10 Factors that Could Kill Super Heroes in Hollywood
by Reg Seeton

3. Crap:

There may come a time - and it might be here sooner than we think - when there could be so many sub-par super hero movies coming down the pike that fans will lose faith in the genre. Actually, you can take some of the factors already mentioned on this list and roll them into one neat pile called "eventual crap". I remember having long discussions with other webmasters prior to the release of X-Men and almost everyone was in agreement - it's only going to take a few consecutive stinkers to render our favorite super heroes powerless in Hollywood. Obviously it hasn't happened yet, but in relation to #10 and "Time", eventually the day might come when you won't be able to pitch a super hero project to anyone in Hollywood without someone laughing you out of an office. That's when it'll all come full circle. We're not sure how many actual nails it takes to hammer a coffin shut, but, in relation to the many upcoming super hero based movies in the works, just imagine a string of eight or nine potential super hero stinkers at the box-office over a two year period. We're not sure if the combined forces of Wolverine, Iron Man, Spidey, and Batman would be able to save the super hero day if that happens.

2. Hollywood:

Just like with every hot commodity in Hollywood, super heroes are the current "flavors of the day." It wasn't that long ago when a super hero flick couldn't make its money back no matter how big the marketing campaign. There was a time when a Spider-Man movie was only a dream and most hardcore fans threw their hands up in the air in resignation over the fact that it would never happen. When the floodgates opened after the first X-Men film, Hollywood execs quickly began to jump on the bandwagon when it was proven that super hero movies could turn a huge profit. All one needs to do is look back at the many super hero properties that were resurrected from development hell and given a green light since. Looking ahead to the future, fans can expect a lot more super hero based properties to find their way into theaters. From the studio side of the fence, you can't really fault a business for wanting to cash in on the action. However, as much as studio insiders can blame fans for poor ticket sales or overblown internet hype, Tinseltown has to shoulder much of the blame when the super hero bubble eventually bursts. In the end, like the assembly line of remakes and Asian horror in recent years, Hollywood will eventually cannibalize the super hero sub-genre until there's nothing left. It's just the nature of the beast.

1. The Buck Stops Here:

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the day our favorite super heroes fail to turn a profit at the box-office is the day the sun will set on the current trend that we're enjoying at this moment in time. Given the resurgence and popularity of the comic book and graphic novel industries, super hero movies will never go away entirely. Given the financial success of Iron Man, the super hero trend is alive and well on the big screen for another few years. Still, when you think of truly successful super hero movies as compared to the many attempts in recent years, only four franchises have risen to the top in our modern era - Batman, X-Men, Spider-Man, and now Iron Man. That's certainly not a lot given the amount of super hero properties that have been pushed into some phase of development. Since each studio (big or small) is looking for their own mega-franchise, it's doubtful that a lot of others will turn out to be big money makers on the same scale. Think about it... Warner Brothers has Batman (and Superman), 20th Century Fox has the X-Men universe (not to mention Fantastic Four), Sony Pictures has Spider-Man, and Paramount now has Iron Man. If all goes well with The Incredible Hulk this summer, Universal Pictures will have a revived Hulk franchise. In the end, to a large degree, all of those projects have proven to be safe money makers for their respective studios. Why take a chance on an unproven entity when you can always rely on your safe bet? The fact is, studios won't need to take the gamble. Still, it's not going to stop more from coming down the pike. Like we mentioned earlier in this list, it might be a string of potential super hero stinkers that fail to produce at the box-office that brings the big boys to their knees. Thankfully, we're not there yet.