4 out of 10 highest grossing movies are superhero movies, and 9 out of them have heroes against sinister forces. So arguably, we can say that nine out of 10 highest-grossing movies have everything that a superhero movie can have!
But why do we love superheroes? How do they affect us? Why do we love superhero movies?
Let's try to find answers!
Brian J. Robb, in his book, "A brief history of superheroes," identified a few key factors that influence superheroes' popularity.
They do what you want to!
During the Second World War, popular American superheroes fought American enemies on pages. In 1941, Marvel Comics' Captain America punches Hitler (Captain America #1), and in 1942, DC Comics' Superman was seen destroying a Nazi tank (Action Comics #44).
Superheroes from both DC and Marvel were now fighting for the country. These were encouraged more by the government, and the comics reached millions of young boys and girls and millions of soldiers stationed outside the country.
Gradually, superheroes started to fight enemies within the borders - power-hungry and corrupt rich people, evil scientists, etc. So the late 40s started to see the rise of superheroes for the first time.
Fighting common enemies is still one of the best formulas. For example, Tony Stark was originally abducted by a Chinese communist extremist, but he rose against them by creating Iron Man. Communists were hated back then, and the idea of an American hero defeating them was an instant hit.
Later in 2008, Tony Stark was kidnapped by Al-Qaeda-inspired terrorists. He builds the suit in the cave, rescues himself, and then comes back to dismantle the terrorists' nest. In the post-9/11 era, the idea of an American superhero single-handedly crushing the Al-Qaeda-inspired terrorists was bound to work.
But, DC and Marvel superheroes aren't always fighting America's enemies. They could connect to us on various levels - Spider-man aka Peter Parker struggling with financial problems and his life, Iron Man fighting alcoholism in the acclaimed comic book series, Demon in a Bottle (1979), Superman fighting for the people of the earth being an eternal outsider, etc.
Robin S. Rosenberg, in his book, "Our Superheroes, Ourselves," talks about superheroes and how their stories are based on human nature. He points out the factors that influence our love towards superheroes, such as our childhood connection, someone to rescue us, a tendency to find and trust a hero, and familiarity.
To summarize, superhero movies provide entertainment, excitement, thrill, and drama and showcase their moral dilemmas.
The villains
Villains in superhero movies decide the popularity of the superhero, and in some cases, the villain towers over the superhero. For example, the Joker and the movie version of Thanos connected with a lot of young audiences. Although they were shown as villains, they were given sufficient screen time where the audience could get inside their minds.
Naturally, the villain is created to be hated in a story, but in most superhero movies, the villains become as famous as the superheroes. People wanted to see more of them, resulting in some of their standalone storylines in the cinematic universe like Loki and the Joker.
Thanos in movies had a higher purpose of serving, which was never negated or debated by the superheroes. Similarly, the Joker was shown as a victim of society, which somehow justified his madness and crime.
The idea of justice
While all the popular superheroes are shown to have faith in the land's law, they are not always bound by it. They fight cosmic attacks, intergalactic forces, and earth-level threats and killing isn't a crime.
On the other hand, characters like Frank Castle (The Punisher) and Rorschach (Walter Joseph Kovacs) believe in strict merciless justice. Anti-heroes, even in movies, like Wolverine and Blade, aren't afraid of breaking the law.
Superheroes like Batman and Superman have their principles and idea of justice. They don't believe in killing both on earth and outside it.
Overall, the distinct personality of a superhero can be understood to a great extent by their idea of justice and punishment. However, when they don't match with their movie version, fans refuse to accept the movie version. For example, in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Superman and Batman kill, which created an uproar among fans.
Lastly
There are other factors that make us love superhero movies like the mind-blowing VFX and special effects, humor, and other characters in their universe. Surprisingly, the actor and their popularity seem to add little to it, won't you say? A superhero eventually becomes bigger than the person who plays the role.
There will always be more reasons behind the popularity of superhero movies.
Tell us why you love them!
Also Read:
So bad that they're good! Here's the top 7 B movies!
Heroes and Villains in movies!
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