Here’s a list of 17 comic book characters that simply did not translate well from comics to television. I’m sure all these characters probably seemed like a great idea on paper, but once they came to life on our favorite shows… not so much.
Count Vertigo – Arrow
The worst offender on Arrow so far has been the original Count Vertigo. Seth Gabel’s portrayal of the cooky Count was so over the top he felt out of place on the dark and gritty Arrow. Gabel’s take on Vertigo was similar to what Heath Ledger pulled off with the Joker, only Gabel failed big time. So much so in fact, the writers ultimately killed him off and replaced him with Vertigo 2.0
Barbara Kean – Gotham
Barbara Kean is the future wife of Jim Gordon and mother to Batgirl, herself. She is Gotham’s typical damsel in distress, only she exists solely to prance around semi-naked and make stupid decisions. Some fans speculate she might actually be Kathy Kane (Batwoman) but it’s not like she can don the costume before Bruce right? The character is basically eye candy; nothing more.
John Garrett – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The introduction of John Garrett in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s first season was a welcome surprise. Who doesn’t love Bill Paxton? Of course by the time he comes out as “The Clairvoyant,” it was as anticlimactic for us as it was Raina. As the GH.325 took him over, the actor in Paxton lost total control; talk about chewing the scenery. When Coulson finally puts him out of his misery, it was a relief for the audiences as well as S.H.I.E.L.D. Good riddance to a silly performance and character.
Lori Grimes – The Walking Dead
In the Walking Dead’s first season we all hoped Rick would be reunited with his family. By the time the second season rolled around though fans couldn’t wait for Lori to meet her demise. Dreadful wishy washy writing and the fact her “ghost” overstayed its welcome made Lori one of the most loathed characters of the entire series. Sarah Wayne Callies is not to blame for it though, it’s all on the writers. Too bad Lori and Andrea were their guinea pigs. Seems like they learned their lesson the hard way.
Dr. Ephraim Goodweather – The Strain
What a shame that Dr. Ephraim Goodweather went from hero (in the comics/books) to zero in the television version of The Strain. Eph was our Indiana Jones in the comics, the smartest guy in the room that saves the day. From the moment we meet the show’s bumbling version of Eph there was no redeeming the character. He was a jerk to his ex-wife, ignored his kid, mistreated his girlfriend and constantly questioned Setrakian (who actually knew what he was talking about). The writers made Eph so egotistical he was hard to like or root for. Here’s hoping they fix the character for Season 2, Corey Stoll deserves it.
Weather Wizard – The Flash
Clyde Mardon (aka Weather Wizard) was arguably the least interesting part of The Flash pilot. A bland and unmemorable baddie if there ever was one. Not to mention actor Chad Rook was saddled with some awful lines and struggled delivering them. In the comics, Clyde’s brother Mark is Weather Wizard. Perhaps he survived their airplane crash too? Here’s hoping he’s more interesting than his bro.
John Constantine – Constantine
Hear me out Hellblazer fans. Yes he’s British, blonde and in later episodes Matt Ryan’s Constantine even gets grungier. However, he started off way too clean cut and oftentimes came across like some Comic-Con cosplayer. The white shirt is too pressed and John’s classic trench coat laughably spotless. This guy is a tormented antihero prick; he’s punk rock… NBC probably wanted him presentable to kick off the series. John’s coming along though, even smoking a bit here and there. They’ll get him right by Season 2.
Brother Blood – Arrow
Sebastian Blood/Brother Blood turned out to be nothing more than Slade’s lackey. Which is a shame because Kevin Alejandro is a terrific actor and deserved better. In reality, the Cult of Blood was basically Deathstroke’s Mirakuru super soldier army. Blood was stuck most of the season in a pointless mayoral debate while Slade had all the fun. He did manage to inject Roy Harper with Mirakuru so I guess that’s something.
Andrea – The Walking Dead
To this day, I don’t think any Walking Dead comic character was screwed up by Kirkman and co. on the series more than Andrea. Comic book Andrea was a kick ass, strong female character. She became an expert marksman, folks looked up to her and she even hooked up with our hero; Rick. On the show, they not only paired her up with Shane whom fans hated, but eventually with the Governor as well. She abandoned her closest friend Michonne and made one stupid decision after another. I’m sure even Laurie Holden was relieved when the producers told her Andrea’s time was up.
Salvatore Maroni – Gotham
Salvatore “The Boss” Maroni, as most of Gotham’s powerful mobsters, is hard to take seriously as a villain. Why are the city’s crime bosses so ridiculously campy on this show? At times Gotham feels like it’s tipping its hat to the Batman 1960’s parody show. Though Maroni threatens Penguin and manhandles the slimeball, you’re tempted to laugh in his face. Perhaps the idea is to make Penguin out to be smarter than the crime family heads? If that’s the case, the writers are succeeding with flying colors.
Girder – The Flash
The fact Tony Woodward, Barry Allen’s childhood bully, was a metahuman was a nice twist. Did the guy have to be such a meathead though? Seriously, getting Iris to blog about you is the best you can come up with big guy? Plus, his transformation should not have been to smooth shiny steel. He’s freakin’ Girder, give him some rivets or something to differentiate him from X-Men’s Colossus.
Gary Lester – Constantine
In the first Hellblazer comic, Gary Lester was a total waste of a human being. He could think of nothing but getting high. The TV show made him overly sympathetic to the point we hated Constantine for sacrificing the guy at the end. For a heroin addict he sure did exorcise that hunger demon competently didn’t he? I understand the writers are pressed for time on TV, but their version of Lester was far more clever than he deserved to be. I admit I’d love to see Lester haunting John like in the comics.
The Huntress – Arrow
Helena Bertinelli/The Huntress is meant to be a violent vigilante. As played by Jessica De Gouw, she came across much more like a spoiled rich girl with ridiculous Daddy issues. Is it me or did she sound like she was reading her lines half the time? Though De Gouw improved somewhat by her third appearance on Arrow, the damage was done. Most fans hated The Huntress and here’s hoping she won’t return to Starling City any time soon.
Dr. Franklin Hall – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Dr. Franklin Hall was S.H.I.E.L.D’s first attempt at bringing a Marvel supervillain to the series. What an utter waste of time; an Easter egg, nothing more. Yes Hall’s hand was seen emerging from the gravitonium, but apparently the show was not prepared to introduce Graviton. Why then make such a pathetic attempt in the first place? Choices like these are why you lost over half your audience folks. Glad to see the creative team has learned from their Season 1 mistakes.
Arsenal – Arrow
Roy Harper’s storyline began interestingly enough, but soon grew tiresome once he was injected with the Mirakuru. Sure it gave Oliver the chance to save the kid and take him on as an apprentice, but is he really contributing to the team? As Arsenal, Roy follows the Arrow around like a lost puppy and gets his ass kicked most of the time. He’s the damsel in distress only wearing a cool uniform. Cupid took Arsenal down recently; seriously? Back to superhero training school for you dude.
The Master – The Strain
Take a look at the side by side comparison and tell me the TV show didn’t screw up the Master. For 9 episodes the series teased the Master, never showing his face only his monstrous cloak. When we got our first look at his face, many people burst out laughing. Memes mocking the Master quickly hit the web, which I’m sure is not what Guillermo del Toro anticipated. Not only was The Strain’s main villain not scary, he was laugh out loud absurd looking. Good thing he burnt to a crisp, perhaps we’ll get a monster worthy of del Toro next season.
The Governor – The Walking Dead
By humanizing The Governor and making his story unravel slowly the writers sucked the life out of this classic Walking Dead villain. David Morrissey’s Governor was more Bill Clinton than Emperor Caligula. The character we met in the comics was one bad mutha, but on the show we were painfully forced to watch him get there. Plus, most of the horrors he inflicted on our favorite characters were passed over on the show. Kirkman and co. you have a chance to do Negan right, don’t screw it up.
