Is the Caped Crusader the greatest superhero in the history of film?
A visit to your local multiplex will show that right now, superhero movies are in. In truth, they’ve been in vogue for the past few years with super franchises such as The Dark Knight series and the Iron Man trilogy getting widespread acclaim from the most respected critics on the planet as well as huge box office takings.
The latest film in the Iron Man trilogy, Iron Man 3, has equalled the success of the first two parts. Thanks to a stellar performance from Robert Downey Jr in the lead role and a compelling yet entertaining storyline, it seems that the days of the formulaic plotline and predictable super-villains are well and truly over for superhero movies.
Is Superman back?
Later this summer, the latest attempt to reboot the Superman franchise, Man of Steel, will hit cinemas. After the last film flopped badly in box offices around the world, there’s a good chance that the team behind this film will have learned from past mistakes. There are rumours that the new film will take its cue from more modern films by being a little bit darker and more complex.
If so, how will it compare to classics of the genre? When it’s released it will almost instantly be compared with the best superhero films of all time, possibly unfavourably. Ladbrokes Games recently conducted a survey that found moviegoers rated The Dark Knight as the greatest superhero of all time – 19% of men and women chose it ahead of sequel The Dark Knight Rises.
Caped controversy
In the past, some superhero films have gained notoriety for very different reasons. Some gained unwanted headlines because they strayed too far from the original movie, while others made the news because they were so bad – this can be said about some of the Batman films during the early 90’s, especially Catwoman.
Some superhero films, according to the survey, aren’t too popular. Unsurprisingly, when asked what their least favourite movie was, Catwoman came out on top with 22% of the vote. Despite that, 30% of guys said they would like to date Catwoman more than any other superhero. Wonder Woman came second on the list with 25% of the vote.
Superheroes should usually have a cool vehicle to drive, and many polled agreed. Even though it wasn’t given a prominent role in some of the more recent movies, 62% of people said the Batmobile was the coolest superhero vehicle of all time!
