As co-creator of Invincible and The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman's work has had a huge impact on comic book adaptations. The Walking Dead spawned multiple seasons and several spin-offs, while Invincible has redefined TV-MA animation on television.
In recent years, much has been said about "superhero fatigue." While Invincible certainly isn't immune to that, it's arguably unique enough to avoid the kind of struggles Marvel and DC have faced in recent years.
Talking to GamesRadar+, Kirkman weighed in on the challenges the genre has faced in recent years and made a compelling point about the novelty wearing off for many people as massive crossover events become the norm.
"I think that superhero storytelling was so novel when the Marvel Cinematic Universe started," Kirkman started. "There was such a different feel to all that stuff that it was special in and of itself. And just seeing Iron Man existing and seeing Thor and Captain America together – everything was so new and exciting that it fed that machine for so very long. "
"I think that we're not necessarily seeing superhero fatigue in general. I think it's just that the audience has gotten used to that. And so now the audience is very much like, 'Well, what have you done for me lately?' I think that is kind of the mode that we're in now."
"If you're going to do a big superhero thing, it has to be special, and it has to be unique, and it has to add something," Kirkman continued. "Just being a really good superhero thing is not going to cut the mustard because if we want a really good superhero thing, we have almost a hundred options. So I think that's what we're experiencing now."
"And I think that as we're seeing the landscape changing, everything that's working now brings some kind of new element to it that's novel and unique and exciting and different. And I think there's no diminished hunger for superhero material. It's just that the audience is, I think, a little bit more discerning," he concluded.
He's not wrong. In 2012, Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor sharing the screen was nothing short of mind-blowing. This December, when the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four share the screen in Avengers: Doomsday, it will be momentous, but it still doesn't quite feel the same (a sentiment those of you who remember The Avengers' release will surely agree with).
While DC Studios is still attempting to reestablish that brand after a challenging final few years for the DCEU, Marvel Studios seems to have learned from past mistakes. That's why Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday feel like events and are both projected to rank among the year's biggest box office hits.
What do you think about Kirkman's comments? As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments section.