What do you consider the first "modern" superhero movie?

[NinjaPug]

Not to take away from what X-Men did in 2000 but I feel like 2008 when Iron Man and The Dark Knight were released is what set us on the superhero movie path we're currently on.

[Spike Spiegel]

Skip to 1:20 to hear Richard Donner talk about superhero films today and his legacy.

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

I guess it depends what you mean with "modern superhero" movies. Blade made superheroes pop back on the list of being marketable after washing away the stank of Pyun's Captain America, Judge Dredd, Spawn, Steel and of course Batman & Robin.

Spawn is especially awful when you compare it to that fantastic animated series based on the same character that was airing on HBO at around the same time.

[Powder]

Originally Posted by NinjaPug

Not to take away from what X-Men did in 2000 but I feel like 2008 when Iron Man and The Dark Knight were released is what set us on the superhero movie path we're currently on.

I'd agree with that. There were different waves, if you will.

[T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!]

I would say the first Raimi Spiderman and the early X-Men movies really seemed to kick the whole "comic book movie" fad in to high gear. The first Batman from Burton was wildly successful but the avalanche of superhero movies really seemed to get kicked off at Spiderman or the X-Men movies.

[snake]

Spidey or X-Men for sure

[CyberCubed]

I don't even remember Iron Man 1. I didn't see it in theater and I first saw it on DVD/blu ray and even then I don't remember.

I actually didn't watch any Marvel films until Avengers came out in 2012. Leading up to that movie I figured I might as well watch all the movies the heroes originally appeared in so that movie would make sense.

Am I the only one who got into the Marvel universe late? Its weird because I watched all the X-men and Spiderman movies in theaters when they came out, but I didn't do the same for the Avengers movies. Maybe because I barely knew them.

[TurtleTitan97]

I'm gonna go with either Spider-Man (2002) or X-Men (2000)

[MikeandRaph87]

Superman The Movie (1978 ). 'Nuff said!

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87

Superman The Movie (1978 ). 'Nuff said!

I think that's a little too old to be modern.

[Spike Spiegel]

I think Captain America: The First Avenger deserves some kind of special mention due to how it did a historical '40s setting but never felt forced, kitschy, or campy. I hope whatever Wonder Woman film DC does is at least half as good.

Also, I don't know if this counts as a movie, but has anybody seen the pilot to the 1970s Hulk TV show? On paper that series should have looked awful and been written terribly, but they managed to adapt that character in a way that appealed to a very large demographic of people.

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I think that's a little too old to be modern.

[Turo602]

I feel like Batman, Spider-Man, Batman Begins and Iron Man were all important in shaping the modern superhero movie. I'd also give credit to The Avengers for paving the way for large scale superhero team up films.

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by Spike Spiegel

Also, I don't know if this counts as a movie, but has anybody seen the pilot to the 1970s Hulk TV show? On paper that series should have looked awful and been written terribly, but they managed to adapt that character in a way that appealed to a very large demographic of people.

The David Banner series is fantastic, the movies are great too although The Incredible Hulk Returns with Thor is a little corny, or... Thor is a little corny.

It's a shame The Trial of the Incredible Hulk didn't start a Daredevil series, cause he was pretty solid.

And they might be the first superhero movies that had a team-up that wasn't hero & sidekick

[ABrown]

Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87

Superman The Movie (1978 ). 'Nuff said!

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I think that's a little too old to be modern.

This goes back to what I said earlier in the thread about this topic being different for each person. If you were a teenager when the old Superman movie came out in 1978, then you'd likely consider it to be the first "modern" superhero movie.

[sdp]

The OP is missing Superman 1978 and Spider-Man 2002. Sure Superman is very old but it still has what made "modern superhero movies" become that, it was the first step of making a "realistic" movie. And for those that don't remember it was Spider-Man that created the new Boom for superhero movies, I still remember the news saying that "after the success of Spider-Man, _____ has been greenlit.". It started the wave of modern SH movies. Those two examples are far more relevant than Batman Begins or X-Men. I'd also argue Blade and X-Men have far more in common with 90s superhero movies than modern. If I really have to choose I think I'd say Spider-Man with Superman a close second it just depends how you want to define "modern".

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

The funniest part of it all is the 1989 Batman movie is like 26 years old. I wonder how old something can still be to consider it "modern."

The young kids of today who grew up in the late 90's and 2000's would probably scoff at some "80's movie" being modern. The kids of today turn their nose up at older stuff.

For what it's worth when I was a kid Batman 1989 was only a few years old and I always considered it "old". That way film looks in 80s movies is very distinct and as a kid I could easily recognize it and know it was an "old" movie.

It's definitely modern enough that many of my High School friends thought Batman Begins was a prequel to Batman '89 when that movie came out.

Originally Posted by Spike Spiegel

Spawn is especially awful when you compare it to that fantastic animated series based on the same character that was airing on HBO at around the same time.

Spawn was a great film for its time and only looks silly when compared to modern superhero movies. You can only argue that it was "neutered" to be PG-13 but whatever. Sure the HBO show was fantastic but how many people actually watched it? I didn't until the DVDs came out and found out about its existence; You can also argue that Batman: The Animated Series is fantastic and when compared to the Batman movies they are not as good as the cartoon.

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I don't even remember Iron Man 1. I didn't see it in theater and I first saw it on DVD/blu ray and even then I don't remember.

I actually didn't watch any Marvel films until Avengers came out in 2012. Leading up to that movie I figured I might as well watch all the movies the heroes originally appeared in so that movie would make sense.

Am I the only one who got into the Marvel universe late? Its weird because I watched all the X-men and Spiderman movies in theaters when they came out, but I didn't do the same for the Avengers movies. Maybe because I barely knew them.

Iron Man is easily the best Marvel movie to date and possibly the best superhero movie in general. It just worked out and had everything perfect which every post-Iron Man Superhero movie sans the Nolan trilogy has followed. I mean while comic fans knew who he was to the average person including me he was a nobody or C-List hero at best and this movie made him an instant A-list hero among Batman and Spider-Man. The movie was able to compete with The Dark Knight and that movies hype was through the roof. This movie was what convinced Disney CEO Bob Iger to buy Marvel and finally this movie also convinced Marvel to go ahead and gamble with their cinematic universe following the same formula this movie set up.

Definitely watch it again, maybe it doesn't feel as special when you watch all the other Marvel movies since they all basically copied it but it should still hold up without a problem. You were definitely late to the Marvel CU but I think most people did too, IIRC Captain America, Thor and The Incredible Hulk all did fine in the Box Office but weren't huge hits like the two Iron Man movies and people were unsure of how Avengers would do because of that since they thought only Iron Man was going to carry the film. Post Avengers all Marvel movies got a huge Box Office bump.

[Spike Spiegel]

So what's the first modern superhero movie you saw theatrically? How'd you react to the ad campaigns, tie-ins, etc? Did it feel like an "event"?

My dad took me to see Spider-Man twice in '02...I remember seeing the ads on Toonami and those insanely poseable ToyBiz action figures at Wal-Mart.

[sdp]

Originally Posted by Spike Spiegel

So what's the first modern superhero movie you saw theatrically? How'd you react to the ad campaigns, tie-ins, etc? Did it feel like an "event"?

My dad took me to see Spider-Man twice in '02...I remember seeing the ads on Toonami and those insanely poseable ToyBiz action figures at Wal-Mart.

That's probably worthy of its own thread, at least in movies in general. For me pretty much any big movie marketed at me felt like a huge event, if I saw the ads everywhere and promotions at fast food places and the movie all over the food at the supermarkets I knew it was for a reason.....it was a movie worthy of all that. Little did I know it was all marketing to get me to watch the movie but yeah everything that big seemed like a big event. First superhero movie I watched in theaters was Batman Forever, it probably wasn't as big of an event as other movies but I was definitely excited to watch it.

[CyberCubed]

Funny thing is wasn't Batman dead before Batman '89? I mean the comics were still going of course, but after 60's Batman he was pretty much gone besides the Superfriends cartoon.

Batman '89 completely revitalized the franchise. People often forget B:TAS was actually originally a tie-in cartoon to the movie. The theme song is from the movie, and Penguin's design is from Batman Returns.

[Spike Spiegel]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Funny thing is wasn't Batman dead before Batman '89? I mean the comics were still going of course, but after 60's Batman he was pretty much gone besides the Superfriends cartoon.

Batman '89 completely revitalized the franchise. People often forget B:TAS was actually originally a tie-in cartoon to the movie. The theme song is from the movie, and Penguin's design is from Batman Returns.

The comics had already been going through a renaissance starting with Neal Adams and Dennis O'Neil in the '70s. Factor in Frank Miller's work on Year One and Dark Knight Returns, as well as Alan Moore's Killing Joke, and the stage was set for Batman's live action portrayals to catch up with his evolution in the comics.

It's kind of like the improvements in Superman's characterization after the Donner films (with the Crisis on Infinite Earths saga happening in the mid-80s). A lot of the good things about Man of Steel had their genesis there.

I wonder (no pun intended) what will happen with Wonder Woman. The Lynda Carter series, as iconic as it was, happened pre-Crisis. It'll be interesting to see what they do with a modern retelling of her backstory for the moviegoers who don't watch the cartoons or read comics.

[Commenter 42]

Originally Posted by Amaranthus

Schindler's List.
Come at me.

This is why I love you.

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

The funniest part of it all is the 1989 Batman movie is like 26 years old. I wonder how old something can still be to consider it "modern."

The young kids of today who grew up in the late 90's and 2000's would probably scoff at some "80's movie" being modern. The kids of today turn their nose up at older stuff.

So true. Superman: the Movie is clearly the first modern superhero film. It set the Bar pretty damned high.
Anyone who doesn't know or care when that film came should show a little respect. It paved the way for all that came after.

[Spike Spiegel]

Originally Posted by Commenter 42

This is why I love you.



So true. Superman: the Movie is clearly the first modern superhero film. It set the Bar pretty damned high.
Anyone who doesn't know or care when that film came should show a little respect. It paved the way for all that came after.

^