5. Tragic Villain Origins
The best episodes of the beloved Animated Series from the 90s, the ones everyone remembers, were the villain origins. This is ironic considering that these days the mandatory origin stories are one of the most complained-about aspects of superhero movies, something to get out of the way in order to get to the special-effects money-shots. However, when the sickening descent of some misguided soul into arch-villainy is the focus of the story rather than a rushed plot necessity, sparks can really fly. Figuring out new ways to tackle the versatile tragedy of characters like Harvey Dent (whose decline and fall in The Dark Knight always struck me as a little under-cooked) could provide real meat for a writing team.