Friday’s release of “The Green Hornet” kicks off a year of superhero movies. Big-screen adaptations of Thor, the Green Lantern, X-Men (a prequel) and Captain America will be smacking around villains at a multiplex near you over the coming months, providing much-needed antidotes to a mountain of dreck that includes “Take Me Home Tonight,” “The Hangover Part II” and “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.”

But there’s still a lot of comic-book film projects that have been languishing on studio shelves for far too long. It’s high time someone used their Wonder Twin powers (or maybe just Jayna’s, Zan was pretty lame) to bring these icons to life:

• Wonder Woman: A star-spangled, 6-foot-tall Amazon princess who likes to wear bustiers and short-shorts dedicates herself to putting the hurt on bad guys and preserving the American dream. Why in God’s name hasn’t this been made already?

• Doctor Strange: People love sci-fi sorcery flicks when done well, as evidenced by the “Harry Potter” and “Lord of the Rings” series. Stephen Strange is a recovered alcoholic and disgraced surgeon who finds redemption through calming his inner demons so he can battle real demons on and off Earth. Magic spells; knock-down, drag-out fights; special effects galore; an anti-substance abuse message — Hollywood, are you paying attention?

• The Sandman: I’m not talking about the dorky, gas-mask-and-fedora-wearing character of the 1940s, I’m talking about Neil Gaiman’s award-winning series that ran in DC Comics from 1989 to 1996. The Sandman is literally responsible for all dreams, good and bad, making the possibilities for surrealistic sci-fi sequences endless. Oh, and his sister is Death. How cool is that?

• The Justice League of America: Maybe when Marvel’s Avengers movie hits screens next year, it will finally prompt someone to make a film about DC’s all-star super-team that includes Superman, Batman and (sigh) Wonder Woman. I would even settle for the Justice Society of America, the JLA’s World War II-era predecessors, because watching superheroes beat up Hitler would be sweet.

• The Black Panther: The first African-American superhero didn’t have super powers, didn’t use magic and didn’t have a sidekick. Heck, he didn’t even have a car. But he more than made up for it with a razor-sharp brain and finely honed fighting skills.

• The Green Arrow: Robin Hood with a goatee, a bad attitude and a super-hot girlfriend/spy, the Black Canary, who fights in black leather and fishnet stockings. Need I say more?

Deputy Managing Editor Rod Harmon may be contacted at 791-6450 or at:

rharmon@pressherald.com