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In 2017, Millarworld, the comic company founded by Mark Millar, was acquired by Netflix. They have retained the prolific writer to help them develop several IPs portrayed in movies and TV shows. premiere was Jupiter’s Legacy, a show with a good premise but which succumbed to the early stages of superhero fatigue. Not much has been done with these rights since then. Netflix has a successful track record of bringing comic book adaptations to life, Marvel’s reckless to Umbrella Academy. Given the current landscape of superhero productions, it’s surprising they haven’t yet attempted to adapt another property into Millarworld.
There has been some modest development with some of the IPs, such as American Jesus, but little since then. Millarworld has a huge catalog of characters to offer a fresh coat of paint on superheroes, however enemy It is the most interesting feature in the lineup. The main character is a relentless, powerless rogue who makes Batman look bad. Nemesis was created by Millar and star Steve McNiven (Marvel Civil War). The story was published in 2010, and although it only ran for four issues, the comic has undoubtedly made its mark.
Who is Nemesis?
Nemesis first appeared in the 2010 miniseries published by Icon Comics, a division of Marvel in those days. Millar struck a deal to keep all rights to the character. In his first story, Nemesis had no alternate self. Known as Nemesis, the world’s only villain. It is implied that the character is either a billionaire or an identity bought by the rich to use their vast resources and intellect to carry out a plan to bring chaos to the world.
The character lives for his relentless pursuit of chaos. Unlike most villains who are driven by personal motives or a vendetta against a specific hero, Nemesis is driven by his own twisted philosophy of order destruction. He has no qualms about killing anyone who gets in his way, whether they be innocent civilians, his accomplices, or law enforcement officers.
Why is Nemesis the Anti-Batman?
As the world’s greatest detective, Batman is a hero who uses his wits and wealth to fight crime and bring justice to Gotham City. Nemesis, on the other hand, is a villain who uses the same resources to commit some of the most heinous crimes ever plastered to a page and wreak havoc wherever he goes. Batman symbolizes hope for the weak and fear for the wicked. On the other hand, the enemy represents despondency and chaos for any person.
Batman is an unpowered superhero trained to physical perfection who follows strict moral codes by refusing to kill his enemies. Enemies is an example of human ingenuity and has no such promise. He kills everyone who gets in his way, and does so with a smile. Batman fights for justice, while the enemy enjoys chaos.
The superficial differences between the two are easy to see, with Batman wearing black to instill fear, and Nemesis wearing white to see through.
No single enemy can be defeated: development hell
An adaptation of Nemesis has been in development since 2021. At the time, Netflix ordered a screenplay from Academy Award winner Emerald Fennell. She also seemed keen to direct, but the project has yet to be scheduled. The character has remained dormant after his final confrontation with the law in the 2010 series. Miller has recently decided to revamp the character in a new frame with the help of artist Jorge Jimenez in a new series titled Enemy: Reloaded. A character with such a basic premise could easily be translated to the screen.
The original book sold incredibly well, enough to get the attention of 20th Century Fox, who bought the rights to make a movie, and attached Tony Scott to direct. Unfortunately, the project was canceled after the director’s death in 2012. The rights went to Warner Bros., who eventually let them lapse. Netflix is the current owner, waiting for the movie to be shown. Moving forward, it appears that Netflix asked Millar to tweak the character slightly to remove some of the more serious aspects of the story.
The original series was unforgivably horrific in parts, with depictions of classism, incest, and genocide taken to the extreme. The new series expands on the character’s actual origin by giving her an established alter-ego backstory to explain the character’s motivation and what makes him tick.
What can we expect from enemy adaptation?
Other than the fact that he’s resourceful, there isn’t much we know about Nemesis. The movie could expand on this while also offering a fantastic world-building opportunity. Millar has stated that he intends to share all of the properties of Millarworld in a shared universe. The writer plans to make this happen with famous artist Pepe Larraz X-Men fame. It would be a shame if Netflix didn’t take this opportunity to create its own cinematic universe with diverse shows that go beyond superheroes. And a film adaptation of Nemesis would provide ample opportunity to explore his motivations and resourcefulness. He’s demonstrated his intelligence-gathering ability on par with DC’s Batman and even surpassed that by infiltrating government agencies and the underworld alike.
The visual side can also explore new ways to improve the cumbersome shapes of CGI visuals. Enemies move like Batman, but he does so with a sense of brilliance. The character wants to be seen doing what he’s doing. Nemesis is also a great way to explore how a world devoid of superheroes deals with someone who is both twisted and resourceful. When Nemesis first appeared, it was doing so in a world where only cops and governments do their best to protect the innocent. Nemesis is out there targeting anyone who classifies law and order as their motto, no matter where they are. This angle has not been explored by most Marvel and DC productions.
The last question
Nemesis is a character with untapped potential and one of the best superhero movies we can’t wait to see. The movie can be a mixture of psychological thriller and comedy that leaves the audience asking for more. Seeing a supervillain against real world heroes is a plus because we usually see first responders as helpless as the audience they try to protect in most superhero movies. It doesn’t hurt that the character has an already established fan base awaiting his film debut.
With all that said, the only thing left is a poignant question: Can you hurry up and make it happen, Netflix?
