Sequels

Over on The Facebook, my friend the Comic Book Guy (well, he co-owns a comic book store and is about to become a published writer) has posed some great comic book-related questions to fans of the store. For instance, last night's was "Who is your favorite supporting character?" I'll let you ponder that for a minute...

If you know anything about geeks, we can spend hours vehemently arguing/discussing topics like this one. Or the merits & flaws of comic book TV/movie adaptations. Or speculate about which actor would make the best (insert random character to appear in next movie here). Or which character/story deserves a reboot. Or how "true" to the story any particular adaptation is to the original work.

But one of the most hotly contested topics (especially at Con after a few drinks) is that of the Movie Sequel. Really good sequels in any genre are hard enough to pull off (I say Godfather 2 makes the cut), but doing a follow-up to a really good comic book or sci fi movie seems to be a particular challenge. A lot of initial offerings suck so much or can't find enough of an audience that they aren't even considered for a sequel. But there are some really good ones, occasionally better than the first. Here are the ones that are on my Decent (or better) Sequel list:

• Empire Strikes Back (duh)
• Superman II (on TV tonight as a matter of fact, and the reason for this post)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Khannnnn!!!!)
• Evil Dead 2 (maybe a bit out of genre, but love it)
• Batman Returns
• The Dark Knight (2nd of Christopher Nolan's Batman movies)
• X2
• Spiderman 2
• Underworld: Evolution
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day (don't laugh - I liked it)
• Toy Story 2
• and the most recent release, Iron Man 2

I'm sure there are others. What am I forgetting? Add to comments.