2016, I think, will be known as a landmark year for comic book movies. There are six different superhero movies being released this year - Deadpool, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War, X-Men: Apocalypse, Suicide Squad, and Dr. Strange. That's quite a lot! And you'll notice that most of them have something in common - they're team up films. The only film that doesn't have any other superhero characters featured, that we know of, is Dr. Strange. The others either feature a team up, a superhero showdown, or some combination of the two.
They fought. Then they teamed up. We'll be seeing this two more times this year . . .
Ever since The Avengers broke box office records and stole all our hearts back in 2012, it's been the norm for the more successful films to have at least a cameo from another superhero. Think about it! Captain America: Winter Soldier featured Black Widow as a co-star, Ant-Man featured a cameo by the Falcon, and now there's talk of the Hulk being a major player in Thor: Ragnarok. Wow . . . That's a lot! Not to mention that on the TV side of things, the Punisher made an explosive debut on Daredevil this year while Barry Allen was just a recurring guest star on Arrow before spinning off on his own show. It's the wave of the future I tell ya! Or rather, it should be.
Let's face it, we've seen the origin story done dozens of times. We get it. Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered, Krypton exploded, Steve Rogers was skinny then got roided up! It's been done. We're done with those types of films. Deadpool played the origin smart. It established the hero early on then gradually gave us the backstory. It helped to make the movie have a better flow and seem much more interesting. The origins aren't as vital to liking the characters or understanding the characters as the studios want us to think. The original Tim Burton Batman film just showed a little bit of a backstory but largely the film just jumped in on the action. It allowed the audience to just jump right in and get to the point.
Ever since the Avengers, one of the biggest complaints about the solo movies was, "Where are the other Avengers?" Never mind that in the comics, each character faces crises all the time without assistance from the other heroes. But I get it. In a live action setting, it seems silly that these world ending catastrophes would be happening and the other heroes wouldn't step up. The easy solution? Bring them in! It's probably a big reason why Cap 3 features the New Avengers, because it would look ridiculous and cheesy to establish these new characters and then not follow up with them. It was one of the reasons I was happy to see cameos from War Machine and Falcon in Age of Ultron. It helps make the movies seem more connected when the characters interact. To be honest, it feels more like the comic books.
One of the reasons I'm excited for Batman v Superman, is to see the role Wonder Woman will play. This is a great way to introduce her character before launching a solo film. Also, it looks like we'll be seeing Aquaman, the Flash, and possibly Cyborg. And then of course there's Spider-Man's introduction to the MCU in Captain America: Civil War.
Spider-Man is a menace!
Putting heroes in a film together is a great way to establish that they all live in the same world as well as giving credibility to some lesser known heroes like Deadpool and Cyborg. The DC TV shows have been doing it for a while now with Firestorm being introduced on The Flash, the Atom on Arrow, and in an upcoming episode, Jonah Hex on Legends of Tomorrow. They don't take away from the main story. If anything, it adds more excitement and interest. Rather than just have a new rogue every week, often the heroes are at odds, making a much more interesting, character driven story. Plus it helps to open up the world a little more. By having Firestorm on the Flash, we can see one or two of his rogues rather than a repeat of Reverse Flash or Captain Cold. It gives the writers more options in the long run.
I'm hoping to see more heroes team up in future comic book movies. I'd love to see Robert Downey, Jr cameo in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot and I'd love to see another Justice League member cameo in a future Batman film. It's something that hasn't really been done before, until this year. I'm confident we'll be seeing more of this as the films keep getting made. I mean, we gotta keep them interesting right? If we're paying $10 or more per movie ticket I want more bang for my buck damn it!
Till Next Time!
JJ - The Comic Junkie!
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