The comic book industry has created some incredibly strange heroes and villains over the years. However, as the movies and TV shows continue to look for more characters, some of these odds superpowered people are making their way into live-action.
Some of these characters should never have seen the light of day. Whether it was because their design was silly or perhaps parts of the character should have been unadaptable, here's 10 comic book heroes that we're surprised managed to make their way to live-action.
10 GROOT
It seems obvious now that adapting Groot to the big screen was a surefire success. In fact, in his baby format, he's even more lovable and is perhaps now one of Marvel's most recognizable characters. This wasn't always the case.
Back when the movie was in development fans laughed at the idea that Groot could find himself in a live-action setting. The initial trailers for the film showed a lot of promise, but we didn't realize how brilliant the character would actually be.
9 AQUAMAN
Aquaman has always been the butt of the joke. Despite the fact that he is one of the most powerful Atlanteans and a true legacy character for DC, there's still plenty to laugh at, including the fact that he can talk to fish!
If the character was to ever make his way to live-action he needed reinventing and that's exactly what the DCEU managed to accomplish. It was even more surprising therefore that they also managed to put the classic costume in live-action, and it worked!
8 HOWARD THE DUCK
There have been two live-action attempts at this character and the second one was indeed far more successful than the first. After we all saw the film where a puppet tried to capture the spirit of the comics, the question of why came up a lot.
However, the MCU has managed to right this wrong and introduced him with the use of CGI as a semi-realistic alien duck. It's still a really odd character but he somehow works in a franchise where there's also a talking raccoon and tree.
7 DOOM PATROL
The Doom Patrol are some of the strangest characters ever put to comics. With robot men, strange creatures and even a living street, there's a lot to be confused about in this franchise. It's why it was all the more shocking when they received their own TV show.
The characters in the show are just as quirky as you'd expect but it somehow all works and comes together. Perhaps 10 years ago it wouldn't have worked out in the same way, but currently, where the source material is so honored, DC somehow managed to make it work.
6 DEADPOOL
It seems odd to suggest that Deadpool shouldn't have been adapted into live-action, but the elements of breaking the fourth wall as well as some of the other comic book inclusions really shouldn't have worked in live-action.
Of course, the films have stripped away the thought and speech bubbles and some of the other crazy elements to the character, but they have kept the charm and the fourth wall breaking. Marvel Studios could now even push this character further though.
5 ELONGATED MAN
The Elongated Man is a lot like Plastic Man in DC, who hasn't been adapted into live-action. The character shouldn't really work as he's almost like a rip-off version of other characters, with really odd looking powers.
Yet somehow it kind of works, even on a TV budget. Ralph Dibny has become his own man and continues to rock the superhero look on the CW. It's surprising how well developed this character has become in a short amount of time.
4 LOCKJAW
Lockjaw is one of the many Marvel animals that has been featured in the comics over the years. While some, like Cosmo the space dog, can fit into the MCU quite easily, others seem like they would be a lot more difficult to adapt.
Lockjaw, the pet of the Inhumans, has appeared on TV, although due to a limited budget and bad writing, it hasn't been fully realized. However, there's clearly potential there to create a really memorable character in live-action.
3 SWAMP THING
Another anti-hero with a strange design, Swamp Thing really is a monstrous creature that would be difficult to adapt at the best of times, let alone on a television budget. What is the most difficult about him, is making this horrible monster relate-able.
Somehow the TV show has managed to achieve this, with a look that could have been taken straight out of the comics. He's therefore well designed and well written, but it's unknown whether we'll get to see any more of him.
2 LEGION
Sometimes hero, sometimes villain, FX did an excellent job of adapting a character that should have been impossible to put to screen. Why the show was incredibly complex, it really needed to be to completely introduce this character.
The multiple personalities, the over the top visuals and very human performance, helped to bring Legion into a version of reality. It's a real shame that we don't get to continue to see this character's development into the future.
1 RAGMAN
Ragman made a short-lived appearance as part of Team Arrow, although he was perhaps too weird and overpowered even for the Arrowverse. Despite this, the showrunners did a good job of adapting him to TV, but he wasn't really meant to last too long.
The character's costume was especially cool and one of the elements that shouldn't have really worked in live-action, but somehow did. The way in which it moves, with the cloth actually attacking people, might have looked a lot sillier than it did on the comic book page.