8 comic book characters who should be adapted to video games

Comic book characters are a dime a dozen, so why aren’t there as many video games based on them?

Next month marks the tenth anniversary of one of the greatest comic book games of all-time, nay, video games of all-time. That game is Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Arkham Asylum paved the way for comic book-inspired video games, ensuring that they became more of a mainstream thing – evidenced now by the fact that the Playstation 4 exclusive Spider-Man recently passed Arkham Asylum’s sequel, Arkham City, for most units sold.

Batman and Spider-Man aren’t the only two comic book characters worthy of video game adaptations though, so here’s a list of eight others who also deserve the video game treatment.

Swamp Thing

Image by DC Comics/Art by Jesus Saiz

If there’s any character that could take on the style of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and make it its own, it would be Swamp Thing.

There is a lot of potential in the mythos of Swamp Thing that could make for a great survival horror game, including such things as The Rot and The Red. Swamp Thing wouldn’t even need to be the main character, as Abby Arcane could fill that role.

Swamp Thing has previously appeared in several other video games, most notably Injustice 2 and Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. The character also had a game released for the NES in 1991 based around the animated series. That said, there’s much that could be done with the survival horror genre within the swamps of Louisiana.

Daredevil

Image by Marvel Comics/Art by Julian Tedesco

If there was any character that could combine the combat of the Batman: Arkham series with last year’s Spider-Man game, it would be Daredevil. Given the propensity of the character to brawl just as much swing across Hell’s Kitchen, he would be a joy to take control of.

The fighting could be a less free-flow and less button-mashing with a character like Daredevil and provide a more deliberate combat system, as well as a smooth movement system. There is also ample opportunity for extensive courtroom segments with the Matt Murdock side of the character.

Daredevil has most notably appeared in the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games, as well as the Lego Marvel games.

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman #56 cover by Riley Rossmo (Credit: DC Comics)

If you’ve played through Assassin’s Creed Odyssey as Kassandra, you’ve essentially already played a Wonder Woman game. But what if there was actually a fully-fledged game based on the character though?

Imagine a game based around Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang’s excellent Wonder Woman run with gameplay similar to that of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Gods and monsters mixed with modern day Europe, or possibly even set it during World War I like the 2017 film, and that seems like a recipe for success.

Wonder Woman has most notably appeared before in the Injustice series, as well as Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes and Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.

John Constantine

Credit DC Comics

Constantine is a character that defies many expectations within the comic book world. He’s also a character that seemingly has any power that he needs at any given time. Now, this is perfect for the realm of video games because it opens up potential RPG elements.

A game centered around John Constantine very much could be a supernatural detective game that involves some nice RPG elements that lets the player choose the skills that they want their Constantine to have. Bring in other characters from the DC Universe such as The Phantom Stranger, Deadman, The Sandman, and Zatanna and you could have yourself a nice little magic game.

John Constantine has also appeared in DC Universe Online and the video game tie-in to the 2005 Constantine film.

Green Lantern Corps

Credit DC Comics

Space, the final frontier. Or in the case of the Green Lantern Corps, 3600 final frontiers.

A Green Lantern Corps game would have the potential to be everything that Anthem wasn’t: a sprawling sci-fi adventure that takes players to infinite different worlds and lets them play how they want to play. Plus, there’s obvious potential for a great story.

Seven different Lantern Corps and you could choose whichever one you want as the game progresses. Combine that with space travel, and you can get a really fun game out of the Green Lantern Corps.

Multiple Green Lanterns have appeared in video games over the years with the most notable being Hal Jordan in the Injustice series.

Aquaman

Image by DC Comics/Art by Robson Rocha

Underwater levels in video games are consistently viewed as the worst levels in whichever video game they appear in. If an Aquaman game were to be made, much of it would probably take place underwater. This however, could be the strength of the game if done right.

Should the controls actually let you navigate underwater and the combat system feels like it has weight to it, the underwater stigma could possibly be lifted by an Aquaman game. Plus, there’s plenty of potential to deliver an original story in a different medium.

Aquaman previously had a game released, Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis, which was critically panned, and since then he has appeared in the Injustice series and the Lego Batman series.

Thor

Image Source: Marvel Digital Comics

Take 2018’s God of War, make Thor the main character, and base the game around “The God Butcher” storyline. That’s a recipe for a great game right there.

The God of War combat system would be perfect given the similarity to Kratos’ axe and Mjolnir. Plus, if the game were to follow “The God Butcher” storyline, there would also be potential for time travel mechanics, as well as venturing in the Nine Realms.

Thor has previously appeared in Thor: God of Thunder, a tie-in game to the 2011 film, as well as more prominently in the Lego Marvel series.

Jonah Hex

Image by DC Comics/Art by Jordi Bernet

Red Dead Redemption brought into the DC Universe – that’s what a Jonah Hex game would essentially be.

Storywise, the easiest way to go about a game like this would be to follow Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti’s run on the character, which is don’t focus on a main story. Rather, have many side quests that you can do instead, and primarily focus on the gameplay.

Making the gunplay fun while providing an abundance of enjoyable quests is undoubtedly the key to a great Jonah Hex game.

Jonah Hex hasn’t appeared in any video games.

Which comic book characters would you like to see headline their own video game? Let us know in the comments below!