Mystique
In a way, Mystique has already led a movie or two, if we count the First Class era of X-Men movies, in which Jennifer Lawrence‘s star-power pushed her shapeshifter to the forefront. But any X-Men fan can tell you that neither she nor the blue femme fatale played by Rebecca Romijn had much to do with the character from the comics.
A proper Mystique movie would draw more closely from the comics. The film could feature Mystique leading the Freedom Force, a group of evil mutants doing work for the U.S. government, and forever trying to outwit her handler Val Cooper. Or it could adapt the Brian K. Vaughn series from the 2000s, an espionage tale that made the most of her covert abilities. Perhaps it could draw from the recent Krakoa arc, in which Mystique was willing to burn down the mutant paradise to reunite with her lost wife, Destiny. And those are just three options out of the multitude offered by the multifarious mutant.
Star Sapphire
Ask most Green Lantern fans, and they’ll say that arch-enemy Sinestro deserves more attention. But the more compelling member of Hal Jordan’s Rogues Gallery is the one who is closest to him, the space-faring Star Sapphire. When introduced in 1962’s Green Lantern #16, by John Broome and Gil Kane, Star Sapphire was the alter-ego of Jordan’s girlfriend Carol Ferris, who gets turned into a murderous man-hater by an alien gem.
Over the years, the icky qualities of that original concept have been revised, to the point now that Carol has gained control over the gem and, in addition to no longer trying to force Green Lantern to marry her, has become a member of the Justice League. A great Star Sapphire movie would take place at the point of that change, with Carol still tempted by the obsessive feelings invoked by the gem, but fighting for a healthier understand of the power of love.
The Tick
As much as we would absolutely adore a film about the big blue bug of justice, that’s not the Tick we’re talking about. No, we want to see a movie about Barry Hubris, the guy who claims he was the Tick before the Tick. Barry first appears in 1986’s The Tick #11, written and drawn by creator Ben Edlund, demanding that the nigh-invincible blue guy give up the moniker and restore it to him. Of course, the Tick and Arthur win the right to keep the name, which drives Barry to remove his costume… and everything else, and spend the rest of his days running around in the nude.
A movie about Barry would build on the character’s later appearances, where we learn that he too was an inmate at Evanston Asylum, where the Tick we know and love got his gimmick, and that he makes a habit of stealing the identities of other super-people. A comedic film following Barry as he battles with the voices in his head and trying to find a superhero name that fits him would make for a delightful comic book parody, worthy of the name “the Tick.”