The Super Movies

There's no way a film studio can guarantee a hit before ploughing millions of dollars into a production. So the execs are always on the look-out for a fool proof formula.

Mainly thanks to tumbling box office records caused by the release of Spider-Man and its subsequent sequel, the Hollywood suits have apparently realised that a comic book movie is as much a surefire way of making a profit as any other.

In this year alone, we'll be treated to Hellboy, The Punisher and Catwoman, while Batman Begins is currently slated for a summer 2005 release.

In the meantime, J.Lo is eyeing up a Wonder Woman role, Snipes is working on the third Blade movie and Cruise has often talked up an adaptation of Iron Man.

On top of this, Chris Columbus intends to bring us The Fantastic Four and Nic Cage has gone off the Superman trail to take on Ghost Rider.

So which of these latest adaptations will sink or swim?

You'd need to look at the comic book adaptation business in general over the last 40 years to help find an answer.

Back in the 60s, comic book adaps were little more than television or B-movie fodder. Until Richard Donner got his hands on Superman.

For Superman showed that superheroes needn't be camp. Superman proved that, with a big enough budget, a comic book movie could also be of epic proportions.

But what gave Superman that extra weight? Was it the special effects and direction? Or was it the script - written by the Oscar-winning writer of The Godfather trilogy, Mario Puzo?

His script treated the story with respect, avoiding obvious clichés and allowing darkness in Superman's world and also giving him a degree of fallibility.

The 80s, however, brought a slew of rubbish adaptations until Tim Burton also realised that he needed to find the darker depths of Bruce Wayne to successfully transfer Batman to the big screen.

His interpretation of Batman became the biggest superhero movie ever, while the two-dimensional efforts such as The Phantom and The Shadow have since proven that it takes more than just a pretty face in a mask.

Thanks to Spawn, Judge Dredd, and the Batman sequels, we had to wait for X-Men to prove that the superhero movies could once again be taken seriously.

So what did X-Men do that Judge Dredd didn't?

Instead of sticking to a regimented formula, Bryan Singer's script appealed to fans and non-believers alike.

And instead of a straight forward tussle of good vs. evil, Singer's lead characters represented two sides of the same coin - one leader using diplomacy while keeping faith in man and another believing that the war could not be won with words alone.

It's a long-standing belief that the characters of Magneto and Professor Xavier were written to mirror the leading black civil rights campaigners, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.

It's these depths of the characterisation that make the difference between a no-brainer adaptation and one that will make a profit.

Spider-Man 2's strongest point is the relationship between Peter Parker and the other lead characters - the girl he won't allow himself to have, the Grandfather he believes he let down, the best friend that ultimately wants him dead and the mentor that becomes his enemy.

Can you imagine this level of depth in Halle Berry's Catwoman? Probably not, but it's yet to be confirmed that a scantily clad Hollywood beauty and a whole range of action set pieces can be a substitute for characterisation and a strong plot. On the other hand, there's always Tank Girl.

Richard Phippen