Comic Book Movies and TV: The Year 1990

Comic book adaptations to other media have been popular since the early 1900's. Here's a look at 1990's translations from paper to film.

In Theaters:

Dick Tracy

Warren Beatty brought the hard-nosed police detective to life in a visually-stunning four-color world. The cast is a who's who of seventies cinema, including Al Pacino as Big Boy Caprice, Dustin Hoffman as Mumbles and James Caan as Spaldoni. Madonna also stars, playing Breathless Mahoney, the femme fatale. While the screenplay could have used some more work, the art design was phenomenal. This movie would be a treat for the eyes on Blu-Ray.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The popular independent comic book got the big screen treatment and the fans were ready for it. The film adaptation fell somewhere between the gritty world of the comic and the bouncy cartoon show. This movie was an enormous hit when in theaters.

Direct to Video:

Captain America

Directed by Albert Pyun, this adaptation of the Marvel Comic fell far short of what fans desired. The first sequence of the movie, where Captain America battles the Red Skull in World War II, showed promise. Then Captain America is transported to the modern day, and the story loses all momentum.

Matt Salinger played Captain America and there wasn't much depth to his performance. Another character misstep was with the Red Skull, who was still alive to face Captain America in the modern day. The villain had received plastic surgery and looked somewhat normal. This took away the colorful yet horrifying menace from earlier in the film. With the bland characterizations and a disappointing villain, the story was in no shape to carry the movie. The Marvel Comics movies were really at their lowest here.
On Television:

The Flash

This was a very high quality show visually, and the writing was fun and light. There was a lot of Batman influence on the show since Tim Burton's movie had just come out the previous year. Central City was a bright place during the day but at night it looked somewhat like Gotham.

John Wesley Shipp played Barry Allen/Flash and he was very likable in the role. One great aspect about the character not seen before in the comics was the effect his speed power had on his appetite. After fighting crime, Barry would always show up wherever he was due with a pizza in hand.

Many of the villains on the show were lifted from the comics - including Captain Cold, the Trixter and the Mirror Master. Barry also had his friends - Amanda Pays played Star Labs Scientist Tina McGee and Alex Désert played Barry's lab buddy, Julio Mendez.

The show never caught on with audiences, which may have had something to do with with scheduling changes due to the Gulf War coverage.

On Saturday Mornings:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Turtles were still going strong, and were probably at the zenith this year with their blockbuster movie.