Today, the thought of live-action adaptations seems to gather the most attention from comic book fans. But what is often overlooked are the animated films and shows, many of which are able to better capture the tone and style of a comic almost better than if it had been live-action.
Some great examples over the years have been Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, the 1992 X-Men series, and of course the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. And with more great comics being discovered for new medium interpretations, it is presenting more diverse introductions to characters fans may be unfamiliar with.
10 Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur
A young Inhuman super-genius with a red-scaled dinosaur, Lunella Lafayette was first introduced to Marvel fans in 2015. Known for her high intelligence, Lunella creates various gadgets for herself and had accidentally brought the Devil Dinosaur to her hometown of New York. Devil Dinosaur was originally created in the 1970s by none other than Jack Kirby, when the dinosaur was then partnered with Moon-Boy in their world, The Valley of Flame.
The new animated series will star Diamond White in the lead role of Lunella, with Fred Tatasciore as Devil Dinosaur. Even executive producer Laurence Fishburne is to have a recurring voice role as The Beyonder. The show is set to premiere on Disney Channel in 2022.
9 Canto
Written by David M. Booher and with art by Drew Zucker, Canto is a fun adventure comic with plenty of heart, that first released in 2019. Inspired by The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Canto follows a young tin-knight who heads out on a quest to save a young tin-girl’s heart, and confront The Shrouded Man.
Westbrook Studios, owned by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, has recently struck a deal to adapt the IDW Published series into an animated feature. No casting decisions have been made as of yet, but co-creator Booher has been attached to write the script.
8 Batman: The Long Halloween (Part 1 & 2)
Based on the 1996 limited series of the same name, Batman: The Long Halloween follows the Caped Crusader as he investigates a string of murders that take place on holidays, during a war with opposing crime families. The series remains a huge hit amongst Batman fans, having spawned sequels and inspired various other works like Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.
Being split into two films, Part One will be released both digitally and on Blu-ray June 22nd, 2021. Part Two will be released digitally July 27th, 2021 and on Blu-Ray August 10th, 2021.
7 What If…?
Set to premiere August 2021, Marvel’s What If…?, is an animated anthology series that looks at alternative stories surrounding the MCU. Many of the cast members from the MCU have even signed on to voice their characters in this animated adaptation, like Hayley Atwell and Josh Brolin. And making his MCU debut will be Jeffrey Wright, who will voice The Watcher, an extraterrestrial who first appeared in Fantastic Four back in 1963. The Watcher’s duty is to observe all universes in time and space and is not supposed to interfere.
What If? is a Marvel comic book anthology that debuted in 1977. Much like the upcoming series, the comics presented possible scenarios like Spider-Man joining the Fantastic Four, or the Punisher‘s family never having died.
6 Usagi Yojimbo
Created by Stan Sakai in 1984, Usagi Yojimbo follows the samurai rabbit, Miyamoto Usagi, who wanders Japan offering his services and getting into various adventures. The series is still running to this day and has created many beloved characters, as well as provided homages to many Japanese films and stories.
An upcoming CGI animated Netflix series, Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles, will be based on the long-running comic series. However, this adaptation is to follow Miyamoto’s future teenage descendent as he learns to become a true samurai.
As of now, there is no release date set for the show.
5 DC’s League of Super-Pets
Consisting of the pets of the DC Comics heroes, DC’s League of Super-Pets is an animated comedy film set to premiere (as of now) in May 20th, 2022. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is set to both produce and star in the film as Superman’s famous pet, Krypto the Superdog.
Krypto first made his appearance in Adventure Comics in 1955, and possesses all the same powers as his friend Superman. The feature film has the writer of The LEGO Batman Movie and The LEGO Ninjago Movie, Jared Stern, writing and co-directing with Sam Levine.
4 Marvel’s Spidey And His Amazing Friends
Aimed at preschoolers and their families, Spidey And His Amazing Friends is a Disney Junior series featuring Peter Parker, Miles Morales, and Gwen the Ghost-Spider, coming together to fight crime. But the series will also find the web-slingers teaming up with fan favorites like Hulk, Black Panther, and Ms. Marvel.
Though no release date or additional information has been made available, the series is set to premiere in 2021.
3 Injustice
Recently announced, Injustice will be DC Comics’ next direct-to-video animated film, following the plot of the popular video game, Injustice: Gods Among Us. The fighting game surrounds an alternative universe where Superman becomes a ruthless dictator, forcing Batman to recruit the Justice League members from the modern DC Universe to assist in taking down the Man of Steel.
The video game has spawned a game sequel and prequel comic book series, so there is uncertainty about what plotline this new film will follow. No formal date has been announced for the film’s release.
2 Hit-Monkey
At one time Hulu had announced that there were to be four animated Marvel adaptations, one of which being the newly released M.O.D.O.K. starring Patton Oswalt. Since then, Hit-Monkey is the only series still to be in production.
Hit-Monkey first appeared in his own self-titled one-shot comic in 2010, where the snow monkey learned martial arts after his clan took in a dying assassin and cared for him. No other details about the Hit-Monkey animated series have been brought to the public as of yet, and no release date has been announced.
1 Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Sequel
The Academy Award-winning, 2018 animated feature, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, was embraced by both fans and critics for its uniquely stylized film and incorporating lesser-known Spider-Man characters that had not been seen on screen before.
Though there are not many details on the sequel, the film is set to release on October 7th, 2022. It was originally stated that the Japanese Spider-Man, Takuya Yamashiro, will be added to the film, with fans also assuming that Oscar Isaac will return to voice Spider-Man 2099, Miguel O’Hara. Though, as of yet, there is no further information about Isaac’s involvement.
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