Comic books made a grand comeback a few years ago, with superhero blockbusters hitting cinemas and televisions one after another. It’s safe to say that the hiatus has finally ended. For fans, this is a big relief, considering how they struggled in the industry. There even came a point when comics were the ones doing the adapting in a bid to stay relevant and be taken seriously. We listed some comic book adaptations that’ll make you wonder why they were ever released in the first place.
Gold Key’s Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series made its debut on American TV in 1966. It forever revolutionized science fiction. Before the show aired, marketing efforts were launched across the globe. A comic book company named Gold Key released an adaptation of the series by an artist from Italy and a writer from U.K. Talent and creativity were present, no doubt, but the problem was they had never seen the show. It resulted in a lot of inconsistencies with the story-line, and ultimately failed to capture the audience.
Superman Vs. The Terminator: Death To The Future
DC Comics had a cross-over with the Terminator franchise in late 1999. The story unfolded in mid-90’s Superman continuity, when Lex Luthor created Skynet. The weird part was Arnold Schwarzenegger, a.k.a the Terminator, never appeared in the comic, due to an issue with a licensing deal.
The Human Fly
Marvel Comics experienced a rough spot during the mid-1970s. In an attempt to stay relevant, Jim Shooter, the man in charge at the time, decided to make a superhero comic book derived from a real person. That person was a daredevil called The Human Fly. His tagline was “The Wildest Super-Hero Ever – Because He’s Real.” It lasted for 19 issues.
Killdozer
As if comic book adaptation isn’t complicated enough, Gerry Conway adapted an adaptation. His comic series was partly based on a 1944 short story and a 1974 film of the same name, Killdozer. It was about a story of an alien bulldozer killing people, a concept that the audience didn’t take so well.
Rom: Spaceknight
Rom: Spaceknight is a toy made by the Hasbro company. To sell the toy to a broader audience, they collaborated with Marvel Comics to turn it into a comic character. The character became more famous than the toy itself. Just recently, Hasbro sold its rights to IDW and created a comic book universe of all their toys combined, it included Rom, G.I Joes and many more.
