With Agents Of Shield, Arrow and Flash all wrapped up for the season there are only so many times you can re-watch Age Of Ultron before it’s time to move on to the next addiction. Arkham Knight and Ant-Man are still a month or more away so maybe it’s time to take a dip into the unknown. Here’s a list of obscure superhero worlds you might want to try.
1. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Let’s start off with a familiar face. If there ever was a superhero you’d want to take the role of in a video game it would be Wolverine. He’s a terrifying force of pure fury, adamantium, animal senses and not to mention damn hard to kill so it’s a wonder there haven’t been many attempts to bring this character to PC and consoles before.
Now I have to admit it is a movie game and it’s movie counterpart is not everyone’s favourite X-Men movie but Raven Software somehow managed to make this the exception to the “every game based on a movie is terrible” rule.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine seems like it’s a game that has been allowed to reach it’s full potential without too much interference from the movie studio. The plot is completely different from the actual film, except for a few scenes and similar characters. Where this game really shines is Wolverine himself, Raven have managed to capture the full power of the character. With his adamantium claws, the rage mode and Wolverine’s heightened healing factor, the player really feels like a potent force, so much so that on second play through at maximum level Wolverine is almost OP.
2. Unbreakable (2000)
When it comes to M. Night Shyamalan films the list of quality films doesn’t stretch very far.
The Sixth Sense is his defining film and Signs was quite good up until the aliens revealed themselves but by now almost everyone knows the ending to The Sixth Sense and it’s hard to watch Signs without it being tainted by Mel’s little outburst.
A film that not many have heard of though is Unbreakable. It tells the story of a man (Bruce Willis) who after a train crash discovers he has superpowers and an eccentric comic book fan(Samuel L. Jackson) helps him release his full potential.
In many ways it’s Shyamalan’s finest work, with engaging characters, a wonderful script and a much more shocking twist than The Sixth Sense.
3. No Heroics (TV)
What do superheroes get up to in their time off? It’s a question we rarely get the answer to, unless that answer is chasing their love interest.
No Heroics is a charming British sitcom set entirely in a pub. There are rivalries and friendships, drinks, sex and jokes and the show’s true strength lies in it’s wonderful characters.
Unfortunately it only last one series and that’s rarely more than six episodes in the UK. Due to this, the show may actually be a little hard to find now but there are still a few copies floating around online DVD stores without having to resort to *cough* other online methods *cough*.
4. Airman
Alright, so Airman isn’t technically a superhero story but if you ever wanted a good origin story it’s hard to go past Eoin Colfer’s steampunk infused thriller.
Colfer is more widely know for his highly admired Artemis Fowl series and the popularity of these series can quite outshine his other novels.
Aimed at an older audience than the Artemis Fowl series, Airman really shows off Colfer’s talents in the field of storytelling. It tells the story of Conor Broekhart, an aspiring aeronaut growing up in late 19th century Ireland. When his is falsely imprisoned, the sky seems to be his only hope of escape.
5. Burnt Face Man (Online Series)
With the ever-growing popularity of the superhero genre it’s amazing the lack of spoofs of the genre there are on offer. Luckily, Burnt Face Man more than fills that gap.
David Firt, the same man that created the incredibly creepy Salad Fingers proves with this series that he can actually be funny as well as an amazing creeper.
Again, there are not too many of this series, since it is only one man doing all the work but over the full series the quality never stops and the laughs never waver.
6. Deadpool (Comics)
So it would hardly be a story about superheroes without a mention of a comic book. Regrettably, comic books aren’t my forte but I do know that Deadpool is the best one right? He’s got the regeneration powers of Wolverine, the wit of Seth Rogen, the marksmanship of Robin Hood and for some reason, the voice of Ryan Renolds. Deadpool is still relatively unknown but with the recent video game and the upcoming film adaptation it seems the “merc with the mouth” is getting a little bit louder.
Have any others to add to the list, or just downright disagree with me feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
Article by Daniel Priman
