Are Fans Ruining Comic Book Movies?

Written by August Aguilar, August 10, 2016, at 6:40 a.m. Tweet to: @AugustAA92 & @elburritoblog

There used to be a time where seeing our favorite superheroes on the big screen was a rare treasure. When Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man came out back in 2002, the world was struck because there was actually a live-action Spider-Man being seen facing against Green Goblin. Same goes with the X-Men franchise as well as other heroes that were first gifted the cinema reigns like Hulk, The Punisher, and Ghost Rider.

Nowadays, we’ve had three incarnations of the famous web slinger, an array of Avengers and Justice League members, and so many other lesser-known heroes getting their chance to shine. But even through all of that, it’s still not enough for the fans and critics alike. Worst of all, these movies are being thrown in the gutter because of this or that. So what happened, and why are people hating so much?

Where Did These Comic Book Movies Come From?

Well, let’s face it. It’s a great time to be a nerd. We are in the Golden Age of movies, music, video games, comic books, and so much more. For this article I’m focusing on movies that have been made in the last 16 years or so, because, yes, even in the 80s and 90s, heroes were brought to life, for better or worse. The technology that is available for filmmakers today though is unbelievable, so it’s giving the chance to bring these characters to life in a new way.

The big shift in comic book movies started in 2008 with the release of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk (the second take on our big green friend). With both of these movies being wildly successful, this launched the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I’ll never forget the tease at the end of Iron Man when Nick Fury comes out and mentions the Avengers Initiative. Never in my wildest dreams I would have ever imagined to see an Avengers movie, but here we are with two already made and two more on the way, along with an array of other team-up movies and DC desperately trying to catch up.

Are Fans Ruining Comic Book Movies?

Unfortunately, with the rise of technology and comic book movies being produced, there has been a few bad apples. So yeah, maybe X-Men Origins: Wolverine or even X-Men: The Last Stand has some rough parts. Spider-Man 3 was a complete disaster. The recent reboot of Fantastic Four was so bad that Josh Trank even dissed his own film (but for the record, I actually think that movie is kind of cool now).

Most recently, perhaps one of the biggest juggernauts of them all, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice got ripped to shreds by critics and fans alike because of it’s tone, story structure, and why the fuck Batman thinks everything is all good because Superman’s mother is named Martha too. Even Suicide Squad got its fair share of hate from all around, and that proved to have a lot of fun and heart in it along with a big team-up of super villains. But despite any of these movies flaws, do they really deserve so much hate and criticism?

What is the Problem?

I think fanboys of the superhero genre has gotten spoiled over the years. I believe we went from being in a time where we were grateful to see our heroes coming to life, to a point where we expect too much and end up disappointed because it’s not “faithful” to the comics or there’s an actor that doesn’t quite fit the bill. Why is it so bad to see X-Men: Apocalypse and hate on the way Apocalypse looks?

Why are we watching Suicide Squad and purposely looking for things we don’t like in it? Can’t we just be happy about the fact that people can actually make these movies now and we can see these characters come to life? Like did you ever think we would see Batman and Superman going toe to toe, or even Captain America going against Iron Man in the infamous Civil War arc? Not at all.

What Do We Do Now?

I’m a huge superhero fan. I love these movies that are coming out and will continue seeing them for the rest of my days. Even if the film is not necessarily “great”, it is still a pleasure to watch these heroes and villains on the big screen. For fans who are tired of the genre…well, that’s too damn bad.

Both Marvel and DC has films lined up for the next five years at least, and they have ideas for further after that. Seeing lesser-known characters getting their own film is exciting too; the likes of Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Gambit (if it ever gets off the ground), and Shazam are all equally future films that I am mind blown that are actually coming out.

So to wrap this up, I would just like to see these films get a little bit more respect when they are being made. I genuinely feel bad for some of the directors and actors who put all of their effort and hard work into these films and then get so much hate and negativity on the internet that they lose faith in their own work. As a filmmaker myself, I hope that never happens to me. There’s no getting around the fact that we will continue to have really good movies like Deadpool and really bad ones like Spider-Man 3. But let’s just sit back with our popcorn and enjoy the show.

What do you think of the superhero trend? Do you agree that these movies are being viewed too harshly? Let us know in your comment below!