[#item_full_content] [[{“value”:”Superhero cinema has become a mainstay in modern Hollywood, leading to many films and franchises. The more family-friendly Marvel Cinematic Universe may currently reign over the industry, but there are darker, grittier superhero movies as well. But what superhero movies set the standard for these different kinds of tones and franchises? Things like R-rated superhero movies wouldn’t be as popular as they are today without some foundational projects to come in and set the standard. Which cape flicks throughout the years have gone on to become the blueprint for those to come after? We’re going to break it down for you. Whether they’re an older movie or a more recent one, these superhero movies are often looked back on for inspiration.
8
‘Deadpool’ (2016)
Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool in the opening of ‘Deadpool.’Image via 20th Century Studios
Before Deadpool was released in 2016, studios did not seem to believe that an R-rated superhero movie could possibly be successful at the box office, so they tended to stay away from them. However, Deadpool completely changed that for everyone. It was so well-done that it became one of the highest-grossing R-rated movies of all time, with the entire trilogy being in the top 10 and Deadpool & Wolverine being the highest-grossing, period. Deadpool showed that it was possible for movies like these to make money and be an overall success — they just need to be good. Sure, kids weren’t able to go see the movie, making it lose out on some tickets, but that didn’t matter, given the fact that, regardless, Deadpool made 2,612,155 worldwide. This was unthinkable for an R-rated movie before 2016, and it’s all thanks to how great this Tim Miller movie ended up being.
7
‘Blade’ (1998)
Wesley Snipes as Blade smiles and holds up a double-sided throwing weapon in Blade.Image via New Line Cinema
Deadpool isn’t the first R-rated superhero flick to come out, though, because all the way back in 1998, Blade was released to great critical reception and decent box office numbers. Before Deadpool, movies like this weren’t very successful, but Blade felt like a diamond in the rough, making it work regardless of the things going against it. It’s honestly quite the underdog story, making it all the more interesting to watch, knowing the landscape of cinema at the time of release and all it had to fight to be considered successful.The Deadpool franchise even paid tribute to the Blade franchise by having the one and only Wesley Snipes return to the role in Deadpool & Wolverine for a cameo role. Blade is gory, high-octane, and brutal in all the best ways, defying what a superhero movie could be at the time and getting the world ready for a time in which R-rated superhero movies would become normal. So, while Deadpool was huge for R-rated superheroes, Blade must be thanked for being the first truly great one that showed it was even possible.
6
‘The Avengers’ (2012)
The Avengers gather together to prepare for battle in The Avengers.Image via Marvel Studios
The MCU is one of the first prominent film franchises to bring the characters of multiple series together for one big crossover movie with The Avengers. After the Joss Whedon movie proved that this formula could work, and that audiences wanted more things like the MCU, every franchise and their mother started to become cinematic universes. Despite being a more modern flick, The Avengers quickly became the blueprint for big crossover movies.This fact is all the more true with the proof of Warner Bros. and DC deciding to bring The Avengers’ director in to finish up their crossover film, Justice League. Despite how badly that turned out, it goes to show the kind of impact that the 2012 superhero team movie had on the superhero cinema industry. The MCU-ification of Hollywood cinema has been both good and bad, and at the end of the day, one can look to The Avengers for the source of where studios are getting their big cinematic universe movie ideas.
5
‘Superman: The Movie’ (1978)
Christopher Reeve flying in the Superman (1978) movie directed by Richard DonnerImage via Warner Bros.
The first truly impactful superhero film to hit theaters was undoubtedly Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve’s Superman: The Movie. This project is the perfect adaptation of classic Superman comic books and executes the hero’s journey wonderfully. Christopher Reeve delivers a great performance, convincing audiences that a man could fly.Being the first truly successful superhero film in theaters, Superman: The Movie kind of had no choice but to become the blueprint for superhero movies to come after. Even 47 years later, in 2025, James Gunn’s Superman took major inspiration from it, even using the melody of the original’s score by John Williams. Superman: The Movie is the definitive superhero movie and acts as the blueprint for not just one aspect of film, but superhero movies as a whole.
4
‘Iron Man’ (2008)
Close-up shot of Iron Man in Iron Man (2008).Image via Marvel Studios
The long-running and highly successful MCU would not be where it is today — or exist at all — without the likes of Iron Man, directed by Jon Favreau. Superhero origin movies are incredibly hard to pull off, and Iron Man entered the ring to redefine them completely. It introduced a character that was abundantly flawed and made people learn to love him on his path to redemption. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a really sucky guy at the beginning of Iron Man, which was a big risk for Marvel Studios, given the fact that most superheroes in films before this were pretty pure of heart.But the redemption arc that makes up Tony’s character arc in Iron Man is one of the best in superhero cinema. Running the risk of having such a potentially unlikable protagonist was going to make or break the movie, but thankfully, it made it everything it needed to be. From here on out, having extremely flawed superheroes became a lot more normalized, and superhero cinema is all the better for it. Bringing more flawed characters like Tony to the screen has made for more emotionally engaging heroes for audiences to get invested in. Seeing a superhero grow from flaws as great as the ones Iron Man has makes a character not only feel more noble, but relatable as well — no one is perfect, and seeing a hero that isn’t either is inspiring.
3
‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)
Heath Ledger as The Joker leans out of the window of a moving police car in The Dark Knight.Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Christopher Nolan is commonly considered one of the best directors of the modern generation, and his time spent in the DC universe is one of the examples of how great his work really is. His Batman trilogy was very well-received, with the best one clearly being The Dark Knight, which is known as one of the best superhero movies ever made. This sequel to Batman Begins is packed full of social commentary, grit, and realism. It has a much darker tone, which is something that superhero movies to come after would begin to emulate.One of the best examples of this is the grittier tone of The Amazing Spider-Man, which many attribute to Sony seeing the success of The Dark Knight and wanting to capture that vibe that it had, thinking people wanted more gritty superhero flicks. The realism of The Dark Knight would go on to be mimicked multiple times in other superhero franchises. Many consider this to be one of Nolan’s best movies, which is impressive, given the director’s large catalog of amazing films.
2
‘Spider-Man 2’ (2004)
Spider-Man on top of a speeding train in Spider-Man 2 (2004)Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
Another movie that is typically noted to be one of the best superhero movies ever made is Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. It tells a deeply interpersonal story that focuses more on Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) than just Spider-Man, which caused people to completely love the arc in the movie. Outside of this, one of the other things that makes Spider-Man 2 so great is the fact that it is a picture-perfect sequel.Spider-Man 2 does everything a good sequel needs to, taking everything that worked about the first movie and improving upon it tenfold. It expands on the character arcs that were set up in Spider-Man, continuing them and making them more complex and layered. Spider-Man 2 serves as the blueprint of what a good superhero movie sequel should look like, as sequels are extremely difficult to make entertaining if they’re following up on an excellent first movie.
1
‘Spider-Man’ (2002)
Spider-Man atop a building with New York City in the background in Spider-Man, 2002.Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
While Superman: The Movie is the first truly notable superhero origin film, one of the best modern ones comes in the form of Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man flick. The pacing is excellent, ensuring that the things general audiences are already aware of (how he gets his powers, the death of Uncle Ben, etc.) are out of the way in the first 10–15 minutes and taking time to develop the characters and get the audience invested in them.Spider-Man knows how to develop a superhero quickly, efficiently, and with grace, which other movies would come to take notes from in the years that would come after. Origin flicks still take inspiration from Spider-Man to this day, especially when it comes to pacing, character introductions, and development. A great example is found in Blue Beetle, which clearly takes note of how Spider-Man executed its opening. When it comes to origin stories, Spider-Man is where studios tend to look for inspiration.
Spider-Man
Release Date
May 3, 2002
Runtime
121 Minutes
Writers
David Koepp”}]] 
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