7. The Blossoming of the Superhero Genre
The 90s were not the kindest to comic book characters, despite some fantastic animated television shows. Primarily, we were given Batman films laden with schlocks and Bat-nipples, and it quickly seemed to turn the genre sour. However, after a successful stint with the X-Men, Sam Raimi's
Spider-Man blew open the doors for a massive influx of superhero movies that found good standing with the public. And while not all the outings were exceptional, it certainly was never a better time to be a comic book fan...so imagine being a kid. As of this date since 1998,
fifty-five superhero or comic book movies have been made and seen theatrical release. For kids who grew up hearing about Spider-Man and Batman, and only seeing them as cartoons on Saturday morning, being able to see these heroes on the big screen for the first time was nothing short of legendary. And they just kept coming. And getting bigger and bigger. Up until the point where two superhero movies in 2012 broke the billion dollar mark at the box office (
The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises) and both met extreme critical and commercial acclaim. We started with Spider-Man and ended up with a mature, dark conclusion to a well-connected Batman trilogy and the four year progress of a rag-tag team of heroes called
The Avengers. We saw two, classic Alan Moore graphic novels get fantastic adaption (and we sat through
From Hell and
LXG, too), and we were given a legendary, Oscar-winning performance from Heath Ledger as one of the most infamous villains of all time.