With a seemingly flood of comic book properties being made into movies and TV shows, it's easy for the non-comic book fan to think that everything has been made already. Not even close.
Back twenty years ago most of your comic book related media on television or on the big screen consisted of Superman and Batman along with some cartoons. Now cartoons helped convert many kids into comic book fans so they shouldn't be "poo-poo'ed", but live action grabs the attention of everyone.
With that said there could be a valid argument on which characters should get to be the next live action hero/villain. I present a list to you that would be my choices, but as every comic book fan knows, no two comic book fans will every agree one hundred percent to a list like this.
1. Zatanna: One of the most powerful sorceresses in the DC world, she has the ability to cast spells by saying what she wants backwards. There have been a few occasions where she didn't need to speak at all to cast a spell. A key member of Justice League Dark, she has gained even more popularity since the DC New 52 reboot.
From a storyline standpoint, a movie or television show writer can take her character in many directions. Exploring her storyline via her father John Zatara who was a world class magician, exploring the shared childhood her and Bruce Wayne shared, exploring the Justice League Dark angle along with the character John Constantine who gained a cult following with his recent television show, and even her rivalry with Catwoman over Bruce Wayne's affection.Now in fairness, Zatanna has appeared as a live action hero already. She has appeared in three episodes of Smallville, but did not leave a real mark in the live action world. There are rumors of a Dark Universe movie being made around Justice League Dark as part of the DC movie extended universe, but Zatanna has not been confirmed yet to be in this movie. Her story is strong enough, thanks to the writings of Paul Dini, Peter Milligan, and Jeff Lemire, to become the star of her own stand-alone movie or television series.
2. Invincible: Not a DC or Marvel Comics character, Invincible is an Image Comics property who was created by legendary writer, Robert Kirkman. He's sort of a mix of a young Spider-Man personality and age wise, and Superman because of his strength, ability to fly, and alien origins.
Mark Grayson, Invincible's name, is the young character that many hoped Spider-Man would be in the movies and tried to attempt with Toby Maguire. Hints of a team movie could also be made with Invincible because of the link he has with the Guardians of the Globe (a Justice League type of team). Invincible has declined membership, but a possible movie that contains the Guardians in a supporting role would only strengthen the character.
3. Voodoo: Originally a Wildstorm character, she was moved over into the DC Universe with the reboot. A human/Deamonite hybrid, she has the ability to shape shift and has the power of telepathy. Known as Priscilla Kitaen, she works as an exotic dancer as her human cover, so making a Voodoo movie or television show would probably have to be rated R or at the very least, released on Netflix. She excels in hand-to-hand combat and espionage and with her ties to the Daemonites, she could be an intriguing character to write for considering that Superman has some interaction with the Daemonites post-reboot. Depending on how her character is written, she can also have the ability called "Sight" which allows her to spot the Daemonites posing as humans. This would open her character up to a WildC.A.T.s storyline before DC Comics retconned this. She has a large amount of play room to write with .
4. Prowler: Originally a criminal with a high level of intelligence, Hobbie Brown changed sides after a confrontation with Spider-Man. He has no mutant abilities, but because of his ability to invent things, he's able to hold his own when confronted by those who do. In his regular life, he's a married man who doesn't live up to his potential. Even with his potential, he sticks to low-paying, blue collar work. He's taken up to freelancing for Silver Sable and has worked with the Outlaws. 5. Nightwing: Now this is sort of an odd one. Dick Grayson, Nightwing's secret alias has been in movies. He's appeared as Robin in the Batman '66 movie and in the Joel Schumacher directed Batman movies of the 1990's, but Grayson has never appeared in a live action movie as Nightwing. Batman's original protégé, Grayson grew up to become his own A-level superhero.
When the original 52 series occurred in 2006, Grayson stepped up in the DC Universe. When Bruce Wayne was thought to be dead, Grayson took the mantle of the bat and proved to be a great replacement and counter-balance to Damian Wayne's Robin. Out of any DC character, Grayson is the one that we all feel like we watched grow up and developed into a legitimate star. If Bruce Wayne ever steps down from Batman, I feel that Grayson would be a great replacement, but in some ways I hope he remains Nightwing because he has developed so well as a character now.
6. Resurrection Man: Mitch Shelley has an interesting ability. He can die seemingly an infinite amount of times and because of nanites called "tektites" that flow through his body, he not only comes back to life, but he gains a new and different super power every time. This gives him the potential to be the strongest superhero in the DC Universe, but also gives him the potential to have a mundane power that isn't very helpful depending on the situations he finds himself in. He could be a good character to have in the Legends of Tomorrow television series since he has found himself at odds with Vandal Savage before, but it could be better to have him in a series run by Netflix. The ability to have a new superpower every episode could provide the good basis for each new episode.
