A Brief History Of Marvel Superheroes On The Big Screen

The, 'X-Men' is just one example of some of the more prolific Marvel Superhero comic teams to make it to the big screen!

So for the last decade or so now we have all come to relish and enjoy the exploits of some of our favorite Superheroes from the Marvel Universe, as they kicked ass in their live action roles on the big screen in such major box office smash hits like, 'The X-Men series', and, 'The Avengers' and all of their singular character driven movies... But as it turns out, there is so much more then just what I have mentioned above! A rich and varied history, that as it turns out, can be both seen on the small screen as well as on the big screen!

Now it  is true that the life and times of Marvel's super heroes on any screen may not be as storied as DC's... (DC having had big screen adaptions of it's movies come out periodically since at least the 1940s with such movies as, Batman (1943) and Superman (1941)... And that is just to name a few! Yet with Marvel only having produced one serial at that time) Well where as it is true that Marvel's character's may not have been on the big screen as much, it is true that Marvel's character's like their DC counterparts have enjoyed a rich history on both the big screen as well as the small screen!

Dick Purcell as, 'Captain America' is the first actor to play the first Marvel Superhero to make it to the big screen in, 'Captain America' (1944)!

With the release of Captain America in 1944... Marvel would start on it's path toward eventually becoming the Movie power house that it would later become, and with Dick Purcell (Ceiling Zero) paving the way for other notables, like, Chris Evans (Fantastic Four) who would be the latest person to take over the role, that Dick Purcell would help bring to life, as, 'Captain America'... Well what can I say? It is a series of movies that I would have to say are truly, 'Legendary'!

Unfortunately though, it would not be for another 45 years before we would see another Marvel Superhero on the big screen though... You see, in 1989, New World Pictures would release the first movie about the brooding justice seeking, 'Punisher', starring: Dolph Lundgren (Universal Soldier)... The truth is, is I have heard some very mixed reviews about this, 'B' movie, some have said that this movie is really bad, and some have said it is really good (well folks, take it from me, this movie is a solid one!)

Dolph Lundgren as, 'The Punisher'... Pretty bad ass!

Well despite the Negative feedback, Marvel wouldn't stop there... You see, Jadran films would help to release the newest, 'Captain America'  (Played by: Matt Salinger in the movie), aptly called, Captain America (1990)! Now I have only seen this movie myself personally once, and I don't remember much about this movie, except to say this... It may not be Chris Evans... And it may not be the latest, 'Avengers' movie, but I just remember seeing this movie and thinking  it was damn good, and well worth it!

And this next one, I think you Roger Corman (Death Race 2000) fans will find to be rather interesting, you see, before Marvel destroyed the chance at an awesome, 'Fantastic Four' series (They wrecked the most recent version of it, when they produced, Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver (2007),) well I can't say that the 1994 version of this movie would have been better or not (due to the fact  that this movie was never released), but let's be honest here, if you're a Corman fan, or a B-Movie fan, you know that if this movie had been released, it would have rocked!

Fantastic Four (1994)... Could have been a good one!

Now let's head over to the more contemporary Marvel superhero movies that we have all come to know and love, including: Blade (1998)...

This amazing classic helped further the career of, 'Wesley Snipes' (Demolition Man), whom at the time was a serious player in the world of film, and I suspect may have helped bring him back in to the game after his Tax problems  helped get him sent to prison!

Blade (1998)... A classic Marvel Superhero, who made for a great Marvel Superhero movie!

And the next one we have... And the first Marvel series  that I would say had a truly prolific origin, is, X-Men (2000)... This movie would help catapult, Hugh Jackman (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) in to superstardom... As well as just about everyone that  has been a featured member of this series... This series I also believe helped to transition Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next Generation) to the next segment of his career after wrapping up his time on, 'Star Trek'!

What I mean by this, is that Patrick Stewart would be cast in the role of, 'Professor Charles Xavier' (The leader of the, 'X-Men')... This movie would come out a few years before the end of his time playing, 'Captain Jean-Luc Picard' on both the big screen and the small screen in the, 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' series, and the role of Charles Xavier ended up being a role that he would hold on to, until long after his time after, 'Star Trek'...

Playing, 'Charles Xavier' helped Patrick Stewart transition from playing, 'Jean-Luc Picard' on, 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' in to the next generation of his career! 

This series is still going strong, and it looks like with more sequels planned for the future, that it may always be the case!

And the next one that I wanted to mention is, Spider-Man (2002), this series, which would be rebooted recently as, The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and has helped the likes of, Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) gain international superstardom (Andrew Garfield playing 'Spider-Man' in, The Amazing Spider-Man)... And helped people like Tobey Maguire (Pleasantville) and Kirsten Dunst (Interview With The Vampire) regain some of their notoriety (Tobey Maguire playing, 'Spider-Man' and Kirsten Dunst playing 'Mary Jane Watson' in the, 'Spider-Man' series!)

These Spider-Men's career was catapulted or re-ignited in to superstardom thanks to the, 'Webhead'!

And last but certainly not least, we have, 'The Avengers'... This one maybe the most recent, but it does have a group of truly powerhouse players that are no holds barred, and whom their individual series are great! (Including: the, 'Iron Man' series, 'Captain America' series, 'Incredible Hulk' series, and, 'Thor' series...) But collectively, 'The Avengers' movies in my opinion maybe the best movies based on Marvel comics to ever come out!

In the end, there are more movies based on Marvel Comics, but these I would say are the best of the, 'Superheroes' to have come out of the, 'Marvel Universe', and are probably the most prolific movies to have been made from Marvel comics ever!