Superhero film

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A superhero film is a genre centered on superheroes and their adventures, with characters often possessing superhuman abilities or exceptional skills. Superhero films typically blend elements of action, adventure, fantasy, or science fiction. The first film about a particular superhero character often focuses on the hero's origin story, and typically introduces the hero's nemesis.

Many superhero films are adaptations of existing works. Superhero comics from publishers such as Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse (The Umbrella Academy universe) have frequently been adapted into film. Others are based on television properties, such as films from the Japanese Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and Super Sentai franchises. Both Underdog and The Powerpuff Girls are based on their respective animated television series.^[1] The Green Hornet is based primarily on the original radio series and its 1960s television adaptation. Anime superhero films are often based on manga and television shows. Some superhero films, like the RoboCop series, The Meteor Man, the Unbreakable film series, Hancock, Darkman and They Call Me Jeeg, were developed as original projects for the screen.

According to box office income figures from Box Office Mojo, the highest-grossing superhero film franchises since 1967 include Tsuburaya Productions' Ultra Series, Toei Company's Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, New Line Cinema's Blade, 20th Century Fox's X-Men, Sony Pictures' Spider-Man trilogy directed by Sam Raimi, the Amazing Spider-Man duology directed by Marc Webb, Pixar's The Incredibles, Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The MCU alone has earned over $31 billion.^[2][3][4]

The MCU film Avengers: Endgame (2019) is the highest-grossing superhero film to date, grossing $2,797,501,328 worldwide. It briefly held the record for highest-grossing film of all time^[5] before being surpassed by Avatar.^[6]

Superhero stories gained popularity through comic books and were later adapted into film serials. Early examples include Mandrake the Magician (1939), The Shadow (1940), Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941), Batman (1943), The Phantom (1943), Captain America (1944), and Superman (1948).

Between 1941 and 1943, Fleischer Studios produced a series of animated short films based on the Superman comic book.

In the following decades, the decline of Saturday matinee showings of serials along with turmoil in the comic book industry slowed superhero motion picture production, with the exception of Superman and the Mole Men (1951) starring George Reeves, and Batman (1966), a big-screen extension of the Batman television series starring Adam West. Superman and the Mole Men served as a pilot for the TV series Adventures of Superman. Compilations of the series were later released theatrically.

In 1957, Shintoho produced the first film serial featuring the tokusatsu superhero character, Super Giant, signaling a shift in Japanese popular culture toward masked superheroes in tokusatsu. Along with Astro Boy, the Super Giant film series greatly influenced later Japanese tokusatsu superhero films.^[7] Moonlight Mask also became popular around that time, with six films retelling the story of the TV series were made.^[8] Another early Japanese superhero film was Ōgon Bat (1966), starring Sonny Chiba and based on the 1931 Kamishibai superhero Ōgon Bat.^[9]

The kaiju monster Godzilla, originally a villain, began to transition into a superhero role in subsequent films.^[10] He has been described as "the original radioactive superhero," due to his nuclear origin story predating Spider-Man's 1962 debut,^[10] although Godzilla did not become a hero until Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964).^[11] By the 1970s, Godzilla came to be viewed as a superhero, with the magazine King of the Monsters in 1977 describing Godzilla as "Superhero of the '70s". Donald F. Glut wrote that Godzilla was "the most universally popular superhero of 1977."^[12]

The year 1966 saw the debut of the Ultra Series with the kaiju TV show Ultra Q. However, with the release of the original Ultraman, the franchise started focusing on superheroes. The series was met with a 36.8% average audience rate, a success.^[13] In 1967, Ultraman started expanding to films. Early films, such as Ultraman: Monster Movie Feature, were compilations or theatrical releases of TV shows' episodes. The first original Ultraman film was The 6 Ultra Brothers vs. the Monster Army, a co-production with Thailand.^[14]

This rise in popularity of television superheroes in Japan led to the start of the Kamen Rider and Super Sentai franchises by famous manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori in 1971 and 1975, respectively. Similar to Ultraman, many early Kamen Rider and Super Sentai episodes were released as films. Original Kamen Rider films released before 1978 include Kamen Rider vs. Shocker, Kamen Rider vs. Ambassador Hell, Kamen Rider V3 vs. Destron Mutants, and Five Riders vs. King Dark.

Original superhero characters emerged in other, more comedy-oriented films, such as the French political satire film Mr. Freedom (1969), the Polish parody Hydrozagadka (1970), and the American B movies Rat Pfink a Boo Boo (1966) and The Wild World of Batwoman (1966).^[15][16]

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Following the success of Star Wars which increased interest in fantasy and science fiction films, Richard Donner's Superman (1978), the first major big-budget DC feature film, was a critical and commercial success^{[citation needed]}. The same year, Toei Company's Spider-Man reimagining and the first Super Sentai crossover film, JAKQ Dengekitai vs. Gorenger, were released. Other successful entries emerged throughout the 1980s, including Eight Riders vs. Galaxy King (1980), Kamen Rider Super-1: The Movie (1981), Richard Lester's Superman II (1981), Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge (1981), and Paul Verhoeven's RoboCop (1987). These were followed by Kamen Rider Black: Hurry to Onigashima and Kamen Rider Black: Terrifying! The Phantom House of Devil Pass, both released in 1988.

Other superhero films released during the 1980s include Denshi Sentai Denziman: The Movie (1980), Flash Gordon (1980), Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan: The Movie (1981), Dai Sentai Goggle V: The Movie (1982), Swamp Thing (1982), Kagaku Sentai Dynaman: The Movie (1983), its sequel, Superman III (1983), Choudenshi Bioman: The Movie (1984), Supergirl (1984), Ultraman Zoffy: Ultra Warriors vs. the Giant Monster Army (1984), Ultraman Story (1984), Dengeki Sentai Changeman: The Movie and Dengeki Sentai Changeman: Shuttle Base! The Critical Moment! (1985), The Toxic Avenger (1985), Choushinsei Flashman: The Movie (1986), Choushinsei Flashman: Big Rally! Titan Boy! (1987), Hikari Sentai Maskman: The Movie (1987), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), Masters of the Universe (1987), Bollywood's Mr. India (1987), Ultraman: The Adventure Begins (1987), Kousoku Sentai Turboranger: The Movie (1989), and The Punisher (1989).

The success of Tim Burton's Batman (1989) and its direct follow-up, Batman Returns (1992), spawned the DC Animated Universe.^[17]

Superhero movies from the 1990s include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and its two sequels, RoboCop 2 (1990), Darkman (1990), Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1990), The Rocketeer (1991), Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue (1992), RoboCop 3 (1993), the animated Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), Kamen Rider ZO (1993), Kamen Rider J (1994), Gosei Sentai Dairanger: The Movie, The Shadow (1994), The Mask (1994), Ninja Sentai Kakuranger: The Movie (1994), Blankman (1994), Chouriki Sentai Ohranger: The Movie (1995), Batman Forever (1995), Judge Dredd (1995), Tank Girl (1995), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995) and a sequel, Barb Wire (1996), The Phantom (1996), Black Mask (1996), Chouriki Sentai Ohranger: Ole vs. Kakuranger (1996), Revive! Ultraman (1996), Gekisou Sentai Carranger vs. Ohranger (1997) and Steel (1997).^[18][19][20]

Marvel Comics' Captain America (1991) did not have a theatrical release, and Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four (1994) was produced solely for the legal maintenance of the film rights to the property^[21] and was therefore not released theatrically or on home video.^[18]

Alex Proyas' The Crow (1994) became the first independent comic superhero film to establish a franchise.^[18] The film introduced a level of violence not seen in previous superhero films targeted at younger audiences and bridged a gap to the more modern action film.^[22] The success of The Crow may have influenced the release of a film version of Spawn (1997), Image Comics' leading character. After Marvel bought Malibu Comics (the company that owned The Men in Black comic series), Marvel and Columbia Pictures released the Men in Black film in 1997.^[23] This film was the first Marvel property to win an Academy Award and, at the time, was the highest-grossing comic book adaptation.^[24] While commercially successful, Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin (1997) was critically panned for its campiness^[25] and deviation from the darker style of the series' first two films directed by Tim Burton.^[26] Some have cited it as a factor in the temporary decline of the superhero film sub-genre.^[27][28]

Starting with the 1990s, original Ultraman films became more common. In 1996, Tsuburaya released Ultraman Zearth, which parodied the original TV series and later installments.^[29] The following year, the sequel titled Ultraman Zearth 2: Superhuman Big Battle - Light and Shadow premiered.

In 1998, Marvel released Blade, a darker superhero film blended with traditional action elements, featuring a title character with the powers of a vampire and an arsenal of weaponry.^[22] The success of Blade is considered the beginning of Marvel's film success, and a catalyst for further comic book film adaptations.^[30][31] The popularity of the Ultraman Tiga TV series led to several films based on it and later installments, including Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna: Warriors of the Star of Light (1998), Ultraman Gaia: The Battle in Hyperspace (1999) and Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey (2000). Adam Sternbergh of Vulture.com has stated that The Matrix (1999) was influenced by comic books, cyberpunk fiction, Japanese anime, and Hong Kong action films, reinvented the superhero film, setting the template for modern superhero blockbusters and inspiring the superhero renaissance in the early 21st century.^[32]

John Kenneth Muir, in The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television, describes The Matrix as a revolutionary re-imagination of movie visuals, paving the way for the visuals of later superhero films. He credits it with helping to "make comic-book superheroes hip", and notes that its bullet-time effect effectively demonstrated the concept of "faster than a speeding bullet" on-screen.^[33] Inspector Gadget and Mystery Men would then follow to close out the decade for the sub-genre.

Following the success of the Kamen Rider Kuuga television series, a new era of the Kamen Rider franchise began. This led to the production of annual Kamen Rider movies, starting with Kamen Rider Agito: Project G4 in 2001.

The release of Iron Man in 2008 laid the groundwork for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A few months later, The Dark Knight released to widespread critical acclaim and became the first superhero movie to make over $1 billion at the worldwide box office.^[34] 2009 saw the release of Watchmen and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The 2010s saw a continuation and expansion of the box-office success of superhero films from the 2000s,^[35] taking the sub-genre's success and ubiquity to new heights.^[36] Matthew Vaughn's adaptation of Kick-Ass was released in 2010, followed by Iron Man 2 a month later. 2011 releases included The Green Hornet,^[37] Green Lantern, and X-Men: First Class. After referencing the "Avengers Initiative" in the Iron Man films and The Incredible Hulk, Marvel released Thor on May 6, 2011,^[38] followed by Captain America: The First Avenger on July 22, 2011.

While Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (February 17, 2012) had little audience interest,^[39] superhero films dominated the 2012 summer film market, with three films occupying the top three positions of the box office chart.^[40] These were Marvel's The Avengers (May 2012), which broke box office records as the highest-grossing superhero film of all time,^[41] The Dark Knight Rises (July 20, 2012), and The Amazing Spider-Man (July 12, 2012).