Marvel has built a multi-billion dollar industry on creating films where colorful heroes battle mustache-twirling supervillains. Such villains don't exist in real life, but that doesn't stop Kevin Feige from constantly battling his own biggest villain: superhero fatigue. After the Marvel Cinematic Universe reached its apogee with the film "Avengers: Endgame"« , subsequent films stopped bringing in the same profits as before. Audiences yawned when faced with ambitious flops like «Eternals» , and even critically acclaimed blockbusters like «Thunderbolts» и «Fantastic Four: First Steps, couldn't make as much money as «"Superman"» , last summer's breakout film. Historically, superhero fatigue among fans has been cited as the main reason for Marvel's decline.
The basic idea behind superhero fatigue is that audiences are tired of seeing the same characters doing the same things on screen. You can endlessly watch Sam Wilson smashing enemies in the Avengers movies before seeing him battle a color-changing Hulk in «Captain America: Brave New World» — it's getting pretty boring, isn't it? The exception, it seems, is Spider-Man, who is about to release his 12th film in 24 years. On average, a new film comes out every two years, yet he remains the most popular superhero in the world. So why does he seem immune to superhero fatigue? It's simple: Spider-Man films constantly change characters, actors, and plots, keeping everything feeling perpetually fresh and new.
Spider-Man: The Good Old Days
Since Sam Raimi began his Spider-Man trilogy in 2002, every Spider-Man film has been a huge success. Even those that are generally didn't like to the audience, ultimately brought in serious box office receipts. For example, «Spider-Man 3» was considered a complete failure by critics and fans, but still earned $895.9 million; by comparison, the critically acclaimed and fan-favorite film «Spider-Man 2» earned only $795.9 million. Later «The Amazing Spider-Man 2» , which has been blamed for the collapse of Sony's own Spider-Man film universe, earned $716.9 million, admittedly less than the previous film's $758.7 million, but it was still the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2012.
There's a pretty simple lesson here: viewers really do Very love Spider-Man. They love this superhero so much that even when a bad Spider-Man movie comes out with terrible reviews, it doesn't matter is raking in huge box office revenue. After Sony reluctantly entered into a partnership with Marvel, Spider-Man films are earning more than ever, and the film «No Way Home» grossed a staggering $1.921 billion. Clearly, this character is immune to superhero fatigue, as even his worst films generate huge profits for the studio. But why is Spidey immune? Both accidentally and intentionally, his films offer audiences a variety and complexity they simply can't get from other heroes.
Spider-Man is constantly changing
Let's start with Sam Raimi's original trilogy. The first Spider-Man was a rather intimate origin story, with the stakes correspondingly low. «Spider-Man 2» , however, was a romance story in tight suits, and the stakes were raised to the point where Spider was saving trains full of people and ultimately the entire city. Much criticized «Spider-Man 3» , meanwhile, served as a deconstruction of the relationship between power and responsibility, highlighting Peter's true goodness while simultaneously highlighting his internal struggle with selfish desires and his external struggle with more villains than ever before.
Later «The Amazing Spider-Man» offered viewers something new. This reboot featured a completely new cast, and the reworked origin story felt fresh thanks to the natural chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. «The Amazing Spider-Man 2» was an ambitious film that balanced the sweet, burgeoning relationship between Peter and Gwen Stacy with a story about complicated family traditions (Harry and Norman Osborn), "nice guy" toxicity (Max Dillon, who went from nerd to weirdo), and risky moves (Gwen's potential Oxford scholarship). Admittedly, the film is overloaded with too many plotlines and villains, but to its credit, it's very different and for sure not boring.
A spider by any other name would smell just as sweet.
Spider-Man variant
The success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Spider-Man films speaks for itself, as does the failure of most of Sony's solo Spider-Man franchises, with the exception of Venom. The failure of these major villain films truly underscores that audiences watch movies to see their favorite superhero, not just his supporting foes. Remarkably, Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse films were an unqualified hit, thanks in large part to a stunning script, breathtaking animation, and familiar characters. But it's also worth noting how quickly audiences fell in love with new Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Add to that Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker in completely new for us, and you get films that truly feel innovative.
In short, the Spider-Man films have always been successful because each one either reinvents the character or offers us a fresh plot. No two Sam Raimi Spider-Man films are alike, and Marc Webb's Spider-Man duology includes two absolutely different films. The Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse films feature completely different versions of familiar characters, while even the Marvel Cinematic Universe has made changes: «Spider-Man: Homecoming was a coming-of-age movie, Spider-Man : Far from Home» — a film about experiencing grief, and «"There is no way home"» — a multi-universal mixture. Now Brand New Day is set to change things up with a whole host of cameos and new characters, while «Spider-Man: Noir» completely changes All , What do we know about the storytelling style in the Spider-Man films?.
There's your answer, arachnids: superhero fatigue doesn't really exist. Audiences are simply tired of watching the same actors play the same characters, doing the same thing. For nearly a quarter of a century, Spider-Man has remained the most popular superhero, and that's largely because his films have constantly changed actors, characters, and plots. The character's continued success is effectively a challenge for Marvel Studios. Namely: adapt or die. If they can give other characters the same variety and storytelling complexity as Spider-Man, they will thrive. Otherwise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will die because fans will be busy watching movies like «"Obsession"» и «Behind the Scenes» , which offer something Kevin Feige can no longer: new ideas .