Best R-Rated Comic Books That Should Be Made Into Movies

There was once a time in comic book history where superheroes were squeaky-clean role models. During the 40s, superheroes were all-American, wholesome characters who were just inhumanly good-to-the-bone. (Exhibit A: Captain America.)

Spider-Man was somehow even more innocent back then. Aquaman, for instance, had comic book issues where he'd be a "fish surgeon" to save fish from being sick. Batman, being the most badass, carried a gun but always saved the day with a sidekick who'd say stuff like "Golly!"

That time has passed.

Now we have superheroes like Deadpool, the Merc with a Mouth whose movie involved flying dildos and more swear words than a taping of Jerry Springer. We also have a huge range of awesome R-rated comic books that are realistic, gritty, and at times, rip-roaringly hilarious.

Deadpool was a great movie, as were other R-rated comic book movies like Tank Girl, The Crow, and The Punisher. But, it's time we start seeing evenmore R-rated comics hitting the silver screen. Here are some I'd personally love to see in action, and why they'd rule.

Y: The Last Man

Y: The Last Man is all about a guy named Yorick, who's the last man on Earth. The rest of the citizens of Earth are all female, and everyone has to work together to avoid humanity's extinction in this dismal, post-apocalyptic world.

The TV series based on this comic was awesome, and actually seeing a Y: The Last Man movie would be incredible. According to Wikipedia, there was a movie that was supposed to be made involving based on this series of R-rated comic books. However, it was canceled.

Can someone reboot that movie? Please?

The Twelve

Remember how I started by talking about the Golden Age of Comics? Back then, comic book heroes were a lot more quirky and zany. The Twelve is a Marvel comics series that looks at what would happen if Golden Age-style superheroes that weren't quite Superman-quality would end up living today.

As cute as this sounds, The Twelve was NOT a comedy flick. It was a murder mystery that was filled with grit and angst. If you want to see some seriously complex and thought-provoking stories, this would be a knockout on screen.

Besides, seeing how divorced from pop culture older heroes are would be a kick in itself.

One Month to Live

What would you do if you had only a month to live, but were given incredible super powers? That's the premise of Marvel's One Month to Live. It follows a man who encountered toxic waste that gave him super powers. However, it also gave him an incredibly aggressive form of cancer.

The last wish he has, is one that he has to figure out how to accomplish. All he wants to do with his last month of life, is figure out how to become a legend.

This would be R-rated, if only because the concept behind it would force it to be gritty. However, I'd be willing to bet that the right movie group could turn R-rated comic books with this kind of powerful storyline into high art.

Lobo

Perhaps the most heavily desired character to see on screen, of all the comic book heroes mentioned on this list, is Lobo. Fans have been practically begging producers to feature this wild and crazy anti-hero, so why hasn't this movie been made yet?

Lobo is a hit with fans and actually could put the DC Comics Universe in a tie when it comes to the box office. Come on, already! We want to see the last Czarnian kill things and say something hilarious on screen.

Lady Death

Fans of hot goth girls will already tell you why Lady Death is one of the sexiest R-rated comic books out there. The titular character wears barely any clothes, but somehow still manages to kick ass every single issue.

Admittedly, this might just be me missing seeing scantily clad female warriors like Xena, but seeing a live-action version of this classic 90s comic book chick would be amazing. We can't get enough of strong female characters, and Lady Death totally reps it for the goth crowd.

Need I say any more?

Saga

Made by the same folks who made Y: The Last Man, Saga is one of the most unique R-rated comics we've seen. This series has a universe filled with warring alien worlds, robots that are royalty, and of course, a lot of weird alien sex.

The series has a lot of moments that will remind you of both Futurama and Star Wars. So, if they were to make a movie based on this series, it could have the same kind of dramatic vibe of classic sci-fi movies, with a touch of humor in it. In other words, this would be a smash hit.

Life With Archie

Okay, okay, hear me out. Yes, there have been Archie movies in the past, and yes, they sucked. (Looking at you, Return to Riverdale.) Yes, this is a done concept on a lot of levels.

The adventures of Archie Andrews also aren't exactly what most people would expect to see on a list of R-rated comic books that should be turned into movies. Even Archie's comic crossovers were cute and sickeningly wholesome.

BUT...

In Life With Archie, we get to see the Riverdale redhead grow up and be an adult in a gritty, ugly world. We see both Betty and Veronica get their hearts broken in pretty heart-wrenching ways. And, at the end of the comic, Archie gets killed protecting Kevin.

Dark subject matter, realistic cinematic universe, characters we all know and love...I think that'd make for a seriously dramatic, hard-hitting movie, don't you?

X-Statix

Hardcore comic book nerds will recognize this name, and already will tell you why it's one of the best R-rated comic books out there. X-Statix followed a team of superheroes composed of the leftovers of X-Force by the name of X-Statix.

During its span, the comic approached a lot of then-taboo pretty damned impressively. It covered the "casting couch" issue of Hollywood with Edie Sawyer. It had openly gay superheroes who had relationship problems. It even had heroes cope with teammates' deaths.

Oh, and it was also hilarious at points.

Given the chance, X-Statix would have that perfect blend of humor and drama that would turn it into an awesome movie to watch. If you've ever wanted to see heroes deal with celeb status, you'd understand why this would be a great flick to see.

X-Men: Captive Hearts

The X-Men franchise has had a lot of R-rated comics throughout the years, but perhaps one of the most shocking was the Captive Hearts storyline, which appeared in X-Men Adventures. To fully understand how shocking this storyline was, you have to understand who the Morlocks are in the Marvel universe.

The Morlocks are (erm, were?) a group of mutants who lived in the New York City subway tunnels. They were all considered to be too ugly or freakish to blend into society, and their leader was a woman by the name of Callisto.

In Captive Hearts, Callisto decides she wants an heir. Rather than try to have one of the members of the Morlocks, she sets her eyes on Cyclops. Thing is, Cyclops isn't interested — and he's dating Jean Grey.

Instead of getting consent right, Callisto hatches a scheme to kidnap him and force him to be with her. And, it's up to Jean Grey and the rest of the X-Men to keep Callisto from, erm, raping him.

The cartoon version may have been okay, but the comic version? Way darker. Add in the backstories of Callisto, Anna Lee, and Tommy, and you've got one of the best X-Men stories future films should discuss.

Plastic Man

Plastic Man has all the crazy retro style of Ren and Stimpy, with just as much off-kilter humor. That's why it's one of the more popular R-rated comic book series on this list, and why it has a pretty strong cult following.

Just like with Deadpool, the titular character has a lot of witty zingers and a lot of funny ways of handling crime. That's why I think he'd be an amazing competitor to the Deadpool franchise — and why I'm totally shocked that the Plastic Man movie got cancelled.

Seriously, execs, what the hell?