We live in an age when ‘superhero movies’ have become synonymous to ‘comic book movies’. How could they have not? – almost all superheroes in films are adaptations from comics. However, this stands untrue in many cases.
Modern entertainment is chock full of many original superheroes who don’t necessarily originate from the comics. For example, Katniss Everdeen is as much (if not more) a superhero as the comic book greats like Hawkeye and Green Arrow. This article lists TV shows and movies centred on a single superhero or a group of superheroes who are not adaptations of comic books.
Doctor Who (1963-present)
This epic television event revolves around the quirky adventures of The Doctor. The titular character is a time travelling alien who explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time machine plus space ship. Being almost immortal (he regenerates into a new body whenever he dies) and a scientific genius with access to all of time and space makes him the ultimate superhero.
The Matrix (1999)
The machines have taken over and it’s up to one man to save mankind. If that is not a superhero story, I don’t know what is. Neo is a hacker who discovers that the world he lives in is a computer simulation, the Matrix. He further finds out that he is special – not only does that a sacred prophecy speaks of his emergence but he also has unique powers and abilities within the Matrix and later in the real world.
Did you know?
This movie revolutionized the action genre with its groundbreaking visuals and popularizing effects like ‘the bullet time’.
RoboCop (1987)
When police officer is brutally murdered by criminals, the tech of the future allows him to be revived as a superhuman cyborg to uphold the law. This 1987 action film was a game changer for its day. It introduced a character to pop culture that to this remains one of the coolest and then it showed Hollywood how to do a gritty, dystopian science fiction right while keeping the themes of story intact.
Unbreakable (2000)
This flick is one of those rare instances where M. Night Shyamalan failed miserably to mess up. The story follows security guard David Dunn, played by Bruce Willis, who discovers he possesses super strength. The film is grounded in the grittiest of realities while sticking to its superhero theme as loyally as it goes making it an instant cult hit.
Did you know?
Unbreakable features Samuel L. Jackson as the supervillain Elijah Price.
The Incredibles (2004)
This gem from Pixar is a special one. It tells the story of a superhero family who live in a world where ‘supers’ have been outlawed. Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) possesses super strength and invulnerability, his wife Helen Parr (Elastigirl) has the same power as Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, and their children Violet Parr can generate force fields and turn invisible (ahem!) while Dash Parr has super speed. This movie has as much heart as wonder making it the perfect superhero movie to watch with the whole family.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005)
“Water… Earth… Fire… Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an airbender named Aang. And although his airbending skills are great, he still has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone. But I believe Aang can save the world.”
In case that epic narration fails to convince you to start watching this show immediately, I’ll sell it some more. The story is set in a world where special individuals are able to manipulate or bend the classical elements using psychokinetic variants of Chinese martial arts. The series follows the adventures of the twelve year old protagonist Aang and his companions, Katara and Sokka. Aang is an Avatar – the only person who has the ability to bend all four elements making him responsible for maintaining balance in the world. Pretty neat, right?
Honourable Mentions
The Hunger Games: An expert archer incites revolution and saves a dystopian society. Although, it is an adaptation of the popular series of novels by Suzanne Collins I will include it in my list because Katniss is awesome!
Ghostbusters: A group of parapsychologists who start a ghost-catching business.
Heroes: The groundbreaking sci-fi TV show that features individuals with extraordinary abilities i.e. super powers.
Sky High: A high school that teaches children of special lineage to be superheroes. The movie is basically Harry Potter – only replace Hogwarts with Sky High and magic with superpowers – instead of witches and wizards, we get heroes and sidekicks.