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In Media Madness, Matt. Murray reviews, revisits and rambles about comics, cartoons and their interactions in and with related media.

A few weeks ago, here on the Ol’ SAC Blog,  I let loose a venom-soaked rant against five of my least favorite comic character performances in live action media.  To atone for that I promised a Top 10 list of my favorite performances to show that I can be at least a wee bit positive about the media that I so love and spend so much money and time watching and consuming.  So, it may be a few weeks late, but here’s that venom-soaked rant that I promised.

But before we roll on, I feel that maybe there’s a little clarification that needs to be taken into account.  There is one, actually two,  key performances of one seminal character missing from this list and that’s because I think there needs to be some time put between those parts and writing about them to understand their true weight, or perhaps they need to be examined in their own post – now there’s an idea, and it’s mine so no sniping – and I’m talking about Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson and their respective Jokers.

Ledger’s pre-eminence as the premiere essayist of a four-colors-for-a-dime character is up for debate. Yes, he was brilliant; and yes that is at least one of the reasons he currently stands as the only actor to be honored with an Oscar for his performance (read all about the whys and wherefores here); but I believe Jack Nicholson’s Joker could still go toe-to-toe for him for the title of the true Clown Prince of Crime. Only time will truly tell… but, I had to take Ledger, and in fairness Nicholson, out of the race to honestly handicap the rest of the field.

So without further ado, here are my two bits:

Top 10 Comic Book Character Performances in Live Action Media

(That Weren’t Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight or Jack Nicholson in Batman)

Note: The list is not ranked and presented in alphabetical order by performer’s last name.

Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno as Dr. Banner/the Incredible Hulk on The Incredible Hulk

Although he’s now had no less than three animated series and two theatrically released feature films under his belt, the Hulk has never hit the heights of popularity that he achieved when Bixby and Ferrigno were playing their respective sides of Dr. Banner’s psyche from 1978 – 1982.   Bill Bixby’s earnest and serious Banner is always credited for driving the show’s drama, while Lou Ferrigno’s 6’5″ Mr. Universe physique drove every other aspect including the Nielsen ratings.  In the late 1980s Bixby and Ferrigno reunited for three made-for-TV movies, one of which had Banner on the verge of curing himself of the Hulk only to have to kill himself to save a woman he loved.   After the critical flop of the over meditative 2003 Hulk film, Marvel and filmmakers Louis Leterrier and Edward Norton insisted on returning to the roots of the TV show cribbing plot, music and character bits directly from the program for their 2008 reboot.  However, even though their CG Hulk was truer to the size and strength of the one in the comics, general fan consensus will tell you that the best Hulk has always been Big Lou in running around in green body paint.  

Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman on Wonder Woman

Yeah, most of the work was in the outfit, but then again the same can be said for the character in most of the pre-70s WW comics. Carter rightfully never won any acting awards, but her place in the pantheon of television and fanboy history is forever cemented… err… I just won’t say with what…

TIE: Danny DeVito as the Penguin/ Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman in Batman Returns

Michelle Pfeiffer is often, and rightfully, applauded for her seriously sexy portrayal of a leather-clad, whip-lashing, dominatrix Catwoman, but I don’t feel that enough kudos are tossed at Danny DeVito for bringing the flip side to that coin as the Penguin.  His drooling, libidinous, ogling Oswald Cobblepott is more disgusting once you choose to look at Batman Returns for what it is, a fetishistic melodrama with DC characters.  If a hero is defined by his villains, then in the second Tim Burton Batman film, Ol’ Bats is a brewing psycho-sexual drama where his desire to get duded up in rubber and beat things is controlled by a scary little man intent on destroying beauty in his quest to re-discover his dead parents.  Oh and all sides of this Bat/Cat/Bird triangle, actually square once Christopher Walken gets involved, really want to and/or do penetrate each other with various objects that include umbrellas, bullwhips, canes, fancy boomerangs, fingers and good ol’ fashioned naughty bits.  Burton’s normal inability to direct actors actually serves the players, especially DeVito and Pfeiffer,  as they chew the… scenery… while using pounds of latex and leather to their advantage.  Merry Christmas Alfred, indeed.

Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man in Iron Man

Since Erroll Flynn, few actors have been able to pull off an honest combination of arrogance and humor with a twinge of conscience and make their character a likable, if not lovable hero.  In Iron Man, Robert Downey, Jr. more than pulled it off and one of the best superhero films in ten years emerged as a result.  Clearly most of the heavy lifting in the Iron Man department was done by CGI and the stunt men, but RDJ’s Tony Stark and his moments in the suit made you beg to go along for the ride with them.

Chris Evans as the Human Torch in Fantastic Four and F4: Rise of the Silver Surfer

The Human Torch is basically the underside of Spider-Man.  Both were given fairly remarkable powers at a young age, but where Peter Parker had a dead uncle’s damning words of wisdom to drive him into heroics, the Human Torch only has his semi-bridled glee to focus these abilities becoming the coolest kid possible.  He’s brash, opportunistic, and for the most part fun and funny – though where Spidey cracks his wit on his villains, the Torch has his teammate the Thing to demean and play pranks on.  As a character he’s a great read, especially if you’re a boy between the ages of 10 and 22, but in real life the guy would probably be an insufferable jackass that you would wish the Thing would completely pummel just once… just once.  Luckily for Chris Evans, the director of the Fantastic Four franchise had no idea how to interact with actors, so he was left alone to create a character rooted more in the comic book and his own acting talent than whatever lame excuse for a universe created by the films’ creative teams.  How else can you possibly explain his ability to actually come across as a fully formed character in not one but two ridiculously horrible films?

Paul Giamatti/Harvey Pekar/Gary Leib as Harvey Pekar in American Splendor

Points here go as much to the choice of material, as the performance itself.  It’s not a stretch for Paul Giamatti to play a nebbishy wreck of a man trying to fumble through a fantastically mundane existence in a slice of life drama-dey.  When you consider that movie is adapted from the Harvey Pekar American Splendor comics, it makes you want to take a second, third, fourth (etc.) look at a really solid performance of a man made two dimensions, then returned to “real” life of a sort.  Directors Sherri Springer Pullman and Robert Pulci don’t let you forget the source material or the source of it either, as they layer the dramatized bits with interviews with Harvey Pekar and his family and animated bits (by Gary Leib) that remind you that this was all a moderately selling indie comic before it was high profile indie film.  While Giamatti is pitch perfect as Pekar, seeing them side -by-side allows you to understand that the actor is not merely doing an impression, but trying to find a character specific to the script.    

Ron Perlman as Hellboy in Hellboy and HBII: The Golden Army

One of the few actors who actually looks better as the monsters he portrays, Ron Perlman took his swing at movie stardom and knocked a solid triple with the first Hellboy movie.  He was the dream actor for both director Guillermo Del Toro and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, and the fact that Del Toro almost refused to do the movie without him (Vin Dielsel?  Really? hmmm… maybe…) all say more for his portrayal than I ever could.   His performance in the second film, was as good if not slightly better — as was the film itself — but both were completely overshadowed by the following week’s release of The Dark Knight.

Christopher Reeve as Superman in Superman and Superman II

One word: C’mon!

Honorable Mention: Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon in the Flash Gordon Serials

As much as historians and fans insist that they do, I find that the Flash Gordon serials do not stand the test of time. However, if you cut them the proper amount of slack, they are a lot of fun and not just for the monsters that were purchased from pet shops. Crabbe is solid as the centerpiece of the three multi-part epics. His performance, like the original Alex Raymond character himself, is made solely of his dashing good looks and athleticism, both of which get a strenuous workout. You may even forgive the visible swap out of Crabbe for a midget when he battles a giant lizard beast in a darkened tunnel.

Honorable Mention: Penny Singleton as Blondie

For 36 films between 1938 and 1950, Singleton defined the role of the annoying, dingbat, wife that would come infect sitcoms for generations. However, if you’ve seen one you’ve definitely seen them all so if you ever get the opportunity, pick one at random and run with it.

Honorable Mention: Kevin Conroy/Bruce Timm as Batman

Actually, if this list were ranked, and not supposed to be just about live action media this would be number one.  This team’s work on Batman: The Animated Series and its subsequent films, branch and spin-offs, is perhaps the best adaptive work in comics-to-film media and a great note to leave this list off on.  For over 15 years Conroy has voiced Batman, and for most of that time he was able to create distinctly different and believable voices for both the Caped Crusader and Bruce Wayne. (Though the different incarnations of Justice League featured only Batman, not his alter ego.) He probably is the only one ever to pull the feat off, although I don’t think Adam West ever gave the concept any thought at all. Of course, Conroy’s success would be nothing without Bruce Timm’s iconic character design, especially in the earlier seasons before the Bat’s ears could get cable reception (and Catwoman turned green.)

Matt. Murray earned his BFA in film, television and radio production from NYU. He has curated exhibits focusing on the art and commerce of Saturday Morning cartoons and the adaptation of illustrated media into live actions films and animation. Murray is the country’s leading (if not only) Smurfologist. His personal blog, It’s Time for Some Action, can be found at http://actnmatt.blogspot.com/