Rising Popularities of Superheroes

Superhero movies have become a popular genre with several being released each year. Currently, Logan, the story of Wolverine is the latest title to hit theaters. While the genre itself is not new with characters like the Green Hornet, Flash and Captain Marvel being introduced in the 1940’s, technology and special effects has allowed Hollywood to do a new take on a classic favourite.

Perhaps the greatest reboot of a classic superhero theme was the popular X-Men, released in 2000. Not only was the original a box office success but it also inspired several spin-off films about the X-Men group or delving into specific characters of the group. The success of these movies made reappearing in these sequels profitable so the cast has been maintained over the years. In fact, every X-Men sequel has outperformed previous installments, with the 2016 release of Deadpool currently at the top.

Superheroes seem to appeal to society. Perhaps it is a way in which we can see the good in a crazy world. Superheroes are today’s modern gods which capture our imagination. When a movie genre is this successful it often spreads to other forms of media. This is true for superheroes which have also been included in many of today’s popular TV shows such as Arrow, Supergirl and The Flash as well as into gaming industry and games like Batman: Arkham Knight and the LEGO Marvel Superheroes titles.

This summer several superhero movies are due to be released including the Justice League, Thor, Spiderman and Wonder Woman. This list of course doesn’t end there with even more titles currently in production. Online streaming services like Netflix have even produced their own original shows including the popular Daredevil. Given the continued popularity of the genre even more superhero shows are sure to be on the horizon.