic suit voiced by Ron Perlman. It’s practically begging to be a TV series, and we’re long overdue a female-fronted cowboy show, especially with a character as strong and amazing as Clara Bronson. Think gritty crime show meets violent western… In space.
All New Ghost Rider
Marvel Comics – Marvel’s newest Ghost Rider puts vengeance in overdrive! Robbie Reyes has been given a new awesome power, but will he submit to the sprit inside him and go too far in protecting his neighbourhood? As a war brews in the criminal underworld, the streets of East LA are up with drug-fuelled gang violence from Dr Zabo’s power-enhancing narcotics – and Mr Hyde launches a diabolical plan to expand his underground empire. The all-new Ghost Rider takes on Mr. Hyde, with all-out action. and a twist that will hit you at 100 mph!
I think we’re due a Ghost Rider reboot to cleanse our minds of Nicolas Cage’s exploits… So what better than the recently rebooted Robbie Reyes? He’s young, relatable and pretty hot, perfect ingredients for a show based around the young Ghost Rider. Cast someone young and hispanic, or of hispanic descent, perhaps Diego Boneta or Blake Michael, follow the excellent first five issues of Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore’s run on the comic book and you’re onto a winner! Plus… that car. Pack it full of amazing stunts and top notch special effects, and you have a character who could easily be battling street crime in California on the other side of the US to Daredevil and Hawkeye.
Gotham Academy
DC Comics – Welcome to Gotham Academy, the most prestigious school in Gotham City. Only the best and brightest students may enter its halls, study in its classrooms, explore its secret passages, summon its terrifying spirits… Okay, so Gotham Academy isn’t like other schools. But Olive Silverlock isn’t like other students. After a mysterious incident over summer break, she’s back at school with a bad case of amnesia, an even worse attitude… and an unexplained fear of bats. Olive’s supposed to show new student Maps Mizoguchi the ropes. Problem: Maps is kid sister of Kyle, Olive’s ex. Then there’s the ghost haunting the campus…the secret society conducting bizarre rituals…and Bruce Wayne, the weirdo billionaire who funds the Academy – and may know the secret to Olive’s big mystery.
Huge potential to become an animated TV show in a similar vein to X-Men: Evolution. Get the right voice cast of young actresses and actors, and animation that captures Karl Kerschel’s stunning artwork and you have a show perfect for kids and adults alike. Similar in tone to the short-lived Young Justice, but with an exponentially bigger scope for storylines, character cameos and more. I’d love to see Kerschel’s artwork bought to life in animation, but I’m not entirely convinced any studio would really do it justice.
Lady Killer
Dark Horse Comics – Josie Schuller is a picture-perfect homemaker, wife and mother – but she’s also a ruthless, efficient killer! She’s balanced cheerful domestic bliss with coldly performed assassinations, but when Josie finds herself in the crosshairs, her American Dream life is in danger! A brand-new original black comedy series that combines the wholesome imagery of early 1960s domestic bliss with a tightening web of murder, paranoia and cold-blooded survival.
Mad Men meets… Well, there’s nothing like it. 50’s housewife chic combined with bloody, violence and assassin goodness. A female fronted assassin show is exactly what we need, and when its all wrapped up neatly in a Mad Men-esque aesthetic… Well, what more could you wish for!? Main character Josie would have to be played by a thirty-something with the right look to flawlessly pass off the classic, 50’s/60’s vibe. Jennifer Connelly would have been perfect back in her A Beautiful Mind days. Felicity Jones, perhaps? Kate Beckinsale? Either way, a violent, stylised female-fronted show would be completely amazing, especially if Joelle Jones’ overwhelmingly beautiful artwork could be portrayed in real life on-screen.
What other comic books would you like to see turned into TV shows? Do you think superheroes better fit the serial format of TV, as opposed to films? Who would you cast in an ideal world? Let us know in the comments!
Originally posted on Need To Consume in May 2015