Which comic book hero will reign supreme next year?

[metaphysician]

Originally Posted by cherokeesam

I think Superman wins, hands down, because ironically enough, Marvel and DC do a shift in 2013: DC goes for a real four-color superhero with Kal-El, while Thor and Iron Man get the Nolanite "dark and gritty" treatment. And I think that will backfire, to great effect for MOS, and disappointing numbers for IM and Thor.

Granted, Zack Snyder isn't Steven Spielberg; he's definitely dropped the ball on some great potential several times. But so has Spielberg --- *many* times. There's one thing that's a guarantee for Snyder: he is extremely faithful to the source material of whatever comic/graphic novel he's adapting, so it's a given that his Superman will be very authentic to the books --- far more so than Bryan Singer's crap, and even the Donner films, which quickly devolved into Joel Schumacher-like camp over several installments.

Avengers was lightning in a bottle, and the bulk of its success draws from the team aspect. That aspect is, of course, lacking in the solo films; and there's already reports that Feige and the filmmakers are trying to steer away from Avenger references to let IM and Thor stand on their own. This is *not* a particularly intelligent strategy, trying to distance yourself from a box-office gold mine.

I'll be glad to reassess my opinion once we start seeing trailers for IM, Thor and MOS; but for now, everything I've seen puts MOS miles ahead of the competition in 2013.

This goes contrary to all existing evidence. The Man of Steel footage as yet revealed is about as "Nolan-ish" as a movie involving a flying solar powered alien farm boy can possibly get, far from being "four color." Meanwhile, there's no reason yet to believe that either IM3 or Thor 2 goes for a dark, gritty tone contrary to prior pattern ( note that IM opened with him being imprisoned by guerillas in the mountains, bad things happening to Stark is not new ).