Until the release of What if... comic books and direct to DVD animated movies forever. But now, along with the big-screen debut of Miles Morales, it seems like any bizarre or kick-ass variation of popular characters is ripe for adaptation.
With this revelation, the only question that remains is just how weird can you get before a character becomes unadaptable? We like to think there is no limit, and with that in mind here are a few out-there alternate universe characters that would make for riveting cinema.
Jim Logan
The Marvel Noir universe, or Earth-90214, is probably best known for gifting the world with Spider-Man Noir, a grizzled P.I. version of Spider-man operating in a more hard-boiled take on the Marvel Continuity played brilliantly by Nick Cage in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. But Earth-90214 has its own set of X Men too, and among them is Jim Logan.
Jim Logan's cannon is a little messy, originally he appeared in X-Men Noir: Mark of Cain in which he appears as a bootlegger and romantic rival to that world version of Scott Summers. When he ultimately got his own Wolverine Noir series in 2009 this was retconned so that he was a gritty detective with a mysterious past, wielding claws as detachable weapons instead of having them implanted.
Cosmic Ghost Rider
Bear with us here, this is a little wild. As a part of writer Donnie Cates' Thanos Wins comic series in 2018, Thanos conquered Earth-TRN666, killing every known superhero except one, Frank Castle, The Punisher, who made a deal with Mephisto (Marvel's version of Satan) and became the newest Ghost Rider in order to enact his revenge.
But wait, there's more. When Frank returned to Earth, from Hell, Thanos had already left, leaving Frank as the sole survivor and completely alone for an uncountable amount of years, eventually going Deadpool levels of insane. Then Galactus arrived, seeking help against the Galaxy Conquering Thanos, he found Frank and offered him the Power Cosmic. Frank accepted, becoming the Cosmic Ghost Rider, an anti-hero that's utterly insane and undefinably powerful. Give us a Cosmic Ghost Rider movie, Marvel, you cowards!
Superman: Red Son
Created by writer Mark Millar and published under DCs Elseworlds imprint in 2003, Superman: Red Son saw baby Kal-El's Kyriptonion escape-pod crashes down in Ukraine as opposed to Kansas. This change in upbringing results in Superman becoming Stalin's champion of communism.
The story set out in the original 3 issue run explores both the differences this would make to the DCU timeline and the power shift of real history if Russia had had such a superpower. Fans have been clamoring for a big-screen adaptation of the Hammer & Sickle getting one this year, but the Red Son would be brilliant in a live-action adaptation.
Old Man Quill
A part of the Old Man Logan universe, Earth-807128 to be exact, in which at some point in the 21st Century the Red Skull united all of the supervillains to defeat the Marvel superheroes and proceded to conquer America. Old Man Quill takes place in this same universe, depicting a Star-Lord that stepped up and succeeded his father as the ruler of Spartax.
In his absence the ongoing series has seen Spartax destroyed and Star-Lord and the Guardians return to Earth. While his differing heritage in the MCU likely means we won't see the older versions of the Guardians any time soon, there's always the chance of a What If... episode.
DC's Injustice
This entry is less a specific character and more an entire alternate universe. The 2013 Nether Realm Studios fighting game, Injustice 2, but it's also had multiple comic book runs that fill in the gaps and depict years worth of events leading up to the video games' story.
It kicks off when the Joker uses fear toxin on Superman, tricking him into killing Lois Lane. When Batman then stops Superman from killing the Joker, he blames Lois' death on Bats and uses his powers to take over the world and install a totalitarian regime. It's a great take on the overdone Batman vs Superman formula and would make for a great movie.
Jay Garrick
The original Flash hasn't seen a lot of love over the years, kicking of Flash Comics in 1940 and later being folded into the Justice Society of America in All-Star Comics, it's amazing he's never even made in to film in a proper cameo let alone his own flick. While he's shown up in TV form, this crimson speedster deserves a bigger screen.
The Flash of Earth 2 was eventually rolled into the DCU proper and canonically operated in the same years as his real-world publication history. With this in mind, it's amazing no one has attempted a Jay Garrick film set around World War II, or even slid the date to the 60s for a psychedelic speedster romp.
Access
Axel Asher was a resulting Amalgam Comic's character following the DC vs Marvel crossover event. Unlike most Amalgam characters, he isn't a combination of two DC and Marvel characters but is instead an original creation t owned by the two companies.
What's interesting about Access nowadays is that he still exists in both the DC and Marvel universes, his goal to prevent them from ever merging again. Honestly, it's unlikely that Dc vs Marvel or the resulting Amalgam Comics will ever make it to the big screen, but the appearance of Access as a multi-dimensional guardian would definitely be interesting.
Terry McGinnis
The Batman of the future was created by Bruce Tim and Paul Dini and had the titular role in the 1999 DC Animated Universe cartoon Batman Beyond. Twenty years after the last sighting of Batman, teenager Terry McGinnis is on the run from a street gang known as the Jokerz. Escaping into Wayne Manor Terry is defended by a decrepit Bruce Wayne, eventually stumbling upon the Bat-Cave and becoming the new Batman under Bruce's guidance.
The original cartoon has amassed quite the cult following over the years, and Terry has even found himself folded into the DC Universe of the comics as Batman's cannon future successor. The only thing that's next is a live-action adaptation.
Spider-Man Earth X
Another alternate Spider-Man that aged out of super0heroing, but one who's future is a little less bleak. Earth-9997's Peter Parker gave up his webbed-onesie following his being outed as Spider-man by the Daily Bugle and the death of Mary Jane. He raised a daughter, May Parker, who eventually bonded with the Venom Symbiote, forcing him out of retirement.
The problem was that not only had Parker put on a few pounds in his twilight years, but also thrown out his spidey-suit. Meaning he had to wear some of his own ill-fitting merchandise when returning to the fray. Once the events of the Earth-X comic play out, Peter finds himself ing the NYPD as a super-cop.
Leatherwing
There have been many alternate versions of Batman throughout the multiverse named Leatherwing, but likely one of the most interesting is the one introduced in 1994s Detective Comics Annual #7. More often known as Batman: Leatherwing, this is basically a pirate version of Batman.
Following his parents' murder (because Batman) and the subsequent theft of their land, Captain Leatherwing of the Flying Fox is employed by King James II to eliminate England's rivaling ships. He pillages in the process so that he might buy back his inheritance, donning a mask so as not to besmirch his family name in the process.
