15 Films You Didn't Realise Were Based On Comic Books
2. The Matrix
When The Matrix was released, most viewers described it the same way; "I've never seen anything like it." However, readers of the Grant Morrison's graphic novel, The Invisibles, didn't agree with this sentiment.
Although the film's directors claimed the story was an original idea, The Matrix's style and characters seem to be lifted directly from Morrison's work. In this comic, a frustrated man called Dane encounters a bald, bespectacled mentor called Mob who informs him that alien gods have taken over the world without humanity noticing. He tells Dane that he's a Messiah with untapped powers that let him bend the rules of reality. Mob intends to awaken humanity by revealing the world the way it truly is.
Not only does this story sound suspiciously similar to The Matrix, several shots in the film are virtually identical to the comic panels, especially in Invisibles #18 when a demon takes the form of an agent and tries to pull data from Mob's mind.
According to Morrison, he was told by crew members who worked on The Matrix that "Invisibles books were passed around" on set, further cementing the claim that the film is an unlicensed adaption of the writer's series.