An Asgardian prince throws his hammer at snow giants. A test pilot runs to the aid of a purple alien clinging to life and receives a green ring that transforms his thoughts into reality. An 80 pound man gains 100 pounds of muscle after being injected with a “Super Soldier Serum.” From Norse gods fighting mythical beasts to an intergalactic policeman fighting sentient fear with gatling guns constructed from green light, we have quite the summer to spend in the multiplexes.
In recent years, comic book movies have come to the forefront of the film market. With the continued success of films like The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and Kick Ass, Hollywood has found a treasure trove of potential films in comic book lore.
“If it has been inked or colored, it is probably being made into a movie,” said Chris Peters, a comic book enthusiast and film major at Southeastern University.
Due to this trend, Marvel Studios has pulled out all of the stops on their heroes on the big screen. This coming summer there will be three mainline Marvel Comics films competing against one another. Thor, the Norse god turned superhero, will lead the pack followed by Captain America: The First Avenger and X-Men: First Class.
“I want to see [all of these],” said Andrea Davis, 26. “They have potential to be very interesting. I'm looking forward to summer time and good movies. I'm just hoping they don't disappoint.”
With the exception of X-Men: First Class, these films, along with the Iron Man films are leading to a superhero team-up film called The Avengers. With this in the mix, there has been a lot of talk about the over-saturation of comic book movies in the film industry.
Numerous fans are worried that their beloved stories will not be given the proper treatment when it is their time to hit the silver screen. With some of Marvel's past films, this worry seems justified.
“Three words. Spider-Man 3. The first two films were great, but somehow the third movie was one of the worst movies I've ever seen,” said Topher Harless, 25.
“Iron Man 2 was rushed and sloppy compared to the first one, so quality was dwindling with that series,” said Peters. “Thor and Captain America are tonally different so they will be hard to compare except for the fact that they'll both strongly connect to the Avengers.”
“Iron Man 2 was nothing more than an Avengers prequel. I went to see a movie about Iron Man and ended up with a half-thought out movie made just to springboard into a larger film,” said Aaron Inman, 23.
On the other side of the aisle, DC Entertainment is taking a different approach to their comic book films. Where there are numerous Marvel films in the works and being released within a short span of each other, DC has only one superhero film coming out this summer.
“Green Lantern is going to rake in more money than most of the major films. It will be better than Thor and Captain America because it is a stand alone story. It's basically Star Wars for this new generation,” said Peters.
“I agree. Even if it's terrible, I still want to see Green Lantern. And I'm glad it will be independent of other movies,” said Addison Griffin, 15.
“I think DC and Warner Brothers are smarter in their approach to only releasing Green Lantern and seeing how that does first,” added Peters. “Plus, it's a smarter financial move especially since Warner Brothers is releasing the final Harry Potter film this summer which is the biggest tent-pole of the summer.”
With the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 this summer, Warner Brothers is losing one of their largest money-makers that has spanned over a decade. Warner Brothers is looking to fill this void with comic book films.
“I won't lie to you, I'm going to miss Harry Potter,” said Sarah Box, 21. “I don't know what I'm going to do with myself once it is over. I'm kind of hoping that Superman and Green Lantern can help fill the giant void that Ron Weasley will leave.”
In the wake of the loss of Harry Potter, Warner Brothers has a plan to start a series of films that will lead into a superhero team film called The Justice League. The Justice League will feature Batman, Superman, the Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Aquaman.
“Jeff Robinov, the new president of Warner Brothers, has announced that a Justice League movie is his top priority,” continued Peters. “I believe that his means that the characters are going to be the focus and each will have a individual film since that structure has worked so well for Christopher Nolan. We should expect to see Flash, Wonder Woman, and I predict an Aquaman movie will be announced soon.”
“The Avengers I can wait for. But Justice League? You can't stop me from being in that theater at midnight,” said Nate Fleming, 19.
Despite a lot of nervousness about how these films will turn out and over-saturation of the market, the consensus for these movies is almost unanimously positive.
“Let the critics stay at home,” said Rick Harless, 58. “I will be seeing all of them!”
“I'll be there at midnight. I may even go in costume,” said Paul Tackett, 19.
“I'm a fan of [seeing these films] as long as they don't suck,” said Stephen Gesinski, 21.
Until the credits roll, we won't know how these films will do or what impact they will make on American cinema. Perhaps we will find that superhero films have found a summer home in our neighborhood movie theaters. With ticket sales, toys, and video games, one thing we can know for sure is that Marvel and DC will both have full wallets at the end of the summer.