10 Recent Comics That Would Make Good TV

Nightwing

Why It Would Work:
DC and Warner Bros. are doing a lot to get their characters into TV right now. They had a solid 10 season run with Smallville, and now they’ve got another hit on their hands with Arrow. Oh and they’re getting ready to produce a Flash series and Commissioner Gordon series. So why not throw another establish DC hero into the mix. Nightwing makes a great choice for that. He’s been around in one way or another since the 1940’s, and as many already know he’s got a huge connection to Batman. That’s the big selling point right there, it could be a successful version of Birds of Prey from a while back. Nightwing doesn’t have any powers either, just wits and fighting skill so no need to worry about crazy special effects, just some good stunt work and some explosions here and there. One of the best parts about including Nightwing in a series is he’s got so many areas he’s covered. Right now he’s in Chicago, obviously he’s protected Gotham as Robin, Nightwing, and even Batman for a while. And he had a long stint in Blüdhaven, which has been mentioned and used as a location in Arrow already. Nightwing also has made a lot of relationships over the years with various other heroes, notably the other members in the Bat-Family so there’s always the possibility for surprise character cameos and even backdoor pilots.

There’s already been some talk about Nightwing possibly showing up in the Batman/Superman movie, or even popping up in Arrow at some point. That would be a great way to both introduce the character to the audience, and in the case of the movie, tie those two worlds together, like Marvel is doing.

How To Make It Work:
I already mentioned that the show doesn’t need a lot of special effects, so that’s a key. We don’t need to see Dick fighting all the crazy monster villains that show up all the time in comics. Take a hint from Arrow and use the more human villains. We also don’t need constant allusions and such to Batman, here and there is fine, but if it gets too much people will stop caring. Casting is going to be key to, Nightwing isn’t like Batman or the current TV version of Green Arrow. He’s a happier guy, he banters with villains and of course he’s an acrobat. Casting someone who does dark and gloomy well is great, but it would ruin the character. We have the gloomy one in Arrow what we need now is the more upbeat one.

Nemesis

Why It Would Work:
A lot of people might not be familiar with Nemesis, it was a comic by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven from 2009/2010. It followed the exploits of a master criminal who targeted the best cops around the world. His main adversary in the story is a a Washington DC detective, and Nemesis’ next target. This has a lot of similarities to shows like Black List, The Following, or Hannibal, but it takes things to such a crazy level. There is absolutely no friendship between the two main characters, in fact Nemesis is pure evil and does some of the most horrendous things you could imagine to rip his targets life apart. And that is why this would make such a compelling show, it would be a show where you really can’t be sure if the good guy or the bad guy will win. It’ll keep viewers on edge from episode to episode never quite knowing if their good guy of the story will keep breathing.

How To Make It Work:
Anyone that read Nemesis knows that in it’s base form it probably wouldn’t go over well with anyone involved in tv. That’s why the show would need to be toned down a bit, or regulated to premium channels. Still toning this show down wouldn’t hurt it at all, the premise is still there, and plenty of awful things can be done to a person on network television as long as it’s late enough. The story would also have to get expanded or altered for it to last, but that’s nothing new to tv creators, look at The Walking Dead, it’s baring following it’s source material anymore, but it’s still good compelling television.

X-Factor

Why It Would Work:
There have been a number of ‘mutant’ based shows on the air over the years. We had Mutant X in the early 2000’s, and Alpha that just ended last year, and now CW is airing The Tomorrow People. The big problem with all these shows is none of them pull from the huge stable of well known X-Men. Of course, they didn’t have the rights to the shows, but why not have an officially licensed X show right? X-Factor would be perfect for that, of course to not conflict with the talent show it would have to probably be called X-Factor Investigations, but that’s not a problem. A group of mutants working as a detective agency helping out others with powers, and non-powered alike. They don’t need to always battle some big bad guy, it can be as simple as solving cases with minimal use of powers. The only way shows about super powered people are really going to work, is if people can recognize some of the names, and while X-Factor doesn’t always have the most well known members, there is plenty of creative license to be taken with the team. On top of that, cop and detective drama’s are huge right now, and this would appeal to another type of audience who may not like Law & Order, like myself.

How To Make It Work:
TV has been doing great cop and detective shows for years, some of the best are the ones that do it differently. Like Monk, Psych, or Elementary. We don’t need another Law & Order or NCIS there are plenty of those already. Taking a few established Marvel heroes with the mutant gene and throwing them together with some lesser known members could not only open up the possibilities for future movies, but draw attention to the comics. We don’t need Cyclops and Wolverine running around blowing stuff up, X-Factor isn’t that kind of group so more specialized powers that aren’t quite as flashy work just as well, if not better. As we saw with X-Men First Class you don’t need to put every well known mutant hero in something to get it right. A couple we know and several we don’t can go a long way to building a great group dynamic that makes even better TV.

Young Avengers / Runaways / Avengers Academy

Why It Would Work:
I mentioned doing a Hawkeye show but using Kate Bishop instead of Clint Barton. Not only would this make sense for that show, but over time it could easily lead to an expanded series with a group of younger heroes. Kate’s already been a member of the Young Avengers, and it would be out of the question to associate her with the Runaways or Avengers Academy for the sake of television. Right now we have a show about a bunch of non-powered Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D trying to help people with powers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so why not have a semi-rebellious group of teenagers or twenty-somethings trying to do the same thing, but without the intel, training, or permission? Power Rangers are still a super popular thing, and a show like this could feed off that fame and draw in a lot of younger viewers whose parents maybe don’t want them watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

How To Make It Work:
I think going with the Hawkeye series would be a great way into this one, or running it right out of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. That’s not to say it couldn’t stand on it’s own, but one of the best ways to draw in an audience is by appealing to the demographic is already appeals to. A backdoor pilot would give Marvel and Disney a chance to flesh out the characters before sending them off on their own, and give viewers an idea of what the new show will be about. Now obviously a big thing will be when it airs, it would need to be early enough that kids can tune in, but not so early to miss out on older viewers too. Something like 8pm on maybe a Sunday night would be perfect. Kids and adults can all look forward to two doses of Marvel heroes every week just a couple days apart. One of the other nice parts about this is there are plenty of characters you pick from, if it’s called Young Avengers you can still pull from the other young hero pull and make a team that works on TV, because lets face it Iron Lad might or Hulkling might be a bit much for a TV budget.

Hack/Slash

Why It Would Work:
Hack/Slash is a killer, killing monsters, like movie monsters, slasher monsters and it’s a lot of fun. There are shows like Grimm and Sleepy Hollow on right now that prove people like monster stories. And shows like True Blood show just what can be done on premium channels with classic horror monsters. While True Blood is just a lot of sex and blood, Hack/Slash could help make an even bigger puddle at HBO. We already know True Blood is going to be ending after next season, so a new show about monsters and demons and such being killed by an attractive girl is just what they’re going to need. They don’t have a lot of problems with gratuitous violence either so Hack/Slash would be a great fit for that empty Sunday night time slot. There’s plenty of existing material to work with, and the sky’s the limit from there. Killing monsters that have been killing people might not be the most original idea, but it’s certainly something that people would be willing to watch.

How To Make It Work:
I already mentioned it but this kind of show is only going to work on a premium channel like HBO. They have the budgets and ability to pretty much do whatever they want. A big thing to keep viewers watching though is going to be having an on-going story line. Monster of the week works great for network television, but if someone is paying for the channel you’re going to have to give them something to keep coming back for, and finding out the season long villain or mystery is just that kind of thing.

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Chris talks a bunch on PodQuest each week. He's also been known to write about stuff from time to time. You can Email Chris or follow Chris on Twitter @Just_Cobb or Facebook

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