Top Ten Comic Books that need to Convert in Video Games

Turning a comic book into a video game is a delicate art form. Video games based on comic books have the potential to be horrible, as proven by Superman 64 and pretty much every Hulk game ever made. However, when handled with care, these games can be the mega hits of the gaming world. Batman: Arkham Asylum is a great example of a comic book video game done right.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of comic books out there that have never been converted to video game form, but here's a list of the ten we think have the most potential.

10. Star Wars: Droids

I admit that there are probably enough Star Wars games in the world. But come on, why do R2D2 and C3P0 not have their own game yet? The Star Wars: Droids cartoon of long ago and various Droids comic book series have proven that these two droids have their own interesting stories to tell. And R2D2 has a ton of cool gadgetry tucked away inside his metal body. He can hack computers, lay down oil slicks, set things on fire, and even fly. Artoo definitely has a lot of potential as a video game star. I guess this makes C3P0 the Tails of the duo: he just follows along and worries, and you'll most likely enjoy mercilessly leading him into spike pits and pools of molten lava.

9. Tales from the Crypt

With so many video game franchises drawing influences from classic tales of horror, I've often wondered why there is no Tales from the Crypt video game. The Tales from the Crypt comics of the 1950s have become cult classics, and they even made a fairly successful transition to television in the 80s and 90s.

I imagine Tales from the Crypt: The Video Game as a cross between the early Resident Evil games and the 2D Castelvania games, only with ridiculously over-the-top boss fights and a wicked sense of humor. But your character would most likely die a twisted, ironic little death even after you beat the game.

8. Bone

OK. So five or six years ago, there was already a game based off Jeff Smith's beloved Bone series. But it wasn't very good, and certainly failed to live up to the high expectations set by the graphic novel masterpiece. It's time to rectify this.

The Bone comics already include an incredibly rich cast of characters and a storyline that's both simple and epic at the same time. Those who read this series were introduced to a highly-detailed world full of memorable denizens, like the Great Red Dragon and the Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures. Everything about the Bone series just screams RPG to me, although it would take a team of brilliant writers to make it work properly. In fact, it would probably require Jeff Smith himself to spearhead the writing team.

7. The Spirit

The Spirit was one of the first true masterpieces of the comic book medium. It featured an ex-detective vigilante in a Beagle Boys mask who hides out beneath his supposed grave. Originating in the 1940s, the Spirit comics were influenced by the Noir style of crime films of its time period. Of course, as a game The Spirit would have to function as a crime drama, focusing more on crime-solving than action. Yet there's still plenty of room for stealth and combat situations to arise in the midst of all that crime-solving.

6. Sandman

The Sandman's Morpheus is a tortured soul suffering for his sins and seeking redemption, much like Red Dead Redemption's John Marston. He could be cast in a Fable-like game that allows players to make choices about whether to try to redeem this guy or just send him down a whirlwind path of chaos. With all of this taking place inside the Dreaming, the possibilities for weird encounters with fascinating people and creatures are nearly endless.

And yes, of course we're speaking of the Neil Gaiman version of Sandman, not the Marvel Comics version.

5. Green Arrow

With the Green Lantern and Green Hornet films both out this year, it's time to fully cash in on this obsession with the color green. The Green Arrow needs his own video game.

The Green Arrow is a lot like Batman, yet he dresses like Robin Hood, is obsessed with liberal politics, and has an impressive arsenal of truly awesome arrow types. For example, his ammo types include exploding arrows, tear gas arrows, and grappling arrows.

Just imagine a game similar to Arkham Asylum, only the combat would be much more focused on ranged skills rather than melee attacks. The Green Arrow might even give Batman a run for his money.

4. The Boys

Who watches the Watchmen? "The Boys" do. These guys are CIA agents who specialize in "taking care of" superheroes. And by "taking care of" I definitely mean "assassinating." How has no one made this into a video game yet?

This screams "M rating."

3. Tank Girl

Tank Girl is probably most well-known for the terrible film that came out back in 1995. I bet that's why she never got to star in her own video game. But there is some serious potential here. Imagine a first-person shooter with a cartoony visual style (along the lines of Team Fortress 2 only more stylized), but set in a dystopian Australia and filled with raunchy humor and 1980s punk rock. Tank Girl could be the female answer to Duke Nukem.

And did I mention she drives a tank?

2. Deadpool

Deadpool has starred in quite a few video games already. He was a playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, and also showed up briefly in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. Most recently, he scored a place on the roster of Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. His erratic behavior in MvC3, which includes shouting hysterically into the camera and beating people with his own health bar, has already made him wildly popular among the gaming crowd. Isn't it about time that he gets his own video game? It would do his ego a world of good.

1. V for Vendetta

Strangely, when the film version of V for Vendetta came out, there was no video game counterpart. That was probably a good thing back then, since games based of movies don't tend to be very good. But now I think it's time to bring V to our gaming consoles.

This could make a fantastic open-world super combo of Grand Theft Auto and Assassin's Creed. Sow the seeds of anarchy throughout the streets of an alternate version of England, blowing things up, taking out police, and assassinating pretty much the entire government.

One question though: would players step into the shoes of psychotic V or the manipulated Evey Hammond? Both scenarios could have interesting results, but the option to choose between the two, each with wildy different storylines, could make this a true masterpiece.