The Great, The Okay, and The Suck: Comic’s “Big Three” Movie Franchises

Batman. Spider-Man. Superman. No matter who your favorite is, there’s no denying that these three qualify as the three most well-known comic book characters of all time. Every one of them has seen highs and lows in virtually all forms of media: television, movies, video games, and the industry that originally spawned them, comic books. Looking towards the future, only one of the “Big 3″ has reached the status of top-tier entertainment in the realm of cinema: Batman. “Spider-Man 3″ disappointed, though it was by no means horrible. That same thing, sadly, cannot be said of the abysmally-behind-the-times “Superman Returns.” While Batman looks to continue his domination as King of the comics movie kingdom, there’s still plenty of time for the “Lesser 2″ to firmly reestablish their supremacy. Here’s how all three should approach this battle of awesomeness.

First is Superman. In order to hopefully negate any “Superman vs. Batman” debate… Batman rocks hard and Superman was handled about as badly as possible in “Superman Returns.” DC failed to realize that no one wants to see the giant boy scout anymore, which is just fine. In the comics, Superman stopped being the giant archetype a couple of decades ago. When handled correctly, Superman is one of the most interesting characters comics has ever produced. As an incredibly powerful alien, he could realistically kill us all, but he was raised to believe in human beings: to believe in our potential as a species, and especially to believe in our capacity for hope, greatness and love. A movie focusing on Superman’s complex moral issues could be movie magic: we could focus in on just what it feels like to be a god among men with the ability to rule them, all but the faith that humanity can take care of itself, no matter how many times that faith is questioned and put to the test. And if “The Dark Knight” proved anything, it’s that you can layer complexity on top of complexity until your arms break and still produce a movie that is universally liked and hugely successful.

Next is the Spider-Man movie franchise, which has lost a bit of steam but isn’t in need of a drastic overhauling a la Superman. The biggest problem with the Spider-Man franchise has got to be the incessant need to hold things off for the next sequel. It’s been three movies already, and MJ and Pete aren’t married, Gwen Stacy has barely been introduced, and Norman Osborn hasn’t returned from the dead even once. The thought process seems to be ‘we’ve got to keep enough interest for people to buy into a sequel, so we’ll keep pushing back some of the bigger stories.’ My only question is: why? Why, now that Spider-Man has become synonymous with massive dollar signs, can we only get movies that feel like a chapter in a book rather than a stand-alone feature? With interest starting to hit a downturn based on the lackluster reception of “Spider-Man 3,” bringing out the big guns like the MJ/Parker wedding, the Stacy death, and the return of Norman Osborn may just do the trick to revitalize this somewhat-sagging franchise.

One franchise that is not sagging, however, is the Batman franchise. Christopher Nolan’s interpretation of Gotham City and its colorful denizens has got fans and critics clamoring for more. And more is all they really need: when it comes to Nolan’s franchise, not a whole lot needs to be changed. My one suggestion for the franchise is for it to be mindful of the edge it is walking across, lest it fall over. Most people have a good idea of what the next movie will entail: Batman will nearly die a couple of times, question his entire outlook on life, question why he does the things he does, and all the things that makes Nolan’s franchise so deep and moving. Yet a part of me thinks that Nolan is just crazy enough to drag out the “Hunt for Batman” story indefinitely, making Batman a wanted criminal and an ever-stricter vigilante with many similarities to Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns.” The line between “inspiring hero” and “crazy vigilante in a bat costume” has become thinner and thinner in Nolan’s franchise, and I’m just not sure that the movie-going public is ready to embrace a Batman that becomes increasingly more bitter and ruthless.

As of now, nothing really comes close to “The Dark Knight” in terms of massive market appeal: a fantastic film in every way, and it’s the new benchmark all other comic movies will be measured up against. But anything can happen in show business, and anything can happen in the comics industry. Put both together, and just about any character has the potential to become King. Spider-Man and Superman, with their world-renown fame and impressive legacies in virtually all forms of media, may just perform a coup de grâce on the Caped Crusader and claim the crown for their own.