Posted By Dan Greenfield on Oct 29, 2023 | 6 comments

Halloween is almost here!

By JIM BEARD

I’m an immense fan of not only the Halloween spooky season, but also of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s my purpose here today to ram the two together, hopefully creating a union made in monster kid heaven.

What I’ve done is create a list of 13 of Marvel’s supernatural characters who already lurk along the shadowy borders of the Marvel Universe, but who I think should make the leap over to its cinematic brethren. You know, just like in the Werewolf by Night special on Disney+.

One thing before we get started—well, other than you should pack some garlic, wolfsbane, silver objects, and maybe a holy symbol or two—is that I’ve concentrated on Marvel horror stars who haven’t already shown up in live-action on the screen. I think it’s more ghoulishly fun this way.

Onward! Darkness, here we come!

(Note: You’ll notice two things: I haven’t suggested actors because I’m bad at that. You should make your own suggestions. Also, I haven’t suggested the Big Guns — Drac and Frankie. They’re just two easy and obvious for this list.)

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13. Ulysses Bloodstone (Marvel Presents #1). Yeah, yeah, I know he was in Werewolf by Night, but that wasn’t really him, just his corpse (?) and his recorded voice. I’d like to see a flashback special or series that shows us exactly why he was so deserving of all the other monster hunters’ respect.

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12. The Glob (Incredible Hulk #121). Man-Thing’s not the only muck-monster in the Marvel Universe. I think the Glob should have his shot at the big time, maybe by going toe-to-toe with the Hulk?

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11. Lilith (Giant-Size Chillers #1). While I’m staying away from her old man, I’m not going to stay away from wanting to see Dracula’s daughter in live-action. It’d be a role a good actress would want to, ahem, sink her teeth into.

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10. It! The Living Colossus (Tales of Suspense #14). I think having a pedigree of being co-created by Jack Kirby makes this stone giant worthy of being able to clash with, say, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor.

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9. Modred the Mystic (Marvel Chillers #1). Modred’s a fascinating yet little seen Marvel weirdo who has a unique background and a connection with the demon Chthon, which makes him a perfect foil for the Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange… or even Loki.

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8. Sleepwalker (Sleepwalker #1). A more recent addition to the Marvel Monster pantheon, but he’d be fascinating in his own Disney+ series, what with his singular skill set and all. It’d be a great chance for an actor to play, much like Oscar Issac had with Moon Knight.

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7. Man-Wolf (Amazing Spider-Man #124). While John Jameson has appeared on film, his hairy counterpart has not, and I think that should be rectified at some point, preferably in a future Spider-Man movie.

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6. Gabriel the Devil Hunter (Haunt of Horror #2). Born of the devil craze of the 1970s, Gabriel called the black-and-white Marvel magazines his haunt. I think an atmospheric throwback film or series set in the Seventies would be just amazing.

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5. The Zombie (Tales of the Zombie #1). There was a prototype of Simon Garth created by Stan Lee much earlier in 1953, but it’s this 1970s undead leading man from the Marvel magazines who’s just screaming to be let loose on the MCU.

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4. Brother Voodoo (Strange Tales #169). His brother Daniel Drumm has already made his MCU debut, but Jericho is the one who deserves the spotlight. He almost grabbed it in 2003, so it’s high time Kevin Feige calls him up to consult with Doctor Strange before getting his own film. It could have the potential to be the next Black Panther, I think.

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3. The Living Mummy (Supernatural Thrillers #5). N’Kantu’s story has everything to make it a success in a live-action production, and why it hasn’t yet been done is a riddle worthy of the Sphinx itself.

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2. Satana (Vampire Tales #2). Where her brother Daimon failed for the most part in live-action, I know Satana could have one helluva good time in a film or TV series. I just love the character, and I’d pay the devil to see who they’d cast in the role. (No, I don’t count “Ana” from Helstrom as the same character.)

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1. The Scarecrow (Dead of Night #11). I don’t give a hoot what they call him these days, I only know the spectral, laughing figure I first saw back in 1975 is my Number One Marvel Horror star I want to see on the screen. It would be the straw to break the back of mundane films and television.

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MORE

— 13 Seriously Strange SUPERHERO ORIGIN STORIES. Click here.

— 13 FAMOUS MONSTERS COVERS: A Forrest J. Ackerman Birthday Celebration. Click here.

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When JIM BEARD’s not editing and publishing through his two houses, Flinch Books and Becky Books, he’s pounding out adventure fiction with both original and licensed characters. In fact, he’s put words in the mouths of Luke Skywalker, Superman, Fox Mulder, Carl Kolchak, Peter Venkman and the Green Hornet… and lived to tell about it. One of his most recent pop culture non-fiction books is Running Home to Shadows, available here.