Today, comic book adaptations to the big screen are a normalized phenomenon; a genre in itself that has managed to conquer audiences with great productions. However, during the 90s, these types of adaptations were rather limited. Following box office hits like Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989 or The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the film industry was clinging to a lifeline in search of new stories to bring to the big screen. Thus, amidst family adventures like Rocketeer and The Mask, they tried to explore darkness in more violent stories, where they found Barb Wire, which jumped to the screen in a dystopian production starring a daring Pamela Anderson calling out to the gates of B-movie cinema.
A femme fatale, truly fatal
The character of Barb Wire, created by Chris Warner for Comics’ Greatest World from Dark Horse Comics, made her first appearance in 1993. The series was set in Steel Harbor, a city immersed in chaos, where Barb, a former bounty hunter turned bar owner, fought against crime and gangs in a dystopian environment marked by corruption and social decay. Very much of the era, really. The comic, which mixed action, science fiction, and a touch of eroticism, quickly became a representation of the “bad girl” genre of the time, where the protagonists were both heroines and anti-heroines, a style that Frank Miller managed to portray with much more class and talent in his drawings.
At the peak of her popularity, Pamela Anderson was chosen to portray the character in the 1996 film adaptation. The movie, presenting a futuristic version of the original story heavily inspired by the classic Casablanca, was set in a United States in the midst of a civil war, with Barb Wire as a resistance fighter battling for freedom. Despite the anticipation generated by Anderson’s figure, known for her role in Baywatch, the film faced a disastrous critical and audience reception. Critics did not hesitate to label the movie as a failed attempt to capitalize on its protagonist’s popularity, relegating it to a mere exploitation product that failed to capture the essence of the comic.
The criticism was relentless. Reviews pointed out that, although Anderson’s wardrobe and aesthetics were eye-catching, the plot was weak and full of clichés. In reality, not much more could be expected. Furthermore, the execution of the movie by David Hogan left much to be desired, plunging Barb Wire into a sea of absurd dialogues and performances that were more laughable than entertaining. This combination of factors not only led the movie to fail at the box office but also dragged down the original comic publication with it.
Ending the original comic
The impact of the movie was immediate. Just a few months after its release, the comic series that had brought Barb Wire to life was canceled after a brief run, closing a chapter that promised more to readers than what made it to the big screen. Despite several attempts to resurrect the comic title in subsequent years, the most recent in 2015, the character never managed to recover and engage with an audience that inevitably associated it with the movie’s bad reputation.
Over the years, Barb Wire has been practically forgotten, mainly remembered for her failed foray into cinema and the cleavage of her protagonist. If curiosity has sparked your interest nonetheless, you can give it a chance today by watching Barb Wire on Filmin.
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