re: What is the appeal of superhero movies at this point

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I don't think this is too far off. I think after Avengers Infinity War and Avengers 4 a year later, you'll see superhero films slowly die.

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I'd take that bet.

Superheros have been a part of the national consciousness for nearly 100 years at this point. Only really in the past 15 years maximum has the technology caught up to the stories being written about them to make it viable to really do the stories justice in the big screen. Plus...comics are ready made storyboards for movies. Unless and until people quit caring about heroes these movies will continue to be huge successes.

The ONLY thing that will kill them would be a string of really bad movies or movies that forget what made them successes in the first place.

But what Marvel has done, and now what all other studios are trying desperately to catch up with is to create a real connected universe. They are no longer limited to trilogies for characters. That's an enormous change and it'll be what keeps them going for as long as there are good stories to tell.

I also think they've cracked the code in understanding what comic fans have always known...which is that you really can recast these characters and keep on going. Think James Bond. Sure...some will be harder to recast than others...but there WILL be new Tony Stark and a new Steve Rogers. They'll still be in the same timeline and the large story will go on indefinitely. Unless the studio decides to wipe the slate clean and go New 52 type thing on the entire universe, it'll just be a long continuing story where occasionally due to age, deaths, etc heroes are recast.

Or in other words...just like the comics on which they are based.

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Comic book movies is one of the last shared cultural experiences binding our society together. It is our collective myth.

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I agree with everything you said except to point out that this collective myth really could be anything. It's neat that it's all interconnected in terms of the MCU and the DCEU, but other genres have held this collective myth status in society before. Westerns and Action Hero movies come to mind. Those were basically superhero movies in the 60s and 70s and then the 80s and 90s, respectively.

And while we are now isolated more than ever before due to the internet and the "news of me," the divisions that are bridged by the collective mythos portrayed in film are not altogether new. They are simply more distinct (and perhaps more disparate). But a certain film genre bridging those divisions and becoming the collective myth is also not new, and it does show the power of film and storytelling in general.

But that these films do that I don't think is their overall appeal to the society at large. I think that is a byproduct of producing a product that gives people a character upon which to project one's self and to imagine one's self as conquering fear, adversity, the problems of modern society, of being different or apart from the norm. It provides a fantasy world in which ordinary people become extraordinary or do extraordinary things, and that's exactly the same appeal of Westerns and Action Hero movies. And it gets at the core of any one person because left or right, white or black, gay or straight, we all want to be the hero.

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I agree with everything you said except to point out that this collective myth really could be anything. It's neat that it's all interconnected in terms of the MCU and the DCEU, but other genres have held this collective myth status in society before. Westerns and Action Hero movies come to mind. Those were basically superhero movies in the 60s and 70s and then the 80s and 90s, respectively.

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Of course genres from previously eras used to be the collective myth. I absolutely agree. Alos, the monoculture used to be far more dominant when there were just 3 TV stations, usually just one theater in town, and no internet. It's harder and harder to have those collective experiences which used to be more common.

I don't think people consciously go into the movies thinking about the monoculture or the collective myth, but I do think it has a subconscious pull. It's one of the few things that all people watch regardless of gender, political affiliation, region, or race. It's one of the ties that binds, and we're running out of those ties.

Haha. That's pretty funny! You make a valid point!

i continue to watch these marvel films for the same reason i continued to watch Harry Potter movies and Lord of the Rings, why girls watched The Hunger Games and whatever that vampire/Werewolf crap was, and the same reason i watched all of the Star Wars and will continue to. While each movie is entertaining in it's own right, it's still just a part of the story, and i'm interested in the whole story. It's that simple. When the story ends or gets to the point that i'm not interested in it anymore, i'll stop watching them. I don't see that happening anytime soon for me, or for the millions of people around the world that keep watching them.

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You pretty much know the plot going in, protagonist has conflict with an antagonist and almost inevitably wins.

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Not the original Karate Kid

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While each movie is entertaining in it's own right, it's still just a part of the story, and i'm interested in the whole story. It's that simple. When the story ends or gets to the point that i'm not interested in it anymore, i'll stop watching them.

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This is probably the biggest draw to the Marvel movies, at this point.
I can admit I'm getting a little tired of the constant addition of new characters. I'm invested in the impending showdown with Thanos, and I'm about loaded up with all the characters I want. We know it's Tony, Cap and Thor, with various supplements from the rest.
I might pass on Black Panther until it's released for home. I'm somewhat familiar with the character, he's really just a mid-low level brawler with access to nice tech, and a twist to the social angle. Don't really see what he adds to the mix, although his country might be important later on.

Also haven't caught the latest Spiderman yet, as I basically know enough about him to know what he can bring to the mix. And although I like the character, the current story really isn't his arc.

Dr Strange was appealing because he potentially opens up a whole different level of powers.


If DC could find a groove and stay in it (Wonder Woman was a good entry, finally), there's still potential to do the same thing with that group, too. You still have some unique and powerful guys who can enter the mix- the biggest being Green Lantern, who desperately needs a good movie.
But I'd say the need for more Batman movies is over; we've seen him and know what he has, and he can appear in any other movie they show. We need either another key figure, or get to the big group. About the only thing that would fit with Batman, for me, would be a mystery with little action, showcasing his detective skills. I don't need him beating someone up with gadgets that Superman or Wonder Woman would just stomp.

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On the other hand, one of the board favorites, Game of Thrones, can you honestly tell me how the series is going to end? One of my all time favorites was the Sopranos. Week to week you never knew what was going to happen.

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Are you seriously trying to compare a movie with a 2 hour story with tv shows that have 60, 70, or 80 hours to tell their story? That's a ridiculous comparison. How many twist do you think GOT would have been able to fit in had it been a 2 hour movie? It too would have had to fit into the same mold as the rest of the movies, that's why George insisted it be a television show.

Ok. Well what about the movie Arrival? I didn't really care for the movie, but at no point did I really say, oh, this is how it's gonna end. And yeah, maybe the fact that their is more time for a tv show means they can fit more in, but the fact is their are actually twists in the story. I feel like they would have been there regardless of whether the show was 2 hours or 20 hours. What was the last WTF moment in a superhero movie? A superhero movie where you were leaving the theater and were like, "I didn't see that coming"?

Well, I'm not as big of a fan of it as most others, but Captain America: Civil War ended with him as a fugitive from justice. I didn't really see that as the resolution. (that's a huge diversion from the comic)

Also, while agree there's a "good guys always win" problem save for Civil War, its the route it takes to get there. I thought the climax to Dr Strange was amazing, as it was essentially an anti-climax. He wins by not engaging in the fight, and by sacrificing his life over and over again. There's no great battle scene, it's just a guy deciding not to fight fate. Forever.