The Future of "Hero" Cinema
- TafadzwaIs
- Apr 8
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 4
We're now a whole five phases into the Marvel cinematic universe (aka MCU), and its main comic book studio, DC, is still trying to establish its core cinematic universe, having recast actors' roles since the original Superman. Outside the comic book universe, movies have gradually increased the use of super-human, extra-terrestrial life on screen because of the rise of imaginative cinema. Box office hits like John Wick is a prime example of this rise, and although it is not based on comic fiction, the success is as if the film franchise has had a cult-like following from decades past.
MCU vs DCEU
Before breaking down the origin of DC and Marvel cinema, we first must establish what makes a film a film, as opposed to anything else. The meaning of movie (aka motion picture, film) is a production created to entertain, inform or inspire through the rapid series of projected still photographs or video clips.
Focusing solely on the transition from comic books to motion pictures, according to the Guinness World Book of Records and other sources, the first comic book superhero turned into a motion picture was 'The Adventures of Captain Marvel - 1941', the legacy DC superhero character, Billy Batson. A young boy given super-human abilities by wizard Shazam, who can turn super-human by saying the word, "Shazam!".
'Captain America - 1944' is Marvel's first motion picture, a film about the super soldier who defends the nation and world more broadly, championing American values and Justice above all. Today's fans would consider the first Marvel hero movie of the modern era as "Iron Man", one of the cornerstone heroes in the MCU. The main character, Tony Stark, has no special powers like others, but the super-human aspect comes from his mind and his forward-thinking inventions.
Notable Hero/ Protagonist Independent Franchises (non-comic book origin)
Looking at the universe outside the classic comic book-based movies, we've mentioned the hit franchise John Wick, but other franchises have managed to portray the beyond-human concept, including:
Zorro - 1920 - 2005
James Bond - 1962 - Present
Star Wars - 1977 - 2019
Indiana Jones 1981 - 2023
Rambo - 1982 - 2019
The Karate Kid - 1984 - 2025 (including the sequel TV series, 'Cobra Kai')
Die Hard - 1988-2013
Mission Impossible - 1996 - Present
Matrix - 1999-2024 (included as the comics were released hand-in-hand with the movie franchise, with Matrix 1 and the first comic release date, 'Goliath' both released months apart in 1999)
Riddick - 2000 - 2013
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - 2001 - 2018
The Bourne - 2002 - 2019 (Including the 'Treadstone' TV series)
Kill Bill: Volume 1 to 2 - 2003-2004
The rise of Comic Book Fandom
Before comic books existed, creative and fun cartoons were used in print publications (e.g. newspapers, periodicals, magazines). The evolution of these illustrations birthed the comic book fandom era.
One of the earliest comics was 'The Yellow Kid', which coined the phrase comic books, firmly establishing its identity separate from comic strips and cartoons like those before it.
"Set in the tenements of New York's Lower East Side, the comic chronicles the antics of a group of raucous working-class children. The kids were led by a scrappy young boy whose given name was Mickey Dugan but who quickly became known by the nickname "The Yellow Kid" after the mustard-colored nightshirt that he commonly wore."
The comic was so popular that it not only sparked the evolution of comic books but also the original artist of the comic strip - Richard Felton Outcault, was sought after by Joseph Pulitzer himself after having consumed his comics before hiring him to work at his newspaper publishing company, The New York World. It is worth mentioning that the social aspects of this comic, although relatable in the evidence of its popularity, also exemplified where society was at that point and how minorities (in this case, Asians) were viewed nearly exclusively as stereotypes.
"Mickey Dugan possesses a variety of physical features that echo common caricatures of Asians in general and the Chinese in particular: he has buck teeth, squinty eyes, and big ears."
The industry has come a long way since then, with the rise of anime's popularity in the animation and story-telling genre, a significant part of comic-book culture.
Returning to the modern-day comic book giants, it begins with DC's release of Superman, Action Comics (later DC Comics) #1 in 1938, followed by Timely Publications (later to be Marvel) #1 in 1939. Fast forward a near century, there are tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of superheroes, not only by the legacy studios but including other notable Comic-Book franchises such as:
Image Comics (characters including Omni-Man, Invincible)
Valiant Comics (characters including X-O Manowar, Livewire)
Wildstorm Productions/ Comics, a subsidiary under DC & Image Comics (characters including Holden Carver, WildCATS)
The integration of heroes/superheroes has resonated with the need to see more imaginative content on the big screen. We've seen non-comic book-based films become more creative (e.g., Tenet, the concept of the protagonist being able to save the world without special abilities).
A report from Wiseguy projects that the Comic-Con Market Size is expected to grow by 4.56% from 2024 to 2032, with the market size reportedly being 1.67 (USD Billion) in 2023, 1.75 (USD Billion) in 2024, and 2.5 (USD Billion) by 2032.
Comic Books Meet the Big Screen
The rise of comic book popularity also factors in the fact that over time, the subject has not stuck with the 'superhero' concept but has added genres that have made the event inclusive to all animation, comic, and live-action films. With the growing popularity of genres including Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, Anime, etc., box office sales show that comic-hero-based productions have grown in streams and box office sales.
For example, Ironman (2008), which had a budget of $140m to make an approximate box office gross of $585.3m, was a great starting point; fast forward to Marvel's most significant release, Endgame, with a budget of $356m and an approximate box office gross of $2.7b. On the DC side, going back to DC's modern-day era release of The Superman Returns (2006) with a budget of $270m and an approximate box office gross of $391m and fast forward with DC's most significant release, Aquaman having an approximate budget of $160m and an approximate box office of $1.1b. The growth trajectory matches the rise of fandom, but the figures do not lie when they show which fandom of the two comic franchises is winning.
The duel continues as both studios continue to release franchise superhero movies, with the latest coming out late last year or early this year and the next instalments due this year.
Latest MCU hero film - Captain America 4 (2025)
Latest DCEU hero film - Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)
Next MCU hero instalment - The Thunderbolts (May, 2025)
Next DCEU hero instalment - Superman (July, 2025)
We can appreciate how these genres have impacted society, with each franchise having its sub-franchisees beneath it, cult-like followings of merchandise, actor-specific casting fandoms, and even a significant following for franchise animations.
In this new era of the rise of non-comic-book independent films like John Wick and Tenet, fans are so engaged that they are happy to have their protagonist fantasies portrayed by anyone who can do it well. John Wick is a case in point example; having released their first movie a decade ago, it has its spinoff, Ballerina, releasing this year as the fifth movie under their franchise. Lionsgate confirmed at CinemaCon that John will be back for the fifth sequel alongside a future franchise instalment, another standalone movie based on 'Caine'.
There's no telling how long the comic-book-based cinematic universe will continue to be popular, but what is for sure is that it will last for the rest of the twenty twenties. Household superhero franchises such as Batman and Superman have movies due to be released shortly; Superman is set to release on July 11th this year, and The Batman Part II has a release date of 2027. some characters are engrained into film culture even after being recast and rebooted with up-and-down opinions from fans as time goes on.
Watch for our Film/ TV reviews in our CS - Review series.
Glossary
Anime... a style of Japanese animated film, TV or comics.
Box Office... the total revenue generated from ticket sales for a movie, used to assess the financial success of a film and the popularity of actors or productions.
Caricatures... a picture, description, or imitation of a person in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated.
Cartoon... an animation technique to photograph a sequence of drawings rather than real people or objects.
Comic... a means of providing entertainment (i.e. a person or drawings within an animated story.
Comic Book... a magazine or book that contains a set of stories told in pictures with a minimal amount of writing.
Comic-Con... a comic book convention or comic con is a fan convention emphasizing comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels, or college campuses.
Comic Strip... a sequence of drawings in boxes that tell an amusing story, typically printed in a newspaper or magazine.
Fantasy... a genre of fiction which typically deals magical or supernatural elements, often set in imaginary worlds.
Franchise... a production (gaming, film/TV) that is part of a collection of related media, or a media franchise.
Genre... a category of production or expression, usually featuring similar characteristics that make up that category.
Horror... a genre of fiction which typically deals with dark themes, supernatural elements, and psychological suspense.
Illustration... a picture, drawing or graphic that helps make something clear or attractive.
Industry... a group of companies that have similar business activities, which are typically grouped into larger categories called sectors.
Instalment... any of several parts of something which are to be published, broadcasted, or made public in over time.
Market Size... the total number of potential customers within a specific market who could buy a product or service, and the total revenue these sales could generate.
Modern Era... the period of human history following the Middle Ages, generally considered to have begun around the 15th century and continuing to the present.
Movie... a production created to entertain, inform or inspire through the rapid series of projected still photographs or video clips.
Print Publications... any work that is made available to the public in a printed format, like books, magazines, newspapers, or other documents
... the act of making information or stories available in a physical, printed copy.
Protagonist... the leading character or one of the major characters in a play, film, novel, etc.
Pulitzer (aka the 'Pulitzer Prize')… one of the annual prizes awarded for excellence in journalism, photojournalism, fiction and nonfiction books, drama, poetry, and music originating from famous newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer.
Sci-Fi... a genre of fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology.
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