Most Anticipated Superhero Shows of 2013

2012 was perhaps the greatest year yet for superheroes. Marvel's the Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises were the two biggest movies of the year, each surpassing a billion dollars in worldwide box office receipts. Spider-Man was successfully relaunched and even C-listers Judge Dredd and Ghost Rider were given  the chance (though they were not successful) to relaunch potential film franchises. The found footage film Chronicle was another bright spot in the genre paving the way for the success of lower budget films. DC churned out three more animated films with Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 proving that the film line hasn't yet run out of tricks. So can 2013 top this past year? Perhaps not financially, but there are a ton of projects worth getting excited about. Let's countdown the most anticipated new superhero shows of 2013...

State of the Upcoming Marvel Movie Slate - 2013 and Beyond

Hoping to build on the success of Marvel's The Avengers which has eclipsed $600 million domestic (nearly $1.5 billion worldwide), movie production of properties based on Marvel characters are moving full steam ahead. Along with Marvel Studio's own post-Avengers Phase 2 plan, there are more movies in development for the X-Men franchise, Spider-Man, and a couple of other new kids on the block. With fresh Comic Con scoop, lets take a look at the current slate of Marvel movie's currently being churned out of the machine.

Onscreen History of Beta Ray Bill

Although his bares a monstrous mug, Beta Ray Bill has the heart of a hero. In fact, Bill proved worthy to wield Thor's mighty hammer Mjolnir. Eventually Thor's new ally got his own hammer, Stormbreaker. Bill first appeared in the pages of 1983's Thor #337. Why the long face Bill? You are hitting the mainstream!

Onscreen History of Loki

Appearing as early as 1949 in Marvel's Venus #6, mischief maker Loki made his first official appearance in 1962's Journey into Mystery #85 and has since been a consistent foil to Thor and the Avengers.

Ranking Superhero Movie Theme Songs

The time has come to rank the top superhero movie themes of all time... well at least of the last 40 years. In order to make the cut, there were a few basic rules. 

1) The theme had to come from a movie. Sorry Wonder Woman, Justice League Unlimited, and Greatest American Hero, you will have to duke it out another day.

2) The original song couldn't just be in a superhero movie, but needed to be the actual theme music. Sorry Star Spangled Man.

3) The theme needed to be memorable, recognizable, and enjoyable. You may say "D'uh" but 2003's Hulk theme for example fit the character and can be easily recalled, but I don't ever desire to listen to it.   

And off we go...

Retrospective 2011 - Part 2

 The second quarter of the year really heated up in May when Thor ushered in the Summer blockbuster season.

Thor

While not the gigantic hit that Iron Man was, Thor still performed exceptionally well around the world, especially considering the heavy fantasy element that has not always done well when coupled with superheroes. More importantly, Thor was a good movie that told a good story while respecting the source material. With Thor, Marvel proved they could build their in-continuity franchise. Thor got the summer off to a good start and was one of my favorites for the year. The gem earned a sequel to come in late 2013.

No Disguising Transformers Weekend Victory

And just like that, Transformers: Dark of the Moon is on the board. After Independence Day, the domestic total sits at $181 million, already ahead of the Mighty Thor. The Trany's worldwide total still lags the thunder god's for the time being sitting at a pretty $391 million with lots of gas yet in the tank. Perhaps I should remove Transformers from this superhero race, since its going to rally skew the comparison of the other heroes.

I am having a hard time spinning Green Lantern's performance which has really tanked. At least it passed the $100 million mark and at least it passed The Green Hornet. Not a huge accomplishment granted, but at this point you have to take the small victories. I am not sure what is going on with the worldwide market, but hopefully some progress is made on that front to lessen the disaster.

The X-Men and Thor both continue to plod forward hoping to catch a few extra bucks before the First Avenger arrives in 2 more weeks.

Spotlight on the Enchantress

Rumors are a swirling that Thor may face off against the Enchantress (and her sidekick the Executioner) in 2013's Thor 2. Its time for a refresher on the sorceress, Lady Amora. The Enchantress AKA Amora first appeared in Marvel's Journey Into Mystery #103 in 1964 along with axe wielding hench-goon The Executioner also known as Skurge. Basically, Amora loves Thor who loves Jane Foster (and later Sif), but Skurge and loves Amora forming a complicated love polygon.

The Enchantress first appeared onscreen in the 1966 Marvel Super Heroes cartoon in which she made her first attempt at seducing the Thunder God in his Donald Blake persona.

It would not be until 2009 that the Enchantress would return to screen in Hulk Vs. (Thor). In the movie, the Enchantress whose love was spurned by Thor, aided Loki in his scheme to topple Asgard.

Later in 2009 Amora was seen in The Super Hero Squad Show.

The Enchantress and Executioner returned in 2010 to torment Thor and the rest of Earth's Mightiest Heroes on The Avengers animated series. During the shows first season, Amora, working in cahoots with Loki, joined Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil.

In a bit of fan service, Amora was given a brief scene teaching Loki how to manipulate water during the opening of the 2011 animated DtV Thor: Tales of Asgard. Seeing as how the Enchantress has been featured so frequently in recent years after a long time out of the spotlight, it just may be time for the emerald sorceress to take center stage as Thor's adversary in the upcoming live action sequel. We shall see.

Thor Shall Return From Asgard in 2013

The sequel to Thor has been set for July 26, 2013. This strategic date has all but set up Marvel for a box out of DC during 2013 who may have been considering a Flash movie at some point during the summer. Who knows, it could still happen providing a semi- deja vu of this year's super-sized summer of comic book films. As it stands, Iron Man 3 and Deadpool are also slated for summer 2013 with possible Daredevil and Fantastic Four reboots to vie for remaining release dates along with the fastest man alive. The more the merrier sayest I!

Cars Nabs the Weekend Checkered Flag

Cars 2 raced into theaters this weekend easily coming int first with a $68 million take. What did that mean for the superhero films? Well, Green Lantern took a steep tumble, accruing just $18 million toward a $89 million cumulative take. X-Men mustered another $6.6 million and is still headed toward a sub $150 million finish. Thor continues its slow march toward $180 million. This upcoming week should be interesting with the Transformers launching a full on assault on the box office and the other films hopefully getting a 4th of July boost.

Green Lantern's Mildly Bright Box Office Take

Its pretty obvious to anyone reading this site that I have been pulling for Green Lantern to be a huge hit. Well, I will just cut to the chase and say that once again DC has failed to win over the mainstream in a way that Marvel has consistently done. And I was majorly off in my prediction.

I will concede that Green Lantern is a bit of a tough sell. Its full of odd creatures and zaniness that can easily seem goofy to the uninitiated. In addition, "Green Lantern" isn't really a guy but a title. This distinction fueled some people's confusion over why the movie Lantern, Hal Jordan, wasn't black like in the Justice League cartoon which focused on John Stewart. On the other hand, the Green Lantern comic as of late has consistently been DC's biggest seller. There are dozens of rich characters from which to draw and thousands of Green Lanterns. I had such high hopes that the movie would tap into the Green Lantern's potential. It kinda didn't. Additionally, it was massacred by the critics when it was really more along the lines of an X-Men 1 or Fantastic Four than a Catwoman or Jonah Hex. And despite what audiences heard, the movie looked amazing.

Anyway, GL opened to $52.6 million, less than Thor or X-Men: First Classes openings. Its still possible the movie could have an amazing run if it were to catch on with the family crowd, but even then $150 million is looking like a challenge at this point. The problem is that of the 3, Green Lantern was the most expensive. So, while calling this a flop is ridiculous, we have yet to see how this will affect DC's grand schemes to develop its own movie universe... I am sure there will be plenty to report on over the next weeks.

X-Men continues its pace in accord with X-Men (2000) looking at a $150 million finish. Thor continues to slowly lose its thunder maintaining a trajectory of $180+ million. How will Captain America fair in this super saturated summer? Stay tuned.

In Its Second Week, X-Men Out-Supered

In not terribly surprising news, X-Men: First Class dropped to second place for the weekend behind opener Super 8. The second weekend total of $25 million elevated the mutants to a $99 million domestic total to date, officially surpassing the total of The Green Hornet. The X-Men still has some gas in the tank, having kept nearly an even pace with the original X-Men film. Look for a finish close to $150 million. Thor continues to chug along. At nearly $174 million, Thor looks to peter out at about $180 million.

Next weekend, Green Lantern opens as a bit of a wild card. Images of the movie have been plastered everywhere, but some negative buzz has fed skeptics. Remember DC has a lot riding on this movie's success including plans for a Lantern Trilogy and a Flash franchise. My gut tells me it will do fair to good since it does look like it has potential for a broader audience than X-Men or Thor. It definitely looks more family friendly than X-Men, but whether or not that translates into camp is yet to be seen. I am keeping my fingers crossed for an opening around $65 million and a near $200 million finish.

Wolverine-less X-Men: First Class Declawed at the Box Office

Owing to the poor reputation of X-Men Origins: Wolverine along with the absence (almost) of Wolverine in this film, X-Men: First Class opened to a relatively soft $56 million. For comparison the original X-Men opened to $54 million 11 years ago. X-Men: The Last Stand, the series biggest earner, opened to $102 million in 2006. What this means is that X:Men: First Class may struggle to keep the X- Franchise alive in its current form in spite of favorable reviews. Perhaps producers should offer up a true reboot rather than trying to have their cake and eat it too with an in-continuity (kind of) pseudo reboot/prequel without most of the fan favorite mutants.

The opening positions X-Men behind Thor for opening weekend take and places the mutants on a trajectory to finish behind Thor, just like I predicted. Thor scooped up another $4 million lifting its domestic total to $169 million.

Animated Thor Sales Tell a Sad Tale

First week sales for Thor: Tales of Asgard are in and according to The-Numbers.Com which estimates DVD sales, the news is not great. Granted, Blu-Ray sales, which are an increasing piece of the pie, are not taken into account. Nevertheless, in the Marvel line of films sales for Thor only surpassed those of the disappointing Next Avengers movie mustering just $951 thousand bones. The estimate was less than half of those for first week sales of February's All Star Superman DVD from the DC line.

Its been sad to watch as DVD sales in general have dwindled, but in particular watching the reduction in the profitability of the Direct to Video superhero sales has me a tad fearful even for the future of the DC line. Having said that, this Thor movie seemed an odd choice and tough sell and it ended up performing about the same as the previous chance Marvel took on teen superheroes. In any case, if Marvel DtV's rise like the phoenix from its ashes hopefully these figures will encourage more Hulk Vs type stories and less super kids.

By Odins Beard, Thor Readies For Box Office Competition

During its fourth weekend in the box office, Thor suffered modest declines earning another $12 million during the Memorial Day holiday, good enough for 5th place. The current domestic total of $162 million continues to increase toward a hopeful $180-190 million. Thor's worldwide total of $411 million is already impressive when compared to the Incredible Hulks total worldwide take of just $268 million - though I am guessing Hulk sold more "Hulk Hands" than Thor has sold rubber hammers. This Friday, fellow Marvel heroes in X-Men: First Class may inflict some damage on Thor's box office legs as they two films cater to similar audiences. It remains to be seen which of the two films will end up with the bigger opening weekend total. Tune in next week once the dust settles to fins out.

Thor's Poop Deck Plundered By Pirates

In his third weekend at the box office, The Mighty Thor dropped to third place behind Pirates 4 and Bridesmaids rounding up another $15 and a half million. The 55% drop from last weekend, though still respectable, was due in part to many of the premium priced IMAX and 3D screens being allocated for the newer releases. Thor is currently sitting on a domestic total of $145 million and nearly $400 million worldwide. From this point in its run onward, The Incredible Hulk still banked another $20 million. Thor has been consistently outpacing the Hulk and so another $30 to $40 million looks likely before the run is over. Oh, and less than 2 weeks until X-Men!

Thor Ends the Marvel DtV Line with a Whimper

So this is how it ends for Marvel's "edgy" direct to video line of movie aimed for mature audiences, not with a bang but a whimper. Sure, I expect more Marvel animated movies to come some day, but for now the future is uncertain and with the acquisition of Marvel by Disney, this line is dead. But does anyone care? After a year plus delay, Thor: Tales of Asgard finally hit shelves to cash in on the release of the live-action Thor and I have to wonder how much of a boost the delay will even give the movie.

For a quick recap of history, Ultimate Avengers debuted back in 2006 to pretty big sales offering ratcheted up violence and action and a PG-13 rating aimed at hip teen and less hip 20 and 30 something (but possibly still living at home) audiences. Ultimate Avengers 2 and The Invincible Iron Man also performed well in spite of mediocre stories and sub par animation. Then Marvel started making crazy choices. Just when DC jumped into the game with what ended up being a superior product, Marvel decided to focus on the lesser known Doctor Strange. That was followed up with Next Avengers a PG rated movie focusing on the teen kids of the Avengers. The movie was actually okay, but it seemed clear the line had strayed from its initial promise. To their credit Marvel's next two Hulk vs and Planet Hulk were both excellent, delivering action and intensity that couldn't simply be adapted for Saturday morning cartoons. Lastly, Marvel offered up Thor: Tales of Asgard and I am left scratching my head.

I will go into detail below, but aside from the two Hulk movies, these Marvel DtVs all had a sort of TV pilot feel to them. Not that the movies were bad, just that at the end I always felt like "now that that's out of the way lets see what happens next," only there is no next. These movie have been too much setup and not enough story. Sure DC has had some origin stories but they have balanced them with epic stories at the heroes prime. The Thor movie predates an origin making it even less satisfying. Whatever. At least the Hulk movies saved this line from total mediocrity and if nothing else, Marvel drew DC into the market, so thanks for that. Here is the final ranking of the line.

#8 Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme may or may not be a faithful telling of a character that I just don't find that interesting or likable. This is a perfect example of a story that felt half told because by the time the character was introduced, organized, and ready to roll, the running time was up. I am confident a Doctor Strange 2 would have been better, but of course there will be no sequel.

#7 The Invincible Iron Man was another decent origin story that begins to feel pointless without any further stories to build upon it. The phenomenal live-action Iron Man movie released after this makes The Invincible Iron Man even more irrelevant and the flaws more evident. Oh, and the CG baddies look horrendous.

#6 Ultimate Avengers 2: The Rise of the Panther was a step down from the first Ultimate Avengers. I did like the Black Panther, but his role on the team didn't seem to justify an entire movie. My memory may also just be failing me, but this movie didn't really seem to have much point other than "stop alien invaders."

#5 Thor: Tales of Asgard doth dishonor its hero. As if they didn't learn from the teen Avengers debacle, once again we are treated with a teen hero in Thor. The movie didn't even bother for a rating which makes me think it would have ended up in the PG category as well. I just don't understand. Thor was in six of the eight Marvel movies, but he never really got his own spotlight. That is a travesty. I know this is technically a Thor movie, and there were some nice references to the rich mythology of Asgard and the Nine Realms, but one crucial element was missing. It may not seem like a big deal, but if I were to ask 10 people to name the first thing they thought of with regards to Thor, I am pretty sure 9 if not 10 of them would say something about a hammer. Well aside from a 2 second gag with a wooden mallet, there was no Mjolnir here. So basically this movie may be a good intro to Thor's world for those that know nothing of him, but its a ripoff for those who do. And its blatant contradictions from the other Thor film will do nothing but confuse new fans of the character won over by the live-action movie. Sadly, the best animated Thor movie to be found is titled Hulk Vs.



#4 Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow is a movie that sounded like a disaster, but wasn't. The story was pretty enjoyable and the Hulk's role was perhaps the movies highlight. My main problems with the movie are that the limited running time prevents the viewer from really caring about this new roster of characters. Also, the movie was annoying in that the whole point of these DtVs was to make animation more geared for teens and adults. Why then produce an (albeit good) adventure aimed at kids?

#3 Ultimate Avengers deserves credit for launching not only this line of Marvel DtVs but DCs line as well as movies for other characters like Hellboy. I really like the WWII sequence as well as the Hulk fight at the end. The middle is a bit uneven, but for the size of the cast, everyone was given a couple of memorable scenes.

#2 Planet Hulk surprised me. No I have not read the original story, but the whole idea sounded a bit hokey to me. I am still not sure I like the idea of perma-Hulk versus transforming Hulk and the movie did seem quite reminiscent of the movie Gladiator. Nevertheless, when all was said and done the talking/thinking Hulk stuff didn't bother me at all.. Besides, if they were going to do another Hulk movie, I suppose this approach was better than another monster that must be stopped story. The arena fights, especially the one with Beta Ray Bill (if they could use Wolverine in Hulk Vs, why couldn't they use Silver Surfer here?) were enjoyable, and all of the flashbacks were entertaining. In the end this movie stands on its own, the most complete movie in this whole line.

#1 Hulk Vs. not only delivered two stories for the price of one, but both were interesting, different enough from one another, and briskly paced. I probably preferred the Wolverine story to Thor, but both were enjoyable. This simple idea begs for a follow-up with a Hulk Vs 2 or even a line of Marvel Vs movies. Even though this isn't really a movie as much as two long episodes, it is proof that longer running time isn't always better.

There you have it. To recap:

#1 Hulk Vs. (Wolverine and Thor)
#2 Planet Hulk
#3 Ultimate Avengers
#4 Next Avengers
#5 Thor: Tales of Asgard
#6 Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther
#7 The Invincible Iron Man
#8 Dr. Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme

The Mighty Thor's Box Office Hammer Continues to Swing

During its second weekend, The Mighty Thor amassed another $34.5 million, enough for the weekend crown. The current total has given the God of Thunder at least a temporary box office lead among 2011 super hero films, passing up The Green Hornet. With $119 million domestic and an additional $225 million for foreign receipts, Thor is currently wielding a worldwide total just shy of $350 million with two more weeks before the Men, X throw their hats in the ring.

Quest for the Box Office Crown - Thor's Thunderous Opening

Summer hast officially begun with Thor the God of Thunder hammering home $65,811,000 during his opening weekend. While this is a solid opening, it may place a $200 million finish slightly out of reach for the bearded one. The original Iron Man opened with 98.6 million and went on to earn $318 million. The same trajectory would give Thor a $212 million finish. On the other hand, Marvel Studios other non-sequel The Incredible Hulk opened with 54.5 million on its way to $134.8 million. Hulk's trajectory would land the son of Odin at $170 million. The safe bet is that Thor will land somewhere in between at around $190 million. While that is not quite as high as I had originally predicted, the sum should be pleasing enough to the execs back in Asgard to green-light a sequel for the Mighty Thor.

Quest for the 2011 Superhero Box Office Crown - Bold Predictions

Its May! The summer movie season in upon us beginning this Friday May 6th with the opening of Thor. X-Men: First Class opens in a month on June 3rd followed in just two more weeks by Green Lantern on June 17th. Although the Transformers aren't strictly superheroes, I have included them here. Transformers: Dark of the Moon opens in less than two months on July 1st. Captain America will close out the season on July 22nd.

Its time to lock in my predictions for the domestic box office earnings of these films which I will be updating throughout the summer.

Thor - $240

Not as accessible as Iron Man, but pretty much two full weeks without major competition should pay big dividends. With nearly $100 million in the bank already from the International market, Thor looks to do just fine.

X-Men: First Class - $175

I am thinking audiences may be X-Mened out. This movie does look pretty good, but with an all new cast and no Wolverine, people may be confused.

Green Lantern - $275

This is the one I am really pulling for. Assuming this movie is good, a sequel has potential to be even more incredible. So, my outlook is hopeful and biased. Unfortunately, GL is parked in the middle of the most summer competition and so it better make its green quickly.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon - $350

Surely the quality of Transformers 2 will have an impact, but the trailer for this is pretty ridiculous, in a good way. The 4th of July has also been friendly to the disguised robots and will probably be again.

Captain America: The First Avenger - $165

I love the guy, I really do, but of the five movies listed here, this one gets me the least excited. Partly, that's because I really don't have much to go on at this point. By the end of July, geeks are going to be broke so Captain America will have to settle for sloppy seconds.

To recap, even if my dollars are off, I expect the final order to be:
Transformers for the win
Green Lantern to place
Thor to show
X-Men to survive
Captain America to lick his wounds