Sam Raimi Chainsaw

All SAM RAIMI Heroes: From Darkman to DR. STRANGE

In this article, I’m going to LIST ALL Sam Raimi heroes and superhero movies, from Darkman to Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness.

Sam Raimi: More than Just a Legendary Horror Director 

Sam Raimi is more than just a legendary horror director. Sure, he’s responsible for cult classic horror b-movies, like The Evil Dead trilogy and Drag Me to Hell. But now with Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness under his belt, he’s developed quite a long list of superhero movies as well. 

All Sam Raimi Heroes  in Chronological Order

1. Sam Raimi’s Darkman

Liam Neeson plays Darkman, an antihero bent on revenge. 

Darkman starts off like any typical superhero story. 

Dr. Peyton Westlake is just an ordinary super smart doctor working on an experimental cure for burn victims. But then, bad guys show up and dunk him in acid, burning his whole body. 

In the hospital, they give Dr. Westlake an experimental treatment. Dr. Westlake’s treatment has a side-effect: he can no longer feel pain.

And that’s his superpower. 

Darkman is a pseudo horror antihero revenge comedy story. It’s totally ridiculous, which is its charm.

Check out this scene – The Pink Elephant – it is hilarious:

As for whether Raimi’s classic horror/dark comedy charm comes through in MCU’s Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness, that remains to be seen. More on that later.

2. Hercules: The Legendary Journeys & Xena: Warrior Princess

90s kids will remember the Hercules and Xena TV series with Kevin Sorbo and Lucy Lawless. These were fun, kickass hero shows for kids, loosely based on Greek mythology. Best of all, they had all that slapstick goofiness that Sam Raimi fans love. 

Sam Raimi’s Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

Everyone knows about Hercules. His super power? Super strength. Like any classic superhero worth his or her own salt, he had a sidekick, Iolaus, who was basically useless. 

Of course, the TV series took massive liberties with Greek mythology. Not that I mind that kind of thing.

I mean sure, they made Hera the bad guy, but hey, everyone fudges Greek mythology.

Anyway, with a kickass introduction that never failed to raise goosebumps on the skin of your forearms, Hercules: the Legendary Journeys always kept you, and all the 10-year-olds you knew, totally amped. 

Sam Raimi’s Xena: Warrior Princess

At first, audiences only had Hercules, until Xena (Lucy Lawless) appeared on the show in an exciting three-parter that left audiences wanting more.  Xena was never a character in classical Greek mythology, but Raimi gave her parentage in the Greek pantheon of Gods (Orestes and Cyrene), and even a special meaning for her name (Xena means “stranger” in Greek) (source:https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Movies/Xena/xena.html

Soon, she had her own show. 

Xena was my first celebrity crush. I’m sure a lot of boys my age felt the same way. Growing up, though, everyone I knew preferred Xena’s sidekick, Gabrielle.

I was never a Gabrielle kind of guy.

Xena’s Superpower

If Sam Raimi’s Hercules was like Superman, with his super strength and code of ethics, then Xena was more like Batman, with her special weapon.

Xena’s weapon was called a chakram. She would throw it into a crowd of enemies, and it would bounce off all of them and come right back to her. 

Lucy, to the delight of longtime Raimi fans, was a recurring character in Starz’s Ash VS the Evil Dead. She also played a minor role in Raimi’s Spiderman (2002). 

Fun Fact: Lucy Lawless was the PA announcer in Ginger Snaps, which is a classic horror movie in its own right (source: Lucy’s IMDB page

And, lest you think I forgot Raimi’s darling Bruce Campbell was a recurring character in Hercules and Xena, check this action out: 

3. Sam Raimi’s Spiderman Trilogy

Sam Raimi’s Spiderman trilogy is exciting, hilarious, and insane. And Raimi’s trademarks are all over it.

Sam Raimi’s Trademarks in the Spiderman Movies

Whether it’s Hobgoblin’s insane laughter, Raimi’s breakneck action scenes, Bruce Campbell’s cameos, the insanity of zooming in too far on Willem Defoe’s face, or just the general nonstop carousel of terrified, screaming women, Raimi’s trademark campiness is all over his Spiderman trilogy.

Sam Raimi Spiderman 3

Depicted above: in Raimi’s Spiderman, you can always find flocks of women standing around ready to scream bloody murder.

But there’s one scene in particular that Sam Raimi nerds have been drooling over since it came out in 2004. One scene that perfectly sums up everything good about Sam Raimi’s spiderman trilogy. I’m talking, of course, about the Spiderman 2 Doctor Octopus scene.

The Doctor Octopus hospital scene from Spiderman 2 has everything: choppy edits, screaming women, a doomed, half-crazy hero-gone-schizophrenic, an unstoppable tentacle monster…hell, the scene even has a chainsaw.

This scene is basically The Evil Dead.

Sam Raimi’s Dr Strange: Multiverse of Madness

Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness is Raimi’s first superhero movie since Spiderman 3.  That’s 15 years ago! 

Famously, Spiderman 3 wasn’t so great, so hopefully these intervening 15 years have given Raimi the space he needs to cleanse his palate and go ahead and direct the next great Marvel movie. 

Dr. Strange Wanda Maximoff

Who is in Sam Raimi’s Dr Strange: Multiverse of Madness

First of all, you’ve got the usual cast of characters: Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange and Benedict Wong as Master Wong. 

Side note, I know there are a lot of great side characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Wong is my favorite (Ned from Spiderman is a close second). I decided I liked Benedict Wong (the actor) when he played Kublai Khan in Marco Polo, the Netflix series. What a sad day it was when they canceled it after just 2 seasons. 

Anyway, Elizabeth Olson will be returning as Scarlet Witch, Tom Hiddelston as Loki, blah blah blah…

For longtime MCU fans, those staples will be great. But for us longtime Raimi fans, there’s an actor in the Doctor Strange movie whose cameo we’ll be looking forward to…

A certain beloved recurring b-movie god…

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