Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Bourne Identity, Comics, entertainment, jack reacher, mission impossible, taken, transporter

5 Action Movie Franchises Ripe For Becoming Comic Books

Published Thu, 22 Dec 2016 11:30:55 -0600

by Dan Wickline

Comments

Yesterday it was announced that Dynamite Entertainment would be doing John Wick comics. They already have the license to do James Bond Comics. This got me thinking of other film franchises that could easily translate into the comic book medium. Action oriented shoot-em ups seem a natural for building the universes in comics and graphic novels. Here are five that I think some publisher should pick up.

Taken – We all know that Brian Mills has a particular set of skills that make him a nightmare for bad guys. He also has the worst luck because his family keeps getting kidnapped or killed and he never has enough money for ransom. But wouldn't it be cool to see just how he got that particular set of skills? maybe see them in a way that doesn't involve the women in his life being in danger? He could be helping out an old friend. Called back in to finish the one bad guy he could never catch. Or maybe he just take a job for the cash. Mills is a great character and it would be fun to see more of him.

Mission Impossible – Ethan Hunt and the IMF team have headlined multiple films so far. But what about the missions Hunt isn't involved in. Doing this as a comic series would potentially give readers a chance to see what Luther Stickell can do solo. How would Benji Dunn get along on his own? And William Brandt is just itching to be the main man. Or we could go back and see a young Ethan working with Jim Phelps. They could tap into any IMF member form any of the films or even go back to the original television series. Wouldn't it be great to see adventures with Rollin Hand, Cinnamon Carter or Paris?

Bourne Identity – This one may be a bit deceptive because we've gotten a bunch of films about Jason Bourne, how much more could there be to say. We could look at his adventures before he started remembering. And we could look at other characters that came out of the same program like Aaron Cross. The films only go so deep into some of the screwed up things these guys were forced to do. The comics could go much deeper and much darker. We think of Bourne as a hero, which would give the creative team the license to go as messed up as they'd want in his past because his redemption has already happened. Make him REALLY earn it.

The Transporter – This would be a great series to adapt because they stories could be anything and go anywhere as long as it involved Frank Martin and his car. He could go from driving a internet diva getting death threats to driving into South America to retrieve a kidnapped business man. He could be transporting a witness against the mob or a top secret super virus that they're too scared to ship through normal means. The stories could be as out there as anyone could imagine as long as they're ground enough for Frank to be driving his car. Though a story with him and a speedboat would work too… no planes though.

Jack Reacher – There have only been two movies so far, but there's a ton of novels about the character. He is constantly traveling, never staying in any place for too long… just long enough to piss off a lot of people and probably kill some folks, and then he moves on. Reacher is half vagabond and half super-soldier. The publisher could adapt any of the 21 novels by Lee Childs or they could come up with new stories just by having Reacher show up in a small town where there is some form of corrupt authority and someone being wrongly persecuted. The fact he cares so little about anything other than jazz and justice makes him a fun character to follow.