INSTEP Magzine

The number power
Iron Man, playing in cinemas in Pakistan, has opened the floodgates to yet another summer of superhero films. And this one is promising to outdo last year.

Not that one isn’t amused to see Robert Downey Jr as a superhero (come on, it’s a little strange) but it still brings one question to mind: do we need another superhero?
A smug arms billionaire who ends up fighting for the world is Iron Man. Take the smugness and arms out of it and add more inner demons and one has the story of Batman. Throw in an experiment gone wrong and one has the story of Fantastic Four in the making.

Iron Man is already out and its success at the global box office has convinced the makers that a sequel is necessary. In other words, they are hoping to cash in on the freshness of Iron Man all over again next year.

Last year’s success of Spider-Man led to an even bigger increase in studio’s itch for superheroes.
So for every Wanted and The Dark Knight, there are ten useless men in spandex saving the world.
Our introduction to superheroes really began in the '70s with Superman, played to perfection by the late Christopher Reeve. But what seemed exciting and fresh at first has now become a Hollywood formula for millions of dollars.

And that is exactly why umpteen numbers of films continue to be churned out by Hollywood year after year.

This year Iron Man was the first. Batman: The Dark Night, Hellboy II: The Golden Army: Punisher: War Zone, The Incredible Hulk and Wanted are set for the big screen in the next three months.

And while I’m all for watching Angelina Jolie donning guns and performing some incredibly twisted sequences in blood and gore, it does seem a bit too much.

In the end, all superheroes slash the baddies and return again and again to kick some butt. What is really the point? Promoting the myth of superheroes or the ideology that good will always triumph evil… these are just characters and ideas driven from vivid imagination of brilliant writers.

The fact is that comic books are hardly stupid. Barring Archie comics where Archie and gang are always 16, comics such as X-Men, Spider-Man as well as various others take a tight stab at the realities of today’s world.

In comic books, it is fascinating but when translated on the big screen, it suddenly feels overdone because we keep seeing the same things.

Last year marked the return of Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, X-Men, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer as well as the initiation to Ghost Rider, The Incredibles to name a few. This year the trend is just growing.

And please let us not forget ultra disastrous films like Daredevil, Electra, Catwoman. In fact, Catwoman made one re-think about Halle Berry’s ability to judge a script.

Superhero versus super humans
What Hollywood studios often fail to understand is that there is no need for another superhero rising from some comic book or graphic novels?
With films like James Bond franchise, Bourne franchise, Mission Impossible franchise, Indiana Jones franchise and even shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Tru Calling, there are enough super human out there.

Perhaps the only difference between a superhero and super human are the abilities. While superheroes have "powers", the humans are strong, skilled and gifted more so then the rest of mankind.

And in the end, they are superheroes too. How else can Ethan Hunt from Mission Impossible franchise fight off so many men who are geared up with guns and bombs and comes out as good as new?
How else can James Bond fight the way he does and still be alive? Agreed that the new James Bond played by the gorgeous and super talented Daniel Craig is a far improvement on the last few films, he is still, in the end, alive and kicking and ready to bash skulls in a sequel in the coming months.
On television, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which went on for seven seasons and is still a hot re-run favourite, is another huge example.

Personally the show was hot. Sexy vampires, dysfunctional relationships, painful love and lots of action, it was pure adrenaline rush. But look closely and see that Buffy played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, the woman who slays vampire because she is "strong" dies twice in the show and is resurrected from the dead, literally.

Matt Damon as the amnesiac super CIA agent on the move in Bourne franchise is one other example. While Paul Greengrass sure knows how to keep one glued to the screen, the fact is that here is a man who dodged the most powerful intelligence agency in the world for a third time without any help and sheer skill. It is a little unsettling.

With super humans like Jason Bourne and Indiana Jones, is there a need to resurrect more superheroes?

Bite the dust
Clark Kent is not just restricted to the big screen. While Brandon Routh was flying away to Krypton in that ridiculously tight costume of his in the rather painful Superman Returns, another Clark Kent was coping with the loss of his father in Smallville.

In simple terms, there is Clark Kent on the big screen and there is a show on Superman when he was a teenager still running on television, titled Smallville.

Similarly Batman and Spiderman cartoons can be found on Cartoon Network easily.

And these are not the only heroes.

The super hit American show from NBC, Heroes is also… about yes, heroes!
While Heroes is far smarter than say more than half of the cape-wearing, "tormented" heroes of the big screen, it is also a show about superheroes.

But Heroes is intelligent. It tackles issues that range from corporate corruption to terrorism, racism and the difficult years of adolescence.

However, not all shows and films are intelligent.

Take for instance the Batman franchise. From George Clooney to Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer, three of Hollywood’s finest actors have played the role of Batman.

But the finest Batman film remains Batman Returns, directed by Christopher Nolan which sees Christian Bale as the hero.

From its conception to the cast, cinematography and acting, it was an incredibly powerful film.
Not only did it consolidate the prowess of Christian Bale as one of the hottest actors to watch for, it also delivered on the real Batman phenomenon, the journey from Bruce Wayne to Batman.

Can they do justice?
Superheroes may well be about justice and continue to fight for the good versus evil battle but when it comes to real translation from graphic novel or comic book to the big screen, few films deliver.

Of the current projects coming up, one that is worthy of a watch will be Wanted.

Having seen the making (on YouTube) it is safe to say that the creators are putting a true adaptation where every sequence matches the storyboard in the graphic novel.

But Batman: The Dark Knight and Wanted are only two examples. One ended up hating Hulk simply due to the horrible adaptation of it on the big screen.

As if that trauma wasn’t enough, a new Hulk is coming out later this year.

In the pipeline
Other films that we will see in the years include Transformers 2, Iron Man 2, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Magneto, The Green Hornet, Superman Returns sequel, The Spirit, Wonder Woman, The Phantom, The Shadow, Spider-Man 4, Sub-Mariner, Shazim!, The Mighty Thor and there are other untitled projects as well.

The superhero formula does work. Make no mistake when Hollywood studios argue that these films make money. 312 million dollars went alone to Spider-Man 3 and this was enough to roll on a fourth film.

Iron Man minted magic. A recent report on its global earnings suggests an intake of 512 million dollars.
Last year’s runaway hit Transformers became the highest grossing film in China, leading Chinese filmmakers to ask for a ban on Hollywood films.

It should be remembered that audiences are no fool. Ang Lee’s The Incredible Hulk had a budget to 132 million dollars and it made 137 million dollars on the box office. The profit: a lousy 5 million dollars. For an independent film, 5 million is like gold but for a studio, it is peanuts.

Then why do these films get made? Simple, out of ten, even if five work and the other five cover their costs, it’s a win-win for Hollywood bigwigs.

Its another case altogether that as audiences we do need a break and I mean seriously a break from such films. Because with a handful of superheroes, one is intrigued enough to see the film. With capes flying around in every direction, it feels like, you’ve seen, you’ve seen them all.

The consequence is that decent films get wasted such as V for Vendetta.

In the end, there is no running away from men and women in spandex.

But perhaps it is time for Tobey Maguire and friends to keep that costume aside and make way for exciting and original superheroes such as Hancock!