The Crow Movies Haven't Gotten Eric Draven's Origin Right After 30 Years

By Robert Pitman

Published Aug 25, 2024

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Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Crow!

Contains discussions of murder and sexual assault.

Summary

Both 1994 and 2024's The Crow movies changed Eric Draven's origin story, with the latest adaptation taking a new spin on the iconic character.
The brutal nature of Eric and Shelly's deaths in the comics is likely why The Crow movies have altered their origin stories for a wider audience appeal.
Despite the changes, all versions of The Crow still follow Eric seeking revenge for the murders of himself and his soulmate, Shelly.

An all-new movie in original The Crow graphic novel was released, several adaptations have put their own spin on the iconic story. Unfortunately, none of these stories have managed to get Eric's origins right, and it was already clear that 2024's The Crow wasn't going to either from the very first trailer.

2024's The Crow is putting a fresh spin on the beloved graphic novel, with it being the biggest adaptation of the story since the 1994 original. 2024's The Crow clearly took some liberties when bringing its version of the story to the big screen, with elements such as the look of Bill Skarsgård's Eric and The Crow being wildly different. One of the biggest changes in the new movie has to do with the death of Eric, with it again not being anything like his death in the comics.

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Both The Crow Movies Changed Eric Draven's Origin Story From The Comics

Even Though All Three End Up With Eric & Shelly Dead

Both 1994 and 2024's The Crow movies have altered Eric Draven's origin story, with neither film giving an accurate adaptation of the character's death. In the 1994 film, Eric and Shelly are attacked in their apartment, with them both dying there. In 2024's The Crow, Eric and Shelly are suffocated to death, with this being the least violent method of murder yet.

The Crow is just named Eric, not Eric Draven in the 2024 film.

While Eric and Shelly are killed in the original The Crow graphic novel, it is played out very differently than in the movie adaptations. In the comics, Eric and Shelly's car breaks down while they are driving home from a vacation. A group of thugs arrive and shoot Eric, paralyzing him. They then force Eric to watch while they sexually assault and beat Shelly to death, with Eric then dying while on the way to the hospital.

Bill Skarsgård and FKA Twigs from 2024's The Crow in front of a theater screen

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Why The Crow Movies Keep Changing Eric Draven's Origin

The Original Origins Could Be Too Dark

Since all three of these The Crow origin stories end with both characters being killed, some have wondered why the movies keep changing Eric Draven's origin. These changes are mostly likely to do with how brutal Eric and Shelly's comic book deaths are. Even though The Crow movies are R-rated, depicting the violence of their comic book deaths could push the film's rating to an NC-17.

On top of that, the brutality of their murders doesn't make all that much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. All of these killings still set Eric up to seek revenge on the murderers. Because of this, the teams behind The Crow movies could have simply decided that it wasn't worth the trouble of dealing with the overly brutal murders.