So I wanted to take the opportunity, before the MCU truly begins, to see where we’re at in terms of superhero movies. We had a strong start with the first X-Men and the first Spider-Man, triumphs with their sequels, but duds with their final films. Standalones like The Incredible Hulk, Daredevil, and The Punisher haven’t done well either. The stage they set is shaky. Is the superhero movie market collapsing? Will anyone come to their aid?
One thing both these series have in common is that the heroes spend most of their time fighting among themselves (sometimes within themselves, in the case of Spider-Man). The X-Men is mutant vs. mutant. The Fantastic Four spent more time bickering with themselves than crime fighting. The heroes are gaining traits that make them unlikable and unherolike–whiny, entitled, incompetent, oblivious to the obligation their powers bestow.
The villains are not doing much better. They are succumbing to what undid the Batman movies–shoving in too many villains. X-Men 3: The Last Stand had Magneto AND Jean Grey AND humans peddling the cure. Spider-Man 3 had Green Goblin Jr. AND Sandman AND Venom. You simply cannot have good characterization when you share so much screen time with everyone else.
Studios have figured out that superheroes make money, but they can’t seem to stick the landing. Probably has something to do with not having a plan for the third film before making the first two. “This is the last one on contract, let’s just shove everything popular into it.” It happened with Superman. It happened with Batman. It happened with Blade. Maybe it’s because they get too serious, too maudlin at the end, what with Wolverine having to kill Jean Grey or Spider-Man watching his friend die.
But good casting seems to be the key. Audiences liked Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin, Ian McKellen as Magneto. And they like it when you take the material seriously. Audiences don’t appreciate the material they loved being treated as “bargain DVD bin” half-efforts like Roger Corman’s Fantastic Four, 1978 Doctor Strange, or Reb Brown’s Captain America by the studios.
And really, at the root of any story, there must be a character. Better if it’s a single character, not an ensemble. A character with backstory, personality, goals, and conflict.
