I mean, look around. SOMETHING's changed in the past two years. Ever since Iron Man came out, thing have turned around. I mean, look before that. Spider-Man 3 killed the franchise. Superman Returns was a flop, we got Elektra, (I actually liked Daredevil, except for the playground scene. That should have been at night. With no kids.) Fantastic Four X-Men...well, there's been complaints since the first one, but it wasn't until X3 when it REALLY went to hell. There was so many problems. Although Batman Begins was popular, many still had the sour taste of the past franchise as well.
Then, in 2008, a lot changed.
Between Iron Man and Dark Knight, a lot of studios and directors got the message that superheroes were a great investment. X-Men still suffered, but that's just something we have to deal with until Fox realizes the fans just aren't interested anymore. All of a sudden, projects started popping up, good ones, this time around. Soon after, we got tons of great movies, although some would argue that they weren't great. Films we thought we'd never see started popping up again. Watchmen showed up, Thor returned, we have Captain America coming back for redemption from the 90's film, Iron Man 2 (again, people argue about that one, but it was, at the very least, a healthy sequel), and, something we've dreamed about for ages: The Avengers.
DC started picking up it's pace too. Although it hit a giant hole with Jonah Hex, it seems to have taken a leaf out of Marvel's book and gone for continuity, and exploring lesser known heroes, which are big to us, but small to everyone else. Flash and GL2 are already in development.
And it's not just films. Walking Dead is a hit, and Marvel's planning several TV series. Comics are becoming more and more mainstream to the General Audience. Legendary Pictures is even starting their own comics company, Legendary Comics, which no doubt will have film adaptations, and may even become a new contender for Marvel and DC. Hell, I first heard the announcement of 'Batman Incorporated', specifically citing the issue, writer, and event, over my local news radio station. Not to mention Captain America's death being front-page news, and, in my paper, a few mentions of the Avengers and Andrew Garfield's casting as Spider-Man. That's when it really hit me: Things are changing for the better.
And, another huge one: Disney buying Marvel. This is a HUGE move for the industry itself, and, although there was initial panic, it seems to have turned out for the better. Now, Marvel is now a part of a large machine, and Marvel Studios, as a result, has gone from being a studio with limited resources, to one with massive resources. There are shows introducing kids to second-tier superheroes, and first-tier superheroes that are just lesser known, such as Thor and Black Panther, and heroes everyone has heard of, but know little about, such as Captain America.
TV shows are rising up, with a potential Blue Beetle show, and Punisher, Hulk, The Eternals, Cloak and Dagger, Luke Cage, and others headed for the small screen, while the top tier handles an intricate, woven, interconnected universe on a scale that hasn't been even imagined in ages, if ever.
Things seem to definetly have changed.