Doctor Strange (2016) into its cinematic universe. DC Comics, which is owned by Warner Brothers, responded by announcing its own plan: a list of 10 release dates for untitled Superhero movies set to premiere between 2016 and 2020. DC has already confirmed Superman v. Batman: Dawn of Justice, directed by Zack Snyder, for March 25, 2016 with Henry Cavil returning as Superman and Ben Affleck to play an older Batman. Humor has been injected into most of the recent superhero movies in effective ways, including Iron Man, The Avengers, the Dark Knight trilogy and, most clearly in, Guardians of the Galaxy. Humor has played an integral part in making superhero movies “cool”. No longer do audiences suffer through the cheesiness of the 1966 Batman TV show. Fans are treated to movies with both a tone of seriousness and wit. Still, the success of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy wasn’t based on the centrality of Batman
himself. Audiences were blown away by the antagonists—the megalomania of Liam Neeson’s Ra’s al Ghul, the maniacal chaos of Heath Ledger’s Joker and the larger than life ruthlessness of Tom Hardy’s Bane. The humorous nature of movies like The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy and the focus of the villain in the most recent Batman trilogies have made some question the authenticity of these movies as the silliness and cheesiness expected from comic books have been shed. However, Marvel and DC have simply adapted their movies to the general population. Humor has always been a central part of comics, even beyond the often-chided inclusion of young sidekicks and flamboyant costumes. In fact, comedy is intrinsic to the Guardians of the Galaxy comics. Furthermore, comic book readers often are drawn to the villains of comics and Batman has arguably the greatest list of nemeses in fiction and certainly in comics. Marvel
has also announced its plan to eliminate “origin stories” from their movies starting with Doctor Strange. For example, movies will not flow from the hero being a normal person like Tony Stark or Peter Parker to the characters gaining super powers to their fight against crime. Instead, movies will start in media res, where audiences will meet a full superhero with occasional flashbacks. This change may reflect the growing movement toward action, as viewers are no longer interested in the backstory of the heroes. Whatever the reason, it certainly shows the desire for the comic book companies to adapt to the needs of the people and have brought the comic book characters to the mainstream. I no longer have to fear dragging my girlfriend or friends to movies about my favorite superheroes because chances are, they’ll like them too. The world has embraced superheroes and comics are finally—at least somewhat—cool!
Photo Courtesy of PLatypus Comix
18
BC Gavel
November 2014