It’s currently a great time for comic book fans at the local multiplex. Three of the biggest movies of 2012 are based on comic book properties. The Avengers accomplished feats we would have never imagined possible ten years ago and has gone on to become the third highest grossing film of all time. The Amazing Spider-Man swung its way into our hearts and made us feel like teenagers again. The Dark Knight Rises concluded a trilogy that left us satisfied in a way that many fans have not felt with a trilogy since… well, you know which trilogy. But it wasn’t always like this.
At one point superhero movies were B-list movies that were destined to one day be available in five dollar bins at Best Buy right next to horrid video game films. The seventies and eighties saw comic book adaptations as jokes with few minor exceptions such as Superman, Batman, and a few other b-list properties. The nineties were full of poor excuses for comic film adaptations like Steel, Batman & Robin, Mystery Men and Judge Dredd.
But at some point the superhero movie began to improve in both story and scale. Studios started to see the positive results of doing right by the superhero genre. Don’t get me wrong, we still saw plenty of failure with movies that could have been great. I’m looking at you Ghost Rider, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man 3 and X-Men: The Last Stand (oh, the bad theater memories associated with those last two…). But the good is starting to consistently outweigh the bad. So looking back at the history of the superhero film, which ones played pivotal roles in bringing us to where we are now?
1978’s Superman: The Movie is regarded by many as the first true superhero film, perhaps because Richard Donner fought to take the subject matter seriously. When he agreed to be director, the script he got was nothing but campy humor. He threw that out, brought in Tom Mankiewicz to do heavy rewrites and the result was nothing short of fantastic. Not only did we get brilliant direction from Donner, but we got some of the most iconic performances from talented actors. The impact of this movie can still be seen reflected in many movies including Sam Raimi’s homage in Spider-Man 2 when Peter Parker opens his shirt to reveal his costume underneath and most recent in the brief Gwen Stacy/Spider-Man swinging sequence in Marc Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man.
Many elements of the Superman mythos introduced in the film have since been incorporated into the regular continuity of the DC Universe. While the sequel Superman II (which Donner started but was finished after his firing by Richard Lester) received much praise, the reception to the sequels that followed was not so great, with Brian Singer’s love letter to Donner’s original Superman Returns regarded by some as one of the worst comic book adaptations. Throughout the 80s, after the success of Superman 1 and 2, we saw a dark period full of horrible attempts at comic book movies, including the spin-off film Supergirl. But in 1989 things would brighten up. Funny that it required a Dark Knight to do so.
In 1989, Tim Burton’s Batman arrived in theaters, one of the first truly “dark” comic book movies and completely changed the game, leading to a comic book resurgence at the box office and well received comic book films like Dick Tracy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Rocketeer. But as fresh as Tim Burton’s cinematic take on Batman was, the memories of the campy 1960’s caped crusader hung tight. The movie was even criticized in some places for being “too dark”. Burton once joked, “ever since I did Batman, it was like the first dark comic book movie. Now everyone wants to do a dark and serious superhero movie. I guess I’m the one responsible for that trend.” And he’s right. Tim Burton’s Batman is very responsible for the “darker”, more “mature” superhero film.
Just as with Christopher Nolan’s movies, the fans had many complaints about the casting choices in this film. Even the first trailer seemed to poke fun at the outcry, as comedic actor Michael Keaton responded to a caught crook pleading “who are you!?!” with a simple: “I’m Batman”. And he was. When naysayers ultimately saw the movie, they were blown away by the performances of both Keaton and Jack Nicholson, an inspired star-caliber casting choice.
Not only did the movie begin the trend of dark comic book movies but the success of Batman prompted Warner Bros. Animation to create the critically-acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series, resulting in the long-running DC animated universe. It also led to the theatrical release of Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm, which set the stage for mature theatrically released animated movies like Disney’s theatrical release of Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. How different would our theatrical landscape be today if this movie had not been released into theaters? IGN ranked Mask of the Phantasm as the 25th best animated film of all time in a list published in 2010. However, things would not always stay bright. Tim Burton’s breakout film was eventually eroded by sequels (and Joel Schumacher), culminating in 1997’s Batman & Robin being quite possibly, hands down, the worst comic book movie of all time. But at least for a while, DC seemed to be on top of the comic book adaptation game, until a C-level Marvel property proved it had some real teeth.
In 1998, we saw the first appearance of Wesley Snipes as Blade on the big screen. Produced and released under the radar, and featuring an obscure Marvel character, this movie resulted in Marvel’s first successful comic book based film. And it immediately swung the bright lights of Hollywood onto the comic publisher’s massive stable of characters, lights dimmed by Roger Corman’s Fantastic Four and The Punisher movie of almost a decade earlier. In fact, after the disastrous performances of DC’s Batman & Robin and Steel, it gave Marvel some bragging rights and its success convinced studios like Fox and Sony to develop blockbuster films based on the X-Men and Spider-Man, Marvel’s two A-list superhero properties towards the end of the decade. Suddenly, superheroes were back in the game.
Blade also acted as one of the first times where we saw a sequel that was arguably better than the first film. His second Hollywood film (after Mimic), Guillermo del Toro’s take on the Marvel Comics vampire hunter in Blade II still doesn’t get the credit that it deserves but the box office proved that the franchise had bite, improving on the first film’s earnings and setting the stage for Underworld receiving a wider release the following year (before Kate Beckinsale was a proven box office draw). And even though David Goyer’s third film didn’t live up to either of the first two, it showed that less widely known Marvel properties (like Iron Man) could work as box office franchises. The third film also introduced us to the first big budget outing of a TV actor who would eventually become the big screen Hal Jordan. Looking back, Blade accomplished a more than most people remember. But if Blade cracked open the door for the future success of the superhero film, the following two films blew the door right off the hinges.
In the summer of 2000, Fox released X-Men to the big screen. The move had a large list of A-list actors including Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart but also included a few untested or unknown talents, including director Bryan Singer, who was only known at the time for smaller, critically acclaimed films The Usual Suspects and Apt Pupil. Hugh Jackman, an unknown actor at the time, was cast three weeks into filming as a replacement for Dougray Scott. Leaked set images and costume tests were met with criticism by fans months earlier and leading up to the release of X-Men, expectations were not high that this movie was going to work at all.
But it did… in a big way. Jackman went on to become the most recognizable face of the franchise and a major Hollywood star. Actually, everyone involved in X-Men went on to find immediate success, but X-Men was a major risk for both Fox and Marvel and today many people fail to realize that without X-Men we would not have gotten The Avengers. A superhero ensemble film? X-Men proved that it could work. Singer and company proved that you could have a story filled with superheroes and fantastical elements that followed multiple characters and didn’t feel rushed or hazy around the edges. With a budget of $75,000,000 (small by today’s superhero standards), the film went on to earn twice that at the box office and paved the way for today’s wave of superhero box office goodwill. The following May, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man broke box office records on opening weekend. Obviously, people loved their superheroes and X-Men hadn’t been enough for them.
Singer followed up the first film with X2: X-Men United which is still regarded as one of the best comic book movies ever. The story was bigger, the stakes were higher and the fights more elaborate. Prior to First Class, this was widely regarded as the best X-Men movie to date and featured morals, messages, themes and references to the comics that only avid fans would get. The opening sequence with Nightcrawler is still one of the best opening scenes in any comic book movie. It draws you in and you are instantly hooked. And the ending? One of the biggest set ups for a classic storyline that left fans going crazy (sadly, it was ruined by a horrible third chapter which followed the comic book movie curse). While X3: The Last Stand did feature some great casting and character additions (Ben Foster as Angel, Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde and Kelsey Grammar as Beast) it failed to live up to its predecessors by far. It was obvious that the Superhero movie had begun to buckle under the pressures of success (and Hollywood) and needed to be brought back to its roots. Luckily, DC and Warner Bros. had just rewritten the blue prints for success the previous summer.
It was now time for studios to take what they had learned from past outings and put it to work. In 2005 Christopher Nolan brought a dark knight back to the screen and changed the face of the modern comic book movie. After a series of unsuccessful projects to resurrect Batman on screen following the 1997 critical failure that was Batman & Robin, Nolan and David Goyer began work on the film in early 2003 and aimed for a darker and more realistic tone, with humanity and realism being the basis of the film. Nolan chose to rely on traditional stunts and miniatures and very minimally relied on CGI to further set a sense of realism in this new Bat-verse. The goal was to get the audience to care for both Batman and Bruce Wayne. Batman Begins was both critically and commercially successful.
Batman Begins was not only considered to have heralded a trend of darker genre films but also the rebooting of many franchises. This can most recently be seen with The Amazing Spider-Man where we see a return to the character in a more reality based story with darker tones. Batman Begins had become the game changer. That was until Marvel Studios “suited up” for the first time in 2008.
Up until now Marvel’s properties had their hits and misses. Marvel’s movies had been handled by outside studios and now it was time for Marvel Studios first at bat with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man and it knocked it out of the park. While past films had tweaked the formula for the perfect superhero movie this had taken all of that in and set the standard. What made the film work ultimately is that there is a fluid mix of real drama, human pathos, computer-rendered special FX, sexual tension undercurrent romance, lighthearted hi-jinks and humor, as well as genuine chemistry between the stars of the film.
Especially important, the film’s producers realized that it was important for them to take the source material from the comics as serious material and use it as their basis for the entire story they built. It was obvious that the source material was given the kind of credibility and respectability it deserved, which resulted in the film having a quite healthy opening weekend. By earning a worldwide total of $585 million, it proved that even B-list Marvel superheroes had legitimate box office appeal with the right handling.
Marvel Studios thus proved that it was indeed the best place for these heroes to be adapted for the big screen. Iron Man was huge but it was also the first step towards something bigger. Marvel Studios followed up with The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, establishing something that had never been seen before, a connected movie universe that culminated in what would go on to be the largest grossing superhero movie of all time and quite possibly the highest praised, The Avengers. The film currently sits at an impressive 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and has gone on to gross $1.5 billion dollars in ticket sales alone.
But, while The Avengers was huge it was just the beginning. Marvel is set to begin their “Phase Two” plan next year. We will see Iron Man, Thor and Captain America all return to the big screen with sequels but in 2014 Marvel Studios is preparing to take some of their biggest risks yet bringing less-known characters Ant-Man and Guardians Of The Galaxy to the big screen. This will all lead up to us assembling once again for the sequel to The Avengers in 2015. And it seems Marvel Studios success has shown another studio that a massive superhero ensemble movie can be done and done well.
Next year you will also believe a man can fly again when Zack Snyder brings Superman back to the big screen with Man Of Steel. This will be Superman’s first film since 2006’s not-so-critically acclaimed Superman Returns. This is reported to be DC’s first step to establishing their own connected universe much like Marvel has done with upcoming plans for a Justice League film to hit screens in the coming years.
And while the credits may be rolling on this article we all know by now that doesn’t always mean that it’s over. Stick around because there’s sure to be something else…