With all the negative editorials lately, I thought it'd be nice to actually celebrate that which brings us to this site everyday, our beloved CBMs. I was watching the Amazing Spiderman 2 trailer for about the 150th time and it had me thinking of the incredible line-up of movies we have coming up in 2014 and 2015. This truly is an exciting time to be a fanboy! Whether you are a Marvelite, DC fanboy or a little of both, you are definitely in for a treat over the next few summers. From Days of Future Past and Captain America: TWS in 2014 to Avengers: Age of Ultron and Batman vs Superman-ish in 2015, we know flame wars will be fought, opinions will be trolled and articles will be written. Before all of that, however, let's take a moment to show some appreciation to the movers and shakers amongst our heroes that have gotten us to this point. Below is a list of the 5 heroes I think are most responsible for getting us, and the industry, to where we are right now. Agree or disagree, you know where to sound off. Now, lets get this party started!
5) The Wolverine a.k.a. Weapon X
Secret Identity: James Howlett a.k.a. Logan
Actor: Hugh Jackman
An argument could easily be made for Wolverine being considered the hardest working superhero in movies. Since being cast in the lead role of Fox's X-Men franchise in 1999, Jackman has starred in 5 feature films so far. As of next summer's X-Men: DoFP, he would have been actively portraying the character for 15 years and 7 films(4 X-films, 2 solos and a cameo in XM:FC). His first film, X-Men(2000), is widely regarded as the film that started what has been dubbed the golden age of superhero films. Though not always met with critical or fanboy acclaim, we gotta give Jackman and Wolverine credit for carrying the CBM industry's longest running franchise.
4) Spiderman
Secret Identity: Peter Parker
Actors: Toby McGuire and Andrew Garfield
If it was Wolverine and the X-Men that started the recent CBM trend, then its only fair to say that it was Toby McGuire and our friendly neighborhood Spiderman that made the world fall in love with it. Talk about a MEGA HIT! Spiderman(2002) grossed more that X1 and X2 combined, raking in more than $800 million. In 2002. No 3D up-charge. Adjusted for inflation, that'd be a billion dollar movie today easy. This showed studios how potentially successful CBMs could be. This, of course, led to an explosion of Marvel properties being brought to the screen. Within 3 years of Spiderman rocking the world, we had Hulk, punisher and Fantastic Four movies released. Also, being set in New York in 2002, I like to think Spidey, at least a little, helped the country cope after the tragic events of 9/11.
Spiderman 2(2004) did not perform quite as well as the original film,but it is considered by many to be one of the best CBMs to this day. Spiderman 3(2007) was bashed by fanboys and critics alike, but still became the series highest grossing film to date. That goes to to show that not even a dancing, disco-strutting Peter Parker can kill the popularity of our beloved wall crawler. Sony rebooted after that, releasing The Amazing Spiderman in 2012. With a new lead(Andrew Garfield), director(Marc Webb) and a new origin focusing on high school Peter Parker, fans were concerned about the new film. After the first trailer dropped, many compared the film to Twilight, worried that the story would feature too much teenage angst. Well, the movie came out and it was, for lack of a better term, amazing! In fact, it became the second highest grossing origins film of all time. Right behind, you guessed it, Spiderman(2002).
3) Optimus Prime
Secret Identity: Semi Truck
Actor: Peter Cullen
What's that you say? "Is Optimus Prime really a superhero?" And, "If so, how the hell is he higher on this list than Spiderman and Wolverine?!" Glad you asked. This list is more about effect and influence on the industry than just popularity and box office sales, though Optimus and the Transformers franchise has all of these in spades.
Optimus is a baby compared to everyone else on this list at a mere 29 years old. Since the launch of the toy line in 1984, Optimus and the Transformers have spawned well over a half dozen cartoon series, multiple comic book runs from multiple companies(including Marvel Comics), and a multi-billion dollar movie franchise. I the franchise's first feature film, Transformers(1986), Optimus was even killed off, replaced, and later brought back to life. This is a feat duplicated by many, many(too many, imho) mainstream superheroes since. Most notably Superman, Batman and Captain America.
Now that that is settled, lets talk about why he is number 3 on my list. The Transformers series is understandably met with mixed reviews thanks to its overly simple plots, questionable lead actors and plethora of dick and fart jokes. However, when Optimus Prime is on screen, the franchise "transforms" from being about a boy and his car with too much sophmorish humor to a bad-ass, special-effect driven action extravaganza. That is where this series really shines and where it has effected the industry. Not just in Superhero films, but in action films industry wide. Each new Transformers film raises the bar when it comes to audio and visual effects. I mean, look at how many trailers have that loud bass BOOM in it since 2007. Transformers also sets the bar for action. Both for the scale of the action and the sheer amount of action squeezed in a single film. In these respects, the influence of the Transformers movie franchise can be seen on such CBMs as The Avengers and Man of Steel, and on non-CBM films like Fast and Furious, G.I. Joe, and Star Trek.
2) Iron Man
Not-So-Secret Identity: Tony Stark
Actor: Robert Downey Jr.
Remember when a shared cinematic universe was just a fanboy's wet dream? Well, thanks to Iron Man that is no longer the case. Its not always easy to pinpoint exactly when the world changes, but in the world of CBMs there's a few dates that irrevocably stand out. May 8 2008 was not only world changing, but a big bang of sorts as the release of Iron Man heralded the birth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The overwhelming success of the which has forced every other major CBM Studio take notice and attempt their own shared universe collaboration films as seen with Batman vs Superman and X-Men: Days of future past.
Leading the charge of the mighty MCU is none other than Iron Man. By far MCU's biggest box office draw, he seems to muster up more and more success for the home team with every outing. Though Iron Man 2 and 3 weren't met with the same critical and fanboy love as the first film, the general audience obviously can't get enough. Normally Box office draw is not enough isn't enough validate a hero, but there I think there is some merit to the money Iron Man brings in. It's no doubt that Iron Man drove the success of Phase 1 helping to take risks on Thor and Captain America. The $1.2 billion that IM3 brought in will go a long way to help bring Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man to the big screen.
1) Batman a.k.a. The Dark Knight
Secret Identity: Bruce Wayne
Actor: Christian Bale... so far
How is Batman number one? Is it because he was the first superhero to gross $1 billion? Is it because he is, to this day, the only superhero to gross $1 billion without increased 3D ticket prices. TWICE! Is it because the franchise survived 2 unthinkable tragedies. Well, as impressive and admirable as all that is, none of it is why The Dark Knight is #1 on my list. This article is about influence, remember? Even though The Dark Knight and The Dark Dark Knight Rises are Batman's billion dollar babies, it is actually his 4th highest grossing movie that made the biggest impression on the industry.
Arguably Batman's most overlooked film, 2005's Batman Begins made its impact in true Batman fashion; silently and in the shadows. Grossing only $370+ million, it was definitely not the amount of heads turned that makes this film special, rather its the few heads it did turn. Batman Begins apparently left a huge impression on numerous filmmakers, writers and directors. In fact, the Wikipedia page for Batman Begins has something that I could not find on any other CBM’s page. It has a section called “Impact” that cites, with references, people in the industry that have been quoted as saying they drew inspiration from BB and TDK. Here is an excerpt from the article.
“Filmmakers, screenwriters and producers who have mentioned Batman Begins or The Dark Knight to describe their projects include: Jon Favreau and Iron Man,[85] Edward Norton and The Incredible Hulk,[86] McG and Terminator Salvation,[87] (Alan Taylor also cited Batman Begins as inspiration for his Terminator reboot)[88] Damon Lindelof and Star Trek,[89] Star Trek Into Darkness,[90] Robert Downey, Jr. and Sherlock Holmes,[91] Lorenzo di Bonaventura and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,[92] Hugh Jackman and X-Men Origins: Wolverine,[93] Matthew Vaughn and X-Men: First Class,[94] Rupert Wyatt and Rise of the Planet of the Apes,[95] Kevin Tancharoen and Mortal Kombat,[96] Sam Mendes and Skyfall,[97] Alex Kurtzman and Van Helsing,[98] Andrew Kreisberg and Arrow,[99] Gareth Edwards and Godzilla,[100] Mark Wahlberg and The Roman,[101] and Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton with a potential adaptation of God of War.[102] Entertainment Weekly has cited Batman Begins as an inspiration for both the reinventing, as well as the tone for The Amazing Spider-Man.[103]” - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_Begins
As you can see, the Caped Crusader has had an undeniable impact on entire movie industry in recent years. Unlike most trends in the film industry which are motivated by money, Batman's influence came in the form of respect and adoration of fellow film makers. From the big screen to the small screen, from spy-thrillers to sci-fi, you'd be hard pressed to find a corner of the industry not touched by the Dark Knight.
There you have it, my list of the 5 superheroes I think are most responsible for taking us from Bat-nipples and bad one-liners, to the mind-blowing awesomeness coming our way over the next 2 summers. Thanks for reading.