Superheroes have existed in popular culture for decades. The likes of Superman, Spider-Man, and Batman are almost as old as comic books themselves, the heroes helping the people of Earth fight villains and their notoriously devious plans. Let’s not forget there have been some quirky ones as well, such as Iron Man and The Tick.
Superheroes may not exist in real life, but they are very much part of the social fabric. After all, the Marvel Cinematic Universe would not be so popular worldwide if there was not a huge appetite for larger-than-life characters. It was comic books that started the entire superhero genre, which is now very much mainstream, both in literature and in movies. One of the most recent superhero comics is The Boys. Set between 2006 and 2008 and the brainchild of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, the series is based on a superpowered CIA squad monitoring the superhero community. As you may have guessed, it is a satire, and fans of the comic books will be pleased to know that a series will be made based on it.
The Boys series is coming to Amazon and promises to be a huge hit. It will be produced by Seth Rogen and directed by Evan Goldberg, with writer Eric Kripke already working on the hour-long drama. Amazon’s streaming service is becoming hugely popular, and one suspects that The Boys will be a serious hit. Over the years, there have been several Superhero TV shows which have been hugely disappointing, such as Black Scorpion, Iron Fist, and Mutant X. There have, though, been a lot of hugely successful shows; Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Arrow, Smallville, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones probably top the list.
The success of superhero movies can also be underlined by the fact that there is a massive appetite for this genre all over the world. Released in 2017, Spider-Man: Homecoming is the sixth Spider-Man movie of the 21st century, but it has been a massive success. Not only has the Tom Holland and Michael Keaton film been well received by critics and fans alike, but it has also grossed over $800 million worldwide. In 2016, Captain America: Civil War was the highest grossing movie on the planet with over $1.15 billion in gross earnings worldwide. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad together made over $1.6 billion gross worldwide. Robert Downey Jr-starring Iron Man, released in 2008, meanwhile, made almost $600 million gross worldwide after being produced on a budget of just $140 million.
Superheroes have made themselves popular amongst those with a penchant for slot games as well. Superman, Man of Steel and Spiderman: Attack of the Green Goblin are quite popular, and so is PocketWin’s Super City Slots. An important reason behind the popularity of such superhero-themed slot games is the fact that many online casinos, such as those listed on Oddschecker, offer free spins to new customers, making them accessible to a broad range of gamers.
Away from iGaming and into the wider context of video gaming, Batman: Arkham Asylum, released in 2009, is one of the best superhero video games out there. As the name suggests, the protagonist is the Dark Knight, who has to fight evil in Gotham. The 2000 Spider-Man edition from Neversoft is another great video game. It was arguably the first video game to capture the true character, essence, and skills of Spider-Man, and also features characters such as Octopus, Venom, and Daredevil.
With popular streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video showing more and more superhero shows, this genre is only going to get bigger and better in the coming years. Combine that with the Marvel and DC movies to come in the next two or three years – Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2020), Aquaman (2018), Wonder Woman 2 (2019) and Cyborg (2020) – and you can see pretty quickly how it is only logical to expect superheroes to be part of our social conscience for many years to come!
