9 Comic Book Movie Reboots That Just Plain Failed

Have you ever noticed that if you phone an IT technician with a computer problem, their response is always, "Have you tried to reboot it?" Well, in Hollywood, the same principle applies. If your franchise isn't successful, you hit the reboot button and start again. Comic book movie fans, especially, have seen more than their fair share of this over the past few decades. Unfortunately, a reboot doesn't always guarantee instant success, though. In some cases, it actually makes the franchise even worse than before. And when this happens, we throw our hands up in the air and wonder what the eff these clowns are up to. So, what we've done is to go through the ages and single out the comic book movie reboots that have failed to light up the characters they're meant to reignite. As always, you're welcome to agree or disagree with our picks, just as long as you leave your thoughts in the comments section. Now, with that out of the way, let's jump right in. Here are the 9 comic book movie reboots that failed to live up to the hype. The Amazing Spider-Man When the news broke that the Spider-Man franchise was about to be rebooted, we don't think there was one person who thought it a bad idea. After the shambolic shenanigans of Spider-Man 3, it's fair to say that it was time for some fresh ideas for our favorite web-slinging superhero. To add the cherry to the cake, Andrew Garfield was cast as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, which appeared to be inspired casting decisions, while Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) signed on to direct. Regrettably, that's pretty much where the good news ended. Despite offering us a live-action Lizard and exploring Peter's relationship with Gwen, 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man didn't live up to its full potential at all, falling into the trap of becoming another origin tale where half the movie is about Uncle Ben's death. While it's arguably a better film than its successor, 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, it never delivered on its initial promise to kick-start the Spidey 2.0 universe. Punisher: War Zone Full disclosure: we liked 2008's Punisher: War Zone. In many ways, it was way ahead of its time, offering us an R-rated comic book film that never shied away from its bloody roots. If you think about it, the forthcoming Netflix Punisher series is just this project in another guise. Nonetheless, the rest of the world didn't agree with our opinion. It also probably didn't help that director Lexi Alexander's vision had to compete with Iron Man and The Dark Knight that year - arguably two of the finest comic book movies of any era - and the film proved difficult to market since it focused on ultra-violence and adult themes. In the years since its release, Punisher: War Zone has become something of a cult classic and a mandatory addition to your film collection. That said, it could do nothing to change Frank Castle's woeful big-screen adventures to date. TMNT After three live-action films, Kevin Munroe took the reins and decided to do things a little differently for 2007's TMNT. Rather than visit Jim Henson's fabled shop, he made a full-blown CGI Turtles film. And it seemingly worked, making $95.6 million from a budget of $34 million. However, without the likes of Krang, Bebop, Rocksteady, and the Shredder as the antagonists, it left a lot of Turtles fans disappointed. You see, while there are hundreds of other villains to choose from, those four are the most recognizable and adored, but they were missing from the final product. Likewise, it didn't help that the film was a snoozer, either. Despite the financial success of TMNT, it's often forgotten about by fans of the Toitles. We didn't need to wait over a decade for the next half-shell adventure, however, as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was released in 2014. Speaking of which… Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shew. This was one production that looked doomed from the start. From the news that Michael Bay wanted to change the Turtles' origin story to the eventual aesthetic look of the characters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remains a divisive movie. While it did make enough dough to merit a sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows - which was significantly better than the first film - this franchise appeared dead on arrival. It's a shame, really, since there are some genuine moments of magic in here, but it appears as if the mean, green fighting machines are past their sell-by date and not as popular as they were in the late '80s and early '90s. Unfortunately, having Bay's name attached to the project seemed to bring out the worst in people as well. Gone are the days when the audience would get excited for one of his movies, and he's now seen as a one-trick pony that refuses to evolve with the times and make better films. Whether you think it's true or not, is a matter of opinion; however, you can't deny that the perception is powerful and it often harms his projects. Superman Returns Following Christopher Reeve as Superman was never going to be an easy task. So, when the relatively unknown Brandon Routh was cast as the Man of Steel in Superman Returns, quite a few eyebrows were raised in the process. He certainly had the steely and chiseled look, but did he have the acting chops for such a meaty role? The answer was a resounding no. Apart from the blander-than-boiled-chicken narrative and Bryan Singer's yawn-inducing aesthetic choices, Routh had about as much charisma as a parked family station wagon. Not one person walked out of the theater thinking this was our new Superman, or excited to see where this story went next. It reeked of miserable mediocrity. Even though the film was considered a box-office success, Warner Bros. wasn't pleased with the weak worldwide return and decided to cancel the planned 2009 sequel. In retrospect, it was probably a smart move, because Singer's Supes was one of the weakest we've ever seen. Man Of Steel We know we're going to get a lot of stick for this pick, but the fact is this: whether you liked it or not, Zack Snyder's Man of Steel is a controversial movie. Many might argue its merits, but it isn't considered in the same league as Richard Donner's Superman and continues to draw strong criticism to this very day. Aesthetically, the film is a beauty to behold. It bursts with epic visuals and is incredibly eye-catching; however, it's the narrative that left many people disappointed. The final act remains a huge point of contention - especially the bit where Supes snaps General Zod's neck after they laid waste to Metropolis. It felt so out of character for Big Blue. Look, Man of Steel did kick off the DCEU, so it can be considered successful for doing that at least. But did it give us a Superman film that defied expectations and made us forget about Donner's gargantuan efforts? We think you know the answer to that question. Fantastic Four We've aired our grievances about everything wrong with Josh Trank's Sucktastic Four on numerous occasions. It's not just bad - it's laughably bad. There are genuine moments in the film when you wonder if someone pranked the actors and that footage was used in the final edit by accident. Alas, it's also looking like 2015's Fantastic Four will be the movie that kills Marvel's First Family once and for all on the big screen. There's no way that Fox can bounce back from the critical and fan mauling, and think it's a good idea to make another one of these films - or is there? Universally hated and often listed in the same bracket as stinkers such as Shaq's Steel, this reboot couldn't even breathe an iota of life into the franchise. No, it coughed up a giant ball of phlegm and left us feeling disgusted by what we'd seen. The Incredible Hulk On paper, 2008's The Incredible Hulk looked like the perfect solution to Ang Lee's Hulk. It allowed for the big green monster to smash more things and brought Edward Norton on board as Bruce Banner/Hulk. In fact, even the critics and fans agreed that this was a far-superior effort than Lee's dud in 2003. Despite the critical and financial success of the movie though, Norton wasn't brought back to portray the character in The Avengers (either by his own choice, or Kevin Feige's, depending on whom you believe) and he was swiftly replaced by Mark Ruffalo. Truth be told, Ruffalo has been the best live-action Hulk to date, so it didn't turn out too bad for everyone involved. Whether we'll ever see another Hulk film, though, is another issue altogether. Both Feige and Ruffalo have stated that a standalone seems unlikely in the near future, so we may just have to get our green fix through the MCU. Due to this, The Incredible Hulk should be remembered as another superhero reboot that went nowhere. Son Of The Mask After the success of 1994's The Mask, there were numerous talks of a sequel, starring Jim Carrey of course. Unfortunately, Carrey decided against returning, so the filmmakers went ahead and created a new film, Son of the Mask, starring Jamie Kennedy. Without even watching it, Kennedy's name alone should ring alarm bells and send shivers down your spine. What followed was easily one of the worst films ever made. Everything about this abomination stank and multiple Razzies stacked up for both cast and crew. In fact, the only shimmering light was Alan Cumming's performance as Loki, the God of Mischief, and even he wasn't at his godly peak. In his review of the film, Richard Roeper said it was "the closest I've ever come to walking out halfway through the film, and now that I look back on the experience, I wish I had." It's a brutal assessment, but it tells you everything you need to know about this piece of trash. Not only did it fail as a reboot, but it singlehandedly killed the franchise. Tell us, do you agree with our choices? Which comic book movie reboots do you think failed? Let us know in the comments section!