CREDIT: 21ST CENTURY FILM CORPORATION
If you thought nothing could be cheesier than the Cap's smile, think again.

Superhero movies have made the biggest comeback yet, with the brand-new Marvel cinematic canon establishing a whole new movie universe beginning with 2008’s Iron Man and continuously unfurling without stop, and its rival, the DC body of films that are just getting their start with various Justice League films in development. But comic book films were of course not as structured and well planned as today’s cinematic opuses. In fact, most of them are forgotten, with good reason. Here are a few:

Fantastic Four (1994)

No matter what you think of that brief, tragic resurgence of the Fantastic Four property, which now due for another reboot already, it still manages to stay miles ahead of the 1994 Fantastic Four adaptation in regards to sheer production value. But as for entertainment value, well, compared to the 2000’s bore fest, Fantastic Four was a definite winner. Produced by schlock-master Roger Corman for a budget under $500,000, this ridiculously cheesy throwback to the ‘70s golden age of trash cinema was only produced for the sake of 20th Century Fox being allowed to retain the movie rights to the Fantastic Four franchise with no actual release intended. Yet a copy of the film managed to leak and find its way through bootleg tapes and onto the Internet, where you can view it in all its rubber puppet, wire-flinging glory.

Captain America (1990)

This incredibly bizarre (and actually quite boring) adaptation of the first Avenger actually share an abnormal number of story similarities with the 2011 release. Captain America here is less heroic and more car thief that also runs to his destination on occasion. Anti-climactic in every possible way a super hero movie can be. Ever wanted to see the Great American Hero pilot a Yugo? Neither did we.

The Punisher (1989)

This Dolph Lundgern train wreck tried too hard to be its own thing, as was the fashion of most adaptations of that generation’s cinemas. Frank Castle, the Punisher, didn’t even have the iconic skull on his chest. All in all, it melts ungracefully into the muddy pool of bad, violent ‘80s action movies.

Hulk TV movies (1988, 1989)

The Incredible Hulk was one of the hottest TV shows of 1978, with bodybuilder Lou Ferringo perfectly cast as the green monster. The TV movies still carried that polyester ‘70s feeling… well into the late ‘80s. They’re cheesy, corny and smell like the moth balls that stuff leisure suits sitting in attics, but The Incredible Hulk Returns and The Trial of the Incredible Hulk will still keep your ass glued to the couch watching Ferringo’s green body painted and green wigged, for some reason antics.