Weird Comic History: The Silver Surfer Movie Graphic Novel

People seem to love the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, well most of them. While the core MCU started not really that long ago, 2008 with the first Iron Man movie, there were movies released before this that feature Marvel characters that don’t fit in the MCU. Tonight, I am going to spotlight the greatest Marvel movie that almost got made, but didn’t, and how you can still read it.

Back in the late 70’s and early 80’s there was a producer named Lee Kramer, he produced the very 1970’s sci-fi film Xanadu starring Olivia Newton John. He was looking to do an epic Silver Surfer movie in which he stated “We’re going to make an epic picture on the scope of 2001: A Space Odysseywith the kind of soundtrack that that film had, only using contemporary rock ‘n’ roll. It’s even conceivable that the Surfer might have a chant or a fanfare made up of one thousand electric guitars.”

Kramer tapped former Beatle, Paul McCartney to do the music. He also cast his girlfriend at the time, Olivia Newton John (who starred in his previously mentioned Xanadu. She would star as Ardina, a golden female surfer.

The problem with doing a Silver Surfer film at this time is Silver Surfer was primarily a Fantastic Four related character, in his origin on Earth especially, and Marvel did not have the rights to a Fantastic Four Movie, something well chronicled in the documentary, Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s The Fantastic Four. Corman’s Fantastic Four floats around the bootleg DVD scene and is easy to find while hard to watch.

To come up with a new origin for Silver Surfer, Marvel tapped Stan Lee to write and Jack Kirby to draw an all new story the movie would be based off, that book was Silver Surfer The Ultimate Cosmic Experience. Copies are out there and pricey at times. A hard cover and a soft cover were both released in May 1978. The book was reprinted. Ironically, this was the last book Jack Kirby and Stan Lee worked on together. The book had a very different origin story that did not involve the Fantastic Four. The story takes place on Earth M and not the standard Marvel Comic Universe. This is the only place you could read what could have been the most epic (I mean come on fanfare made up of one thousand electric guitars!!) story for a Marvel Movie that was never made.

Thanks to Rob Heinsman for the post idea.

Sources:
Yahoo! News and
Mycomicshop.com’s Odinson for additional information.

8 thoughts on “Weird Comic History: The Silver Surfer Movie Graphic Novel”

  1. My local theater showed Xanadu the night before ELO came to town. Only in Portland, OR would that sell out with some attendees wearing homemade event shirts and cosplay.

  2. wow what player hate for the 1994 fantastic four movie?this is the best made fantastic four movie of all four of them .yes the thing was oranage paint .yes the way thing met alyica masters was weird and convent .yes it is over the top and cheap and cheesey but it is a fun ride that kills two hours your neve rgeting those hours back and yes I am pump and dumping as I sell bootlegs of this at conventions all the time and this has been one of my best sellers for over twenty years. but this beats 1990 captain America &1989 punisher however I have a love for all three movies the punisher and cap have movie adaptions witch you can find in the wild . love you all blind adam out

    1. It’s cheesy and fun. Not really hate but shade for sure. The Cap movie and the Punisher movie at the same time were also cheesy. These were followed up by Blade which was awesome.

  3. For some reason when I first read the article when they mentioned Paul McCartney I thought they wanted him to play Silver Surfer…Could you imagine?!?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *