The rage & craze for superhero movies

Superhero movies have captivated audience around the globe. Whether it is realising childhood dreams, bringing your favourite comic book moments to life or simply delivering an unforgettable experience, fans will flock by the dozen just to be in line for a superhero movie. These movies transcended all boundaries and even attract the hoi polloi.

However, the journey to this superstardom was a bumpy ride. Back in the 90s, comic books fans had to contend with disaster comic book adaptations of ‘Steel’ and others. These adaptations were corny and had cringe-worthy dialogues.

While Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’ and its sequel was successful, Joel Schumacher’s ‘Batman & Robin’, which starred Bat Crotch, Bat Card and Bat Nipple along with Batgirl and others, dashed the hopes of seeing more of their favourite characters live on large screen.

The movie was such a colossal flop that studios didn’t dare to invest in superheroes, anymore. Thanos, Joker and the likes weren’t the villains in the eyes of comic book fans, it was Joel Schumacher.

Cut to…. modern times...
A total of 36 movies in the span of five years, several TV series and many more to follow, superhero movies are going through a purple patch. If one wonders what might have happened in the span of two decades that changed the scenario, it was Bryan Singer’s ‘X Men’ in 2000 and Jon Favreau’s ‘Ironman’ in 2008.

The stellar success of these movies and Christopher Nolan’s spectacular Batman Trilogy made sure that there was no looking back. Comic book fans, who are termed as nerds, geeks and bullied are the most sought after and revered with newer superheroes making appearances in the movies.

2016 is a crucial year for the superhero movies, with as many as seven movies to enthral audience. Of the three released so far, ‘Deadpool’ enjoyed stellar success and by the looks of it, ‘Captain America: Civil War’, which released this Friday is on to rake huge money at the box office, while the critically-panned ‘Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice’ fared moderately well.

In times, when every critic, box office analyst and movie buff is discussing about ‘How long will the super hero movie bubble last?’, it is pertinent to discuss - how much is too much!

The question popped up following financial success but critical failure of Zack Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’ in 2014. In an interview, legendary director Steven Spielberg said, “We were around, when the Western genre died and there will be a time when the superhero movie goes the way of Western.”

Echoing the same, Mark Millar, Scottish comic book writer, who was known for his work on the comics, ‘The Authority’, ‘Marvel Knights Spiderman’, ‘Ultimate Fantastic Four’ and others, publicly said that the superhero bubble would burst.

“Every boom eventually has to become a burst and the only way to delay is to make sure the quality of the work is really good,” he added.

However, the comic books are fans buoyed with the influx of superhero films. They are drooling over trailers, spotting pop-culture references and even Easter eggs. The moment a new trailer of the superhero film is out, it invariably breaks internet.

If one hears orgasmic sounds like ‘Oohs’ and ‘Aahs’, don’t get into sanskari mode for all you know, there are just gasping over the sheer excitement of seeing wolverine claws or spidey’s web.

The comic book fans are in for a gala summer. Fans who, were on cloud nine after seeing their favourite characters like ‘Deadpool’, ‘Wonder Woman’, ‘Spider-Man’ , ‘Black Panther’ and others, are in for a treat as more new characters are lined up for them.

With a galaxy of films lined up for release in the years to come, the comic book fans say golden age for super hero films has begun, contrary to what the analysts and critics have to say.

“Bubble, what are you talking about? There is no way the superhero movie craze will die out. There is huge material to dig into, plenty of characters, fabulous storylines. The movies that were released haven’t even adapted five per cent of the storylines,” said, D Srikanth Varma, a huge comic book and movie fan.

Reason for box office success
Superhero movies are a rage and have been dominating the box office. Marvel is finding huge success with its cinematic universe surrounding the Avengers and it’s got stuff in the works, all the way through 2018. DC beefed up its offerings with a movie slate that extends into 2020.

Why is this genre doing so well now, when past efforts haven’t worked as famously?
Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who wrote ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ and ‘Captain America: Civil War’ were quoted saying, “Why are comic books so prevalent?

Why are these movies doing so well? In some ways, we’ve become a genre that you can do well now given the world of computers and perhaps it’s also just a time in the sun. You went to the movies in the 50s and 60s, you went to a western. So at this point, you’re going to a superhero movie. It’s taking over that same black hat, white hat myth-making surface.”

Credit behind the success of the superhero movies goes to the advancements in technology behind moviemaking that made Superman-worthy leaps and bounds in the past few decades. From motion-capture, IMAX cameras and CGI, filmmakers are able to pull off the effects required of these characters.

Stephen McFeely notes that Western and Superhero movies are similar. “Both sets of characters embody similar ideals about honour and looking out for the little guy. Perhaps, then, Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy could be considered the ‘Dirty Harry’ of the genre.”

With the massive surge of comic book lovers coming out of the proverbial closet, audiences have proven they’re ready for a geek-centric slate of movies. They even infiltrated the Academy awards race. ‘Captain America: Winter Soldier’, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, ‘Big Hero 6’ and ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ (all based on Marvel properties, by the way), have earned Oscar nominations.

Craze for superhero movies in India
Craze for superhero movies in India, is no different to rest of the world. We have become such a huge market that the superhero movies are getting dubbed in the regional languages.

The very fact that ‘X Men: Apocalypse’ is releasing a week ahead (May 20) of the rest of the world speaks volumes about the huge fan following, the superhero characters command. The icing on the cake is that Chakra, the Indian superhero co-created by Stan Lee, Sharad Devarajan and Gautam Chopra will be adapted into a live action movie.

Commenting on the craze for superhero movies, National Award winner and ace VFX designer
V Srinivas Mohan, who worked for the films like ‘Baahubali’, told The Hans India that there has always been craze and demand for superhero movies.

“These movies have ‘wow factor’ that glues audience to the seats. While the spectacular graphics are the part and parcel of the genre, the fad for these films can be sustained as long as audience can either empathise or sympathise with the characters. Once the emotional connect is lost, even spell-binding graphics cannot save the film. All said and done, the genre is here to stay,” he added.

When asked about the possibility and feasibility of making superhero movies in Telugu and other languages, Mohan says that the movie has to be made on a wider canvas and will require backing from top studios.

Actress Pooja Hegde, who was paired opposite Kollywood actor Jeeva in superhero movie ‘Mugamoodi’ and who will be next seen opposite Hrithik Roshan in ‘Mohenjodaro’ admitted to being a huge superhero movie fan.

“Any superhero film will have high expectations and audience will come to the theatre with a pre-determined mind. The craze for these movies will sustain as long as they meet and beat expectations,” she added.

Everything eventually comes to an end but will interest still be as strong by 2020? Marvel and DC are both banking on the fact that people will be coming out to movie theatres by the truckloads to see their two-part ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Justice League’ releases a few years from now.

Marvel studio has been doing a great job through promotional campaigns, fan events and Comic Con teases to keep fans excited for these big-time blockbusters, while the latter is just getting started. Still, one wonders if things will ever return to simpler times.

By:Aditya Parankusam With inputs from Shasidhar Adivi