It's been quite the week here on ComicBookMovie.com. While there were some troubling signs early on (the trailers didn't receive the warmest response), Supergirl was supposed to kick off 2026's superhero movie season in style. After all, it's a quiet year for the genre, with only that and Clayface on the way from DC Studios, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday in the works from Marvel Studios.
By now, we're sure you know the story with Supergirl. The movie received lukewarm reviews and, in terms of box office, is shaping up to be a disaster. Questions have been raised about whether James Gunn is the right person to lead DC Studios into what was supposed to be a brighter future. However, one flop isn't going to derail a franchise that, last year, delivered 2025's highest-grossing superhero movie with Superman. And, regardless of whether Creature Commandos and Peacemaker Season 2 were to your liking, it's worth remembering that both were critically acclaimed.
Clayface comes at a time when it can capitalise on the horror resurgence buoyed by titles like Sinners and Obsession. Costing only $40 million to produce, if this body horror movie can tap into the hunger audiences have for a truly f***ed up time at the theater, DC Studios is on to a winner. There will be grumblings about Batman's absence, but if this movie is as messed up as we think and hope it is, we're in for a compelling, grotesque origin story for one of Gotham City's more obscure villains.
Heading into next year, The Batman Part II—while neither a DC Studios movie nor a story set in the DCU—is almost guaranteed to be a critical and commercial hit. Beyond the financials, if it's even half as good as The Batman was in 2022, you just know this is going to be another killer take on the Dark Knight (and what a cast). Then, there's Man of Tomorrow. While it's understandable to be wary about it being a little too jam-packed with characters, we're going to see Superman and a Warsuit-wearing Lex Luthor squaring off with Brainiac. That's a dream come true for comic book fans, and say what you will about Gunn as a studio boss, but Superman and his Guardians of the Galaxy movies speak for themselves.
This year, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday will almost certainly end up competing with each other to be the year's highest-grossing blockbuster. That's hardly the sign of a genre in its final days. In case it wasn't obvious by now, fans and moviegoers just want comic book movies to be events with A-list characters, and all but Clayface fit the bill (and, as noted, that movie can take advantage of the hunger for original horror in a big way).
Spider-Man: Brand New Day, while shrouded in mystery, looks like the street-level adventure we've all been hoping for since Spidey swung into the MCU in 2016. A classic costume, iconic villains, and the fact that we have no real idea what Peter Parker is up against combine to make this movie a must-see spectacle, no different from 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home. As for Avengers: Doomsday, we may still be scratching our heads about Robert Downey Jr.'s return to play Doctor Doom, but don't pretend you're not eager to see what his take on the villain looks like. With the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four all in the mix, we're surely in store for a jaw-dropping spectacle...provided the Russo Brothers can pull it off.
So, does any of this sound like a genre that's on its last legs? Something has got to give, and in today's landscape, there's likely no longer a place for B- or C-list tier superheroes to get their own movies. If they do, then it needs to be something huge, with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels proving that if these movies aren't written and later billed as events, then people won't show up. Still, the rise of streaming means there may still be a place for those lesser-known characters to get the spotlight on the small screen. Daredevil: Born Again is proof of that, and, hopefully, Lanterns will be this August, too.
The "superhero fatigue" talk died a death when Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps both exceeded expectations, even as modest hits. Now, as we gear up for the likely record-breaking returns of the Avengers, Spider-Man, and Batman franchises, it's fair to say that not only can this genre still thrive, but that the best—an X-Men reboot and eventual Justice League movie, for example—is yet to come. Like Captain America: Brave New World, Supergirl is a black eye, but it's certainly not a killing blow.