10 Sci-Fi Movie Ideas Too Good To Fail (That Did It Anyway)
4. Spawn - A Grown-Up Superhero Movie! (With Awful Effects)
A dark, morally ambiguous antihero, Spawn is an iconic
figure for fans of nineties comics. Emblematic of the era’s obsession with
compromised heroes, the demonic former assassin turned devil’s minion was a
poster boy for the violent alternative superheroes whose existence would soon usher
the likes of Mark Millar and Garth Ennis into the world of comics. Creator Todd
MacFarlane was understandably excited by the opportunity to produce a film
adaptation of his work in 1997, and when Black Dynamite star Michael Jai White
was cast in the title role he became the first black superhero in Hollywood
history.
But wait, you ask. If it was such an impressive role, why do I recognise that name from an indie comedy released in 2009?
Well, because Spawn flopped hard and deserved its fate. Too dark for a mainstream audience but not dark enough for MacFarlane, the flick suffered from uninspired action sequences, misplaced scatological jokes, an otherwise dour tone, and effects which were laughable even at the time. It would be years before another studio was willing to throw their considerable weight behind more R-rated comic book adaptations, a gamble which paid off in the recent cases of Deadpool, Logan, and Joker.