6 Marvel And DC Comics Characters Portrayed Better On Television Than In The Movies

A number of Marvel and DC Comics superheroes and villains have appeared on both the big and small screens over the years, but here you'll find a look at six who did much better on television than in theaters...

By JoshWilding - Oct 19, 2016 12:10 PM EST

Filed Under: Marvel

Comic book characters have always had a place on television, but in the past few years, many of their shows have started outshining the heroes and villains that make their presence felt in the movies. It's now hard for example to imagine that Ezra Miller's Scarlet Speedster will ever top what The CW has done with The Flash, while the bad guys in The Defenders' corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe continue to outshine many of the forgettable villains who take centre stage on the big screen.

While both Marvel and DC seem to be making an effort to keep their TV and movie properties separate (even if they're set in the same world), there have, and continue to be, cases where two versions of the same hero or villain exist at the same time. With that in mind, what you'll find here is a look at the characters on television who ended up being much better than their big screen counterparts. Sure, the movies have a bigger budget and bigger stars, but they couldn't top what TV did with this lot!

6. Lex Luthor

Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey, and Jesse Eisenberg all brought something very different to Lex Luthor when they played the iconic Superman villain on the big screen, but none of them really delivered the definitive take on the character fans were hoping for. While Michael Rosenbaum's take on Lex in Smallville wasn't by any means perfect (something which can mostly be attributed to bad writing rather than anything the actor did wrong), it's fair to say that his version stands out as being both the most emotionally complex and closest to the comic books in terms of how his relationship with Clark Kent/Superman was portrayed.

That in particular is really important, and Rosenbaum's performance was pretty damn good from start to finish no matter how awful the material he was given often was. Smallville also deserves bonus points for giving us President Lex Luthor even if it never explored that too thoroughly. Sadly, it's hard to imagine the Lex we met in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ever rising to that position.

The news that Ghost Rider was coming to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was met with a mixed response, but concerns over it being the Robbie Reyes version of the character and subpar special effects have quickly been forgotten in the weeks since the Spirit of Vengeance made his small screen debut. It turns out that the character is exactly what the show needed, but more importantly, the series has so far handled him really well.

While Robbie's comic book history may be short, he's been every bit as interesting as Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch so far, and a million times more compelling than the version played by Nicolas Cage across two awful Sony Pictures movies. Those movies did pretty much nothing right outside of a handful of exciting action sequences, and while Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s budget is a fraction of both of those, this Ghost Rider has so far been much more exciting and enjoyable to watch. The big test will come when the show delves into his supernatural origin story, but for now, things are looking good for the hero.

While the Constantine movie starring Keanu Reeves was watchable, the John Wick star wasn't exactly playing a comic book faithful version of the character. Both his appearance and personality were handled poorly, and what we were left with was a generic supernatural action blockbuster which was quickly forgotten by fans and moviegoers alike. The NBC series starring Constantine on the other hand was considerably better and delivered a version of John which fans of Hellblazer had been waiting to see for years.

Unfortunately, an awful time slot and lack of promotion by the network meant that it was pretty much dead on arrival, and it didn't take long for the first season to be shortened and then cancelled. Attempts to resurrect Constantine have failed, but if you need proof that Matt Ryan delivered perhaps the definitive take on the demon hunting anti-hero that fans want to see more of, look no further than the fact that he's so far reprised the role in both Arrow and the upcoming Justice League Dark animated feature.

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3. Daredevil

Ben Affleck was a great Batman, but he was not a good Daredevil. Like one or two of the characters listed here, perhaps that could and should be blamed on bad writing because there were definitely moments when he was close to being the Man Without Fear we all know and love from the comic books. For the most part though, the Daredevil movie came at a time when Affleck was delivering a lot of mediocre performances in middle of the road movies, and he was still a fair few years away from becoming the version of himself we now know from the likes of Argo and Gone Girl.

Had he played Daredevil a decade on, perhaps he would have been great, but as things stand, he's no match for Charlie Cox. The British actor may not be suited up in the greatest costume (give him the logo already!), but his performance has been hard to beat from day one, and it's easy to see why many critics called the first season Marvel's best comic book adaptation to date. The sky is the limit for this version of Matt Murdock, and The Defenders can't get here soon enough.

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2. Superman

I don't rate Christopher Reeve's Superman as highly as some (though I will admit that he was a great Man of Steel...for the time), and there's no denying that Brandon Routh was a disappointment in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. Henry Cavill I do like, but his version of the character really hasn't delivered across his two big screen appearances. Tyler Hoechlin on the other hand portrayed what many are calling the best take on Superman yet in just two forty minute episodes of Supergirl! For the "Rebirth" era, this is the Superman we need, and that extends beyond more than just the fact that he smiles a lot.

Cavill's version is a broody misfit who still hasn't embraced his role as a hero or place on Earth, but this Man of Steel proved to be a much more optimistic and likeable presence than his big screen counterpart. What the future holds in store for him is unclear unfortunately, but Warner Bros. must have noticed both the unanimous praise aimed at the actor and the way The CW introduced him to audiences over the past couple of weeks...

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1. The Joker

Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and yes, even Jared Leto, brought a lot to the table with their respective takes on The Joker, but none of them have truly brought the character to life in the same way as Mark Hamill. While it's true that he did so in animated form rather than live-action, the Star Wars actor is still the definitive Clown Prince of Crime in the eyes of most fans, and it's not hard to see why when you look at the likes of Batman: The Animated Series and the Arkham video games.

He's never going to win an Oscar for his portrayal like Ledger did, but Hamill's voice performance still deserves the same level of critical acclaim because anyone else who lends their voice to this iconic Batman villain almost certainly pales in comparison. In live-action, it's easy to imagine the trio above being just three of many men who play The Joker on the big screen, and while they will all ultimately rank differently, not one of them is likely to have the same lasting impact as Hamill. As a result, that makes his Joker something very special indeed.

Do you agree that these characters were portrayed better on television than in movies? Have we missed any other worthy candidates? As always, let us know your thoughts below.

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