These days, with Marvel and DC both having giant established cinematic universes, and
2021 lining up to be the biggest year yet for MCU releases, it’s hard to imagine there was ever a time when it was a rather lawless Wild West wasteland when it came to superhero properties. Not just in the United States, but overseas where surreal, low-budget movies, featuring bizarre echoes of the heroes we all know and love, gave us a murderous crime lord Spider-Man, a bikini-clad Luchadora Batman, and more.
Once upon a time, Marvel champions headlined their own on-the-cheap cinematic cash-ins — like 1990’s Captain America and the Roger Corman-produced Fantastic Four film from 1994, neither of which was released theatrically in the U.S. — but before that it seems like any character was up for grabs in countries like Turkey, India, and more, and could fit into any ferocious fever dream a particular filmmaker was passionate about producing.
From a monster-fighting, motorcycle-riding Spidey to a lustful Lothario Batman, here are some of the most notable, notorious, and nonsensical superhero knockoffs of all time. We promise, as much as you’ll feel like you’ve fallen into a fog of disbelief, everything you’re about to see is real and not deceptive deep fake chicanery.
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3 Dev Adam
Let’s kick things off here with the granddaddy of goofy takes on the Marvel Universe, straight from 1970s Turkey and direct from the mind of a creator who envisioned Spider-Man, a character who was not very familiar to Turkish audiences at the time, as the ruthless leader of a criminal organization that specializes in counterfeit bills and decapitation.
In 3 Dev Adam (“Three Mighty Men”), it was up to Captain America and Mexican Luchador legend El Santo to thwart Spidey’s nefarious plans. Cap has no shield and barely wears his mask while Spider-Man has the power to… resurrect and duplicate himself? It’s a symphony of sublime weirdness as director T. Fikret Uçak delivered one of the strangest super-mashups of all time.
La Mujer Murcielago
Shifting away from Marvel, but keeping the Luche Libre connection, we now look at Mexico’s ’60s Batwoman flick, La Mujer Murcielago. Another project that fully shirks copyright laws and corporate cares, this film reimagined Batman as not only a masked Luchador, but also as a Luchadora.
Director René Cardona sought to capitalize on the success of the ’60s Adam West Batman TV series while also connecting to the female wrestling action flicks of the era. In the story, Special Agent Batwoman is called in to infiltrate a wrestling promotion after several grapplers have gone missing. Spoiler: An evil scientist is kidnapping them in an attempt to create a Fish Man. Even bigger spoiler: Batwoman fights said Fish Man.
All that said, this Batwoman has a lot more in common with Batman than most of the other super-knockoffs here. She’s got a rich alter ego, her car looks like the ’60s Batmobile, and she even utilizes a bunch of silly tech. Aside from the bikini getup, she’s not a complete funhouse mirror take on the Caped Crusader.
Japanese Spider-Man
Switching over to the small screen, Japan’s Spider-Man TV series from the late ’70s may have taken, er, several liberties with ol’ Web-Head’s origins, seeing as how he’s a motorcycle racer who gets a blood transfusion from the dying alien survivor of Planet Spider, but the creators, despite the extreme reimagining, were still huge fans of Spidey from the comics. This is clearly true of the spider-like poses the character was famous for, which the show tried its best to emulate immaculately.
In fact, in the years to come the short-lived series would gain cult classic notoriety for the way Spider-Man would bombastically introduce himself in scenes using these over-the-top poses.
Other elements from the comics remained intact, like Spidey’s super-strength, his ability to stick to walls, his Spider-Sense, and the show’s own version of webbing (a net that could be shot out of his bracelet). Oh, and a spaceship. You know, to help with the battling back of cosmic hordes — specifically, Professor Monster and the Iron Cross Army — that wanted to take over the world. Never mind that this show, also known as Supaidāman, was actually the result of a licensing deal between producer Toei Company and Marvel.
Dariya Dil
It’s time for a Marvel/DC crossover with ’80s Bollywood wonder Dariya Dil (“Generous Heart”), in which Superman and Spider-Woman (or really, just a woman in a Spider-Man costume) are a loving (dancing, singing) couple who battle thugs while performing the song “Tu Mera Superman.”
Okay, so this movie isn’t actually about an Indian Superman and Spider-Woman and their love triumphing over evil-doers. It’s a family drama that contains one particular famous sequence, and song, where two characters dress up like these heroes. The scene is still worth a quick YouTube watch, though.
Alyas Batman en Robin
Trying to hitch a ride on the the cape-tails of Batman ’89 was the campy Filipino partial-Justice League musical Alyas Batman en Robin, which sat on a shelf for a few years because Warner Bros. actually threatened legal action against this wholly unauthorized use of DC superheroes.
Despite coming after Tim Burton’s grim, gothic Batman film, Alyas Batman en Robin chooses to borrow from (and even parody?) the tone and style of the ’60s Adam West series, using famous Filipino comedians of the era to play Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Joker, and Penguin – or, to clarify, a bunch of idiots who specifically dress up like these heroes to either commit crimes or stop crimes. So in the movie they’re not even supposed to be these characters for real. It’s a baffling bamboozle of the highest order.
Yarasa Adam
Yup, we’re back in Turkey for a ’70s Batman pulp thriller, modeled after both the Adam West Batman series and American serials of the 1930s and 40s, where the Caped Crusader and his trusted ward hit the streets to solve the brutal murder of the city’s top fashion models.
In Yarasa Adam, Batman and Robin were actually members of the metropolitan police, not vigilantes. The film’s a crude mix of superheroes, exploitation, the Mission: Impossible TV series, and James Bond — in terms of both the arch-villain and also this Batman’s wanton womanizing ways — and it’s one of the most naked-y takes on Bats in movie history.
Supermen Donuyor
Turkey’s Supermen Donuyor (Superman Returns), from 1979, actually tells the story of the almighty alien orphan quite faithfully. He’s saved from his dying planet, adopted by Earth parents, holds a job as a reporter, and fights crime as Superman.
All this is to say that while Supermen Donuyor is, in appearance, a Superman flick, the story told here is actually a remake, sometimes shot-for-shot, of 1941’s Adventures of Captain Marvel – yes, a completely different DC character. So this is actually a mash-up of both heroes, complete with a crude, possibly non-existent, budget.
Bonus Pick: Italian Spiderman
We’ll wrap things up here with a doozy, though admittedly Italian Spiderman is a cheat because it came out in 2007 and it’s a well-made parody of the types of movies we’ve been listing here.
As a spoof of knockoff supers, Italian Spiderman presents us with a “lost” ’60s superhero film where Spider-Man is a sleazy, overweight fool with a thick mustache and a red shirt. In keeping with yesteryear cinema’s love of tweaking comic book heroes’ abilities, this movie’s marvelously gross champion has powers that include mind control, teleportation, the ability to grow into a giant, and… um… penguin summoning. That’s right, eat your heart out, 1992’s Penguin from Batman Returns.
This disturbed dose of dopiness is also responsible for this much-giffed reaction scene.
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Have you seen any of these knockoffs? Did we miss any good (bad) ones? Let’s discuss in the comments!