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Superheroes are our culture's modern take on mythology. The concept of godlike beings with awesome powers that walk among us, like Superman, brings us comfort on a near religous level. Superman first appeared during the great Depression and was an American symbol of hope. Other heroes like The Flash, Wonder Woman and Batman followed. Some had powers. Some had masked identities. Batman was nothing more than an urban Lone Ranger, as was Green Hornet and the Spirit.
When Marvel revitalized the sagging genre in the 1960s, the "flawed" hero was introduced - Spider-Man was ultra-nerd Peter Parker, the Fantastic Four bickered like a real family, etc.
Comic books were always the domain of young boys. So is Hollywood. As the modern comic book evolved, so did the marketing of the formerly fringe but now mainstream genre film. Witness Comicon - once the domain of a few busloads of geeks where awkward and socially inept men outnumbered females of any stripe 10:1, is now a spectacle second only to Cannes.
Good vs Evil. Mythology. The same Joseph Campbellian myth-driven story of gods punching each other to high heaven.
I personally am tired of the spectacle, unless it is a story that has not been told before. That being said, I am very excited to see Frank Miller's take on The Spirit, who is a 1940s noir Lone Ranger masked detective with girl trouble.
The Lone Ranger is still the best, because he was constantly explaining his view of frontier justice to Tonto, a scenario that would later play out with Batman and Robin.
But I digress.
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