10 Movie Franchises That Ruined Iconic Characters Twice

1. The Predator - Predator

The First Time

John McTiernan's 1987 action classic immediately made The Predator a sci-fi icon, given his uniquely awesome character design, intriguing set of gadgets and compellingly ambiguous mythos.

Predator 2 wasn't a great sequel, but it at least expanded the creature's origins in a few interesting ways.

Trust Paul W.S. Anderson to screw things up, however, with 2004's Alien vs. Predator, which needlessly forced the Predator into an awkward, unintentionally comical team-up with the human protagonist, Alexa (Sanaa Lathan), to take down the Alien Queen.

Though you can argue that the Predator species has always operated on an honour system of sorts, this alliance was too much of a dramatic concession, softening the creature's edges and proving impossible to take seriously.

This idea was revisited slightly more successfully in 2010's Predators, at least.

The Second Time

Last year's The Predator reboot-sequel did irreversible damage to the Predator brand by introducing the CGI abomination known as the Ultimate Predator, a Predator that upgrades itself by harvesting the DNA of "worthy" combatants across the galaxy, in the quest to become a more fierce hunter.

This isn't a terrible idea on its own, but the Ultimate Predator trying to retrieve the DNA of an autistic boy (Jacob Tremblay)? That absolutely is, which combined with the creature's atrocious visual effects, confirmed this as a botched attempt to reinvent the Predator as bigger and better.

Some fans also took umbrage with the film's more conventional Predator, who was attempting to give humanity a weapon known as the Predator Killer - an Iron Man-like suit of armour.

Many deemed this out of character for the species, and yet another fatal softening of the Predator's original stature as a terrifying movie monster.