The last decade has been incredibly good to Comic Book Movies. Not only are there a significant amount of comic book movies coming out every year, but they’re making a lot of money. Comic Book Movies used to be a once a year thing, and now they’re coming within weeks of each other (this year alone sees the release of Iron Man 3, Man of Steel, Kick-Ass 2, R.I.P.D., The Wolverine, Red 2, 2 Guns, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and Thor: The Dark World). But all good things must come to an end eventually, right?
I would say no. Of course everything has an ebb and flow, and we may get to the point where we get back to one or two Comic Book Movies a year, but that will be the worst case scenario for two main reasons.
Firstly, people list ‘Comic Book Movie Overload’ as the main reason the trend might come to an end. But, I don’t see that becoming a factor just yet. There are five major superhero adaptations coming out this year alone. That’s sounds like a lot, but a reason fatigue might not happen is the variety of the movies. A superhero movie is not a genre. It’s a sub-genre that works well with other genres. Kick-Ass is a superhero black comedy. The Dark Knight is a superhero crime epic. So when an audience is going into these movies, they’re really getting a different experience every time (see Iron Man 3 as a ‘techno-thriller’, The Wolverine as a ‘samurai epic’, Captain America: The Winter Soldier as a ‘spy thriller’, Guardians of the Galaxy as a ‘sci-fi / space opera’, etc.).
If you include Chernobyl Diaries and Sinister, which I do, there was a total of nine high profile found footage movies last year. And audiences are still flocking to them. I dislike found footage movies and even I ended up seeing two in theaters. Not only does this show that exploring various genres can give a trend more legs, but it also makes a case that in the event people start to get sick of a trend, studios will continue making them anyway. As much as people beg plead and kick and scream, Hollywood will continue to push a ‘trend’ down our throats.
Secondly, and most importantly, the main reason that Comic Book Movies will be around for a good while yet is that Geek Culture has transcended into the mainstream. Geek properties aren’t just for geeks anymore. The biggest movies of the summer are all adaptations of things that people got stuffed in lockers for liking a few decades ago – take The Avengers, for example, which shattered box office records last year on its way to becoming the third biggest film of all time.
They’re for everybody. Everyone knows who Batman, Iron Man, and Catwoman are. Even Star Trek, which was considered the bottom of the geek hierarchy chart, is now a staple in mainstream pop culture. You, your dad and your grandmother are lining up to see movies that used to be obscure. The most successful movies are what would be considered ‘nerdy’ 10 years ago. The Top 10 chart of the highest grossing franchises are filled with superheroes, Harry Potter, and Tolkien. It’s been a long uphill battle, but we’re finally here.
At the rate Comic Book Movies are going, and considering the overall quality and work put into them, it’s safe to say they’ll be sticking around for a while yet – much like 3D animated films or even 3D itself, which were both considered “just a trend” at one point or another. It’s easy to dismiss something popular as a trend at first reaction, but some things have more legs than we give them credit for.
Anthony Stokes is a blogger and independent filmmaker.
Originally published May 21, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
