Agent Carter ran for two seasons but has not been renewed for a third. The series followed the secret exploits of Peggy Carter, Captain America’s love interest from the first film starring Chris Evans.  Actress Hayley Atwell, reprised her role from the film, working along with other agents to keep America safe during the infancy of SHIELD.

Also not being picked up is Marvel’s Most Wanted. Starring Adrianne Palicki and Nick Blood as the lead characters,  Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter respectively, Marvel’s Most Wanted was a promising series. The premise of the show entailed the two stars  being on the run from numerous bounty hunters. Delroy Lindo  was set to play Howard Chaykin’s  character Dominic Fortune, the world adventurer, in this series as well. It is the second time Marvel’s Most Wanted was passed by ABC which, like Marvel Comics, is owned by parent company Disney. Adrianne Palicki was set to star as Wonder Woman a few years ago. NBC decided not to pick up the pilot although it was filmed.

NBC cancelled the highly anticipated Constantine who has been resurrected on the CW Network on Arrow and may be picked up as a series again on CW according to some sources. Reruns of Constantine can be seen on the El-Rey network. CBS has decided not to renew its contract with Supergirl, who is now flying over to the CW. You can look forward to several crossovers on that network now that Supergirl will be the fourth series on the CW starring DC characters.

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Nah, Deadpool is NOT one of the worst superhero films ever..although that Wolverine film he was in…

Recently and in the past few decades we have seen some critically acclaimed and financially $ucce$$ful films based on comic book characters . The Captain America Trilogy, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the aforementioned Deadpool are recent blockbusters. Before these films, Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) were financial successes that were nominated for Academy Awards with Batman winning one; Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy (1990) won three Oscars, and Superman: The Movie (1978) was nominated for three Academy Awards, winning an Oscar for Special Achievement for Visual Effects for a total of four Oscar nods.

However, we have also seen box office bombs like The Rocketeer (1991), Billy Zane’s The Phantom (1996), and 1987’s He-Man and The Masters of The Universe (Frank Langella is positively deliciously evil as Skeletor and you Jack Kirby fans will have a field day with the references to Kirby’s New Gods/Fourth World work).  These flops are entirely watchable and entertaining films. They have since developed popular cult followings which isn’t nothing to dismiss. Zane’s Phantom movie did very well in VHS and DVD sales and is presently on Netflix. Remember, even the classic 1939 musical The Wizard of Oz was a commercial flop. That family favorite film property is worth millions now.

AND THEN there are the colossal stinkers. The ones that put the “B.O.” in Box Office (B.O. means smelly body odor in American slang). Movies so bad you wonder how they got made in the first place and who was fired for approving the script, cast, and film be it on the big screen or on television. Some were surprise bombs–Jonah Hex is a great character; the film had a great cast. Yet the storyline was lousy.We all have heard the comments about bombs like Ben Affleck’s Daredevil, his estranged wife Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, Seth Rogen’s The Green Hornet, Halle Berry’s Cat-woman, and Ryan Reynold’s Green Lantern; but these films did not make the list of the top five biggest stinkers. What could be worse than these films? Let me jog your memory.

5. STEEL (1997)

Kenneth Johnson created the television series “V” and “The Bionic Woman” and was instrumental in developing the television shows “Alien Nation” and “The Incredible Hulk”. Shaquille O’Neal was an NBA superstar and champion. Together they made this abysmal flop about the supporting DC character from the Superman mythos who had his own comic once and long ago in one of DC’s many reboots. A heavily and overly exploited joke in this film is the reference to O’Neal’s inability to complete free-throws. Yep. That’s about it for this disaster. NEXT!

4. THE FANTASTIC FOUR (2015)

What could be worse than all previous versions of the Fantastic Four live action films? THIS ONE. A totally revamped version of the first family of comics when the fans were begging BEGGING I SAY for one great film and what did they get–a science fiction film that would have stood better off alone on its own rather than be attached to the familiar family property. It did not help the fate of this film that some of the lead actors made arrogant and ignorant remarks prior to and during the filming of this movie; nor did it help that the media plagued the film with its constant barrage of political correctness mud slinging. The director fighting with cast and crew and leaving the project in this one act debacle pretty much sealed its doom that no doctor could have saved.  Hope you caught the pun-NEXT!

3. SUPERMAN III (1983)

It’s a shame that after two great Superman films Christopher Reeve ended up playing second fiddle to an out of place Richard Pryor in this film. Both men seem to be just waltzing through this after they got a paycheck for this poor excuse of a sequel.  This is how evil Superman’s twin is: he straightened out Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa. Any more evil and he might have gone as far as stealing Bruce Wayne’s left socks. NEEEEE–XT!

2. SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE (1987)

It’s a shame that after two great Superman films Christopher Reeve–whoa. Deja vu! What the heck? Yep, another abysmal Superman sequel starring one of if not the best men to don to iconic cape and suit. This one is an incredible train wreck. The premise is ridiculous. Superman is practically tyrant of the Earth as he informs all governments that he is getting rid of their nuclear weapon, and they just blindly accept his “generous” act?  Seriously? That act would make him world enemy and global threat #1 to nations of the planet Earth. Who is he to dictate world policy and step on the sovereign power of each country? We also get to see the Mariel Hemingway as Clark Kent’s new love interest breathe in outer space. What? This film is a face palm from start to end. Regardless how you feel about the last three Superman films, they were better than this and made a whole lot more money than this film and Superman III. This brings us to…

The worst comic book adaptation to film is THE MAN-THING (2005). Even George Lucas’  Howard The Duck was  better than this production shown on the Sy Fy (nee: Sci Fi) Network.  Have you seen it? Good! Then don’t! His powers are different, his origin is different–you figure the people behind the 2015 Fantastic Four film would have paid attention to this disastrous formula in bringing a property to film but nooooooo!  IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT! His costume looks like a reject of the Spawn suit from the awful 1997 Spawn film (which made number 6 on this list!) painted in green! The character was liked by the fans as it was! You mess with it, you get what you sowed! A disaster!  The Man-Thing in this film is more like DC’s Swamp Thing who had TWO enjoyable films and his own series. You’re far much better off watching Swamp Thing than the unrecognizable Man-Thing mess.

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He’s worked with some of the biggest names in the field of comics and he’s remained in publishing bringing his talents to Scholastic and other interesting projects. He’s hardcore when it comes to comics and most things in general; some say he’s opinionated, but he just calls ’em like he sees ’em. We’re fired up to have him as our first guest as we enter our third year!  Tune in this Sunday at 8:30 pm Eastern for Eclecticka as we stream live on the SEV Network with our special guest for our anniversary show, Mike “The Legend” Rockwitz! 

(the caricature of  Mr. Rockwitz is drawn by Bob Camp, of Ren & Stimpy fame)

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Jessica Jones is based on Marvel Comics’ Max line of adult themed comics. The Netflix version of her is the  typical example of the creative world today: take the stereotypical male model of a character and change the sex. Viola! Instant “new and fresh” character, unrecognizable to those who don’t read a book. Seriously, her private investigator persona is your typical male stock character: the private investigator of film noir from the 1940s. The hard edged, financially broke, investigator with secrets and skeletons in the closet, who gets into fights, lives in a dump, drinks like a lush, and falls for the obligatory attractive love interest. With her jet black hair and porcelain white skin, she looks like she stepped out of a black and white film. The only difference is that she has a superpower, she has super strength. Physical super strength that is because emotionally she is a wreck who would rather drink and run than fight.

The show is full of strong female characters both gay and straight: the super powered Jones, her friend with a popular radio program who can also beat up men, a heart broken doctor, a high powered attorney; and meanwhile all the men are crap. Roll call: Rueben is mentally ill, Malcolm’s a drug addict, and Simpson is a weak demented version of Steve Rogers (“Captain America”) who needs red, white, and blue pills (how corny) to continue his clandestine special ops civic duties. Then there’s Detective Clemons, the black cop who is more concerned about coasting his job instead of getting involved with Jones’ manhunt for the villain Kilgrave because Detective Clemons is just two years from retirement–wait a sec, that sounds a lot like Danny Glover’s Lethal Weapon character doesn’t it? Ah well, and there’s Kilgrave who Jones accuses of using his powers of persuasion to rape her physically, emotionally, etc. The man-hating behavior & dialogue is blatant. In regards to Kilgrave, Jones wants to “cut his balls off”, she teases him that he “can’t get it up”, and that he has a “Slim Jim” in his pants.  They’ll probably get nominated for an Emmy Award for best writing in a series.

The role revision continued with the obligatory love interest, Luke Cage, POWER MAN. Yes, the guy who went toe to toe with The Fantastic Four’s Thing and other powerhouses in Marvel Comics comic books is the eye-candy client in distress needing help to track down a kid; and what were the odds that Jessica Jones would fall in love with Luke Cage the husband of the woman she killed? Pretty much in her favor in a poorly written plot.  Cage himself didn’t play that much of a part in this series. This was not the way to introduce Cage to the world; he should have premiered on the upcoming Iron Fist Netflix series as a rival on some mission and had a big fight with Fist. It really bugged me because Cage is one of my three favorite Marvel Comics characters (the other two being Captain America and  Prince Namor–who Marvel Comics killed off after 76 years. Thanks a lot Marvel!) I would have much preferred a Luke Cage/Iron Fist film set in the 1970s. It would have been perfect. A killer 1970s soundtrack, and a film paying homage to the martial art films and other genres of 70s movies with wit and humor. The dirty and run down look of 1970s Time Square in New York.  With the eclectic Quentin Tarantino at the helm of the movie, or Robert Rodriguez with his grind house style of storytelling , either director would have done a fine job directing that type of film. Nope, I got Luke Cage as eye-candy for a chick-flick type of a streaming series on Netflix.

The fight scenes were pretty cheesy in comparison to the ones choreographed in the Daredevil series,  which is the superior Marvel series on Netflix so far. Jones and Cage were mostly tossing bodies around like Lou Ferrigno’s Hulk did back in the 1970s.  One hopes that the same stuntmen and choreographer on Daredevil will be utilized on Netflix’s Iron Fist, or at least professionals of the same caliber. This is a live action show; it’s not a play. There was dialogue, too much of it. Flashbacks were used but not for the most important part: there should have been a flashback or at least dialogue over the flashback as narration when Luke Cage was opening up to Jessica Jones about where he’s from and how he became “near indestructible”. It’s live-action: SHOW it, don’t TALK it. If I wanted talk I’d go watch a play at my local theatre; if you’re going to fight, FIGHT. If they didn’t want to show his origin on this show then they should have not used him. It’s an injustice to the fans of Cage and to those who are just learning who he is from watching this show.

The saving grace of this first season of Jessica Jones is Scottish actor David Tennant.  The popular and critically acclaimed performer well known for his fantastic turn as the 10th Doctor of the BBC’s classic science fiction series Doctor Who. The thespian Tenant (hey, he performs regularly for the Royal Shakespeare Company for sooth’s sake) took on the role of the demented villain Kilgrave, a sinister, selfish master of mind control who can possess anyone, anytime, anywhere..even groups of people. A former love interest of Jones, whom she eventually kills (“Spoilers!” to quote Doctor Who). Yep, they went and killed off the most interesting character of the first season who is played by a great actor.

Jessica Jones is getting a second season. Hopefully she will exhibit less angst and less self hatred, and cut guys some slack. She probably won’t wear the superhero costume she wears in the comic books; her confidant showed it to her and Jones rejected it so it looks like her costume will remain blue jeans and black leather jacket– a Fonzie approved fashion if there ever was one.

Although rumors are rampant, the villain for season 2 has not been confirmed as of yet. It’ll be interesting to see where the character goes from here.

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American comic book characters are known worldwide. People in foreign lands watch these fictional heroes on the big screens in their countries and buy American comic books translated into their respective languages and formatted to their specifications. I myself have a collection of X-Men, Spiderman, Superman, and Captain America comic books from other countries written in their foreign language.

The idea of heroes and freedom is universal. When you have tasted freedom, it’s hard to let it go and give it up; and many who have never had it, are willing to fight for it. American ideals and the imagery of the fictional American heroes materialize in organized public demonstrations worldwide where thousands of people protest against oppressive governments. It doesn’t matter if it’s an Asian nation or and Arab nation. You’ll see somebody dressed as Superman or Captain America…the symbols speak volumes in any language. No translation is necessary.

DC and Marvel, and their parent companies Warner Brothers and Disney respectively, are making money in the overseas market. The companies cannot afford to completely overhaul their established characters because some risks may work in some markets while not in others.  Not every country is as accepting or open minded as others. There are cultural biases. Singapore is very liberal when it comes to homosexuality; to people in Singapore, the two gay characters who got married in Archie Comics two years ago would be no big deal to them but in other countries where homosexuality is grounds for death, it IS a big deal. Even interracial dating or pre-marital affairs can get you into trouble with some cultures.  This is true in countries whose politics and religion are one and the same and any affront to their traditions and/or religion could cost you your life.

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