Summer is the time of year to bask in the sun and participate in outdoor activities. However, when the time comes to cool off, or in the event of a rainy day, people need an alternative. Well, people who enjoy movies are in luck! Summertime movies are synonymous with big blockbuster superhero-esque films.
This trend has flourished since 2000, when Marvel turned one of its most popular series into a real life action film, “X-Men”, subsequently sparking a whole new trend. These types of movies come out at least once a year, primarily because of the financial success. Marvel’s most popular character, Spider-man, shattered box-office records in 2002, helping to spawn movies such as “Hulk”, “Dare Devil”, “Ghost Rider”, and “Iron man”, among many others. DC Comics then responded with “Superman”, “Green Lantern”, “Watchmen”, and of course the illustrious Batman series, with Christopher Nolan at the helm.
Marvel has certainly produced a higher quantity of movies, not to mention overall better quality movies. Plus, fans always look forward to the promise of Marvel’s creator, Stan Lee, popping up in cameo as he does in practically every Marvel movie. Nevertheless, DC has several options for some great possible responses to Marvel’s success like a highly anticipated film about The Justice League. With the immense success the Avengers experienced, DC would be foolish not to pursue movies of this magnitude.
Dispite Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale claiming they are done with the Batman franchise, a comic book fan’s dream is to see these two reunite, teaming up with other superheroes such as Superman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, the Flash, and others.
It will be extremely hard to top last year’s superhero movies. The first Avengers and the last Batman movies ranked one and three respectively in the list of all time opening weekend box office successes. The Spiderman reboot also grossed a hefty sum of money. Nevertheless, there are still many good superhero movies to look forward to this summer and even further down the road. “Iron man 3” will once again fly solo, dispatching from his superhero friends, for now. The movie will certainly receive big numbers at the box office. The second installment ranked 11 in all-time opening weekend box office revenue, due in part to Robert Downey Jr’s exceptional portrayal of the eccentric billionaire Tony Starks. While Iron Man’s villains are less prominent than Batman’s, Spiderman’s, X-Men’s or even Superman’s, the Mandarin, Iron Man’s main foe, will surely prove to be a tough challenge, thus providing immense entertainment for fans.
Other movies to look out for this summer include “The Wolverine” and “Superman: The Man of Steel.” Both of these characters can sell tickets on reputation alone, regardless of the plot. “The Wolverine” focuses squarely on the protagonist, Logan (Wolverine), without his other X-Men buddies, as he must overcome the loss of his most vital asset, his ability to heal. DC’s sole summer product, “Superman: The Man of Steel”, under Christopher Nolan’s guidance should surely be much better than “Superman Returns,” which too many fans considered a disappointment.
Once summer concludes, fans can look forward to “Thor 2: The Dark World” and “Captain America 2: Winter’s Solider.” The first “Thor” and “Captain America” did well at the box office and had a great mass appeal to fans, as well as providing a nice segue into the compilation of superheroes in “The Avengers”. Another movie to look out for will be the next installment of the X-Men series, “Days of a Future Past”, a story directly extracted from one of the most interesting story lines in the Marvel Universe. It will feature characters from the old X-Men series and the new X-Men series, First Class, and will surely prove to be an intriguing film fans can anticipate.
With technology ever increasing and countless stories to be told, superhero movies will continue to take off at the box office and fly away with our imaginations.
Evan Smith is a third year student majoring in political science with a minor in communications. He can be reached at ES777403@wcupa.edu.