JourneywomanThe Screen Super-heroes of the 21st century
August 8th 2007 15:44
The Man of Steel returned in 2006 and proved he's still box-office gold
Though Batman and Robin, Superman, The Flash, Aquaman and the like have populated the pages of comic books for decades now, just who knew then how big these figures were to become? When Superman first jumped accross to the small screen, literally everyone involved (including the guy playing Superman!) thought it was a dumb idea that would crash and burn!
How wrong can you get?!
Three smash-hit films with a fourth on its way
Some of the highest grossing movies of all time include all three of the Spiderman movies, Batman Begins and Superman Returns. The X-Men series looks set for a long and successful future (with a spin-off Wolverine also in the works) while just the idea of an Acquaman movie (as suggested on the TV series Entourage in its second season) had an entire internet cult established ready to support a big-screen adaptation of even the most unlikely of comic book heroes.
Well maybe Supergirl... but you get the point right?
Halle Berry took this role on the heals of an Oscar win... oops!
In the 60's and 70's we wanted our heroes buff and we wanted their women innocent and their villains campy. Thankfully, in the "noughties" a great deal has changed.
We like a six-pack just as much as ever, but that's the main point of focus - though naturally a good package never hurt any hero! Unless you happen to be an X-Man - no packages! Just lots of leather.
Officially the most profitable and expensive superhero on the big screen
In fact we still believe in putting as many obstacles between our superheroes and sex as possible! You can bet if he's got special powers he ain't getting any! And this in the day and age where sexual activity and inuendo on the big screen has seldom been more explicit! While Heath Ledger can simulate homosexual acts in Brokeback Mountain you can bet as The Joker in the 2008 release Dark Knight neither he nor Christian Bale's Batman nor anyone else for that matter, will have so much as a hint of a sex scene.
This one awoke a whole knew cult following for The Dark Knight
Villains in the 21st century are a ticklish subject. Without a good villain your hero is screwed. Catwoman proved that much. Sharon Stone tried but not even she could make an evil cosmetics empire's megalomaniacal plot seem convincing!
Superhero's turning on each other is always fun. X-Men has proved that convincingly in three films now. Even though every single X-Men film has basically featured Magneto and his mutants squaring off against Dr Charles Xavier and his mutants (with world peace hanging in the balance of course) audiences still turn out in droves.
Spiderman 3 also proved that too much of a good thing - or a good villain - is definitely bad! Four villains - including Spiderman's own alien-supplied alter ego, Sandman, Green Goblin and Venom - is just gluttony.
Superman Returns and Batman Begins offer differing points of view as to just where the modern superheroe's villain is headed. Kevin Spacey owned the role of Lex Luther - but his evil plot to take over the world frankly lacked pathos!
Spacey's Luther camped it up like the days of yore when Gene Hackman strutted his stuff as Metropolis' most brilliant evil billionaire - and it worked!
It was a good idea on paper...
Eitherway, surround them with enough leggy eye-candy and audiences eat it up. Oh and villains can be dirty with the hero's leading lady - if that includes tieing them up and suggesting that they might actually be sluts. Anything more is off limits.
Now what about the powers of the human superpowers that be?
Again we have mixed results. Superman Returns: he's an alien, he has powers. Class dismissed. Catwomen, she died, some mystical ancient cats ressurected her or something and gave her her powers, rolling right along.
There was no excuse for how bad this was!!!!!
Basically it would seem that we're not as easily taken in as we once were. We want to be convinced that they can actually do all that stuff! And we want to know why and how and in some detail.
Somethings have changed. Some have not. But even now, in the technological age, it would seems that we still need a bunch of characters who just happen to be special - and therefore just naturally awesome!
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