Will The Superhero Fad Die Again?

And I'm not talking about just movies but comics as well. There was a time when superheroes didn't sell, like at all and DC and Marvel almost exclusively sold Western and Horror comics. So do you think the superhero genre will ever fall out of favour again?

If DC and Marvel completely lose all sense like they did in the 90s, then yes, superheroes could fall out of favor.

honestly i feel if they keep doing same old same old and be afraid to let their characters grow then yeah. it will get old fast and die out

well it wasn't the 90's when superheroes stopped selling

Of course it will.
Because there is no respect for the fans and writers/artists.
My personal problem is that we get more quantity than quality.
I would prefer a single Superman title that was awesome than five mediocre ones.

The way things are going now? Its definitely possible, though not exactly probable.

I find myself with fewer and fewer superhero books on my pull list every month, I've been much more interested in other kinds of stories lately.

I do like superheroes but if they decided to make a lot less I don't think it would really bother me

i give it 3 more years with the movies. people are already starting to get tired of superhero movies. when it'll be amazing spider-man 3, new batman movie 2, avengers 3, thor something, no matter how good, everybody will be burned out on super hero movies. the movie thing is actually slowly dying, replaced by tv shows. how many good new movies have you seen in the last 3 years? no sequels or reboots.

@thetimestreamer: What about the comics?

God, I hope not. I love my superheroes!

Yes, I’m absolutely sure it eventually will.

Marvel and DC have no respect for their fans, including me. They release the *****iest titles and they keep switching writers. They also release about a million comics thinking their fanboys will buy them all just like @Squalleon said.

They regurgitate the same stories and plots again and again and again. I don’t read many superhero comics anymore for this reason, I can’t bear reading a simple story that I’ve already read many times before. Instead I have switched over to manga. The stories are much more appealing and interesting. Image and Dark Horse release way better titles these days too.

And Disney now has taken over Marvel, it's going to die. I'm sure of it. -.- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D... Really? I can't bear superheroes anymore. Marvel's movie Avengers was a disappointment to me as well.

Zijuun.

This. I can't imagine a world where my favorite heroes are in limbo.

I think things were going downhill again for a while for DC, Blackest Night kinda prevented it and I'd say the New 52 completely saved it. However, not to hate, but I'd say Marvel has been going downhill since Civil War in 2006, and Marvel Now has done little to prevent this. They're gonna have to change something about the way to publish comics, meanwhile they'll continue to make movies and such. I predict Avengers 2 will be the last hurrah for popular superhero movies.

Meanwhile I think companies like Image and IDW are doing better than ever. Obviously Image has Walking Dead (though the zombie fad should be dying anytime, no pun), Saga, Satellite Sam, etc. I love what IDW does, not sure how well they sell but it seems decent. IF YOU ASK ME, I'd say Pulp comics are making a big return. Dynamite has been putting out some great callbacks like Green Hornet and Masks, which I wouldn't classify as Superhero.

I agree with this prediction. Just look at the lineup in coming years; superhero movies are being oversaturated, and people will grow tired of them, and then they will fade back into relative obscurity, likely until another resurgence a few decades later.

And since I'm here, I'll put in my two cents on the matter of movies gradually being replaced by tv shows. You raise a fairly valid point, but I don't think its as cut and dry as "how many good movies have you seen in the last 3 years." While I'll be the first to agree that the vast majority of what Hollywood cranks out is total crap, we have to remember that quality is not necessarily indicative of success. Movies may on a general (though far from universal) downward slope in terms of quality, but they're making more money now than at any point in history and I can only see the dollar signs going higher. A successful bad movie is still a successful movie, and as long as they're making money they aren't ever going to die out. And in regards to television replacing it; its true that there are probably more good, high-quality TV shows on the air now than there have been at any other point since television's inception. However, for every one good, well thought out show on the air, there are three brainless, idiotic wastes of airtime filling up time slots... there's more good TV than there's ever been, but there's also more bad TV than there's ever been. I guess what it boils down to is that there's just more TV.

I see your point, but I disagree about Marvel Now, I think it's a success, IMO. I do think that superhero movies will eventually go away, for a time at least.

@tg1982:

Some of the titles seem to do okay sales-wise, such as Superior Spider-Man and the Avengers, but I've seen a lot of hate from some of Marvel's biggest fans. Superior Spider-Man readers are split 50/50 between loving it and absolutely hating it, and the same can be said for almost every team book they currently publish--which is a lot.

Just my observations, I still love all Superhero books, but I find myself enjoying smaller-time heroes nowadays, and enjoying non-Super books even more. (like how I've finally read Saga, and its the best thing I've read for over a year, or how Vertigo books and characters like Swamp Thing appeal much more to me now) I'm a person who gets deep into things in waves, right now I'm just jumping into other comic interests, and maybe many readers feel the same way.

I hope not.

ALSO i hope the super hero movies get old really quick.

So DC and MARVEL actually make a good comic instead of depending on the movies success

@jonny_anonymous: comics, at the very worst, will endure by either really cutting back on how many books they put out or (what would be ideal) join together. not universes, just resources. or just jump to digital. they are just too good to disappear entirely. the art, the stories. escapist literature will never die.

I've gotten the same impression about the New 52. Not everyone will like the changes implemented in either Marvel Now or New 52, but, IMO, Marvel Now is doing a great job. Captain America, Thor: God of Thunder, Avengers, Uncanny Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers, Cable and X-force, just to name a few, all seem to be successful and genuinely liked by the fans,and with new upcoming titles getting a lot of genuine interest and excitement from fans, like Mighty Avengers and Avengers A.I. Also titles that weren't really part of the Marvel Now line such as Captain Marvel are doing really well amongst fans as well. Again it's just my opinion. I don't read DC so I can't really comment on the New 52, but I've heard a few fans not like it either.

@tg1982: Fair enough, good examples, those are all quality books! My DC fanboyism just sparks up I guess. (funny coming from a guy with an X-Men username.)

LOL. I was thinking that. A Nightcrawler fan being a DC fan? Say what? LOL

I do think that the Superhero fad will die down the road (like all fads do in time) although not permanently, just temporarily hitting a bump. Especially with so many superhero films being released lately, which could cause many fans to grow tired with the genre. Also, in terms of the comics, if both Marvel and DC continue to put out the same stories again with no real consequences for the characters, then fans will get tired of that too, especially since independent comics are starting to get a bit more popular.

I don't know if the fad will completely die out, because superheroes can cover lots of genres. I think if we have a balance between traditional superheroes like Superman or Iron Man and more 'out there' projects like Guardians of the Galaxy, we'll be fine.

Except the 90s showed some of the highest sales in Superhero comics, so guess again.

I mean, I don't really see it as a fad. It has a massive fanbase, and has lasted over 70 years. If it's a fad, it's a pretty long lasting one. But if it is a fad, fad's (by definition) die.

I really hope so.

Why? Don't you like seeing your favorite heroes come to life?

@dabee:

After all those all time highs in sales due to cheap gimmicks, what happened? The complete collapse of comics that almost destroyed the comic business.

Then why come on Comic Vine? Do you like other genres of comics?

I think comics are like anything else. When they seem new and fresh, people take to it. Once people feel its been oversaturated, it goes away. It's really no different than the tides. Unfortunately as both a fan of comics and of the comic movies (both Marvel and DC) I feel they have been relying too much on the movies to bring new readers and the actual quality of big name heroes has suffered a bit, or are spread out among too many titles with too many writers (Spider-Man, Batman, Wolverine, Superman all come to mind). I feel a lot of the best work comes from smaller, second-tier characters right now (Venom, Nightwing) since they don't have film to back their popularity.

But comics will always be around.

I'm not sure. For now, the popularity of the movies should keep superheroes in the public eye and maintain interest in the genre. As for the comics themselves, despite the flaws of the Big Two, they have some of the most iconic fictional characters in history so that'll always draw some top talent to these companies to write stories on the bigger and lesser names.

Well comics did not start with superheroes, and superheroes can go away

so that we can have more fictional diversity

Hope not

All markets have high points and low points. It's all part of how our economy works.

Superhero movies will never die out. With the thousand of different superheros and superhero genre's, they're not going anywhere. Now the comics won't die out either, but they will certainly loose popularity, but eventually rise again. The superhero comic industry is a roller coaster. Anyways, the Superhero genre makes up for more than 70% of comic sells. Superhero comics stop selling, comic book companies loose money, all comic genres loose.

How is it even a fad? The question is flawed - superhero comics isn't a fad - and I don't see it dying out - add to that the money behind both the big two?

No -- not only is it not a fad, but the genre itself will be around for a long time. I do think the movie portion of it is a fad, but there is much more money to be made there so it will be around for a while yet.

This was pretty much I was going to say. And given the fact that marvel is owned by one of the biggest entertainment companies around as well as DC being owned by Warner Bros. I really doubt that either of these companies will shut down any time soon.

@wolverine08: Well, Magik will not be pleased to hear that....

Maybe. But it's not like it's going to go without fans.

@vortex13: My feelings exactly.

"Fad" is minimalizing the genre. It may lose popularity and fall out of the main stream conscious, for sure. But the interest will always be there for the hardcore loyalists.

Even in the very rare circumstance that interest would deminish to the point that the big two would go under,there would always be someone with a story to tell that can only be told with a superhero.

There may not always be a movie coming next summer. They may not always be wearing tights. They most certainly will not always be on the front page. But just like Superman's sheild, the stories will augment and take new shape for new ages. Call them superheroes, Specials, Metas, Mutants or whatever you chose, as long as there are fans there will be stories.

Are you anning on going anywhere?

Trends ebb and flow. Things drift in and out of popularity. I don't see superheroes going away any time soon but their power as mass public attractions in film and videogames may diminish. And then it'll be back after that, and then it'll diminish, and then it'll be back.