10 ’90s Comic Book Movies That Are Unwatchable Today

Since the original game came out, every ten years or so has given us some truly amazing titles in this style. But honestly, some periods have just been way better for these kinds of stories than others – we’ve had some real golden ages!

The 1990s produced some truly memorable films, like 1991’s The Rocketeer, the original Blade in 1998, and the funny Mystery Men, also from 1998. However, the decade also saw many films that weren’t well-received at the time and haven’t improved with age.

Judge Dredd Gets The Dystopian Hero Wrong

How does the 1995 Judge Dredd movie hold up? Many fans of the original comic book character – a futuristic lawman who acts as both police officer, judge, and punisher in a violent, dystopian world created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra – likely wouldn’t give it a favorable verdict.

Sylvester Stallone’s performance in Danny Cannon’s sci-fi action movie isn’t one of his best. The film is overly dramatic, with silly costumes and confusing action scenes. Rob Schneider’s pointless and unfunny cameo doesn’t help. The 2012 version does have a visually impressive design for Mega-City One, but that’s its main strength.

Spawn’s CGI Makes It Hell To Get Through

The comic book series Spawn, created by Todd McFarlane, has a fascinating concept: a soldier sent from Hell who fights against the forces of Satan. However, the movie version, starring Michael Jai White, didn’t live up to the potential of the original story.

Most fans and critics agree that the biggest problems with Mark A.Z. Dippé’s 1997 Spawn movie are its hurried and confusing plot, unpleasant visuals, and CGI that looks very outdated, even for the 1990s. Currently, the best Spawn adaptation remains the animated series on HBO, featuring Keith David’s voice work, unless a more impressive version appears.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III Needs Time Travel To Correct Its Mistakes

The hugely popular comic book, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, was adapted into a live-action movie in 1990, which was followed by another well-received film in 1991. But the third movie, released in 1993, wasn’t as successful as the first two.

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, the Turtles and April O’Neil are magically sent back to feudal Japan, a plot device that wasn’t well-received by critics or fans. Viewers were disappointed that the movie ignored popular characters and stories from the original comic books, choosing instead to focus on time travel. As a result, it became the lowest-performing film in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.

Tank Girl Implodes On Arrival

Just as Mad Max: Fury Road sparked a wave of post-apocalyptic stories in the 2010s, Hollywood was searching for its next big dystopian series after the popularity of George Miller’s original Mad Max films from the 1980s. One attempt at this was director Rachel Talalay’s film adaptation of the British comic Tank Girl, created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin, though it wasn’t a critical or commercial success.

This 1995 sci-fi comedy follows Tank Girl (Lori Petty), one of the last humans alive after a disaster, as she drives around a desert wasteland in her tank – which is also her home. She joins forces with Jet Girl (Naomi Watts) to fight a ruthless leader (Malcolm McDowell) who controls the world’s remaining resources. While the film has gained a cult following over the years, its confusing story and lack of humor have turned off many viewers, and the fanbase itself isn’t very large.

Steel Is Shaq’s Flimsy Attempt At Comic Book Movie Stardom

The famous ‘Death of Superman’ storyline in DC Comics introduced John Henry Irons in 1993. He aimed to become Metropolis’ new hero, building a powerful metal suit and a devastating hammer, and adopting the name Steel. Four years later, he starred in his own movie, but it wasn’t a critical or commercial success.

Shaquille O’Neal was a phenomenal NBA player, but his acting career hasn’t reached the same heights. His performance in the movie Steel, even earning a Razzie nomination, is often cited as a low point. The film is criticized for its over-the-top costume, uneven tone, and reliance on tired superhero tropes, solidifying its place among the worst films ever made.

The ’90s Captain America Is Not Steve Rogers’ Finest

While Chris Evans is well-known for playing Captain America, he wasn’t the first. Steve Rogers first appeared on screen in the 1940s as part of a serial series, and again in TV movies during the 1970s. But the most remembered early version is the 1990 film, Captain America.

Okay, so I recently checked out the first Captain America movie. It stars Matt Salinger – J.D. Salinger’s son, which is a fun fact – as this super-soldier from World War II who’s gotta save the President. The villain, Red Skull (played by Scott Paulin), honestly looked like a really messed up cherry. But Captain America’s costume? Not great. They even gave him fake ears! Honestly, the story was super thin and the acting wasn’t amazing, which explains why everyone says it should’ve just stayed a concept. It wasn’t the best, to be real.

Richie Rich Seems To Hate Its Protagonist

The original Richie Rich comics from the 1950s, and the animated series they led to, showed Richie as a smart, energetic, and friendly kid, even though he was incredibly wealthy. Macaulay Culkin’s portrayal, however, missed that key part of the character.

Macaulay Culkin, known for Home Alone, played the wealthy Richie Rich in the 1994 movie based on the Harvey Comics character, but his performance felt surprisingly flat and came across as snobbish. In the 1998 direct-to-video sequel, Richie Rich’s Christmas Wish, David Gallagher (from 7th Heaven) offered a more expressive and true-to-the-character portrayal.

The Guyver Is Sci-Fi At Its Cheesiest

It feels a little harsh to criticize a relatively unknown and forgotten movie like The Guyver, a 1991 American take on the popular Japanese manga. Especially since it features a well-liked actor like Mark Hamill. But director Screaming Mad George’s film has plenty of flaws that make it fair game for some good-natured ribbing.

Despite a silly plot, awkward acting, and a particularly annoying soundtrack, New Line Cinema’s film about a teenager (Jack Armstrong) transformed into a super soldier to fight monsters was well-received for its impressive creature effects – though some of the monsters looked a bit like oversized Gremlins. While it didn’t become a cult classic, its 1994 sequel, Guyver: Dark Hero, released directly to video, did achieve that status.

Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Is A Failed TV Show Pilot

Most Marvel fans now strongly associate Samuel L. Jackson with the character of Nick Fury, particularly because of his popular portrayal and the way the character was redesigned to look like him in the comics. However, the original Nick Fury from the main Marvel comic universe (Earth-616) actually looks more like David Hasselhoff, who originally played the role in a live-action adaptation.

David Hasselhoff, known for Baywatch, played Nick Fury in the 1998 film Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.L.D., a project originally planned as a pilot for a Fox series that ultimately wasn’t made. While Hasselhoff delivers a strong performance, the movie suffers from cheesy dialogue and an over-the-top, campy style, making it easy to see why the series never got off the ground.

Batman & Robin Is The Ultimate ‘90s Comic Book Movie Blunder

These days, if a comic book movie doesn’t succeed, a new version quickly follows – usually within three years. But Batman faced a much longer wait. It took almost ten years after a particularly disliked 1997 film for the character to return to the big screen.

Some viewers enjoy the film’s over-the-top style, which reminds them of the classic Adam West Batman series and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s funny portrayal of Mr. Freeze. However, these same elements are often why critics and DC fans dislike the movie, seeing it as a silly, commercial product. Even George Clooney, who played Bruce Wayne, continues to express his regret about being involved.

2025-12-20 20:10