Many would agree that we are on the cusp of a Golden Age of superhero movies. It started with Christopher Nolan's seminal Batman trilogy, of which the second in the series, The Dark Knight, is celebrated as arguably the greatest superhero film of all time. It boasts unparalleled acting performances and an exploration of human nature far beyond that achieved by many non-genre dramatic films. Marvel Studios, in turn, has started something even more impressive - a stable of disparate superhero films all sharing the same fictional universe. Seemingly, Marvel can do no wrong, as they've released critical and commercial successes, one after another, without fail. DC Comics is hot on their heels with a recently announced lineup of films, starting with the highly-anticipated Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice , releasing in 2016.





But it wasn't always this way. At one point, superhero films were dismissed by critics and moviegoers alike as cheesy, poorly-written cash-grabs. The studios didn't spend the money to hire the talent needed to realize the worlds so vividly drawn in the comics, nor did the studio heads understand the need to stay true to the characters so beloved by the legions of comic book fans that could make such movies profitable. So, what sparked the change? How did we get to a point where The Avengers has become the third highest-grossing movie of all time? Let's explore.





Throughout the eighties and nineties, a plague of sub-par superhero cinema littered our screens, giving the genre a bad name. Sure, there were exceptions. Superman II has long been hailed as the first good, if not great, film of its kind. Christopher Reeve was iconic in the role of Superman, and the second in the series truly brought that world alive, bringing supplementary super-powered Kryptonians to the screen as the film's villains. The fans were pleased. And, of course, there was 1989's Batman, in which Tim Burton and Michael Keaton finally brought the Bat to life as he was meant to be seen: dark and mysterious, wrapped in the backdrop of a shadowy, gothic Gotham City. This was far-removed from the silly camp that was Adam West's Batman of the sixties. It paved the way for silver screen heroes to be dark and brooding, a much-needed change.





Superman beats the bad guys (again) in Superman II, Warner Bros. Entertainment

But, for the most part, the pre-2000s contained fare like the abysmal Darkman series, camp-centric versions of The Shadow and The Phantom, a direct-to-video The Punisher with Dolph Lundgren in the title role, Tank Girl and Barb Wire as unfortunate first entries in the female superhero film sub-genre, and of course, Spawn and Judge Dredd, which took especially beloved comic characters and defecated all over them with goofy plots, liberal and ill-advised revisions to the source material, and poor choices in casting. The wonderfully dark and atmospheric swan song of Brandon Lee, The Crow, took some of the sting out of the foul flood of films, but this was more of a supernatural revenge fantasy than a true superhero movie, despite its comic ties.





And then came Batman & Robin. And millions of fanboys cried out in terror and were silenced. The movie was the epitome of clownish posturing in the genre. Big-ticket stars cast as villains were forced to spout cheeseball one-liners, Gotham City was turned into a flamboyant neon-lighted city-wide night club, and the sound effects were amped up to match the 'wham, bam' sound bubbles of the sixties Batman. Our heroes sported bat-ice skates. 'Nough said. The movie took the genre ten steps back and crushed the House of the Burton Batman. The future of the superhero movie was in trouble. A hero was needed.





Holy Batnipples! Warner Bros. Entertainment

Out of left field came a little movie named Blade. It was dark. It was violent. It was rated R. It was also based on a little-known Marvel property. Wesley Snipes took the role of Blade dead-seriously, which was exactly what was needed to truly immerse the viewer in the vampire-dominated fantasy world. Unfortunately, the obscurity of the character and the R rating prevented the film from achieving the popularity necessary to resuscitate the genre.





Finally, in 1999, a white knight stepped out of the shadows to bring us X-Men. It was a bit rough around the edges, a bit small in scope, but it brought to life a treasured Marvel property in a way no one thought was possible. It was an ensemble piece - something never before attempted in the genre. And we finally had the technology necessary to bring superpowers to the screen in a believable way. Bryan Singer turned out to be the hero fanboys deserved. X-Men showed studios that superhero movies could be highly successful and profitable, if the source material is respected and taken seriously, and if they put talent both in front of and behind the screen. The original Spider-Man soon followed, along with Hellboy and sequels to Blade and X-Men. A couple of clunkers hit the theatres as well, Catwoman and Daredevil being the worst of the bunch. But all-in-all, things were good for silver screen superheroes.





X-Men use the powers of credibility to bring the superhero genre into a golden age, 20th Century Fox





Then, in 2005, Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins was released and the genre was once again redefined. The film took the comic book movie to new heights of realism. Characterization was key. Batman was presented as nothing more than human, a mortal man with a tragic past, vulnerable and fallible. Gotham was a real city, like yours or mine, lived in and worked in, and under siege by the criminal element. Viewers could relate to everything happening on screen. And then, of course, The Dark Knight came out and humanized our conceptions of the super-villain. Heath Ledger, in his final role, delivered a powerhouse performance that showed that you don't need superpowers to be a threat; just being human is enough.





After this, Marvel Studios was formed to take advantage of the plethora of properties under their belt. Heretofore, they had to farm them out to the existing studios, which yielded greatly varying results. For instance, Spider-Man versus The Fantastic Four. With control over their own copyrights, Marvel could ensure the quality of their films. And boy have they. Starting with Iron Man, Marvel Studios has rolled out blockbuster after blockbuster, garnering critical acclaim and the loyalty of the comic fans. This is even more impressive given the fact that four of their most popular properties were already licensed to other studios, making them off-limits to Marvel. I'm speaking, of course, about Spider-Man, the X-Men, Daredevil, and the Fantastic Four. But, with just The Avengers characters, Marvel built up a multi-billion dollar film catalogue with a connected universe in which all of the characters exist simultaneously and can make appearances in each other's movies. Such had never been attempted before, and like the comic books the films were drawn from, the interconnectedness of the properties worked marvelously (excuse the pun).





As the realism and seriousness of The Dark Knight trilogy was held up as one of the main reasons for its success, 20th Century Fox took a big risk in 2014 with X-Men: Days of Future Past. They went the opposite way, plucking out the most fantastical and comic-booky storyline in X-Men comic history to convert to the big screen. DOFP featured time travel, giant robots, bizarre superpowers, and multiple timelines. It was completely insane. And it totally worked. It was proof once again that respect for the source material and commitment to character can go a long way toward immersion in even the most outlandish of universes. Audiences were ready for more.





And more they received. Marvel Studios released a film in 2014 featuring a group of superheroes unknown to nearly everyone. It starred an anthropomorphic raccoon and a talking tree. It was based in outer space. And it has been hailed as arguably the best film in Marvel's stable thus far. Guardians of the Galaxy changed everything the studios thought they knew about creating a successful superhero movie. You don't need realism or a relatable world. You don't need excess star power. You don't even need a widely-known franchise. Like most genres, all you need to make a successful movie is a group of talented people who believe in what they're doing.





No need for Spider-man when we've got Groot, Marvel Studios





So, what's next? Where does the genre go from here? Well, both Marvel and DC have announced their slates of movies, dating all the way to 2020. DC is attempting a connected universe for their characters, like Marvel before them. The X-Men franchise is set to continue on their fantastical path with X-Men: Age of Apocalypse. The Avengers: Age of Ultron is set to bring an iconic villain to life and introduce artificial intelligence to the genre. Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice will pit two of the most popular superheroes of all time against each other. And then there's Ant-man. I'm wary of how good this could be, but I said the same thing about Guardians of the Galaxy and many other films before it. In short, who knows what wonders our favorite (or completely unknown) superheroes will bring to the screen in the future? The genre is continually evolving and reshaping our imaginations. Only one thing is certain: the Golden Age is upon us, and will continue for a long time to come.