Comic book fans are well aware of the persona their famous comic characters are meant to put on a show. But, many times the actors who are rushed in to play these villainous characters often mess up the portrayal of these villainous characters. They often end up displaying some other villainous characters instead of the one they were supposed to. These actors were supposed to display the character with a different set of goals but ended up displaying the role of a different villainous character altogether. The below list includes the actors who were allowed to portray a classic villain but ended up portraying someone else altogether.
Peter Sarsgaard (Green Lantern)
Peter was meant to portray the role of Hector Hammond who is a geeky nerd and has a thing for Carol Ferris (Blake Lively). During the process of his growing hatred towards Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) for courting Carol Ferris, he develops telepathic powers through the powers of the fear energy. Hector Hammond from the comics is known to be a silent and power-hungry telepath. But during his transition, Peter ends up portraying the demeanor of Star Sapphire. From a genius telepath, he went to being Hal Jordan’s ex-lover.
Guy Pearce (Iron Man 3)
Guy Pearce plays the character of Aldrich Killian in the Iron Man 3 movie. The initial representation of the character is on the spot which shows Aldrich to be fumbling and weak. Aldrich Killian is a simple guy who is pushed beyond a limit and commits suicide. In the movie, Aldrich Killian is shown researching an experimental drug, which can cure his leprosy and start his streak of vengeance on Tony Stark. Aldrich is shown as a guy with a master evil plot to take care of Tony Stark for good. This character transformation of the character from the comics seems to have adapted from the villainous roots of Zeke Stane, Obadiah Stane’s son aka Iron Monger.
Jeep Swenson (Batman & Robin)
The story of Bane is one in the making, the character is somewhat of a mastermind trained and then banished by the League of Shadows. Bane in a certain issue is also known to break Batman’s back during a fight scene. But Jeep Swenson’s portrayal of Bane hints more towards another DC villain, with a limited vocabulary. Jeep’s portrayal of Bane seemed a lot similar to Solomon Grundy, who is a zombie giant from the DC universe.
Corey Stoll (Ant-Man)
The actual character of Darren Cross from the comic portrays an individual who is a businessman turned heartless kidnapper and an organic farmer. In the comics, the business Tycoon is known to abduct the homeless and harvest their organs to keep his experimental heart beating. The movie Darren Cross played by Corey Stoll seems to rather base Darren’s personality on Hank Pym’s scientist rival Egghead. In the comics, Egghead is shown to do anything to achieve his goals, with a fierce passion to discredit Pym’s work. Which seems a whole lot similar to what he does in the movie.
Toby Kebbell (Fantastic Four 2015)
Toby Kebbell plays the character of Dr. Doom in the 2015 remake of the Fantastic four. In the comics, Dr. Doom is a guy with a metallic frame and a man of great Charisma. Which he uses to bring people over to his side while gathering large amounts of power for himself. In short a power-hungry dictator. In the movie, Toby Kebbell’s portrayal of Dr. Doom underlined the entire plot, with him just killing people and wreaking havoc without the show of any emotion. This version of doom resembled a lot like Annihilus from the comic storyline.
Topher Grace (Spider-Man 3)
Venom from the comics is one of Spider-Man’s, worst arch-nemesis. Venom is the exact opposite of Spider-Man, with a relentless urge to hurt the creepy crawler. But in the movie, Topher’s portrayal of the alien symbiote in the movie resembles the villain Jackal from the comics. Miles Warren is Gwen Stacy’s teacher and is grieve stricken by her loss. He swears vengeance on Spider-Man, whom he blames for Gwen’s death. Which is very similar to what Eddie Brock does in the movie. But, it is not for the same reason, rather it is for making him lose his job for faking a picture in the Daily Bugle newspaper.
Jesse Eisenberg (Dawn of Justice)
Jesse portrays the character of Lex Luthor, who is a business mastermind in the comics. Probably the best that humanity has to offer. In the comics, Lex is an egomaniac who would go to any lengths to prove to humanity, that there is no need for super-powered beings on planet earth. However, in the movie, Jesse portrays a character that resembles the Riddler. The Riddler is a megalomaniac who is obsessed with setting up riddled traps to torture and trouble his victim.
Colin Farrell (Daredevil)
The original character from the comics depicts Bullseye as someone, who cannot be toyed with. He is a sadist assassin with a cut-throat nature matched by his precise skills. Colin’s version of the Bullseye keeps all the aim but nothing of anything else. His rip-off of an Irish accent even seemed to infuriate a lot of fans. Bullseye seemed like a cheap rip of DC’s joker. Whereas he is an extremely badass character almost in the same lines as the punisher.
Tommy Lee Jones (Batman Forever)
Tommy Jones’s portrayal of Two-Face was very far away from the actual character from the comics. Two-Face is a serious character with his past traumatizing his current sense of rightness and all of it with a twisted sense of Justice. Jones’s portrayal of Two-Face sounded like comedy. It was as if he was trying to be DC’s substitute Joker. Tommy Lee Jones’s crackling laughter made several fans believe that he would have been the right match for playing the Joker.
Rhys Ifans (The Amazing Spider-Man)
Dr. Connor of the comics is a renowned scientist and researcher, who wants to help the general populace by finding a solution to lost limbs. He finds a cure and uses his body as a test subject and metamorphosis into a giant lizard. But, Dr. Connor still fights for the sake of humanity and tries his best to keep the beast in check, just like the modern-day Dr. Jekyll and Hyde. In the Movie, Dr. Connor is portrayed by Rhys Ifans, and he kind of goes astray with the entire role. He develops a completely different personality when he goes into the Lizardman phase and resembles a lot like the Green Goblin. Another flaw that is showcased in Ifans portrayal of the character, shows him to be evil instead of just a lizard with good intentions.
