10 Obscure Superheroes That Badly Need A Movie Treatment

7. Deadman

One facet of the superhero film that has yet to be properly displayed in mega-budget movies is the realm of the supernatural. There are plenty of comic book characters whose sandbox consists of ghosts, goblins, witches and worlds unknown. While Marvel will most assuredly get the jump on this particular sub-genre with their inevitable Doctor Strange picture, DC has a far more fun and farcical character in their canon: Deadman. Originally a circus acrobat, Boston Brand was murdered during a trapeze act. Given the chance to avenge his murder by the omnipotent being Rama Kushna, Brand remained in spectral form but gained the ability to possess any living being. Along the way, he discovered he wanted to use his newly acquired ghost powers to help out us poor mortals. Thus, Deadman was born (um, as born as you can be for a dead guy). While it may sound like a typical horror yarn, the thing that sets Deadman apart is his humor. He's always making jokes and sometimes even taking advantage of the body he possesses to steal a kiss from a pretty superheroine. In a perfect world, Beetlejuice-era Tim Burton could direct this body-hopping black comedy while imparting a touching but not heavy-handed message about life after death. Maybe we'll get to see that movie in an alternate universe.
 
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Drew Dietsch is an Entertainment Editor at Fandom.com. He's written for CHUD.com, the News-Press, WhatCulture, and releases a weekly podcast about his media consumption called The Drew Reviews Podcast.