When people think of comic book movies, they think about superheroes. Thanks to the wild popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that’s what we’ve been trained to think a comic book movie is. Even when a comic book movie aims to be a bit more serious and less “comic booky” — think things like Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy — it’s still something that is very rooted in capes and cowls and larger than life heroes saving the world from various threats. But there are a lot of comics that have nothing to do with superheroes and many of them get adapted for television or big screen. 21 years ago today, one such non-superhero comic hit the big screen and not only is it regarded as one of the best movies it’s director has ever made, but most people also still have no idea it’s a DC Comics adaptation.
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Opening in theaters on September 20, 2005, A History of Violence doesn’t seem like it would be based on a comic book. The film stars Viggo Mortensen as a man who owns a diner in a small town and, when he stops an attempted robbery of said diner, he stops it, saving lives in the process as the robbers were spree killers. However, while Tom is hailed as a hero, his story is picked up by the news and his past and the enemies from it come back to haunt him. The film also stars Maria Bello, Ed Harris, and William Hurt. The film is brilliantly done and is one of the greatest films of the 2000s — but it also got its start as a 1997 graphic novel of the same name.
A History of Violence Was a Critically Acclaimed Graphic Novel Before It Was a Movie
Given how solid of a crime thriller David Cronenberg’s movie is, you’d pretty much have to be a comics fan to realize Tom’s story got its start on the page. The comic book, also entitled A History of Violence, was published in 1997 first by Paradox Press and then by Vertigo Comics — both are imprints of DC Comics, technically making this a DC Comic story — written by John Wagner with art by Vince Locke. There’s not a superhero in sight in the comic, which is the same for the movie. That’s the thing about comics — they don’t always have to have superheroes in order to tell a good story and A History of Violence is a very good story. It’s a crime story, yes, but it’s also a layered story about running from and then facing one’s past, as well as the nature of revenge.
In general, those themes translate well to the screen. Cronenberg does a brilliant job of telling Tom’s human story about everything he’s carried with him for years without turning the story into being about that burden. It makes the moment in the movie where Tom fully unloads his brutality and the violence we’ve been told is within him all the more important. However, even with the core themes intact, the movie and the comic book are very different in some huge ways that almost make the two stories completely different and equally as good. The first half of the Cronenberg’s movie is very faithful to the comics, but second half of the film deviate a great deal. There are some character relationships that are redefined, actual characterizations that are different, and how the final confrontation goes down for Tom is also very different. You can read the comic and not spoil the movie and if you’ve seen the movie, you can still read the comic and get an original story.
A History of Violence Isn’t the Only Comics Adaptation You Might Not Guess But It’s One of the Best
Image courtesy of New Line Cinema
Because of how good a movie it is and how well it interprets the source material, A History of Violenceis easily one of the best comics adaptations out there, but it’s certainly not alone. Road to Perdition is another, very well done adaptation, as is V for Vendetta. All of them are films that take more complex, non-superhero stories and turn them into equally complex and deeply mature tales that appeal well beyond comics fans. A History of Violencein particular is brutal and unflinching in a way most comics adaptations simply aren’t. It elevates the entire film. The result is a movie that is so good that it was nominated for multiple Academy Awards and Mortensen himself has even said is one of the best movies he’s ever been in if not actually the best. That’s high praise for a film, especially one that is based on comics without a superhero in sight.
Did you know that A History of Violence was based on comics? Let us know in the comments.
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