The TV superhero genre is currently in one of its most interesting stages. All possible companies have done experiments with their titles – some have taken risks, some less – and today we can finally start to see the conclusions from those experiments.
The era of comic book movies began in the 60s through series like the mythical “Batman” (starring Adam West) and some Marvel experiments with the movies. In 1989, when Tim Burton directed the first Batman films, he seemed to find the formula, but it was soon discovered that the formula was constantly changing, so it was only natural that the platform also changed, leading to the current era where superhero stories move to the small screen.
If one tries to map out the still evolving genre, one can see two completely different poles: one is the Marvel series, meaning light-hearted superhero series rated for ages 13 and up. And the other is works such as “The Boys”, a satirical and violent series in which the superheroes have no limits, and so does evil. And even when these two poles seem very distant from each other, they both actually affect each other, and the superhero genre as a whole.
The “Avengers” film series was the opening shot of the current era of comic book films, one that also opened the market to more companies, but also led to the transition to television. The “Arrow” may have overtaken Marvel, but the latter’s “SHIELD Agents” was an experiment – One that may have survived six seasons and not really succeeded, but also not really failed. On the contrary, he was the opening for series like “Daredevil,” which Netflix-sponsored broke out The glass ceiling of the age limit and display “mature” and darker content. DC also continued to try their luck on TV with the CW universe, but in the battle for the small screen there was no competition – Marvel won hugely, proving that it controls both screens. That is, until the checkpoint is breached.
But behind the two comic book giants (Marvel and DC) also slipped some new players to the small screen. “The Walking Dead,” which began as early as 2010, became one of the most beloved (and longest) series on television and then in 2016 came the “Pricher” series, a television adaptation of Vertigo’s comic about the preacher wandering around the U.S. in search of God with his beloved and vampire A few hundred years old.
Although Vertigo is owned by DC, it is an external movement that does not come from the universes of the more familiar series. In the TV timeline, “Preacher” was the first television series based on a comic book about divinity, faith and the relentless pursuit of hidden meaning. This is a violent and subversive series, completely different from anything that has been in the landscape until that year, and no doubt prepared the ground for the “boys”.
In 2019 she almost popped out of nowhere the madness called The Boys, and completely turned the “good superhero” narrative with the help of the classic “Superman Goes Crazy” scenario. The extreme violence of the series, along with its bluntness and its political and social criticisms, made the series one of the most refreshing phenomena on screen.
Marvel has also responded to the changes that have taken place in these years with the Disney + series – first, “Wanda-Vision”, then “Loki” and then comes “Falcon and the Winter Soldier”, three series that feel like more of the same thing Marvel already knows how to do. “Moon Knight,” on the other hand, already felt like it did not belong in the cinematic universe in any way.
The series, which aired at Disney + at the end of last March, featured a story about a mercenary with a split personality who works as an emissary of an ancient Egyptian god. Aside from Oscar Isaac’s excellent acting, one can see the impact of series like “The Boys” as expressed in a more mature and complex plot, and in the violence uncharacteristic of Marvel’s content. For the first time in years, blood could be seen on screen in a title belonging to Marvel. They are finally starting to mature.
Marvel is the one who opened the door to the competition, she is the one who set the tone, but in the end, she is not protected from the effects of the competition itself. At the moment, Marvel continues to focus on TV series and introduce us to new heroes, but the competition is intensifying and in the future may get complicated, so we will have to – like Loki – split the future timeline into three:
The future according to Marvel
Marvel’s timeline is planned years ahead. The series “Miss Marvel” has recently come up, and during August we will also get “She Hulk”, and another series – which I personally am very excited about – “I am great”. Kevin Paige, the man behind the cinematic universe, said that in the coming months it will be clear to fans what will happen in Phase 5 and it seems that the current phase, Phase 4, is expected to end in 2023. The series that will sign this stage is a series about Wakanda, whose name and release date have not yet been announced. The film division does deal with multiverse, but the consequences are already coming to the comic book series, and if Marvel’s goal is to unite its various universes (that is, bring the X-Men and the Fantastic Four “), then it only makes sense that the fifth stage would deal, like comics, with the genre. Of a civil war between the Avengers and the X-Men, which is likely to be expressed on television as well.
The future according to DC
Along with developing more titles for the CW such as “Gotham Knights”, which is slated to be released in 2023, DC’s cinematic universes are also getting a place on TV and through a network that I think is a bit better than the rest: HBO. “Fishmaker,” the first Swallow there, presented an addictive story with high-paced action and was renewed for a second season. At the same time, we are expected to get two different series related to the movie “Batman” with Robert Pattinson – not much is known about the first, but it is already clear that it will focus on the prisoners of the infamous Harkham Asylum, and I bet it will be based on the comic book “Batman: Joker’s Asylum”. , In each issue, about another villain who is inside the infamous institution, but from the Joker’s point of view.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnUkN3h9yQw
The second series will focus on another Batman villain, the penguin, played by the highly talented Colin Farrell.. There are a few more new series in the pipeline, most of which came out on HBO. That is, in terms of the DC universe in the CW network, it appears to be dying. Aside from Gotham Knights, there are no more new series, only seasonal updates of existing series, so it looks like in the next two years, the transition to HBO will be complete.
The future according to the rest
Currently, there is not much information about titles that do not belong to the two giants, but we know that there is a fourth season for “The Boys”, a second season for “Invincible”, and in addition we are expected to get a TV series based on Sandman by Neil Gaiman , One of the most successful graphic novels of all time. In addition, rumors have recently begun to surface about a second season of the series “The Guardians”, which has received much praise from critics and audiences.
The main change in the field of comic book series is that by and large – everyone can participate now. The competition has long been not just between Marvel and DC, and I believe that precisely from this place will come the next stage in the development of the genre, in the same way that the “boys” led to the next stage. If we are now in the midst of a saga about how much power can corrupt, what will be the next step? How will the myth of the American superhero develop? If superheroes have already become villains, will there be no more heroes in the future? Perhaps this is at all the beginning of the end of the current cultural wave of superheroes. If this seems illogical to you, it’s always worth remembering that superhero movies are the westerns of today, and this genre has faded as well.