Top 10 prequels and origin stories on film and TV

A prequel or origin can be a useful storytelling tool for a character’s lore or history.

Its not uncommon to find a beginning story in a series featuring a character who has already established himself. By a certain point, the author may delve deeper what made the character that character by the first story. Film and TV creation is similar, with a studio or media company in place of an author.

A prequel could be made for no other reason than business, but it can yield creative results. Television can offer the building of pre-existing worlds, such as the upcoming Krypton, but must depend on a large enough viewership to continue each week. Film usually has a certain amount of time to do the same thing, but can offer a larger scale to the story.

The Celebrity Café counts down the top 10 prequels and origin stories on film and TV.
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10. Iron Man
Despite being the first in a series of films, this can be loosely qualified as an origin story. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) continually develops in the first film upon discovering his weapons being used by terrorists, inspiring him to create his own mechanical suit to use in combating threats. He winds up attempting to perfect his use of the suit even in the final battle.

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9. Arrow
Low on this list because of its present-day stories, the hit CW show offers parallel flashbacks of main character Oliver Queen (Steven Amell) in most episodes. Before becoming the (Green) Arrow, Queen learned his fighting and archery skills after being shipwrecked on a seemingly deserted island for five years. The parallel origin story makes for an intriguing mystery into what made Queen into the heroic vigilante.

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8. Man of Steel
Love it or hate it, this film served as a newer take on Superman’s origins. Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) knows heroism as a kid before discovering he’s an alien, eventually going to an old Kryptonian spaceship and learning about who he is. Having to stop General Zod (Michael Shannon) towards the end of the film also affects the character, which should hopefully show by the next film.

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7. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
The prequel trilogy was derided by many fans, but this Star Wars film was the real turning point that lead to the original trilogy. Audiences finally got to see the Emperor and his influence on turning previously heroic Jedi Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) into the infamous Sith lord Darth Vader, in turn destroying the Jedi Order and collecting the clone army. The other two films weren’t terribly great, making this prequel the better one of the series.

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6. Gotham
Beginning with the death of Bruce Wayne’s parents, the show follows new GCPD detective Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) in his crusade to make the nasty city better years before Batman arrives. It also features up-and-coming villains, such as pre-Penguin Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor), among others. Despite some flaws, the show has delivered so far for the season’s first half, with viewers looking to see more of Gotham City soon.

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5. X-Men: First Class
First Class brought the film series back to the 60s with new actors (and Hugh Jackman in a cameo). It followed the exploits of Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender), among other mutants, before they meet up and train to take on Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) and his evil mutant team. It would set the stage for both the X-Men films and the timeline changing X-Men: Days of Future Past.

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4. Casino Royale
It was a reboot of the whole 007 series, but it served as an origin story to James Bond before he became Bond. Daniel Craig played the iconic British spy as rough, becoming more refined throughout the film while also learning never to trust anyone through tragedy. The more recent Skyfall shed more light into the character’s history without giving much away, but this is the film that made Bond into the spy audiences loved.

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3. Captain America: The First Avenger
A prequel to the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe, this film took its setting far back to World War II, complete with retro atmosphere, heroics, and a pre-S.H.I.E.L.D agency. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) doesn’t really develop as a character, but there are more objects and events in this film that influenced other Marvel films and shows. It also created a memorable character in Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), who was in her own short film and upcoming TV show.

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2. Caprica
A prequel to the remade Battlestar Galactica, it was essentially a drama about the Graystone and Adama families dealing with the death of loved ones after a terrorist attack and its fallout. The dead daughter of the Graystone family leaves behind an advanced digital avatar of herself, which influences the father to continue with developing the earliest form of the Cylons, while the Adama patriarch looks for revenge. It lasted for one season, but it helped build the series' future events.

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1. Batman Begins
Gotham is a darkly wonderful prequel series, but this was the film that introduced a more psychological, grounded look into Bruce Wayne’s (Christian Bale) becoming the dark superhero. Audiences got a little more insight into Wayne’s parents and history, what influenced Bruce to take up a code (and costume), and even his continuing development facing enemies such as Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) and former mentor Ra’s Al Ghul (Liam Neeson). Not only did this film create a new way of telling dark and complex superhero stories along with The Dark Knight, but it would inspire shows like Arrow and Gotham to look deeper into unexplored prequel and origin material, hence why it takes the top spot.