With the 2012 San-Diego Comic-Con here, I decided to make this week’s list honor that. There are hundreds and HUNDREDS of superheroes and super villains in the comic book world. Most are overlooked when it comes to movie time. We’ve got all the greats already made, Batman, Superman, Spiderman, X-Men, Fantastic Four, but I think it is time that some of these others characters get their own movie. A chance to shine either for the first time, or on their own as a major character rather than supporting (or just to show off how badass they are.)

So here are 10 comic book characters (and some honorable mentions) that deserve their own movie (but not in any particular order):

Secret

Young Justice

Not many people may know about (or remember) Secret. However, for me when I was first getting into reading comics at a tender and impressionable young age, Young Justice was my favorite and Secret was so enigmatic and innocent in the comics. Originally, in the series she was a young ghost-like young woman who couldn’t remember who she was, her past or how she had been imprisoned by Department of Extranormal Operation (D.E.O.) She was quite literally a lost soul.

She was born as Greta Hayes, living in fear of her older (adopted) brother Billy. When she was a teenager her fears of him were justified as she was murdered by him. Secret later joins Robin, Impulse, and Superboy as a member of the Young Justice League.  She initially goes by the name Suzie until her real identity is discovered.

I can just picture how amazing she would look live action in a movie, not to mention all the other superheroes and villains she comes contact with would set up several diverging movies if wanted. Her powers (well before she was restored) were very unique as well.

• She is a gateway between the living and the dead.
• She is able to take on a variety of appearances and shape appearing as even smoke.
• She is intangible.
• She was also known to teleport short distances.

There are also many many emotional moments within her storyline that are tear-worthy. Even though her story concludes (sorta) she would be perfect for one film that would bring attention to her life and what she does afterward.

Nightcrawler

X-Men

There is much that I love about this character. Whether it is his intense appearance, sexy accent, or that he totally kicks ass all the time, I would love to see more of him. Nightcrawler, aka Kurt Wagner, is the product of a love affair between two mutants, whose origins are never fully delved into. Through most of his life growing up he struggles to be accepted. His extreme appearance making it difficult for him to make friend for be allowed in normal society. (Something we all feel sometimes, amiright?) However, he is charming with a wicked sense of humor for a while, accepting his fate and life, before becoming more introspective later on such as in his time with Excaliber.

His mutant power is primarily teleportation. He has the ability to open a portal to another dimension and instantaneously travels through it. He also leaves a whiff of brimstone and a “bamf” sound when teleporting. While his teleportation is ranged to about 2 miles and he can only teleport to a place he has been before (or he risks teleporting into a wall or solid object), he can bring items with him as well. Although it has been mentioned before in other stroylines that he has travelled as far 300 miles before with a passenger.

Nightcrawler has a plethora of stories and series’ and general awesomeness surrounding him. Between his normal comic book series and his number of alternate realties, there is so much that can be made into a movie, or into a franchise of movies. Even an origin story for the big screen would be awesome. He was previously featured in the X-Men movie, but he was far from a main character, even with Alan Cummings nailing it (and minor changes made to his character.)

So, not only is there a ton of material for movies regarding his character, but who doesn’t want to see more Alan Cummings rocking it?

Impulse

Young Justice

No, I don’t mean Kid Flash or even THE Flash. As I mentioned before I started my comic book days reading YJ, and as thus will always have a soft spot for the series. I decided on Impulse – before he becomes Kid Flash, because that is when I liked his character the most. He had no ties (other than parentage) to the Flash family. He was simply himself, and with Robin and Superboy started the YJ.

Impulse, aka Bart Allen, is the son of Don Allen and Meloni Thawne. He was born with his grandfather’s (Barry Allen silver age Flash) speed however he was also born with hyper-accelerated metabolism that meant he was aging incredibly fast. Using short impulses of speed he was able to shock his metabolism back to normal. He would also often act without thinking, which lent itself to his naming.

His superpower is super-speed as well as the ability to lend and borrow speed from other people. He can also run across water and up vertical surfaces. At one point, he was able to create clones of himself however when they die it heavily affected Impulse to the point that he hasn’t used the power since. He also has extreme agility and reflexes due to his speed.

The character growth of Impulse, to becoming the Kid Flash, then officially THE flash would be a fantastic series of movies, as well as bringing forward some fan favorite characters along the way. Also, frankly, there are  so many adult themed superhero stories out there, that a film featuring a young superhero making his way while saving lives and growing is warranted.

Two-Face

Batman

I believe in Harvey Dent. Don’t you? One of my favorite villains, and definitely one of my favorite on-screen portrayals by Aaron Eckhart. I was incredibly disappointed when Two-Face died at the end of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight franchise successfully killing any hope that he would return in another movie.

Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, was born and raised in Gotham. Even as a youngster he was suffering from various mental issues such as paranoia and bipolar disorder. However, he was able to be a star student and later became District Attorney of Gotham. Batman appeared in Gotham roughly 6 months after Dent took office and became one of the heroes first supporters. Whether from the Joker or from Sal Maroni throwing acid at Dent, either way, he became Two-Face. The dueling sides of his personality led to obsession and a decent in criminality.

Much like the other characters on this list, there are myriad story lines to create movies around for the character of Two-Face. Yeah he is evil most of the time, but his pre evil days are part of what makes his transformation so important. His descent from firm believer in justice to a criminal is both entertaining and intriguing. And he uses a coin toss to make decisions.

I also just want to see the sexy and talented Aaron Eckhart kicking ass again.

Arrowette

Young Justice

In our world today where young women are looking at Hunger Games survivor Katniss Everdeen for inspiration, having a new franchise around a bow wielding young female superhero seems like a natural next step. Arrowette was part of the Young Justice and had heroism in her blood. Her mother was Miss Arrowette and it is claimed her father was the Green Arrow.

Cissis, aka Arrowette, spent her life trying to he a a young vigilante hero. This young hero experienced a lot of pain and sadness in her life and was able to pull through to resume her career as Arrowette. However she is not immune to the emotions follies of being a human. She becomes blinded by rage and also retires hero costume to be a normal girl again.

While there is not much in her storyline to create a whole franchise around her, there is enough to tell a great story and to inspire young women with a superhero that is all their own. Oh and did I mention that she become an  Olympic-level archer and athlete?

Blink

X-Men

The mutants that appear in The X-Men series of comic books have some of the coolest abilities that only barely get touched on. Blink is one of these characters. She is a mutant with the power to teleport. Normally teleportion isn’t that special however, the story behind Blink is what makes her interesting.

Her origin story goes all the way back to the Victorian era and her ties to the immortal mutant Apocalypse. The descents of the powerful mutant called themselves Clan Akkaba. Clarice Ferguson, aka Blink, gained her teleportation power from her grandfather, Fredrick Slade, one of the only surviving members of Clan Akkaba.

Unlike Nightcrawler’s ability to teleport, Blink’s ability allows her to move large objects, groups of people in varying distances. She has been able to teleport all the way to the moon from earth. She also can use her ability to create spears of high accuracy that can teleport all or a portion of her enemy. She also makes a “blink” sound when teleporting.

I sincerely feel like there aren’t enough female superheroes that aren’t minor characters or supporting characters in films. I think a film focusing on Blink could open up new movie territory for the ever expanding X-Men saga as well as brink some little known mutants into light.

Deadpool

Marvel Series

This is one on the list that is actually closest to happening. The script is in development and the actor, Ryan Reynolds, is attached to reprise his role as the character he portrayed in the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. 

However, the project has been put off several times and might be a while before it actually gets made. But everyone wants to see a Deadpool exclusive movie right?

Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool,  is a former test subject of the Weapon X program, possessing a regenerative healing factor derived from the mutant Wolverine. A wild and unpredictable mercenary, Deadpool shared a bond with Cable and recently joined Wolverine’s X-Force. The “Merc with a Mouth” is infamous for breaking the fourth wall.

His abilities include:

• He’s an expert in both close and ranged combat weaponry.
• He has a limited immunity to telepathy due to his constantly fluctuating brain cells ( in Deadpool Team-Up #891 Mr. X can predict Deadpool’s moves disproving Deadpool being immune to telepaths).
• Olympic-level strength, speed, stamina, and agility.
• Deadpool is fluent in several languages, including English, French, Japanese, and Spanish
• Deadpool also has had several personal transportation devices
• Deadpool has an ability often referred to as “bottomless satchel”, where he can pull guns, explosives, food (usually Hic. brand beer cans) and ammunition, out of no where (usually by reaching into one of his pockets, often times pulling out something that was bigger then the pocket itself).
• Deadpool has a very strong healing factor obtained from Wolverine, this healing factor healed him completely from cancer, and grants him the ability to heal any injury within seconds. he can even re-grow lost limbs. in addition his healing factor also grants him immunity against all kinds of gazes and poison.
• He is one of the few people with enough skill to handle Captain America’s shield.
• His unpredictable fighting style can be advantageous against the likes of Taskmaster, as Taskmaster learns the moves of others using his advanced memory and learns strengths and weaknesses based upon past experience.
• He is said to know Peter Parker’s identity when he unmasked during ‘Civil War’ despite Mephisto erasing the event.

Venom

Spider-Man Series

This film is also in the works albeit in theory rather than actually moving forward. However, when it gets made, it will be so awesome. With the Spider-Man reboot fully fledged out now and its plans to be a trilogy, it seems ripe for Venom to make an appearance in his own world.

While the Venom we see interact with Spider-Man is very cool, he has other story lines that don’t interact with the already rebooted character. Venom has had several hosts, and several encounters that would lend itself to a pretty intriguing set of films.

He did previously appear in Spider-man 3 with the Eddie Brock character, however he is not the main character and is largely portrayed as a villain of the film.

It has been confirmed that Venom is planned to have his own movie, which will portray him as an anti-hero, rather than a villain. It is unconfirmed when it will be released, but it will be directed by Gary Ross an written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick

Black Panther

Fantastic Four, X-Men

T’Challa, aka The Black Panter, is a genious warrior king. You don’t get more bad-ass than that. He is also one of the smartest men in the Marvel Universe and is Storm’s husband.

Seriously, he is the first mainstream black superhero and deserves his own freaking movie! Even though his title of Panther, and leader of Wakanda, he still had to earn it. While on right of passage to become leader he met the young teen who would later become Storm, and fell in love.

His early like and the trials alone of becoming the Black Panther warrant a movie. He had to defeat various champions of the other Wakandan tribes, be judged and found worthy by the Panther God, he had to ingest a poison herb that would kill him if he wasn’t worthy or a member of a royal line. All the trials gave him superhuman powers, though, such as enhanced speed, agility, strength, endurance, healing, memory and senses.

His various other story lines could warrant several movies and some amazing cameos from the Fantastic Four, The Avengers, and The X-Men.

Now, there is a rumor that he will have his own movie is 2014, but this is not confirmed though we can all hope.

Polaris

X-Men

As I said before, so many awesome mutants in the X-Men, and Polaris is one of the oft overlooked. As her name suggests she commands magnetism. She is the daughter of Magneto and half sister to Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.

Lorna Dane, aka Polaris, has the ability to manipulate magnetic, electrical, and gravitation fields. However it has been said her powers are changing and mutating. She has amazing green hair due to her x-gene.

Most people love Magneto and I would love to see his legacy continued with a movie regarding his daughter. Polaris’s origin story would see several fan favorite characters return while introducing many many new ones.  Following the X-Men’s Schism and Regenesis, Rachel, Alex and Lorna side with Wolverine. Wolverine then takes Lorna and Alex to rejoin their former team X-Factor.

I also think any movie has to include the Hulk just so we can see him confuse her for She-Hulk and get angry. Green hair is bitchin’ and we need more heroines with it.

Honorary Mentions: Archangel, Sun Spot, Kitty Pryde, The Flash, Donna Troy.