10 Comic Book Movies That COMPLETELY Wasted Their Potential

Is there any superhero IP seemingly more cursed than the Fantastic Four? Three separate adaptations (and the infamously-canceled one back in the '90s), yet not one of them succeeded. While the mid-2000's adaptations attempted to utilize the brand's cheesy roots, that line between unintentional and purposeful camp was all-too-blurry. Following his film Chronicle, director Josh Trank was tasked with bringing the F4 to life in a unique way, and he decided that a serious approach was exactly what the doctor ordered.

While this wasn't a bad idea (as the reboot's greatest moments come from some of its darkest sequences), this film was lost once the plot takes a big time jump. Clearly the result of the film's well-covered reshoots, F4 had its budget reportedly reduced and the script subsequently went out the window. What had initially been a flawed but somewhat solid movie spun out of control as Trank's clashes with Fox executives clearly affected the final product.

The writing lacked subtlety, Doctor Doom (easily one of Marvel's greatest villains) was limited to one memorably-brutal scene, and the talented cast was ultimately squandered. Maybe in 2025, this crime-fighting quartet can receive a quality adaptation.