If you’re at all interested in superheroes, you’ve probably heard people talking about “superhero fatigue.” You’ve probably even seenprominent directors and actors critiquing superhero movies, suggesting that they’re everything that’s wrong with the industry. You might even have complained about it yourself — to friends after walking out of the theater or to fellow fans in comments sections of trailers or reviews. Especially as we’ve pressed farther into the post-Avengers:Endgameera of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), concerns about the oversaturation of superhero movies are high. But there’s a simpler explanation as to why you might feel a weariness toward the idea of people in spandex punching CGI monsters, and it might just help you remember why you appreciated these kinds of films in the first place.
What Is Superhero Fatigue, and Why Is It a Problem?
For the uninitiated, superhero fatigue is the idea that there are too many superhero movies and television shows being released, and audiences are getting bored with them. A frequent point of comparison has been the Western genre, which has largely fallen by the wayside and no longer has the grip on the industry that it did at its peak in the 1950s and ’60s. WhileWesterns are far from completely goneand have even had some resurgences over the years, they’ve never managed to regain their pop culture dominance. The theory goes that superhero movies will soon suffer the same fate.
On its face, this theory makes a lot of sense, the MCU will be 15 years old next year, and the only thing that’s managed to slow down its output is a pandemic that shut the industry down for months. In 2023 alone, the MCU will have released two feature films (withThe Marvelsstill to come this November) and two Disney+ shows, with thesecond season ofWhat If…?slated to release this December. Next year looks to be just as densely packed with content —Deadpool 3,Captain America: Brave New World, andThe Thunderboltsare all set to release in the MCU’s usual release windows (barring any delays).
Disney+ currently hasEcho,Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, andMarvel Zombiestentatively scheduled to release in 2024 as well. And then there’s the wealth of non-MCU superhero content on the horizon. Sony has threeSpider-Manadjacent movies set for release next year (Kraven the Hunter,Venom 3, andMadame Web).James GunnandPeter Safran’s new DC universe kicks off next year withCreature Commandos, but there are still some sequels from the old regime to get out of the way first.Aquaman and the Lost Kingdomreleases later this year, andJoker: Folie à Deuxis coming in 2024. And that’s only counting projects based on the “Big Two” of Marvel and DC. Plenty of projects based on other superhero properties, like Amazon’sThe BoysandInvincibleor Netflix’sThe Umbrella Academy, have new seasons coming out within the next year or two.
So yeah, superhero fatigue seems like a good description of the deep, existential weariness reading that (non-comprehensive!) list probably made you feel. There’s so much superhero content that it feels impossible to keep up with it all. And in the aftermath of high-profile box-office failures such asThe FlashorAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniathere’s a growing feeling that the superhero movie is going to be milked dry before being unceremoniously discarded for something new, long after anyone has stopped caring. It’s easy to blame superheroes for being everywhere, wearing us all down year after year. But what if there’s something else going on?
Successful Projects Like ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Prove the Problem Isn’t the Superheroes
As much as it seems like audiences are starting to get tired of superheroes in the aftermath of flops likeThe FlashandQuantumania, the evidence doesn’t entirely back this up.Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Versewas released in between those two films and made$381 million in North America and $690 million globally, making it the current sixth-highest-grossing film of the year and the highest-grossing Sony Pictures Animation movie of all time. It was a hit with critics and fans alike, and the consensus seems to be thatBeyond the Spider-Versecan’t come soon enough — provided it does so bytreating its animators well.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3was another strong showing,making a worldwide total of $845.6 millionduring its theatrical run, not surpassingVol. 2’s box office haul but still making more than the first film.Guardianswas also a critical success and provided a heartfelt and compelling conclusion to the trilogy.
On the television side, Adult Swim’s recentMy Adventures with Supermanhas earned positive responses from critics and fans alike. It’s performed well enough that Adult Swim has alreadygiven Season 2 the green light. Amazon’sGen Vhas thus far proved a successful spin-off ofThe Boys, earning generally favorable reviews from critics even though, likeThe Boysbefore it, itsmore shocking contenttends to polarize audiences. As it’s an Amazon Prime production, there are no concrete numbers onGen V’s viewership so far, but its recentmid-season renewal for Season 2is a good sign that it’s performing well. While both shows are more niche than the blockbuster films mentioned above, they’re still evidence that there is still an audience for superhero content. So why did massively hyped films likeThe FlashandQuantumaniafail?
The answer is simple: quality. If general audiences were truly souring on blockbuster superhero fare, even high-quality projects likeGuardiansorGen Vwould also be taking a hit in viewership. But that doesn’t seem to be happening. Fans still want to see superhero stories; they just want them to be good. Quality superhero movies and shows can still be successful, as we can see withAcross the Spider-VerseandGen V. The real problem is that audiences are growing tired of bad (or worse, thoroughly mediocre) superhero stories, and that is what’s starting to be reflected in the box office and viewership numbers. But if this is the case, why does the gloom of superhero fatigue seem to hang over every new release?
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The MCU Taught Superhero Fans That Everything Is Connected
At its peak, the core fantasy of the MCU was the idea that “it’s all connected.” The mantra was used heavily during Phase 2 of the MCU, building the idea that if fans wanted to get the most out of any specific MCU project, they would need to watcheverything. While you could follow along fine by just keeping up on the solo films of your favorite characters and checking in for the bigAvengersrelease every couple of years, Marvelreallywanted you to feel like you also needed to watchAnt-ManandAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.and all the Netflix shows if you wanted to truly appreciate the MCU in its entirety. And after a while, it worked. A little too well, it seems.
Today’s superhero media all have an innate sense of urgency built into them. You have to watchThe Flashif you want to understand whyHenry CavillandBen Affleckaren’t Superman and Batman anymore. You need to watchLokiso you can seethe backstory of the villain ofQuantumania.Gen Vmight introduce a characterpowerful enough to stop Homelander(Antony Starr) onThe Boys, so you can’t miss that! Everything is potentially setting up something else, so you have to watch. If you don’t, you’ll be out of the loop and won’t understand the nextAvengersorJustice Leagueor that spin-off of a spin-off that your friends are all saying you have to watch. But here’s the thing:you don’t actually need to watch all of it.
No, really. Just like any other type of movie, from westerns to action movies to rom-coms, there’s no need to watcheverysuperhero movie. You probably shouldn’t! For every good movie, there’s going to be at least one or more bad movies of the same type. For everyThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, there’s aPercy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. For everyLa La Land, there’s aCats. For everyCaptain America: The Winter Soldier, there’s aMorbius. And so on. Bad movies get made all the time, but only superhero films have the built-in incentive to watchallof them, just in case one ends up being important later. Trying to watch every superhero movie or show is akin to trying towatch every police procedural on TV: you might find a few you like, but mostly you’ll just start to really hate police procedurals, and you won’t have time to watch anything else.
So, give yourself a break. The next time a big Marvel or DC movie releases or the next superhero show starts airing on Disney+, Netflix, or Amazon, think about if you really want to watch it or if you just feel like you have to. And remind yourself it’s okay to skip it if you aren’t feeling it. Sure, you might not “get” that reference to it in the nextAvengers, but you’ll probably still enjoy that movie regardless. And ultimately, superhero stories are meant to be enjoyed. So, stop bumming yourself out, and only watch the things that you want to watch.
