Comic-book movies are more popular now than ever. Looking at The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers and many more taking huge money at the box-office, it's hard to believe there was a time when they weren't hot property. Here's five of the worst...

5. Green Lantern

This had everything going for it. Ryan Reynolds was a perfect match for Hal Jordan - both had that easy charm and Harrison Ford-esque jawline. Martin Campbell, director of Casino Royale and The Mask of Zorro and a hefty budget behind it. So where did it all go horribly wrong? Much like Bruce Willis' daughter, Rumer, the elements are there but it just doesn't gel together to make something attractive.

4. The Shadow

After the success of Tim Burton's Batman in 1989, studios started buying up the rights to any comic-book series they could get their hands on. Unfortunately, they never actually checked to see if they were any good. The Shadow, which actually began life as a radio serial, was one such purchase. Alec Baldwin starred as the title character and the guy who directed Highlander was chosen to direct and screenwriting legend David Koepp had a script. What could go wrong, right? Everything. Everything could go wrong. The film suffered setback after setback, including an earthquake that destroyed parts of the set. When it was released, it barely made it's $40 million budget back (keep in mind, this is 1994 - $40 million was huge back then) and a planned franchise was shut down before it started off. Sam Raimi was attempting to restart it following Spider-Man, but so far nothing's happened.

3. Spider-Man 3

Sam Raimi was vocal - too vocal - about how much he disliked the character of 'Venom'. So basing a film around him was bound to make sense, right? Considering how Maguire had more or less zoned out of even making a serious attempt at acting properly, not to mention a really laughable Topher Grace trying to be “threatening”, Spider-Man 3 was already working from a bad position with the cast. Throw in Sam Raimi, who has mentioned wasn't a fan of the film to begin with, and his obvious lack of interest in making it and the end result is a turgid end to an interesting trilogy.

2. Batman And Robin

Batman as George Clooney. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze. Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy. The 90's were weird. And this Joel Schumacher-directed addition to the Batman franchise is even weirder. Batman And Robin was so camp, the bat-suits had nipples. Nipples. Let that sink in for a moment.

1. Howard The Duck

You've never heard of this film, haven't you? Don't worry. There's a reason. This film was so bad, its producers (George Lucas being one of them) pretty much buried it under twenty-five feet of cement and built a motorway over it. You will most likely never see this in your DVD shop, never see it on TV, never even read about it. Why? Because this film was so bad, so awfully made, it closed the door on Marvel comic-book adaptations for fifteen years. Howard The Duck can't be synopsised effectively. It's better for your own good that you don't even watch the trailer underneath.