Comic Book Movies at a Crossroads

In this faux war between The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers fan boys talk up which film will be the best and who will be king this year at the box office but what is lost by these endless debates is the influence of these films upon future comic book adaptions. The stakes are awfully high this summer with two clear comic book heavyweights at the box that are as different from each other as can possibly be and with Hollywood studios looking on to say the direction of upcoming CBM's hangs in the balance would be a gross understatement. This year marks a crossroads for comic book movies where audiences will decide which path they want the genre to take for years to come. Marvel over the past four years has blazed a trail through Hollywood with light colorful heroes with cross generational appeal and intriguing stories that are not weighted down by complex themes or the heavy melodrama found in other comic book adaptions. Entering 2012 it was clear that The Avengers was Marvel's path forward for its cinematic universe and it offered filmmakers a blueprint for future CBM'S to follow. The Avengers showcased classic superheroes that appealed to family audiences with a story that had an entertaining blend of humor and suspense as well as breath taking action sequences. This year will also introduce audiences to a more serious and gritty superhero in Christopher Nolan's final installment of his Batman trilogy The Dark Knight Rises; it takes the genre in a different direction with its complex adult themes, high drama and nail biting action that is certain to have people on the edge of their seats. If as Batman fans hope TDKR is successful critically and culturally it may influence other directors to create comic book adaptions that'll further expand and explore the limits of the genre. I want to emphasis that 2012 could not be more important to comic book fans because Fox, Sony and Warner Brothers all properties in development such as Fantastic Four, Flash and they will be gauging audience and fan reaction to these films so they can determine the tone for their new franchises.

With The Avengers currently at number three at the box offices it seems as if the direction for future CBM's is set. Marvel has created superheroes that are a throwback to the days of Adam West and George Reeves. They are fun characters that don't take themselves too seriously, they have captured the imaginations of children as well as adults therefore they are easily marketable and can lead to various spinoff franchises of other heroes (Black Widow, Hawkeye), and it's because of this as well as its $1.4 billion at the box office also the billions it will make from Blu-ray and on demand sales that has made The Avengers the big studios must have comic book franchise. As studios in the future seek to model there comic book adaptions on successful Marvel properties any filmmaker who loves his/her job well be looking to The Avengers as a blue print for their films. Think about it you could make a light superhero film with CGI action sequences, big name talents and a simple story that balances elements of humor with drama that is certain to bring in millions with tie ins and toy sells which can lead to spinoffs as well as possible sequels or you could make a gritty more dramatic film that have adult themes, complex storylines and an emotional scarred or psychological damaged superhero as director or producer if you love your job the former movie is your safest choice. For a young upcoming directors like Chronicle's Josh Trank this is an easy career choice and working on a big comic book adaption can expose you to a much wider audience as well as being a spring board for future projects. This may be why Hollywood will for the foreseeable future create lighter more family oriented superhero films that the studios can then profit off by making truly ungodly amounts of money in merchandising and on property rights.

Even if (hyperbolically speaking) The Dark Rises makes $3 billion and becomes the worlds all time highest grossing movie it may not be able to match The Avengers influence on Hollywood. Currently it is safer to do lighter adaptions because even if it fails its appeal to children and it's built in fan base can still help it to sell video games and toys because of this TDKR may well be the last of a dying breed of CBM's. After 911 a comic adaptions were getting edgier, darker there was Hellboy followed a year later by the non-hero film History of Violence, then Alan Moore's V for Vendetta and among them was Nolan's Batman Begins followed three years later with The Dark Knight. What Nolan created was a comic book adaption that explored the complex dark nature of its superhero and allow the audience to journey into the characters life in a way that connected them with the hero. His greatest achievement is that he gave Hollywood an example of what a comic book move based on a superhero can achieve as a piece of cinema and shown the world that movies inspired by graphic novels can become great stories. So come July 20 when The Dark Knight Rises is released it may not only be the end to a Batman era but bring to a close an era of more serious comic book adaptions. Understand after Nolan there may be no other filmmakers who are willing to the take the risk of making superhero films that tackles mature themes, current events like terrorism or show the troubled psyches and the darker side of our favorite heroes' lives. Why would anyone when it's possible to make a fun, family friendly comic book movie that could make millions (even the Green Lantern made over $100 million) at the box office without causing controversy about the topics touched or images shown in more serious adaptions.

As Variety has reported Warner Brothers has been working on a script of a Justice League movie and has several comic properties in the early stages of development, Fox has another Wolverine film ready to begin production, X-Men Frist Class sequel also a Fantastic Four reboot and Marvel Studios is entering another phase with their films and they have two comic book movies debuting each year so the next few years will be very busy time for the genre. The direction these studios will take with these upcoming CBM's could be decided by fans, audiences and critics this year and if The Avengers succeeds with Hollywood studios as it has with fans than the course is set for these comic adaptions. For fans who love superheroes in the classic mold the type that never sweats in a challenge or fails to save the day and who values action as the most critical element in a comic book movie there could not be better news than to say they are guaranteed to see their favorite heroes fill that role on screen for years to come. As for those fans who love nothing more than to see a great story, villains that can break the spirits of their heroes and offer them an intellectual, moral as well as physical challenge that strikes at the core of their being as well as dynamic heroes that can suffer, fail and grow as their life experience changes will be bitterly disappointed in the coming years as Hollywood seeks comic adaptions that are less dramatic, heavier on action, lighter in tone as well as story that can be easily replicated and mass produced. As any longtime Batman fan know lighter kid friendly movies are not always better and avaricious studios will produce movies that serve no purpose other than to market toys and video games to children irrespective of the comic book backstory. With Christopher Nolan stepping away from the director's chair Batman will be shelved for a few years so that the franchise can be rebooted his work of redrawing the limits of the genre in cinema could possibly fall to Zack Snyder and then it would be left up to the man of steel to once again save the day.