I was trying to build my "Fav Couples" gallery and it was difficult to find a picture of Aspen Matthews and Chance together. But what I did find were TONS of pictures of Megan Fox being compared to Aspen Matthews. I stumble on an old blog that said Fox had been confirmed to play Aspen in the up-coming silver screen adaption for Fathom. I went to her imdb page and so nothing there. Sadly I wouldn't be surprised to find this movie dead in the water. While comic book character movies are all the rage, I have yet to see a female lead. But back to the topic at hand. Megan Fox is beautiful, this is undeniable...along with her acting talent. Does she have what it takes to carry a lead? NO! Can I blame Hollywood for wanting to cast a beautiful woman to play a beautiful woman....no way. BUT I feel the argument is the same as Wonder Woman...there are beautiful unknowns who can act. IMAGINE THAT. Would it hurt to give them a shot? A screen test at least! Look at how well Superman Returns did with Brandon Routh.   

Me likey pic

When? ALWAYS, in my opinion. You hit the nail in the head. I'm getting sick and tired of seeing Megan Fox compared to every female character out there, when she couldn't DREAM of making a convincing case for ANY of them. Wonder Woman? Hahahaha! I think in general, looks should come second to acting ability, cause more often than not, make up and costume artists can take care of the looks part  pretty well. Hollywood will do what sells, and putting an unknown that looks good AND can act does not spell $$$ as much as putting a known face to completely ruin a character with some "edgy" crap and gratuitous butt shots do. Go figure.

" When? ALWAYS, in my opinion. You hit the nail in the head. I'm getting sick and tired of seeing Megan Fox compared to every female character out there, when she couldn't DREAM of making a convincing case for ANY of them. Wonder Woman? Hahahaha! I think in general, looks should come second to acting ability, cause more often than not, make up and costume artists can take care of the looks part  pretty well. Hollywood will do what sells, and putting an unknown that looks good AND can act does not spell $$$ as much as putting a known face to completely ruin a character with some "edgy" crap and gratuitous butt shots do. Go figure. "

I'm right there with you on that, it doesn't even end at Megan Fox and Aspen Matthews comparison as I'm sure you know. If you Google images Wonder Woman, She Hulk, etc. Almost every single female comic book character apparently should be played by Megan Fox which never ceases to crack me up.
 
I personally just don't think that the people making these comparisons of Megan Fox, bikini models, etc to all these female comic book characters are at all concerned with doing these characters justice the same way they are about their male counterparts. Megan Fox needs to learn how to act before she can even dream about playing any of these characters, I don't care how hot she is. She's not unique in this department, there's plenty of beautiful women out there who can actually act, bring these characters to life and do them justice you just might have to look a bit harder.  

I don't think a lot of people in movies can handle making a strong female character without going through the ever-so-typical femme fatale route which is sad. I've had this discussion with my friend before and one of the things I mentioned was that I don't think some of these female characters are particularly hard to do in movies but more so they're pretty easy to mess up. Take Wonder Woman for example, she pulls no punches and is all about serious business but she also wears hot pants, it's too easy to competely sexualize her and make her all sexyface through out the movie, which if you know Wonder Woman you know she doesn't fucking sexyface...at all. 
 
It's unfortunate 'cause like you said  there are good examples of male comic book characters that have been done well so it's not that they can't do it. So yeah being able to act should always be the first and foremost important thing to look at when casting people for these roles, it's not like we're lacking good looking people in the world.

and they wonder why comic movies based on lead female characters do not have the staying power as the male movies! Hugh Jackman, Ryan Renolds, Christan Bale, Ed Norton....heck even Robert Downey Jr. (though not my personal fav.) are all good looking actors...who can ACT.  "

Looks matter less than acting skill when you have an original script with original characters. 
 
When you cast a movie that has already established characters....you need to find good common ground.

One of the things I like best about Batman Begins and The Dark Knight is that the actors in those movies look like the characters they are playing. When I think about a comic book movie the first thing that comes to my mind is who looks like a particular character. That said, I think you can have both the right look and acting ability.

" @Silkcuts: Have you seen Equilibrium? Bale doesn't act totally unlike Batman in that, it's just awesome. "

" @Silkcuts: Definitely check it out. And I'd say T3 already pretty much ruined Terminator. "

" @Silkcuts: Have you seen Equilibrium? Bale doesn't act totally unlike Batman in that, it's just awesome. "

I haven't seen enough of Megan Fox to tell if she is a good actress or not. I am not really a fan of hers. 
 
But to answer the questions, Looks come last. Talent first. 

" @Silkcuts: If Turner wanted her, that's fine. I can't stand her, though. Although I probably wouldn't have gone to see an Aspen movie anyway. "

" @Jotham said:

" @Silkcuts: Have you seen Equilibrium? Bale doesn't act totally unlike Batman in that, it's just awesome. "

Oh I wasn't sold on Lori from Little Women playing Batman until I saw that movie. I just liked the whole movie in general. "

" @angryamazon:  Megan was hand picked by Micheal Turner to play Aspen Matthews, they had a friendship.  This is why she has an entry in the tribute aspen released after his death.  No one bothered to create a megan fox page, but she does have an entry.  I forget if it is even good, but its there.
 
Yes I am a guy and yes I think Megan Fox is attractive, but she was hand picked by Turner.  If she is good enough for him, she is more then good enough for me.
 
@angryamazon said:

and they wonder why comic movies based on lead female characters do not have the staying power as the male movies! Hugh Jackman, Ryan Renolds, Christan Bale, Ed Norton....heck even Robert Downey Jr. (though not my personal fav.) are all good looking actors...who can ACT.  "

Not to nit pick, Both Renolds and Bale cannot act.  Renolds plays the same role or silly cool guy over and over.  Bale has one voice "I'm Batman", he is horrible. Those two get roles because they bring in women.  It works both ways. "

" @Silkcuts: If Turner wanted her, that's fine. I can't stand her, though. Although I probably wouldn't have gone to see an Aspen movie anyway. "

" @Silkcuts said:

" @angryamazon:  Megan was hand picked by Micheal Turner to play Aspen Matthews, they had a friendship.  This is why she has an entry in the tribute aspen released after his death.  No one bothered to create a megan fox page, but she does have an entry.  I forget if it is even good, but its there.
 
Yes I am a guy and yes I think Megan Fox is attractive, but she was hand picked by Turner.  If she is good enough for him, she is more then good enough for me.
 
@angryamazon said:

and they wonder why comic movies based on lead female characters do not have the staying power as the male movies! Hugh Jackman, Ryan Renolds, Christan Bale, Ed Norton....heck even Robert Downey Jr. (though not my personal fav.) are all good looking actors...who can ACT.  "

Not to nit pick, Both Renolds and Bale cannot act.  Renolds plays the same role or silly cool guy over and over.  Bale has one voice "I'm Batman", he is horrible. Those two get roles because they bring in women.  It works both ways. "

Its hard to argue with an idea if its something the creator, himself, supports. But it doesn't mean it digests well =) I just feel like leading female comic characters aren't going to get the fan base following based on just a pretty face (and body). Fox told Mtv she would step away from the project if she needs to just so it can be made. I'm not gonna lie...my fingers are crossed.  I disagree about Bale...he has played a wide range of roles from Newsies, Little Woman and the new Batmans. He isn't my favorite Batman and his Batman voice isn't the best. But "horrible" is a bit harsh in my opinion. I really loved him in the Machinist as well.  So do you think that Renolds is a "pretty face" that is going to blow Green Lantern & Deadpool? "

poor Brandon Routh.
I liked him in both Superman and Scott Pilgrim.  Too bat Superman had a bad script. 
Talent should be factored, but in the end money is what matters :(
Routh is handsome and can act, yet the Superman series still failed.  That is SUPERMAN, a well-known character.
I worry about a Fathom movie, since Aspen is not as well known, can a non-named actress bring in fans. Fox didn't work for Jonah Hex, so even if she was the "hand picked" aspen, there is no certainty in money return.
 
Is the movie still in limbo, btw?  I know you found an old blog, that started this one, but may be you found something new.

" Me likey pic "

When acting matters more..lol 
some characters in movies are canon-folder but others really require some serious acting. Then looks matter less or should. Of course hollywood producers dont always agree. look at Transformers 3, there using some model who has never acted in a single movie to play along side Sam Witwicky in place of Megan fox...