Captain Canuck goes Hollywood: possible movie in the works, with Justin Bieber as the red-caped crime fighter
Move over, Captain America. According to the L.A. Times, Richard Comely, creator of the comic book character Captain Canuck, is in talks with an unnamed Canadian production company for a $15-million live-action cinematic adaptation of the maple leaf-adorned superhero. But what Canadian super-talent has the gravitas, popularity charm and politeness to represent the True North’s true hero? For Comely, the name that comes to mind is none other than Justin Bieber.
Created in 1974 by Comely with artist George Freeman, Captain Canuck was originally an honest Mountie-turned-intelligence-agent that went by the civilian name Tom Evans and gained his superpowers from an encounter with aliens while camping. The character took on several iterations over the 26 issues of the comic book, including the superpower-less Darren Oak, who tries to warn Canada of a conspiracy to set up a one-world government in Toronto, and a West coast version of Captain Canuck with a vigilante attitude.
Captain Canuck made a comeback in 2009 thanks to a hardcover reprint from IDW Publishing. According to Comely, part of Captain Canuck’s importance lies in helping change American opinions about their neighbours to the North. Comely told the Hollywood Reporter, “The reality is many Americans think we’re pretty boring. They just think of us not shooting each other much, we’re polite, we live igloos. We’re going to have to figure out a solution.” Well, it’s safe to say Captain Canuck’s rippling musculature and crime fighting (even white-collar crime fighting) reputation proves he’s pretty kick-ass, but how about an age appropriate Canadian star à la Ryan Reynolds as the Green Lantern or Seth Rogan as The Green Hornet?
• Could ‘Captain Canuck’ take off as a Hollywood film? [L.A. Times]
What is with the Justin Bieber fascination on this site?
please oh please no bieber its about time we get a canadian super hero movie . we used to at least have wolverine but x-men origins took that away says he just moved here .
please make it good theres good canadian actors out there Brendan Fraser maybe just no flaver of the mounth little kid
Check your facts. Captain Cunack has ben around a lot longer than 1974.
Hey J Brown heres some real facts from Richard Comely the creators of Captain Canuck web page.
In May of 1975, Richard Comely, then 24, with a $7000 loan and operating as Comely Comix published the first issue of his Captain Canuck comic book series from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Much like Superman which was first published in 1938, Captain Canuck was an instant hit. To millions of Canadians he became “Canada’s own Superhero”.
J Brown…you must be thinking the second Canadian national comic hero, Johnny Canuck, first appeared in the February 1942 issue of Bell’s Dime Comics No.1. Johnny Canuck was created be Leo Bachle when he was only 15 years old. His character had no superpowers whatsoever. As Bachle explained:
I drew Johnny Canuck and he had my face, and everybody at my school ( Danforth Tech) read it, and I was popular. I drew the teachers, and all the kids read the books to see whose name I was going to mention.
Bachle made Johnny Canuck tall, strong, and brave and endowed him with a good right hook. Just as Superman had devoted his attention to the Axis powers, Johnny Canuck was Canada’s answer to Nazi oppression.
He served as an air force captain and secret agent on the front lines working with partisan and guerrilla forces. Like Captain America, he met Adolf Hitler face to face and almost succeeded in eliminating him and ending the war.
Like Nelvana, Johnny Canuck was one of the Canadian Whites. Canada Post’s stamp shows him in color, dressed for action in his air force flight jacket, goggled headgear, and boots as he appeared in the comics.
He wears no super hero costume and has no bulging muscles, but he is incorruptible and fearless in his fight for democracy and what is right.
Near the end of the World War II, Bell realized that to compete with the soon-to-be reopened American market in Canada, he would have to shift to color printing.
To do so, he borrowed large sums of money and bought the necessary equipment. War had made newsprint scarce, and Bell discovered he couldn’t acquire enough paper to print his publications.
Between 1947 and 1952 Bell sold all of his equipment and stock, and the original Canadian comic heroes fought their last fight.
There is a small mistake the reporter made Captain Canuck was created by Richard Comely, but not with George Freeman..it was Ron Leishman…George didn’t start working for Richard Comely till issue 2 of Captain Canuck.
Naythan Fillion. Age and appearance appropriate. He’s from Edmonton, and is awesome.
now in 2015 we all know the Justin Bieber would be a very big mistake. And it would hurt
the CAPTION CANUCK image Sorry J.B.