There was a time where superhero films were a rarity. Wesley Snipes’ Blade. The Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, The Punisher and X-men were some of the only superhero films existing. One of the subjective topics in film today is the over-saturation of superhero movies. Of course, this implies the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), followed by DC films. Ever since the superhero craze started with Marvel’s response to DC’s The Dark Knight, Iron Man, I started noticing the trend of one almost always being in theaters, and nowadays, there is much truth to that statement.

That feeling of “too much” was made even worse in 2016.  The MCU being a success right out of the gate, other studios saw that clear as day, and it wasn’t exactly mind-blowing when studios trying to emulate what Marvel has done appeared, specifically with the DC film “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” in 2016. That film, terribly mediocre as it is, showed that exact notion. DC saw success in Marvel’s films, and wanted to cash in, even if they weren’t as nearly successful as their competitor. Make a superhero movie, and have an unlimited amount sequels, each one ending with a teaser for the next one. Soon that horrid trope was added to tons of other films outside the superhero genre, and somehow making it a statement to not include a post-credit scene or a sequel.

Anyways, are there too many superhero films? Yes, there are. But it is it a bad thing? Yes and no. If you look at critical reviews as well as audience reaction, almost all of the Marvel films are well-received. While there are ones universally disliked, like Thor 2, most of them are well loved. However, while there is the occasional blip in the system like Guardians of the Galaxy volume 1 and 2, Thor Ragnarok, Captain Marvel and Black Panther, most of the films felt monotonous and same-y. A movie of superheroes beating up bad guys, credit scene teasing another movie, and boom, rinse and repeat, with the same cast every single movie.

But nobody, even a guy like me who cherishes some sort of change in flavor in film, cannot deny that the majority of superhero movies plaguing the market today are good, monotonous or not. There are a whopping 23 MCU films released so far, not even counting the television series that are still running, and the amount of duds among those can be counted on one hand. One would be blind to deny their deserving success. There has always been an over-saturation of some type of film in so many decades. The 80s had action movies and slasher films, the 90s had romantic comedies, and so forth. It would be hypocritical of me not to mention that I have had a lifelong obsession with that aforementioned action craze. There may be too many superhero movies, but it will eventually die out, but as of now, most of them are of good quality, and you can never have enough of that, whether it be superhero, slasher or rom-com.

Edited by Abbie Barth, Adam White