Why do we go to the movies? What do we want from two hours spent in a room with a screen and a (hopefully) comfortable chair? The answer is never just one thing, it’s often a series of opposing impulses. We want to root for justice, but we don’t want our morality too simple and watered down. We want action and spectacle, but we also want well-developed characters and interpersonal drama. We want to feel immersed and challenged, to experience some serious, raw, potentially harrowing emotions, but ultimately to walk out of the theater feeling better than when we walked in. It’s hard to meet these criteria, but if a cinematic experience does manage to push all these buttons, you’re probably watching a superhero movie.

Updated June 23, 2023: If you're a fan of superhero movies or just trying to figure out why they're popular, then you'll be happy to know this article has been updated with additional content.

While the superhero genre is still going strong, the genre appears to be going through some growing pains. 2023 has seen box office misfires like Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash but also box office hits like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. It is hard to argue that the genre is still going strong when movies based around obscure characters like Eternals and Shang-Chi can open big and gain major fans all over the world. While Superman: The Movie and Batman did not truly kick off a gold rush of superhero films, ever since the back-to-back combo of Blade, X-Men, and Spider-Man, the genre has been a staple. For an entire generation, they have not known a blockbuster season without superheroes. Here is why superhero movies are so popular and why they continue to endure.

Everything's Connected

Avengers Endgame Movie Poster
Marvel Studios

Marvel Studios is not the only group in Hollywood making great superhero movies, but they are making a lot of them, and they’re apparently really freaking good if box office numbers and critical acclaim are any indications. The MCU has 32 films and nine television series as of this writing, with more on the way and no signs of slowing down. Even when Marvel Studio's box office appears to be down, they are still constantly in the highest-grossing films of a given year, and most other studios would do anything for those numbers. Clearly, they're doing something right.

The appeal and success of these movies today are the same as it was for their printed predecessors for a similar reason-- interconnection. The ‘Marvel Comics era started back in the early 1960s and has been growing ever since. A bunch of episodic stories about brightly dressed do-gooders managed to keep expanding and gaining popularity for decades, largely due to fans' appreciation for the variety and scale of their shared universe, where different characters intermingled in surprising ways. This goes for DC comics too.

You could be halfway through a Spider-Man comic when suddenly Thor comes charging in while riding on the Hulk’s shoulders, helping to fight off Doc Ock or whoever else is messing around in New York that week. It was unexpected, and it was awesome. Whenever some obscure hero or villain entered the fray, like Big Bertha (you're welcome), a little cartoon Stan Lee would pop up and say: “Readers will remember Big Bertha from West Coast Avengers, Vol II, Issue #46,” and all was well. That technique is much harder to pull off with high-budget action films; this much is obvious, as it's extremely difficult to pull off an extended cinematic universe. The films need to be simultaneously stand-alone entries but also hyper-connected. Plot threads need to jump between stories while remaining coherent. Upcoming projects like The Marvels, Captain America: Brave New World, and Thunderbolts seem to be building off plot points from a wide variety of various Marvel projects making the audience feel rewarded for following along.

Distinguished Competition

dceu
Warner Bros. / DC Studios

DC Comics has always been Marvel's biggest rival, and while they may not have had the consistent success that Marvel has, it would be a mistake to count them out. Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy redefined the genre and gave superheroes a level of credibility like never before. Warner Bros. and DC's attempts at an interconnected universe typically have struggled, with lore-heavy entries like Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, and recently The Flash being misfired.

Yet DC has succeded in more stand-alone stories. While Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam! were all part of bigger shared universes, they were also rather stand-alone stories that could be enjoyed on their own. They could be part of the DCEU, but also easily could have been their own separate films made at any time. The stand-alone Joker and The Batman were not part of any shared universe, and both were box office and critical hits, showing there was more than one right way to do a superhero movie.

DC is currently set to try an interconnected universe once more, this time under the leadership of producer Peter Safran and director James Gunn. Gunn is one of the best directors of superhero stories ranging from his work on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy to DC's The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. All signs point to his Superman: Legacy being the shot in the arm the franchise needs.

Character's Matter

The Incredibles by Brad Bird
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

The key to the superhero genre has not been the larger-than-life spectacle or world-ending stakes, movies have been giving them that for years. The real key has been in developing the characters and making audiences connect with them. The MCU has practically mastered this, essentially making big $200 million action films that also are character pieces that allow talented actors to develop heroes and villains audiences want to return to.

Related: The Most Important Superhero Movie Each Year of the 2010s

This formula works for non-Marvel properties. While Aquaman was considered a joke character for years, audiences have embraced Jason Momoa's depiction of the character. Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman is arguably the most popular DCEU hero because of the time the filmmakers have spent developing her personality. Even non-Marvel or DC heroes have captured audiences' imaginations. The Incredibles is one of Pixar's most iconic films, and Incredibles 2 is their biggest money maker, and the reason anticipation was so high was that audiences wanted to see more of the family of superheroes. Whereas other blockbusters put the emphasis on the spectacle, superhero movies put it on the characters making the spectacle.

The Spice of Life

Black Panther 2 Wakanda Forever cast
Marvel Studios
Disney

This sense of interconnectedness is only one of about 80 decent reasons why superhero movies are so popular today, but it's an absolutely important one. These films are exciting and funny for any audience, but the extended universe adds layers of complexity for those who want it, along with sweet anticipation for those who can't wait to see who crosses over next. Deep-diving into Marvel’s interrelated web of stories and their many details is one of the most rewarding and satisfying experiences any viewer can have. These days, just over 10 years since that first badass crossover, the richness of references, easter eggs, and background details in any superhero romp is truly delightful for most fans.

However, even for the fully uninitiated, the range of stand-alone flicks still hitting theatres is bound to have something for everyone, especially since Marvel is continuing to aim for more cultural representation. They’re using the versatile premise of the ‘superhero movie’ to tell stories that, while grand in scale, also explore and celebrate different cultures and traditions, as well as finding a lot of brilliant people of color to star in and create them. Films like Black Panther and its sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey, and Blue Beetle are all putting a spotlight on different cultures, genders, and sexualities and showing that anyone can be a hero.

Exploring Different Genres

The cast of The Batman
Warner Bros. Pictures

At its core, a superhero movie is a theme more than it is its own genre. These movies follow a similar plot structure involving a hero with superhuman abilities doing what they can protect people facing off against a villain trying to harm them. That central theme is what unites these movies under the superhero movie banner. What helps to make these movies more exciting is that they aren't limited to just one genre. That plot structure can be applied to different scenarios, moods, and styles depending on what story is being told. Superhero movies can take place in multiple different genres and play around with the way they're telling the story to keep things fresh and exciting. While a lot of these films are sci-fi action movies, a vast majority of them take these superhero characters and have them explore other genres.

Related: The Greatest Superhero Movie Posters of All Time

In 2022 alone, seven different superhero movies were released. These kinds of movies are more popular than ever, and in recent years we've seen filmmakers take these movies in bold new directions to keep things fresh. With a character like Batman, there have been countless adaptations on the big screen. Director Matt Reeves knew this and wanted his adaptation of the caped crusader to be different, so he leaned into the noir aesthetic to tell an epic mystery thriller with The Batman, which hadn't been done before. The MCU has been accused in the past of following a formula with their films, but over the last few years, they've made it a priority to have these movies explore new genres to liven things up. The biggest example of this is 2022's Werewolf by Night. Made in the style of a 1940s horror movie, director Michael Giacchino went out of his way to make sure it felt like that on every level to fully immerse the viewer. Pairing the superhero movie themes with different genres allows for unique stories to be told and makes these movies much more popular when there's something for everyone.

Perhaps this versatility is the true key to superhero movie success today. However high concept a film is, no matter how far-out a piece of fiction may be, great art reflects us and our reality. Superhero stories are still human at their heart. The epic stakes and fantastical plots give us the spectacle and action, while the people behind the masks are genuine, three-dimensional characters with whom we connect, sympathize, and fall in love. While we’ll never leap from mountains like Black Panther or bust up alien armies like Captain America, we can identify with T’Challa’s grief for his father and desire to keep his sister close and safe or relate to Steve Rogers’ feelings of alienation from the unfamiliar, tech-crazy world around him. That's the beauty of the superhero film-- an epic setting but a grounded story, which should be the mantra of any good superhero movie.