The film that did the most for superheroes was ________.

[DrNewGod]

Superheroes hit the big screen in less than three years after their debut. But a "Bam! Pow!" element pervaded among them for decades. We now live in a time where a Wolverine movie gets an Oscar nomination. That was not a one-step progression.

In your opinion , what was the film that made the biggest stride in superheroes' journey to big-time cinema, and why?

[AJBopp]

Superheroes hit the big screen in less than three years after their debut. But a "Bam! Pow!" element pervaded among them for decades. We now live in a time where a Wolverine movie gets an Oscar nomination. That was not a one-step progression.

In your opinion , what was the film that made the biggest stride in superheroes' journey to big-time cinema, and why?

Spider-Man. It showed colorful, fantastic heroes could be huge box office, not just successful box office.

[AndrewCrossett]

Superman 1978 was the movie that showed superhero movies could be serious all-ages entertainment, and not just kid stuff. A combination of the technology just having come into being thanks to Star Wars... chancing on a great Superman in Christopher Reeve... and a script that struck just the right balance of serious and silly.

It was the first X-Men film that showed superhero films could be an actual genre and not just an occasional hit-or-miss series, as had been the case up to that point with Superman and Batman.

[RikWriter]

X-Men and Spider-Man combined. The two of them showed superhero movies could make significant bank even when it wasn't Superman or Batman.

[Michael Watkins]

Blade definitely left the door open for it

[The Whovian]

The Dark Knight Trilogy

It didn't just cater to comic book fans. Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker elevated the movies to a whole new level and they let moviegoers know that comic book films aren't just for kids.

[C_Miller]

I agree with The Whovian to a certain degree. I think specifically The Dark Knight as Batman Begins is an example of standard comic book movie formula for the era (despite being very good, my favorite comic book movie, in fact) and The Dark Knight Rises is a total mess. The Dark Knight was the first one that really showed that you can try to make art out of these movies about people dressing up in costumes beating up people in other costumes. That, I think was the greatest leap forward on just one film.

There are several bench mark films that really launch an era of films. I'd say they are Superman 78, Batman 89, X-Men/Spider-Man, The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Avengers, and now Logan by getting the first major Oscar Nom for a CBM. I'm interested to see what the next film is that launches the genre forward.

[Osiris-Rex]

Superman showed that there was a demand for movies based on comic book characters.

Batman showed that comic book characters could be taken seriously, that it wasn't all Bam, Sock, Pow.

X-Men showed that movies could be made based on Marvel characters that could compete with movies based on DC characters.

Wonder Woman showed there is a demand for female superheroes if the quality is there.

[hartttt]

I will say 3 movies or 3 comic series at different points in time.


Superman (1 and 2), X-Men movies, Nolan Trilogy.

Superman 1978/Superman 2 (first ever, the foundation of comic films)

X-Men 2000 and the sequels (first comic film that made people take comics films very seriously and a rebirth of the genre after Batman and Robin)

TDK (Though I liked the first one better, TDK impact cannot be denied)

Logan is just a perfect fulfilment of everything the X-Men movies always did.

[Cyke]

Superman 1978 was the movie that showed superhero movies could be serious all-ages entertainment, and not just kid stuff. A combination of the technology just having come into being thanks to Star Wars... chancing on a great Superman in Christopher Reeve... and a script that struck just the right balance of serious and silly.

Blade definitely left the door open for it

I concur with Andrew about Superman 1978, but I also feel like Blade is underrated, at least when it comes to the Marvel boom. Even if the MCU is 10 years old, Blade, X-Men, Spidey, etc started 20 years ago. Blade showed Marvel that if a C-list character could be a critical and commercial success, that they should take a chance with their A-list properties. Indeed, the Avengers didn't return to A-list comic status until Marvel started planning for the MCU (which was a decade-long plan, beginning with the overhaul by Bendis).

I love the Dark Knight Trilogy, but it wasn't showing comic movies' potential so much as it was a reminder of what Superman brought. Additionally, Batman Begins came out when there was a wave of indie or lesser known comic fare as movies, like Ghost World, Road to Perdition, A History of Violence, and American Splendor, which were all very adult and some aiming for prestige, whereas Batman Begins sought not just to do that, but to bring an A-list comic character to that level.

That's not to belittle it, though. Many comic movies owe a debt of gratitude to Nolan, and it did help spur the development of the DCCU (for good or for bad).

[hartttt]

The Dark Knight Trilogy

It didn't just cater to comic book fans. Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker elevated the movies to a whole new level and they let moviegoers know that comic book films aren't just for kids.

It was X-Men movies. X-Men movies did what you said first with XMen/X2. A truth Nolan admitted.

https://www.cosmicbooknews.com/conte...r-nolan-batman

It was X-Men 2000 that showed comic films were not for kids. Nolan did not even have the balls to make batman movies until he saw x-men 2000 on a plane and realised he could make comic films not for kids because xmen did it. Sadly both series are gone forever and we are stuck with MCU movies that are for kids.

[Cyke]

It was X-Men movies. X-Men movies did what you said first with XMen/X2. A truth Nolan admitted. It was X-Men 2000 that showed comic films were not for kids. Nolan did not even have the balls to make batman movies until he saw x-men 2000 on a plane and realised he could make comic films not for kids because xmen did it. Sadly both series are gone forever and we are stuck with MCU movies that are for kids.

I don't think it's fair to characterize X-Men, Nolan's movies, and the MCU movies like that all in one fell swoop. Yes, Nolan wanted a more nuanced and character-driven look at Batman, but the Dark Knight Trilogy also had a ton of toys and kiddie tie-ins, partly because Nolan said what he put in the movies are what he wanted to see out of Batman stories as a kid. So as adult and as complex as he wanted to make it, he still summoned his inner child for it.

(And unfair to the X-Men because even though there were definitely kids' toys made for the movies, Marvel had no idea how to market and sell them, or maybe they were too afraid to repeat the Toy Biz failure of the 90s that was one factor that lead to bankruptcy. Plus, Marvel had far more incentive to heavily promote MCU toys since Fox wasn't part of the deal.)

[hartttt]

I don't think it's fair to characterize X-Men, Nolan's movies, and the MCU movies like that all in one fell swoop. Yes, Nolan wanted a more nuanced and character-driven look at Batman, but the Dark Knight Trilogy also had a ton of toys and kiddie tie-ins, partly because Nolan said what he put in the movies are what he wanted to see out of Batman stories as a kid. So as adult and as complex as he wanted to make it, he still summoned his inner child for it.

(And unfair to the X-Men because even though there were definitely kids' toys made for the movies, Marvel had no idea how to market and sell them, or maybe they were too afraid to repeat the Toy Biz failure of the 90s that was one factor that lead to bankruptcy. Plus, Marvel had far more incentive to heavily promote MCU toys since Fox wasn't part of the deal.)

MCU is just on another different level in the kids appeal department because they are owned by a company like Disney. we have confirmed stories of disney deliberately choosing to play down the mcu movies to appeal to kids. it is truly on another different level compared to the X-Men movies or Nolan trilogy that also had toys to sell.

[C_Miller]

Comics are for kids though. It's okay, as an adult, you can like things that are for kids. It doesn't emasculate you. When I was discussing the Dark Knight, I did mention that it was the first one to show that comic book movies weren't just silly kid stuff. Just was the key word in there.

But either way, most comics (especially the ones being frequently turned into movies) were written for a juvenile audience in mind, but not in the way that a lot of kid shows are made today. They were written for children, but complexity was added to give different readers different layers of story. It wasn't until almost 50 years after the creation of the Superhero that they started making comics specifically for adults.

Truthfully, I think the Marvel movies do the best job of living up to the true potential of comic book storytelling where it's something that can be enjoyed by both children and adults. So much in entertainment is split between that, it's nice to see that broken down a bit.

[Midvillian1322]

Superman for launching it
Xmen and Spiderman for launching the wave outside Supes and Batman(No one knew Blade was a CBM except the readers)

Then Iron Man for ushering in the MCU and making less known characters viable for huge block busters.