Howard the Duck (PG, 1986)

Whatever appeal the original character held got left behind on the funny pages by this version produced by George Lucas, of all people (some commentators thought he just owed somebody a favor), with all the glitz money could buy -- as much as $50 million, by some estimates. But HOWARD THE DUCK is just one big empty bird-dropping, with obnoxious characters, tinny 1980s synth-pop music, heavy drinking/partying, death rays, monsters, repetitious and thrill-free car-chase scenes, bad-taste gags (a few revolving around the potential of human-duck lovemaking), merciless avian puns -- maybe Tim Robbins got cast solely on the basis of his last name -- and the underwhelming title character.

Howard is so clearly a little-person actor in a near-immobile duck mask and suit that one appreciates all the more how well Jim Henson's Creature Shop brought personality and movement to the equally gonzo Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a few years later. in their live-action films. Neither hitting the target for the kiddie element or grownups (as the comics character did, at least to a point), Howard the Duck laid an egg at the box office, and remains a cautionary reminder: Despite later exceptions, not all superhero-based epics are super-quality, and George Lucas could do a lot worse than Jar Jar Binks.