Who needs Russell Crowe, when you've got a man in spandex? A.O. Scott of The New York Times notes that Spiderman and Spiderman 2 made more money on their opening nights than Russell Crowe has in his entire career. Are actors even necessary anymore? We've got a plethora of material—comic books going back as far as the eye can see—so why not slap some costumes on a few unknown men of action, and see what happens? X-Men, The Hulk, Catwoman, Batman Begins.
Comics have leapt up the ranks of respectability to the point that we might not need our idiosyncratic celebrities anymore. George Clooney or Val Kilmer in the role of Batman, Scott says, may only "block our access to the fantasy of superheroism, which is based on psychological transparency." Give us Eric Bana, Christian Bale, Christopher Reeve! The undistinguished non-Tom Cruise who'll keep his celebrity neatly tucked inside his tights, leaving the fantasy up to us.