A Thinker in Space

Superhero fatigue is a buzzword that has been tossed around quite a bit since the fall of the MCU. No matter what you think about the MCU movies that have released lately, they are surrounded by one inescapable fact – the fans who once netted these movies millions if not billions of dollars seem to have vanished. The question Marvel and Disney execs, along with the rest of the world, have been asking is “Why?”

Why indeed? Why is such a beloved franchise that once printed money suddenly floating belly-up? There are dozens of answers to this question that have been thrown around. One is that the Disney+ initiative simply hasn’t been profitable for Disney, and it has affected sales across the board, including box-office numbers (why go to the movies when you could watch it at home in 1-3 months?). Another is that theaters simply haven’t been doing as well since the shutdown, and that people haven’t fully recovered socially from their time in quarantine. Still another is the behind-the-scenes drama that led to significant story changes throughout the past couple years.

But possibly the most popular explanation is this concept of “superhero fatigue”. This concept is pretty self-explanatory – in a world that is over-saturated with superhero content, mainstream viewers are sick of the genre. They want something fresh, instead of more good guys and bad guys punching each other in latex suits. If this is the case, the solution would be to slow down production and release. Then, people would start being excited about these movies again, right?

Wrong. Might this help? Sure. But it doesn’t actually fix the problem. I would posit that the reason these types of movies and shows have been struggling IS because of superhero fatigue, but not for the reasons that these executives are claiming. The root of the problem is not the superhero, or the franchise, or the popular heroes. The root of the problem, I believe, is simple. People are sick not of superheroes, but of mediocrity.

This is what drives people away from popular franchises. Superhero fatigue is a symptom of this disease. The truth is, the average viewer has does have superhero fatigue, but only because in his or her mind, superheroes have become linked with subpar writing and poorly executed plot lines.

The past few years have not done much to garner viewer faith in superheroes. We’ve had some standout films, sure, but the poorly executed DCU and the dramatic controversy that went on behind the scenes resulted in a series where most of the films were mediocre, with some exceptions. The MCU has been a shining pinnacle of superhero films since its debut in 2008 with the film Iron Man, but it soon fell victim to a problem it would struggle with from then all the way until now – repetitive storytelling. An MCU movie is pretty easy to spot. The recipe might have slightly different flavors and variations, but the ingredients are pretty recognizable. You have your superhero, probably troubled by personal issues that get in the way of him being the hero he is supposed to become. You have a villain whose character is “I am a bad guy” and if you ask him why he will say “Because I am a bad guy.” You have an ending where the Bad Guy™ sends a CGI army against the Good Guy™ team, and then a showdown where the Bad Guy™ and the Good Guy™ get into a flashy laser battle where the Good Guy™ wins and either the Bad Guy™ is killed either by his own mistakes or simply disappears for a while so that he can show up in a sequel. Then, everyone lives happily ever after until the mid-credits scene where there is another conflict brewing that everyone should stop by the theaters next year to watch.

Now, maybe I’m just a sucker for superhero stories, but to me, this formula does not make a movie bad, though it might be a tad unoriginal. The problem comes when this formula is used over, and over, and over again. This type of media has diminishing returns, and this is where Marvel has started struggling. The problem is, not only have they continued to release formulaic content, but the storywriting that made the MCU successful has become more and more lax, giving us scenes where Captain America kiiiind of sides with terrorists and offers this mind-blowing solution to a major issue that many nations are facing: “Do better.”, and where a beloved character snaps off-screen and becomes a psychotic villain after receiving some incredible character development in the opposite direction. You end up with plot lines that alienate fans and turn away causal viewers. You end up with the MCU in its current state, gasping for breath and desperately needing revival to survive.

The problem is that the average viewer has lost his trust in Disney and Warner Bros., assuming now that all of the films and shows coming out are going to be in the same vein. Because of this, shows and movies that are truly remarkable are not going to make as much money as they used to. They simply aren’t. In order to get viewers back into theater seats, directors and producers need to win back their trust, and that’s not an easy thing to do when so many people have given up on the genre.

There is hope, though. Good writers are still out there, and are still making superhero content. Into and Across the Spider-verse are proof enough that superhero content can still be relevant and interesting, even in a world of superhero fatigue. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 filled the theaters as James Gunn struck gold (again) and released a fantastic finale to his Guardians trilogy. X-Men ’97 just wrapped up an absolutely incredible season (keep an eye out for a review on this) that left viewers breathless. Good superhero content can still be made, but in order to succeed in today’s climate, it cannot simply be average. Writers and directors must seek to produce something memorable, remarkable, original. The candy-coated popcorn days of the unsatisfyingly repetitive MCU are over – it’s time to innovate or die. This is why the movie and show production should slow down. Not because people are sick of superheroes, but because in order to gain viewership, superhero movies need to have higher standards then they have been showcasing the past few years.

Unfortunately, currently it feels like the MCU is slowing down their release simply to slow it down, rather than to spend the time making quality content. I hope this is not the case, but my trust in this franchise has been diminishing for quite a while, making it an effort to watch anything related to this series instead of thrilling and exciting like it used to be. I have superhero fatigue, and it’s not because I don’t still love superheroes, it’s because I’m sick of movies and shows that are just average, or worse, actively bad. There are other things I could be doing with my time than watching the latest mediocre release.

My shred of hope for the future lies in James Gunn’s new DC universe. Is it guaranteed to be a success? No. But James Gunn is known for innovating and creating something out of spare parts that excites audiences and gets them interested and invested. I believe there is a possibility that the Gunnverse has the potential to outshine the MCU in the long term, though, as I said, in order to be successful, the execs need to win back viewer trust, a process that will not be easy. Superman might be an incredible movie, and might underperform at the box office. That would be okay – it might take more than one film to convince viewers that superhero movies can still be good. The problem is, I don’t trust Warner Bros. enough to accept this reality, and my fear is that James Gunn will strike gold (again) and Warner Bros. won’t see the big numbers and will kill the franchise before it begins.

For now, all we can do is watch and see the way that these movies and franchises progress, and hope that cooler heads and creative minds can win out over those who simply want to mass-produce the same tired films and content that viewers have already rejected. Superhero fatigue might be real, but it doesn’t have to be permanent. Personally, I am hoping for a future where superhero content makes a startling return, once again being synonymous with good stories, deep characters, and interesting villains.

I guess we will have to wait and see what the future holds!