17 Years Ago, Mark Millar’s First Comic Adaptation Completely Ignored the Original Supervillain Epic

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Over the years, this creator has written many comic books for publishers like Marvel, DC, and others. One notable example is a title originally published by Top Cow, an imprint of Image Comics. While the comic was later made into a movie, the film differed significantly from the original story, sharing little more than the name.

The Wanted comic book was a clear reflection of the superhero genre, acting as a dark parody of it – almost like a twisted version of the DC Universe. However, the movie adaptation didn’t capture these elements at all. This is likely because the comic came out at a different time for superhero films, and so far, no adaptation has truly captured the spirit of the original comic.

The Wanted Movie Was an Epic Action Success

The film Wanted, released in 2008, was based on a comic book that came out four years earlier. It was the first movie adapted from a comic by Mark Millar, and it appeared in a year already packed with superhero films. Interestingly, the movie significantly downplayed the superhero elements of the original comic, offering a very different interpretation of the story and characters.

Wesley Gibson is an ordinary, unhappy office worker whose life takes a dramatic turn when he learns his late father was a highly skilled assassin. Wesley soon discovers he inherited this dangerous legacy, manifesting as incredible strength and speed. He dramatically quits his job and joins the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins dedicated to maintaining peace – or so he thinks. Ultimately, Wesley finds that the Fraternity isn’t what it seems, and those he believed were allies become enemies.

With a production budget of $75 million, the movie Wanted earned nearly $350 million in theaters, making it a significant financial success. The general rule is that a film needs to earn 2.5 times its budget to be profitable, and Wanted easily cleared that mark. The film also received positive reviews, currently holding a 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Both critics and audiences praised its dark humor, intense action, and the cast, many of whom are known for their work in comic book movies.

James McAvoy famously played a young Professor Charles Xavier, and Angelina Jolie later appeared as Thena in Marvel’s Eternals. Chris Pratt also had an early role in the film, playing a character connected to Wesley’s job. This was just before he gained recognition on Parks and Recreation, and a few years before becoming a major movie star. Morgan Freeman played Lucius Fox in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, and his role in Wanted was one of the few times he played a villain. Considering the source material, these connections to superhero films weren’t surprising.

The First Mark Millar Movie Adaptation Was Very Different from the Comics

The comic book Wanted, by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones, offered a gritty and realistic take on the superhero world, a contrast to the more simplified version in the movie. Though the core story is similar in both, the comic book delves much deeper into the traditional tropes of heroes and villains.

Superheroes and supervillains used to be common, but the villains eventually won, reversing years of defeats. They then used magic to wipe out everyone’s memory of powered individuals. This left a group called the Fraternity with free rein to do as they pleased. As often happens with those in power, disagreements arose, and the Fraternity splintered into different factions, each with its own goals. Wesley is one of these new villains, and his training with the Fraternity has made him exceptionally powerful.

The Wanted comic book series hints at being a reimagined version of the traditional DC Universe, with many villains clearly inspired by existing DC characters. This choice emphasized the story’s cynical tone, a common trait in Mark Millar’s work. During this period, Millar became known for telling darker, more critical stories, regardless of whether he used well-known characters or created new ones.

Mark Millar is famous for writing popular stories like the alternate-history Superman tale, Red Son, and the Marvel crossover event, Civil War (which later became a Marvel movie). These stories showcase his tendency towards darker, more intense narratives – a style that built on the trend of gritty superhero comics from the 1990s. Adapting this complex style for a movie required some adjustments.

The comic book Wanted featured villains inspired by characters from both Marvel and DC universes, including one based on a combination of DC’s Vandal Savage. The movie adaptation has become the most famous version of the story. Now, it’s officially part of Mark Millar’s Millarworld universe, and the character Wesley Gibson has appeared in other stories within that universe.

The series Big Game followed up on Wanted and brought together all the characters from the Millarworld comics. It’s considered the most faithful adaptation of the source material, and while a sequel was planned, it never materialized. Considering how the original movie was made and its history, now would be a great time to revisit the story and create that sequel.

Why the Wanted Movie Was So Different from the Comics

The filmmakers altered the Wanted movie to appeal to a wider audience because superhero films and shows weren’t as popular then as they are now. Adapting the comic book’s stronger superhero elements would have been costly, and the surge in popularity of superhero movies was just beginning.

Superhero movies faced some challenges after disappointing third installments in several franchises, including the X-Men series. Audiences hadn’t forgotten critically panned films like Batman & Robin from years earlier, which is why The Dark Knight was such a hit and sparked a new wave of superhero adaptations. Interestingly, despite a recent dip in interest in typical superhero stories, now could be the perfect time for a faithful adaptation of Wanted. While mainstream superhero movies are losing steam, grittier, more mature takes on the genre are becoming increasingly popular.

Shows like The Boys and Invincible demonstrate a successful approach to adapting superhero comics. Invincible, being animated, stands out, but both series manage to be surprisingly heartfelt despite their cynical tone. The Boys cleverly avoids and even mocks the idea of “superhero fatigue,” which is a key to its success. To best adapt Mark Millar’s other comics, a live-action or animated series – similar in style to these hits – would be ideal. This approach would be more cost-effective and potentially more successful than Netflix’s attempt with Jupiter’s Legacy.

If a new adaptation of Wanted followed a similar style to The Boys, it could be even better than both the original movie and comic book. The comic, much like Mark Millar’s Kick-Ass, featured characters who were brutally realistic and often unlikeable, with the protagonist eventually embracing his negative outlook. It had a strong sense of cynical darkness, openly accepting evil and negativity. While this tone worked well within the story, it might not appeal to everyone in a film or TV adaptation.

The original comic book had similar issues, even becoming known for some problematic elements. The TV show fixed this by adding real substance and clever humor, and a new adaptation of Wanted could do the same. While it would likely be made 20 years after the movie, that timing would be perfect to finally tell the story well and even surpass the original source material.

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2025-11-06 22:14