The recent “Superman” reboot didn’t exactly take, and I don’t believe you can blame the casting – or Supe’s newfound metrosexuality.
Have audiences become numb to the pure as the driven snow superhero?
Look who’s been invading the cineplex in recent years:
Spider-Man: Teen angst, inferiority complex, fear of commitment
The Hulk: He’s more monster than superhero, and his alter ego would do anything to banish him - permanently.
Hancock: A drunk on a good day.
Batman/The Dark Knight: Rage issues only scratch the surface.
Hellboy: More identity issues that Showtime’s Tara.
Now, along come the Watchmen, the anti-heroes heading our way March 6. Alan Moore’s groundbreaking comic series debunked and demystified the superhero genre, and should the film succeed expect plenty more conflicted superheroes.
Suddenly, Superman seems a bit … ordinary in comparison.
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Mr.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._A
Alas, no movie yet.
Corrrection:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._A
Sorry
Blame Marvel, and the sophistication-somewhat-of the standard comic book audience, particularly in the fact that it is one of the few young-skewing genre-specific audiences that has not aged out of fan base.
“Superheroes as Manichean archetypes” does not play as well in the post-Marvel era when, as you note, Spider-man has “real,” relatable-to-the-reader problems, like cash flow, anxiety issues, etc., as well as the newly-escaped super-powered villain (who often has his own issues).
However, this does undermine potentially good writing of the stalwart, upright, heroic archetype. Director Peter Jackson took criticism for introducing a flawed aspect to the heretofore flawless character of Aragorn in “LotR,” but his reasoning echoed this sentiment: that audiences will not believe in a pure hero, anymore.
Whether this really is Hollywood’s shortcoming, or ours, is open to question.
~ Dagnabbitt
I sort of like the superhero with flaws, but of course, I grew up watching and loving the X-Men cartoons and those characters are full of flaws.
I don’t think I’d want a return to the “pure as snow” superhero – I do not think a flawless personality makes for an interesting character.
I agree, Heidi … Marvel’s introduction of more complex heroes helped the genre immeasurably, but I still want to see the occasional Superman – the guy/gal who simply wants to save the day. Let the writers work around that archetype and give us a great story. They did it in the first two Superman movies (lets forget III, IV and parts of “Returns.”)