Superhero Realism?

Superhero Realism?

Why do most Superhero films feel the need to make them realistic?

Editorial Opinion
By Preacherfanatic7 - Apr 07, 2011 03:04 PM EST
Filed Under: Other

Realism in superhero films is very serious problem in today’s movie going world. Comic books were originally used to take people away from reality with fantastical stories and entertain a reader. So are films. As of late (2000 and onwards) Superhero films have been trying to go with a more realistic tone and feel to it. Examples would be with the Spider-Man Franchise and the such. The first film changed the way The origin from a radioactive spider to a genetically altered one.

My problem with this is that why should it matter if it is realistic or not? Even if you are bit by something like the spider in the film it would not give you powers. Why not go with the original? Although the Fantastic Four Films were not as good as they were expected to be they did somewhat stick with the original origin by showing that they went into space and received there powers via something cosmic. They are still guilty of of the “Realism” factor. In the second film they decided to use Galactus, who in the comics was a giant cosmic being that would go around eating planets. He used the Silver Surfer as a Herald to tell the planet of there imminent doom. Now this is used in the film, however Galactus is just a massive cloud. no shape or form… My problem with this is when asking someone why they didn’t use it they would respond with “Well its not that realistic” Hold on… you are telling me that 4 human beings can go into space get superpowers, (Stretching, Invisibility, turning into fire, and becoming a rock monster) Is fine, but a dude in a purple suit going around eating planets is not? There is some great hypocrisy here.

Also I am angered when someone looks at a film…a fictional creation, which is not a documentary. And says that since it is not correct according to science it is bad and unrealistic, and complain over and over. There are so many weird things going on in the film but that bugs you? I am glad that the most recent films such as The incredible Hulk, Thor, Green Lantern, and so on are retaining similar elements to the comics because in those it is really difficult to make those “REAL” With the Hulk, Gamma radiation can not really turn you into a hulking green monster. Nor will an alien race that protects the universe could really exist. I will not comment on the Thor Situation because he is a religious figure to some and it is their belief that he exists, so I will not say anything about that, but still in a modern era that wants realism everywhere, that can not be done the same way.

Now movies that have been able to pull off the “Realism” Well are The Nolan Batman films. Batman has no discernible super powers himself. He relies on his cash intellect and fighting skills to fight crime. Now, many villains in Batman also do not have powers, as with Nolanverse. (Amalgam of Universe and Nolan.) That can be argued with Ra’s Al Ghul’s appearance in the first one due to the fact that it is never revealed whether or not there is a Lazarus Pit. However they way he works it he pulls it off. Now if he were to try to make a supernatural villain his films and dumb's them down to realistic then there would be a problem.

I have heard a few people say that they want a more realistic Flash film, not having the same type origin because of its realism. Regardless of how it is done, it cannot be done realistically. The flash was hit by lightning while in a lab with chemicals and can run fast. Yes it is silly, but if done right would be cool to see. There is nothing “Realistic” in this world that could give someone that amount of speed.

One more thing before i stop ranting. The new Wonder Woman TV show. Though i am not a big fan of Wonder Woman, I do want her to be done right in a live action adaptation. In the show she will be Diana Prince, the CEO of a Company known as Themiscyra Industries… Why do this? Is there a problem with having a Amazon Princess as a character? No there isn’t. It makes no since if she is just a regular woman. I mean the whole reason Wonder Woman was created was to make her a strong female. What female is stronger than a Amazonian Princess? I mean yea you want people to be able to relate with her better, but still…

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naterator
naterator - 4/7/2011, 3:32 PM
I think when i say i want something realistic....i mean that i dont want campy...and i do like the serious tone....but serious doesnt mean it has to be dark....for example in a JLA movie we could expect to see gotham as a dark place and metropolis to be light. paradise island....well pure fantasy.


Justice League Movie 2013 - Green Lantern... by beyondthetrailer

Hellsing
Hellsing - 4/7/2011, 4:03 PM
no CBM doesn't have to be realistic and it can never be realistic. its always un realistic in some ways. CBM's should be made in a serious tone this doesnt mean dark and gritty but it shouldn't be camp either it has to be fun. It just has to be done seriously and treated properly.
luckylu
luckylu - 4/7/2011, 4:04 PM
realism is ruining these movies.
Ethic
Ethic - 4/7/2011, 4:40 PM
Totally agree, I'm beginning to dislike even the mention "realism" when film-makers talk about their comic book films because it has connotations of making everything more possible here, more scientific here.

It's as if because Nolan did Batman amazingly well in a realistic fashion, that realism is definitively THE METHOD!
But what I love about superheroes is the escapism, the dream-like quality.
Now Batman lends itself toward a more realistic world for the most part, but most of the others do not at all.

Watching films like 300, Lord of the Rings, Watchmen, Sin City - that is the route I think we should be taking. More stylized worlds that take the story seriously and treat it maturely while maintaining the out-of-this-world elements that are a huge part of the source material.
fullmetal
fullmetal - 4/7/2011, 5:33 PM
because everyone is biting off The Dark Knight!! i think frank miller said it best..."i don't want to see these super heroes with sweat under their arm pits!!! i want these characters to be what they are; Super heroes!! let them defy all the restrictions of our world"...something like that...
BarKelly
BarKelly - 4/7/2011, 5:33 PM
Do people actually worship Thor? LOL
BassMan
BassMan - 4/7/2011, 5:49 PM
the realistic tone works on some cbm's, others not so much. the more fantastic the legend, the less grounded in reality the cinematic interpretation should be should be imo. this is one of the many, many reasons i am really looking forward to The Avengers movie; iron man and captain america, technologically and scientifically based heroes within the realms of physical possibility(remember cap is just the perfect human, no "super" powers originally), amongst a Norse god and a gamma irradiated behemoth, with weather controlling abilities and both possessing unimaginable strength and power... all wrapped up in the same film.
golden123
golden123 - 4/7/2011, 5:50 PM
How many times has an editorial like this been done?
golden123
golden123 - 4/7/2011, 5:52 PM
@BarKelly: Yes, people do still practice the Norse religion. There is a family, that lives near me, that practices it and they each pin a tiny hammer to their shirt honoring Thor.
golden123
golden123 - 4/7/2011, 5:56 PM
Oh and I don't think Galactus was in the cloud (that's right he was in the cloud, he wasn't THE cloud) because they were trying to make it realistic. That was probably just an excuse some fan made. Nolan's movies aren't realistic. Also the Green Lanterns aren't a race there a police corp although I assume that one is just a typo.
Darkmiks
Darkmiks - 4/7/2011, 6:03 PM
i think for wonder woman tv show they did'nt had money for too much special effects about Amazons and whole Greek Mythology . . .as for FF 2,it woud be stupid to see GIANT MAN IN PURPLE EATING PLANETS. Don't you?
theangrytroll
theangrytroll - 4/7/2011, 6:12 PM
I completely agree on all points except about the Nolan "Batman" films being the only good realistic CBMs. Both movies are utter crap, (with the sole bright spot being Gary Oldman as Gordon - brilliant!) AND, they aren't really CBMs at all. Nolan has managed to suck all the "comic book-ness" out of them, leaving them with nothing more than names in common with their comic book source.
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marvel72
marvel72 - 4/7/2011, 6:54 PM
batman is the worse one for realism,i want to see the likes of killer croc & man-bat but you ain't gonna see them in nolans movies.

also the black & grey costume from the comics,the animated show or even the video game arkham asylum.

i want to see that in at least one movie.
MikeKus34
MikeKus34 - 4/7/2011, 7:24 PM
May I direct you too Gah Lak Tus, just because the Galactus that they used in the movie isnt the one you're most familiar with does not mean it isnt present in comics. Research, or atleast think, before your speak.
buckie2889
buckie2889 - 4/7/2011, 7:30 PM
Wait, is she Wonder Woman not an Amazon in the show? Because Diana Prince has always been an alter ego she used. I assumed she was still an Amazon though...
MikeKus34
MikeKus34 - 4/7/2011, 7:30 PM
Also dont say that an alien race that oversees other planets is impossible. There are two points to contradict that. We, human beings, have ventured into space and observed other planets. So what is there that says if another planet could support life before the earth could that they wouldnt have developed their own technolpgies and observed other planets. This coincides with the second point I'd like to present which is why, in it's infinite vastness, would the big bang that theoretically created the cosmos, and our planet Earth, only generate one single planet that van support life. This planet may not be close to us or even in an area of space that we will ever reach, but that's not to discredit it's possible existence. Anything can be considered until proven undeniably false.
superwolverine
superwolverine - 4/7/2011, 8:08 PM
plain and simple superheroes and realism don't mix.
NeoBaggins
NeoBaggins - 4/7/2011, 9:05 PM
So, what are all these "realistic" CBMs? Only thing that comes to mind is Nolan's Batman series.
LordHuck
LordHuck - 4/7/2011, 9:23 PM
Completely unnecessary article.

The kind of micro nit picking bullshit Radioactive spider VS Genetically altered spider, really sets the tone for the rest of the article. It’s just a ridged traditionalist ranting over any and every change.

Some, comic to movie changes are good. Some aren’t. Which are and which aren’t are subject of great debate. End of story.

______________________________________________________________________
And to quote MikeKus34 “Anything can be considered until proven undeniably false.”

Aircraft carries were beyond 1st century hunters gatherers understanding or imaginations. Aircraft carries were however Never an impossibility.

________________________________________________________________________

pitchblack
pitchblack - 4/7/2011, 9:40 PM
Batman can't be the "least plausible" hero in comics. Here's why; there's no such thing as:

- Superpowered aliens with a weakness to "kryptonite" (just a play off a real element)
- Superpowered aliens with magical rings and lanterns
- Norse gods
- "Serum" that doesn't act like steroids which will eventually make your balls atrophy


Should he have died a million times ago? Yes. That's not what "not plausible" implies.

Every action movie ever made takes liberties with the laws of physics and gives nearly every action hero nine lives. I think what a "realistic tone" from Nolan's point of view is that the Joker's face didn't magically turn pure white and his hair pure green from falling in a pool of acid. That Batman can't wear tights and inverted underwear with the expectation that he's going to fight guys with guns and knives. Or that a teenager in tights is going to be his number one ally in stopping the mob. Or that Two-Face is going to have a geometrically perfect line splitting his face in two from an oil barrel spilling on it and getting lit up.

They have to make some effort at it in this era of movies. It doesn't appeal to the majority of people going to movies, who aren't the hardcore fans of the source material. And it's all about the money, no studio will sink 200 million dollars into a script that looks like the next Adam West Batman series or even something a critic would just laugh at. The only exception I've seen in the last 10 years might be Scott Pilgrim, which was very good. But then it's not your typical "superhero" comic book. I would think Deadpool is one of the only "superheroes" you could go with that way, but even then, it's not going to be the mass appeal movie with it's supposed R rating.
Bartman87
Bartman87 - 4/7/2011, 9:41 PM
Why does it have to be based in the real world physics to not be campy? That is basically what we are talking about here, that the science and situations that create our characters can't be too outrageous for the average movie goer because a radioactive spider is more outrageous a plot device than a genetically altered spider.

Every Director now wants to create a CBM that makes a killing at the box office with the average movie goer and not just the fan boy. Truthfully I go to Comic Book movies to escape realism and I want them to be as close to the real deal as possible, Batman is not as close to the books as I would like. We'll have to see what this years movies have to offer up for us in terms of comic book realism and real life realism.
luckylu
luckylu - 4/7/2011, 10:17 PM
@witty- i agree that it takes the right hands to make a great cbm and with that i say galactus could have been soooooooooo epic if we actually got to see him under different direction. of course those movies sucked, so galactus was bound to suck. i would love to see the real galactus at some point.

actually i find that spidey shooting jizz out of wrists from a little jizz sack was very unbelievable and laughable. webshooters make alot more sense
Flop123
Flop123 - 4/7/2011, 10:39 PM
I agree with a lot of other people on here, that the LOTR trilogy is exactly the style that a good CBM film needs. I think you be hard pressed to find someone that didn't really enjoy those movie's. It appealed to so many different age groups, had pretty good character developement for those who never read any of the books, and the battles scenes were all done really well. And nothing about those films were "real", just done real well, IMO.
FlixMentallo21
FlixMentallo21 - 4/7/2011, 10:49 PM
I REALLY want CBM's to be totally unrealistic. Who cares what the general moviegoers think, they go to a movie to escape from reality (if only for a while), so why would they want reality in a movie? It's been that way since the Great Depression, where a brief respite from the hard times was only a quarter away! I say the heck with realism, the movie studios and comic companies should issue a press release or hold a press conference stating that they will be permanently lifting all traces of realism from their films so that the audience can truly be suspended in disbelief. Then, and only then, will comic book movies be more sucessful and true to their original source.
AC1
AC1 - 4/7/2011, 11:24 PM
realism in CBMs is needed, maybe not to the extent of Nolan's Batfilms (although I love them) but in order to avoid campiness (aka Batman and Robin) and if there was no realism it'd look like some ridiculous live-action cartoon, making a live-action movie presents more limitations than comic books, in that in live action you can only go as far as the tech will allow, while in a comic book you just draw whatever's in your imagination.
AC1
AC1 - 4/7/2011, 11:29 PM
and if you wanted to take a CBM away from realism, you effectively cant set it on Earth, as Earth NEEDS to be portrayed realistically, meaning real world physics, and to an extent, real world science (although they can be exaggerated to some degree)
molee
molee - 4/8/2011, 12:18 AM
as far as i'm concerned i just want bane to use his super steroid "venome" in tdkr.
don't want too much of realism there or it will ruin everything and will again be one those part 3 superhero films(spiderman 3=shit,superman 3=shit) which suck really bad.
i hope nolan proves us wrong.. he better give bane some venom and makes him a superhuman.
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