Opinion: Superheroes capturing mainstream America's attention on silver screen

By Muhammad Bilal Islam

The summer movie season of 2008 might forever be remembered as the time when comic-book films fully broke out of their niche for hardcore fans into the realm of mainstream movies.
With major releases bringing in big money at the box office and raking in rave reviews by the critics, movies about costumed crime-fighters are starting to be taken seriously by the movie-going public at large.

The first major hit of the season was undoubtedly Marvel Studios’ “Iron Man,” released May 2008. Based on the titular character from Marvel’s comic line, it was the company’s first self-funded film effort, and it was a major success.

The story follows Tony Stark, who lives the high life as the head of Stark Industries — a weapons manufacturing company, among other things — until he is attacked by terrorists with his own weapons. Stark builds himself a metallic exoskeleton in order to combat the terrorist group and becomes a superhero.

The movie went on to gross more than $580 million worldwide. Upon its release, it was considered the best-reviewed movie of the year. The film is actually the first in a series of Marvel productions, each one focusing on a specific icon from its comic book catalog. This is all lead up to a highly anticipated team up in “The Avengers,” which is expected to be released in 2011.

The movies are all set in the same Marvel storyline, and contain references and hints to other upcoming events and characters. Robert Downey, Jr., reprising his role of Tony Stark from “Iron Man,” made a much-praised cameo appearance in Marvel’s “The Incredible Hulk, “ released June 2008.

More respectable comic book fare was released during the summer, including “Hellboy II: The Golden Army and “Wanted,” both from Universal Studios. Both did moderately well at the box office, and received generally positive reviews by the media.

It wasn’t until July 18, 2008 that the genre broke out of its niche for eternity. That was the day Warner Bros. released “The Dark Knight,” the sequel to 2005’s “Batman Begins.”

“The Dark Knight” received overwhelming praise from fans and critics alike. The box office also sings the film’s praises; as of now, the film is sitting pretty with more than $900 million in gross revenue, making it the second highest earner of all time, right after “Titanic.”

The late Heath Ledger recently won a Golden Globe award for Best Male Supporting Actor in a Drama and is considered a shoo-in for the corresponding category at the Academy Awards next month. The film’s masterful handling of profound moral issues not only opened the public’s eyes to how great a Batman film can be done, but also that any film about a costumed crime-fighter can be film fare for the finest tastes.