Who launched the 21st century superhero movie revolution?

[Immortalfire]

There seems to be difference of opinion among fans as to what got the modern superhero genre going, but most seem to agree it was one of these three.



I think each of them played a part, but is there one particular that made viewers and studios alike realize “hey, these can really go somewhere!”

 

[Prison Mike]

I feel like X-Men opened the doors to the superhero movie revolution (for Marvel). X-Men led to Spider-Man which really blew things up for the genre.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

I'd also go with X-Men. Blade was very good but I'm not sure GAs would have identified that as a superhero movie. More of an action/horror.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

Blade (day)walked so that X-Men and Spider-Man could run.

 

[Neil McCauley]

Definitely Spidey

 

[Doctor Jones]

Spider-Man. Not enough credit is given to Blade and X-Men for doing their part but Spider-Man was the first film post B&R to really embrace the material and not try to shy away from it in fear of it being silly or was limited. You had the first director who was an accomplished idiosyncratic choice but was a legit fan. But it is also a ****ing great movie. Blade and X-Men are good but not on the level of Spider-Man.

 

[Drizzle]

Blade being a success made X-Men possible, and X-Men’s success led studios to greenlight movies such as Spider-Man, Daredevil and Hulk. But had Spider-Man not been the monster hit that it was, the genre may look a lot different today. Certainly on the Marvel side. Credit has to be given to Blade and X-Men, but Spidey did it best.

 

[The Batman]

Spider-Man.

Money talks. Blade and X-Men were modest BO successes. Spider-Man broke box office records and was a huge BO hit.

Also, Raimi Spidey was the first CBM superhero since Donner Supes and Burton Bats that made a large impact on the popular culture.

 

[jmc]

I'd say X-Men was the turning point but Spider-Man took it to the next level. For as good as Blade is the reality is it was never looked at as a superhero film. It probably gets unfairly looked over but the reality is he was never a mainstream brand like the other two were. That said, they probably all help in one way shape or form. How we got to where we are now may very well have started with these three but I would genuinely argue Batman Begins was the real turning point, because it was the first time superheroes were looked at in a respectful way. Up until then there was a lot of crap in between X-Men and Spider.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

The Avengers is what changed pop culture as a whole.

After it opened I went to the mall and there were women dresses with a comic book print all over them. Plus every other person had a superhero T-shirt. I knew something had changed.

 

[Shinobi Shaw]

The Avengers is what changed pop culture as a whole.

After it opened I went to the mall and there were women dresses with a comic book print all over them. Plus every other person had a superhero T-shirt. I knew something had changed.

This is true. They put some kind of witchcraft in the MCU.

All of a sudden B and C List superheroes are household names and everyone knows what Wakanda and Infinity Gems are.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I think Blade made Hollywood realize superhero movies were viable beyond A-listers.

X-men made Hollywood realize Marvel films could be successful.

Spider-man made Hollywood realize comic book movies were a goldmine.

The Avengers created the recent crossover craze in Hollywood.

But I'd say The Avengers was one of things that made geek culture cool along with The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and countless video games.

 

[jmc]

This is true. They put some kind of witchcraft in the MCU.

All of a sudden B and C List superheroes are household names and everyone knows what Wakanda and Infinity Gems are.

And yet comic books themselves have failed to reach new heights. The one thing about the age of superheroes on film is that both DC and Marvel have failed to bring in new readership and audience at a time where it should been easy to do so.

 

[psylockolussus]

FoX-Men. I didn't know Blade is based from the comiXs until I read it in the internet. Also, prior to X-Men 1, I already knew the merry mutants from the cartoon and videogames.

 

[metaphysician]

And yet comic books themselves have failed to reach new heights. The one thing about the age of superheroes on film is that both DC and Marvel have failed to bring in new readership and audience at a time where it should been easy to do so.

From what I recall, that's not *quite* accurate. . . rather, they have periodically succeeded in bringing in new readers thanks to the massive media exposure. They just proceed to periodically drive those new readers back away again, whether with terrible messes of baroque crossover storytelling, cancelling books popular with new readers because they don't sell as much as 70 year old legacy characters in six issues, or refusing to supply product in a manner fitting for the current millenium.

Basically, the comic book industry as such is *deeply* inbred, and does its best to stay that way.

 

[Asr]

I was 15 when Blade came out, and the primary reason I didn't see it in theaters at the time was because it was advertised as more of a horror movie and rated R. So my parents didn't let me see it back then, and I actually haven't seen it yet either since it's just one of those movies I keep forgetting about. Also IIRC, the marketing around the movie wasn't great either, and made it look less than great. It didn't really catch my interest back then either. Although Spider-Man TAS was airing back then as well and had Blade in a few episodes, I never made the connection it was the same character.

I agree that X-Men is what fueled the revolution, and Spider-Man just made it more popular. For me X-Men was one of the first movies I got to see in a theater without one of my parents, and I'd also add that it really helped that X-Men TAS came before it. The TAS introduced me to the characters, so when the movie's marketing started, it became a movie that I really wanted to see.

Likewise for Spider-Man TAS, which introduced the character for me and got me pumped to see the movie. I think if Blade had been more prominent in the series, it might've helped more people been aware of the character. For me I pretty much didn't know who he was at the time, so I had little interest in the movie.

I'd be willing to bet most of the average movie-going audience had no idea who Blade was when that movie came out, and probably considered it as more of a horror movie, because I certainly did. Plus the movie's rating probably didn't help its box office. IMO, part of X-Men's success was its PG-13 rating, plus the fact it already had a fanbase from the TAS, and thus way more people knew about it, including parents of the millennials who grew up on that show.

 

[Iceman]

It was all of those 3 in combination IMO. Blade started the recovery at the riskiest time, and then X-Men's success set up Spider-man to hit the home run for the CBM genre and complete the recovery (and also set the stage for a much larger future and period of dominance).

 

[KaijuDude1992]

I would also say all three served an equal part in the growing success and popularity of superhero movies, but man Blade really deserves the most credit here IMO considering the era it came out. Outside of Batman which pretty much dominated the early to mid 90's it didn't seem like general audiences cared all that much about other superhero movie properties, especially the really obscure ones, but Blade changed that approach entirely.

I mean it was the perfect combination of being a quality film on top of having a bonafide 90's action star like Wesley Snipes in the lead role. I don't want to sound bias because its by far my favorite film of the three choices, but considering how grim things looked the year before after bad/sub par superhero films like Spawn, Steel and Batman & Robin had come out it is nothing short of a miracle that audiences weren't more skeptical or on the fence about it upon its release.

Saying all that though I'd be foolish not to also give Spider-Man and X-Men the credit they deserve because without them we would never have gotten to where we are now with MCU becoming what it is today or a movie like The Avengers breaking all kinds of BO records. Simply put and as others have stated, I believe Blade started it, but Spider-Man and X-Men took it to a whole other level by helping these movies appeal to a massive, global audience.

 

[scarlet-witch]

I think Spider-man probably kicked it off because it was the most accessible to the general audience, but I feel like X-men and Blade on their own deserve a lot of credit as well.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Spider-Man. X-Men was an important step as far as seeing superheroes taken seriously as opposed to the more camp fantasy of the Batman and Superman movies. But what makes things go is the big bucks, and it was Spidey that exploded and showed how financially lucrative the genre could be. I don't think Blade was that significant.

 

[Immortalfire]

X-Men put their foot in the proverbial door, but I feel Spidey really kicked it open.

in 1998, I was along many who didn’t even realize Blade was a marvel character. And even if I had known, I wouldn't have had much interest in a vampire movie.

 

[Mandon Knight]

I think all 3 have a valid 'input' to this question. For me, though, the answer goes back way before the 21st Century aspect. It was Superman the Movie that enabled us to have what we have today.

 

[jmc]

From what I recall, that's not *quite* accurate. . . rather, they have periodically succeeded in bringing in new readers thanks to the massive media exposure. They just proceed to periodically drive those new readers back away again, whether with terrible messes of baroque crossover storytelling, cancelling books popular with new readers because they don't sell as much as 70 year old legacy characters in six issues, or refusing to supply product in a manner fitting for the current millenium.

Basically, the comic book industry as such is *deeply* inbred, and does its best to stay that way.

Which is inherently the problem. The moment The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers became billion dollar films should have been the moment comics capitalised on what was happening outside of their industry. The last 10 years should have been a golden period for comics, not just existing heroes, but for completely original ideas too, but they've squandered it. Now, most of the new ideas and concepts are going to Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Keanu Reeves just released a comic book campaign for crying out loud and made a crap load of money from it. The audience is clearly there, it's just the people at DC and Marvel don't seem to want to capitalise on it, and I don't understand why. The rise of superheroes on film has been the biggest missed opportunity in comic book history.

 

[Iceman]

X-Men put their foot in the proverbial door, but I feel Spidey really blew it open.

in 1998, I was along many who didn’t even realize Blade was a marvel character. And even if I had known, I wouldn't have had much interest in a vampire movie.

I don’t think Blade’s importance was in bringing CBM acceptance to the GA, more so that it turned the head of film studios to the fact that CBMs might be worth another shot after they all got scared off with B&R.

 

[KaijuDude1992]

Blade being such an obscure character yet still becoming a hit had to instill more confidence in studios back then considering the dismal results from the year before.

X-Men and Spider-Man would have always been easier sells because of the popularity of the comics and the 90's cartoons and I don't believe single person during the early 2000's wouldn't have known who they were, especially if they were really into superheroes or comics at the time.

I cant say the same about Blade though, because honestly if you hadn't read the comics I doubt most people even knew who he was including me. Snipes being the face of that movie had to help it a lot as well.