The Future of Superheroes Is On The Small Screen

The Future of Super Heroes Is The Small Screen

Last week we got the first trailer for Avengers 2 and for the next eight years at the least, we are going to get a ton more superhero movies a year. Isn’t that just utterly exhausting and depressing? Even as an avid comic book reader and superhero fan, I’ve totally had enough superhero movies. But I’ve not nearly had enough of superheroes on TV. Lemme tell you why.

I’m a story junkie. I love all forms of narrative. No matter the medium, I gobble it up. I watch stupid amounts of movies and TV, play way too many video games, and read comics and books on my phone all of the time. Basically I’m a giant nerd who cannot wait for the next episode of Legend of Korra to come out on each Friday. So why am I anti-superhero movies? Well, recently Warner Bros released its slate of upcoming movies based on DC superheroes and it is utterly ridiculous. How are we not supposed to be bored by all of this by now? All we have seen for the last five years at the cinema are these kinds of films and I for one am exhausted. How many times must I see the same origin story recolored and retold (I’m looking at you, Spider-Man)? Only with the sequels have things finally started to get interesting but god, everything before that drives us bonkers. Marvel has nailed their formula for these things – just look at Guardians of the Galaxy - and all DC/Warner is trying to do now is play catch-up, which is the problem.

They’re focusing on TV when they have so much more to offer in the realm of television.

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In 2014, people are hard done by in general. We’re less eager to spend our money than ever, so we choose what to use it for very carefully. This applies to everyone and every business, including the bigwigs in Hollywood. We all constantly bitch and moan about Hollywood’s current sequel and reboot trend (not to mention this new idea of Cinematic Universes). We are the first to harpoon anything original or new. Look at Edge of Tomorrow (an adaptation of a manga but still rather fresh in execution). That movie was brilliant and if you haven’t seen it, you really should. It was marketed awfully and no one knew what the hell it was about, so many people skipped it, but we all watched Captain America 2 and Guardians. Maybe it’s just me but I kind of want more new stories out of Hollywood. Maybe I just want that excitement I had as a child every time my father took me to the movies, when everything felt new.

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Then again, you could argue that all of what comes out today feels new to a younger audience too. Superhero movies are basically today’s equivalent of the Disney animated films from my youth, right? So Hollywood’s just spotted what’s bankable right now and can we really blame them for doing more of the same? Well… yes. Yes we can. Because we may not see it right now but we’re getting over these kinds of movies. Often for the same reason we’re all over the current Youth Novel trend. THESE STORIES ARE ALWAYS THE SAME. Paint it any way you like, superheroes are basically designed to be different but the same. They overcome their problems and defeat the villain, sometimes with growth. Generally without. Especially not with the average film clocking in at around two hours. And it’s so much more awfully apparent in these films now because the threats have become so unthreatening. Who was the baddie in Guardians? What was his plan? End the world and all life? And…? Why? Only to be defeated by our heroes who we know are going to win. That’s fine, but can the journey at least be interesting? No, kids, have a dancing baby Groot.

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So what? Stop adapting superhero comics? No no no, good god no. Let’s change it up. Right now the best things happening are not on the big screen anyway. In my opinion they’re on The CW. TV is and always will be the perfect medium for comic book adaptions. The format is perfect: 13 to 26 episode seasons allow us to see growth and development, seed long overarching plots that come together in later episodes and most importantly, get viewers invested in every member of the supporting cast. Just like in comics. The villain of the week formula is literally straight out of comics. Who would have guessed two years ago when Arrow launched that it would be where it is today? We now have over eight superhero shows out or in current screening and development. Some are bad (looking at you, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and some are downright brilliant (hey there, Arrow and The Flash). Now most of you are gonna yell at me that these shows look cheap and the actors aren’t as good and blah blah blah but you are wrong. The turnaround time on TV show production is utterly retarded. For reference, the minimal turnaround in post-production on something like Guardians is six months. An episode of Arrow has to be done in something more like five weeks. Yes, boys and girls, that’s editing, VFX, sound design and scoring in five weeks. And believe me, leading man Stephen Amell & co. are shooting that shit every second day for six months. And so you know that’s the same for Game of Thrones, except that has a massive budget, hence those lovely effects. It’s not just about the effects or the turnaround though.

Arrow has grown from its okay first season to its ‘why am I screaming at my TV with so much emotion’ second season. And it’s done so in a way no superhero movie has. Why? Good storytelling and world building. The show’s creators have a five season plan and it’s all coming together one episode at a time. Oliver Queen isn’t just dealing with saving the universe from a generic bad guy. He has to face problems that scale up to match his development over the course of several episodes of story. I mean, we got The Flash spinning out of Arrow and that show has been planting seeds for its season finale from episode one. It’s downright delicious already. Stop stealing my feels, Mr. Gustin.

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These shows are what comic book adaptations should be. We see the hero win an intense three-issue or episode long battle, but from the shadows we know someone is lurking and plotting who will only be revealed six episodes later. It’s the Samuel Jackson cameo in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with a payoff in the same season. Not four years later, if ever. TV also allows us to get away from the other limitations of film narratives. Supervillains are not meant to die because superheroes don’t kill. That rule’s tossed aside in movies because films require closure and, if the villain lives at the end he can always return for the sequel. In comic book land that is what you wait for because we never ever leave behind the second act of storytelling, but in movies it’s a no-no because we may not get a sequel.

Plus there’s the problem of something like Man of Steel, where a single director can ruin a character so that even if we get a sequel, we should really be asking if we want one or not. DC Entertainment keeps spinning the tale that we’ll never get a Batman or Superman TV series but, I’ll say it now: Bullshit. Within the next three years, we’ll see them on the backfoot again behind Marvel/Disney as they scramble to build a TV universe. I mean, I won’t lie to you, the upcoming Daredevil show on Netflix looks like it’ll be great.

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Basically, when you get down to it, as an audience we’re already growing tired of the ever-present comic book movies. Sure, there are still lots of stories to see and sure I’m going to watch them at the cinema. That’s what I do, after all. But I do feel like these films are draining me more and more with their “dark” and “gritty” retoolings, or just their general adherence to formula. Some things are meant for the big screen (here’s looking at you, Star Wars) and others are maybe meant for the small one (ahem… Star Trek) but one thing’s for sure, it sure seems like comics were made for TV and maybe it’ll all just implode and we’ll move onto the next thing. Manga adaptations, I guess? Which honestly wouldn’t be a bad thing either. We’ll always have actual comic books in the end.

The Future of Superheroes Is On The Small Screen was last modified: October 31st, 2014 by Jordan Koen

Jordan Koen

Blog dad. Video editor. Music editor.
Rating: Banned