Nope. I know Captain America didn’t. It was going to be released to the theatres. Our local AMC had the teaser poster of the Cap shield up for a while. But it was never released to the theatre.
I’m almost positive Punisher went straight to video as well. I would have gone to see it, but I never even saw a poster for it.
I think it played for like a day or something before being dumped on video. I caught about five minutes on TV one night and it was so screamingly awful that I decided to do something more productive (like beating myself in the head with a claw hammer).
Wumpus, I saw Kevin Smith speak last spring, and he discussed that mess at great length. The polar bears and spiders bit was great. Apparently, they’re both “the natural born killers of the animal kingdom.” The spider thing, at least, did come to fruition in Wild, Wild West. I don’t know about the polar bears.
Actually, from what I understand, various and sundry people had been toying with the idea of making an X-Men movie since the mid-80’s. DC will get some good movies made…eventually.
I just wanted to step in and set the records straight:
Howard the Duck is NOT a bad movie!!! DAMNIT!!!
For the source material, it was a great film. It was a ludicrous idea, and they pulled it off well. Lots of fun, the acting was as good as it needed to be, and the visual effects were GREAT!! The deamon space monsters at the end still impress me.
So back off!
Amazingly, though, DC has had more television series based off of their stuff than Marvel. There have been at least three Superman shows I can think of; Batman; The Flash; and numerous cartoons that lasted for a good long while. I can only think of the Hulk for Marvel in terms of series, that really horrible Generation X television movie, and a number of cartoons that really didn’t last that long because, well, they sucked (UPNs lineup of The Incredible Hulk, Silver Surfer, and Fantastic Four were all CRAP!!!). I just find it interesting how DC always managed to pull off series well, yet the movies aren’t working out.
Curse you, caveman, for saying this before I could! 
Having seen proposed scripts for the Watchmen movie and heard some of the treatments for a Sandman movie, you can be damn glad some of these movies don’t get made. One movie exec wanted to see Morpheus and the Corinthian duking it out in the opening scene. <shudder>
I wouldn’t mind seeing a Top Ten film, done properly.
Amen, Bruddah! Howard the Duck was a hoot!
There is only one woman born to play Wonder Woman: Julie Strain.
All in favor of an R-rated Wonder Woman raise your hands.
This is a good point and one that often gets overlooked. Marvel’s movies have not been slavish to the continuity established in the books and have changed it to reintroduce the hero for a new audience that probably hasn’t read a comic book since they were much younger, if at all. The clearest example of this is Spider-Man, where there were substantial rewrites of the origin story. It changed the continuity, but only the most anal fanboys were at all upset by it. Personally, I liked it better in the movie, and I’ve read a fair amount of Spider-Man in my day.
The problem with comic book movies is that the movie folks are inherently looking to make a character series/franchise rather than being satisfied to adapt a single great story, as they do with books. On top of that, because there’s at least the possibility that a sequel won’t happen, the movie folks seem to feel obligated to “finish big” by killing off the villain. (Superman I being the notable exception.)
I think DC is wise in trying to develop its concepts more as TV series than as movies. As a Legion fan, I’ve always thought they’d make a fantastic soap opera but a lousy two-hour screen feature.
I Want A Wonder Woman Movie and Sequels - cause she can support them in my Lifetime - oh and Merchandising, she is one of the Big Three - but you’d never know it.
Wonder Woman should be any other actress other than Sandra Bullock - how about the girl who played the Huntress - Helena Wayne form Birds of Prey, or if you need a name Catherine Zeta-Jones - Have you seen her in Chicago?, she can pull off the costume. Yeah, she’s having a baby, but by the time DC/WB finally makes the movie, she’ll be back in shape, unless MD knocks her up again. She would probably need help with the fighting, but that’s what they have stunt choreagraphers for.
I also would like Green Lantern movies - there are so much could be done with the Green Lantern Corps. Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, and Jon Stewart.
Flash and Catwoman as well.
DC/Warner Bros. have alot of characters that they could counter the onslaught of Marvel Comics Movies, but all DC wants to do is do tired/played out Superman and Batman - Hello, you have a myriad of characters that people love and would go to see as a movie. If Marvel did their movies like DC/WB all they would put out is X-men, how about a little variety.
I tried to find the Justice League Action Figures and Plush Dolls for myself and Lil’ Intaglio, but all they had was Superman and Batman - Piss Me Off.
Oh - I forgot, here’s a thought to DC/WB, I bet you would probably make a ton of money from successful movies and merchandising - from of the other DC - Comic Book Characters.
I’d just like to reiterate what others have said: The problem with Superman is not the studio’s relationship with the comic publisher, or confusion about the nature of the character, or anything like that.
The problem with Superman is Jon Peters. He’s probably one of the top five morons in Hollywood, and I don’t say that lightly, because there’s lots of competition. If you haven’t read Wumpus’s link, go do that now.
Peters has his name on a lot of successful movies, but he has nothing to do with their success. In fact, on The Color Purple, Spielberg simply barred him from the set for the entirety of the shoot.
Superman will not get made until Peters departs. And Peters will never let go of what he obviously feels is his best chance at returning to high-profile movie-producer glory, after the failures of Wild Wild West and other projects he screwed up. Catch-22.
What about Swamp thing with Adriene Barbeu (sp?) and her knockers!
Those were VERY decent. The movie was ok, too.
? is, Why does DC/WB feel like they have to make another Superman or Batman movie, when they have many characters they could make a movie out of? Wonder Woman, the many Green Lanterns, Flash, Catwoman, Lobo, etc.
Marvel is coming out with X-men2, The Hulk - and probably sequels, Spiderman2, I wouldn’t be surprised if they come out with Electra - from Daredevil, and Black Cat from Spiderman.
Ah, Black Cat, now there was a hottie…
And in further news, Ratner abandons Superman. Dammit.
Good - DC/WB put some more effort in other characters. F - Superman and F - Batman.
I wouldn’t have minded if the movie were called Howard A Duck but that creature was not the cynical, political, ass-kicking duck trapped in a world he never made that I read. Geez, he was more like E.T. trying to get home. Go back and read HTD, the original 27 issues, and see if it’s the same character. I don’t see it.
Just wanted to mention some other tv shows you missed.
Marvel: X-Men 90’s cartoon, X-Men Evolution, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends (which I loved as a kid), Incredible Hulk (80’s cartoon), Spider-Man (cartoon of the classic theme song), Spider-man (90’s which wasn’t awful, so I don’t know if you included that one or not). There was also a Nick Fury movie I didn’t see (but it had David Hasselhoff as Nick, how bad could it be :)), a Dr. Strange TV movie, a couple of Captain America TV movies, the Spider-Man live action TV show, Avengers cartoon.
DC: Swamp Thing, Wonder Woman…um…ok I’m stumped.
All in all a mixed bag of good and bad.
There has never been a Wonder Woman feature-length Movie, there was the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman TV show - which did Good, before that there was a Cathy Lee Crosby Wonder Woman TV show - but Sucked, because it was nothing like the comic book fans WW.
I don’t know why some folks are really down on Daredevil, honestly. While it wasn’t as faithful to its source as Spider-Man was, on its own merits, it was a decent action-adventure movie IMO. I was rather put off by DD’s rather … zestful … attitude at the beginning, but I think it was just so his character had room to grow in the course of the movie. And I didn’t have a problem with the Kingpin being black/African-American, but I think he smirked far more often than his comic version did (he looked like a dork in his final scene, though – someone give the wardrobe department fifty lashes!).
Haven’t seen Blade II, so I can’t comment there. But Daredevil would have to sink even lower to reach *Batman and Robin-*style suckitude.