Since the mid-'90's comics have become a proverbial goldmine for multimedia adaptations across the board. From movies to television and video games, few mediums generate as much profit as the intellectual properties found in comic books. However, despite the gilded exterior of the comic book goose, certain intellectual properties have famously laid an egg at the box office and in the Nielsen ratings, respectively.
Although they're usually as bulletproof as the characters they feature, there have been plenty of comic adaptations that were healthily shined for primetime by mainstream media that subsequently melted underneath the intense heat of the limelight.
10 Ultraforce Only Lasted One Season
Comics were unstoppable in the early '90s. The rabid nature of the fandom essentially guaranteed that publishers would actively have to try to lose money. This surge in confidence and profit across the industry prompted several upstart companies that would eventually try their hand at producing multimedia adaptations.
Malibu Comics took the plunge into Saturday morning cartoons with their Justice League knock-off known as the Ultraforce. Sporting a slick set of designs and pulsating theme song, Ultraforce crashed and burned after one 13 episode season.
9 Night Man Was Limited By The Tech Available At The Time
Not content enough to fail at Saturday morning cartoons, Malibu Comics later tried their hand at live-action drama. One of the imprints' most popular characters, Night Man, was the chosen pioneer for Malibu Comic's foray into live-action.
Superhero shows of today benefit from a few elements that Night Man sadly couldn't rely on, thanks to the era of its creation. The limited CGI and budget hampered the special effects immensely and needlessly, as the gritty Night Man of the comic books didn't possess physical superpowers.
8 Jupiter's Legacy Didn't Surpass Its Competition
Mark Millar shocked the comic book world when his imprint, Millarworld, inked a lengthy developmental deal with Netflix. Believing in the seemingly unlimited potential of Millar's ability to craft multimedia hits - such as Wanted, Kick-Ass, and Kingsman: The Secret Service-Netflix began optioning tons of Millar's work for future adaptations.
The first live-action attempt in their partnership was the ill-fated Jupiter's Legacy. Netflix spared no expense in the show's promotion, but Jupiter's Legacy failed to outmuscle its rivals The Boys and Invincible on Amazon Prime.
7 Deadly Class Dropped Out After One Season
SYFY's stab at Deadly Class completely missed the mark, squandering a compelling yet straightforward concept and a highly acclaimed comic book anchoring the whole affair. It seemed almost impossible for the IP to fail during the initial promotional run for Deadly Class, given the amount of critic and commercial success it enjoyed in the comic book world.
Paired with an attainable level of special effects and a familiar network for comic fans in SYFY, Deadly Class surprisingly dropped out of television after one short season.
6 Audience Figures For Outcast Were Lukewarm
Riding a multimedia hot streak with his genre-defining zombie television series The Walking Dead at AMC, Robert Kirman found himself as one of the most in-demand creators in television. Based on The Walking Dead's success, Kirman optioned a host of his comics for several studios.
Kirman's Invincible was sent to Amazon Prime for development, while Outcast- another supernatural horror show- landed on Showtime. Although it ran for two seasons, audience figures for the series were lukewarm, causing Showtime to sever their ties with the show.
5 Green Lantern Became A Famous Flop
In an unprecedented turn of events, Green Lantern ruled the comics sales charts in the 2000s. The Lantern was always popular, but his newfound strata of success forced DC Comics to develop a movie on the character. Engineered to be a monstrous hit, 2011's Green Lantern took every conceivable precaution to gain box office gold.
Celebrated scribe and architect of the comic book, Geoff Johns, was enlisted as a creative steward for the film. Unfortunately, Green Lantern faltered and became an all-time famous Hollywood flop.
4 WildC.A.T.s Never Took Off
Image Comics tried their hand at Saturday Morning cartoon success in the mid-'90s by turning one of their flagship titles- WildC.A.T.s- into a kid's show. Lacking name recognition with the intended juvenile demographic and mature punch of the source material WildC.A.T.s- despite a massive accompanying action figure launch- failed to produce ratings for the USA Network.
Being flanked by another Image Comics cartoon show in Savage Dragon- in a move designed to emulate the competing Marvel Action Hour- somehow couldn't land WildC.A.T.s on its feet.
3 Savage Dragon Has A Cult Fandom
As one of Image's longest-running comic properties, fans would be correct to wonder why Savage Dragon hasn't garnered several multimedia adaptations by now. Part of the reason stems from the character's disastrous first outing on Saturday morning cartoons. Paired with Image Comics compatriots WildC.A.T.s, Savage Dragon boasted a quality voice cast- featuring Frank Welker- but ultimately failed to get fans to voice their support in droves.
While the show is available on the Peacock streaming service, due to its cult fandom, Savage Dragon flopped hard.
2 The Spirit Was Maligned By Critics
Existing as a forebear to the Hollywood success of Mark Millar and Robert Kirkman, Frank Miller parlayed his comic book status into a healthy cinematic career. Basking in the acclaim of his co-directorial debut Sin City, Miller attempted to bring Will Eisner's classic creation The Spirit to the screen.
However, without his Sin City co-director Robert Rodriguez, Miller's vision of the classic pulp hero was highly maligned by critics. The box office performance of The Spirit was so ghastly that Frank Miller never directed again.
1 The Fantastic Four Have Consistently Failed Their Attempts To Jump Onto The Big Screen
For characters as instrumental to the foundation of the entertainment juggernaut known as Marvel Comics, the Fantastic Four have stumbled in virtually every attempt to enter the mainstream. In 1994, Roger Corman's Fantastic Four was so abysmal it never received a major release, becoming one of the most famous bootlegs on the 2000's comic convention circuit.
Marvel's first family then starred in a duology of campy flicks under Fox that, while successful, never captured their spirit, and 2015's Fan4stic almost destroyed the franchise in cinemas.