It’s pretty much undeniable that movies form a core part of our collective pop culture consciousness. The movie industry has delivered some truly iconic stories, often populated by characters that become instantly recognisable even to those who haven’t seen their respective movies. Over the years, there have been many great movie franchises, with popular movies receiving sequels that continue their stories across several chapters. The very best movie franchises often run for years, delivering consistent quality to their fans in the process. Sadly, there are always those that struggle to capitalize on the promise of their original movie, following it up with sequels that don’t reach their full potential.
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However, sometimes, movies also get sequels in the form of comic books, picking up their stories in an entirely different format. Where there are always great comic books that could make movie franchises, there are also excellent comic book continuations of popular movies. Sometimes, these comics are actually better than the movie sequels a franchise delivered, making it seem as though the original movie’s legacy is better suited to the page than the screen.
5) Starship Troopers (1997)
Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 movie Starship Troopers served as a blockbuster adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein’s sci-fi novel of the same name. While the movie’s subtle military satire wasn’t initially appreciated by critics, Starship Troopers has since been hailed as a brilliant and uniquely prescient film. Sadly, its sequels were totally unable to live up to the quality of the original, making it a sci-fi franchise that completely peaked with its first movie.
While Starship Troopers‘ sequels were disappointing, the tie-in comics were far better. Released by Dark Horse Comics, the series began with a two-issue adaptation of the 1997 movie, followed by other miniseries which expanded upon its universe. The fact that the franchise was fleshed out further by several comic book releases isn’t overly well-known, which is a true shame. Considering the sequels proved unpopular with fans and critics alike, it’s safe to say that the comic book continuation of Starship Troopers‘ story was far better.
4) Batman (1989)
Before the torches and pitchforks come out, nobody is saying that Batman Returns isn’t a great movie. Tim Burton’s take on Gotham City and some of its more colorful citizens remains beloved by many Batman fans, but the sequels to his two-film arc — the much-maligned Joel Schumacher movies — are incredibly underwhelming. While the promise of Burton’s Batman universe went unfulfilled on the big screen, it was fulfilled to a much more satisfying degree in the form of a comic book sequel series.
Serving as a continuation of Batman and Batman Returns, the comic book series Batman ’89 picks up where the two movies left off. As well as finally capitalizing on the movie’s Two-Face tease, the limited series introduced several other fan-favorite characters into the mythos created by Tim Burton’s Batman movies. Though Burton’s departure sadly saw his vision go unmade on the big screen and instead be replaced by the painfully mediocre Schumacher movies, the comic book continuation ultimately did the director’s vision justice.
3) Child’s Play (1988)
While the many movies featuring Chucky are well-known, the Child’s Play franchise is far from one of the best horror franchises out there. Starting with 1988’s Child’s Play, the franchise got off to a strong start, introducing the creepy, nightmare-inducing Chucky, a doll imbued with the spirit and personality of a serial killer who seeks to take control of the body of his owner, a six-year-old boy named Andy. Sadly, the franchise’s many sequels quickly descended into B-movie nonsense, and the name Child’s Play stopped carrying much weight with horror fans.
Where the Child’s Play sequels left much to be desired, there were comics to fill the void. Starting with a comic book adaptation of Child’s Play 2, the comic book series actually offered a much more interesting look at the franchise’s story. In many ways, the creepy nature of Chucky’s story actually translated better to the page than the screen, and where the sequels offered unfortunate laughs at the ridiculousness of a bloodthirsty doll running around on screen, the comics better captured the horror tone. The Child’s Play comics might not have been as successful as the movies, but in many ways, they were actually far better than the sequels.
2) Darkman (1990)
Sam Raimi’s Darkman is considered something of a cult classic, and stands out as a great but underrated superhero movie from the 1990s. Born of Raimi’s desire to adapt The Shadow being rejected by Universal Studios, Darkman delivered a gritty, horror-inspired superhero movie that truly pushed the boundaries of the genre. It received two direct-to-video sequels in 1995 and 1996, though they were nowhere near able to match the quality of Raimi’s original movie.
The franchise’s sequels might have been terrible, but thankfully, the Darkmantie-in comics were not. Courtesy of Marvel Comics, Darkman received a three-issue comic book adaptation, which was later followed by a six-issue miniseries that served as a direct sequel to the events of the film. This continuation was far better than the actual movie sequels the film received, as it kept the original’s pulpy tone more intact and felt far more natural a follow-up than the movies.
1) RoboCop (1987)
In 1987, Paul Verhoeven helmed RoboCop, a sci-fi action movie following a murdered police officer revived as the titular cyborg in a near-future crime-ridden dystopian version of Detroit. A near-instant classic, RoboCop captured the imagination of fans, but it has unfortunately become remembered as a sci-fi movie that never should have had sequels. The two official sequels and the 2014 remake all failed miserably to live up to the original film’s quality, making RoboCop‘s cinematic legacy altogether pretty disappointing.
March 1990 saw Marvel Comics release the first issue of an ongoing RoboCopcomic book series that served as a far more worthy successor to the movie’s legacy. Dark Horse Comics later picked up the licence for RoboCop, going on to deliver comics that saw the titular character cross over with the Terminator franchise, and tell stories set after the events of the underwhelming movie sequels. All things considered, the comic book series following RoboCop were much better than the movie sequels, and continue to thoroughly outshine all but the first entry into the franchise.
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