It’s no secret that shared universes and superhero movies seemingly go hand in hand in modern cinema. However, this wasn’t always the case, with early entries into the genre often acting as standalone efforts. As the superhero movie genre has transformed massively over the past two decades, the advent of cinematic universes featuring interconnected narratives spanning multiple films has dominated. Interestingly, this may not have actually been best in the long run.
Comic books have been hugely and consistently popular for as long as movies have been around, but it took a surprising number of years before they collided with any noteworthy success. Films such as 2000’s X-Men and 2002’s Spider-Man are often credited with ushering in the modern era of superhero movies. Of course, their success came off the back of Richard Donner’s Superman in 1978 and its sequels, and the commercial success of multiple Batman movies (admittedly of varying quality).
It wasn’t until 2008 saw the release of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk that the concept of a shared movie universe began to come to fruition. The Marvel Cinematic Universe comprised the stories of multiple separate releases, bringing their heroes together in hugely ambitious and massively successful crossover in 2012’s The Avengers. However, despite the resounding success, it may be that shared universes such as the MCU and the DCEU was actually bad for superhero movies in the long term.
Shared Universes Changed Expectations Of Superhero Movies (& Hurt The Genre)
Though the genre was often considered inconsistent with regards to quality before the beginning of the MCU, superhero movies provided perfect box office opportunities. Grandiose blockbuster adaptations of pre-existing characters and stories were perfect for studios and audiences alike: they were less taxing from a creative point of view, and more accessible for audiences. Despite several movies earning the ire of critics, early standalone superhero movies were consistent performers at the box office.
The introduction of shared universes to the genre reshaped it in such a massive way that it took on an entirely new life. Over a period of just a few years, it became almost unthinkable that a superhero movie should stand alone from a narrative point of view, and that the goal of any good movie would be to ensure sequels and a franchise moving forward. The addition of post-credits scenes to tease future developments is a prime example: soon, every movie was adding them, hinting at shared universes across many franchises.
The notion that movies should seek to exist as part of a wider continuity has only increased expectations for most audiences. In that regard, movies in the genre rarely now stand purely on their own merit, but also by how well they fit into the franchise or which narrative elements will be revisited in subsequent films. In this, it would appear that shared universes have indeed ruined superhero movies; although, having first elevated them to unprecedented heights, we can still appreciate the raw appeal of the idea.