So in my last part of this post, I spoke about why I feel the characterization and dialogue in Superhero films is often flat. You can check that out here. I’m gonna lead off this next post with the issues I have with the interconnected universes as a whole.
2. Superhero Movies as Standalone Films
Off the top of your head, can you remember the plot to Thor? How about Iron Man 2, The Man of Steel, or The Incredible Hulk? I suppose this is more of an issue with the MCU than the DCEU considering the MCU vastly has more movies; however, I think the issue will definitely become more prevalent as the DCEU continues to develop. Big superhero movie studios focus so intensely on pumping out huge movies with big casts like The Justice League and all of the Avengers movies, that the smaller superhero movies end up kind of flat and forgettable. They begin to feel like a means to an end, like “Welp, I guess we have to churn out a few Captain America movies before we can make The Avengers, and we need to make Doctor Strange before Avengers: Infinity War, so let’s get those out quickly and everyone will be forced to watch those to fully understand Infinity Wars.
The YouTube channel “I Hate Everything” put this in a better way than I ever could, stating that all of these movies end up feeling more like homework for the bigger movies than they feel like actual standalone films. Here’s their video. (Warning for language in this one). More often than not, the movies end up so formulaic that most of them are utterly forgettable. If I’m being honest, I never really wanna watch any Marvel or DC movie I see more than once, unless it’s Guardians of the Galaxy or Wonder Woman. I end up watching a lot of these movies at the movie theater because it basically feels like a cultural must at this point, considering how there are always consistently a few superhero blockbusters each and every year (according to this IMDB list about 2017 Blockbusters, Superhero movies take 6 of the 36 spots, all ending up in the 16 most popular movies. I did not count LEGO Batman in this list due to it being an animated movie). But if I’m being 100% honest, most of them I don’t actually remember the plots to. I just walk out of the theater knowing that I was mildly entertained, but I can’t remember anything specific that happened in Avengers: Age of Ultron or Captain America: Civil War, aside from the one scene in the parking garage and Peter Parker making that one Star Wars reference. That actually brings me to my next point:
3. References and Cameos Pander to Audiences
When done correctly, references to other things can be hilarious and really improve the entire movie or TV show. Some quick examples: The Smurfs scene in Donnie Darko (which you can look up but I probably shouldn’t directly link considering this blog is TECHNICALLY for a class) adds a lot of character to the dialogue and tone and creates a memorable comedic scene in the movie, and The Dobler-Dahmer Theory in How I Met Your Mother references the famous John Cusack movie Say Anything to prove an interesting point about modern romances and romantic gestures, creating an excellent ‘relatable-comedy’ moment in the show. I also think “Easter Egg” hidden references can be especially fun for super fans without detracting from actual dialogue or plot, like Disney’s Easter Egg references to other movies like this Beauty and the Beast reference in Tarzan.
My issue with superhero movies lies in their reliance upon references and cameos for a lot of their appeal and audience reaction. It comes across to me as an easy way to please audiences without having to do the work of writing an actually memorable script on its own. When Captain America: Civil War‘s attempt at an interesting theme about morality fell flat, all it fell back upon was “Hey look! We brought more of your favorite Marvel superheroes in for a quick cameo so they can fight!” They know audiences will gasp when Ant-Man comes on the screen because Hey, He’s the Funny One! I Watched That Movie! so the plot can still be boring because Marvel knows they’re still gonna make money and get good immediate audience reviews. The only reason I particularly remember Civil War is because of the scene when all of the other superheroes get recruited to help Cap and Tony Stark, but the rest of the movie really is kind of a blur. I personally think Marvel and DC can use these types of things as a crutch. DC already knows die-hard fans will watch Suicide Squad because Harley Quinn is a fan favorite, and regardless of how terribly made the movie is, people will still watch the first live action interpretation of Harley Quinn.
References in dialogue like Tony Stark calling the newly formed Avengers “Earth’s mightiest heroes, that kind of thing” after the tagline on all Avengers comics since the 1960s pleases fans and would be interesting if it did not happen quite as often.
When references like this occur regularly in dialogue, I personally believe it takes up valuable time that could be used to develop characters, and I also believe it often passes for clever comedy when it really isn’t. The Smurfs reference in Donnie Darko is a reference used for comedy, simply stating a reference doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a comedic reference. Using cameos and references to advertise for movies, especially in trailers when the cameos are hardly plot relevant is a cop-out way to make more money and garner great audience reviews without doing as much work in the writer’s room.
It’s important to me that superhero movies are viewed and critiqued as films, not just as a part of a franchise, because I feel much of the time they tend to get a pass when it comes to plot, characters, or writing simply because it is another installment of a saga with everyone’s favorite heroes. We love to see the characters we love on film, but we are allowed to demand better. The Dark Knight Trilogy, for instance, are beautiful, compelling, films about the rich orphan bat we all know and love. Superhero movies have the potential to be fantastic, I just think we allow them to be lazy.
Thank you so much for reading, and leave your opinions in the comment section, I love to hear them.
Kacie's Kinetoscope 
[…] PART TWO […]
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