We will never forget the unfortunate and lacklustre comic book films that have come out in recent years including Green Hornet (2011), Green Lantern (2011) and the terrible Superman Returns (2006) but what some may forget is that the studios would never have made these without the aide of Spiderman and X-Men who released their first films 2000 and 2002. They were both huge hits at the box office and comic book fan united and wanted more. Who knew what they’d get some years later is the studios scraping the barrel for film. Even the reboot of Superman films was badly executed. It did to the Superman series what Batman & Robin did to the Batman collective.
But now we find ourselves in 2012, the year of three huge superhero movies, one of which is the concluding chapter in what has already been a brilliant trilogy. Another is a reboot which the fans are more excited about than the original. The final film has already become one of the greatest successes at the box office and This year sees three highly anticipated films released including The Avengers, The Amazing Spiderman and The Dark Knight Rises, with the latter arguably being the most popular release this year.
The Avengers has been in the making since Ironman of 2008, where Nick Fury makes an appearance after the credits and visits Tony Stark to tell him about the Avengers initiative. Since then, in The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America, small hints and clues have been dropped using Nick Fury and the ever brilliant Agent Coulson to start the rumours of The Avengers. A film with more superheroes than you will ever see in one film, unless DC get their finger out and make The Justice League. It’s clear to see why this is a huge release for 2012.
Whilst enjoying The Avengers, please take a minute for poor Spidey who is not one of The Avengers, despite the fact that they all come from comic super power Marvel. However don’t feel THAT bad for him, after just 5 years since Spiderman 3, he’s been given a reboot. This is no ordinary reboot however, this is one that the fans wanted, the one that gets more to the root of who Peter Parker really is and what happened to his parents. We will also see the character Gwen Stacey introduced, who is a refreshing change from Mary Jane. Andrew Garfield takes up the role of Peter Parker / Spiderman and looks as if he is more suited to this than Tobey Maguire, who I never felt fit the part in the way that he should have! I’m sure I can expect some backlash from that comment!
Now we come the The Dark Knight Rises. The legend that will end this year is the legend we’ve been waiting for 4 years to return. Four years after we saw Batman take the fall from Harvey Dents crimes, he returns. But what he returns to we will have to wait and see. From the three trailers, what we do know is that Bane is his new enemy and he’s causing havoc and devastation in Gotham. What has happened to Batman, we don’t know but chances are when it comes to both brains and brawn, The Dark Knight has finally met his match. This is the third and final Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale Batman flick that we will see. After breaking the the billion dollar barrier at the box office, The Dark Knight has set the bar incredibly high, but knowing what Nolan can do, chances are he’ll Rise above it!
So a great year for some great some films, and there will be more to come. The Amazing Spiderman 2 has already been announced as as The Avengers 2 and 3. Without a doubt, this will be a super year. And for those of you worried about Superman, fret not dear friend! Take a look above, this is the first images from The Man of Steel, pencilled in for a release in 2013, with Christopher Nolan’s creative input as Executive Producer, working with Zack Snyder as Director, this should have you looking forward to another super year for superheroes.
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