New Wave of Superheroes

This week the cover of "Entertainment Weekly" features the new actor cast to take over as Superman. The film, which is targeted for late 2012, will feature a re-boot of the "Superman" franchise, a mere six years after the last "re-boot." And Superman's not the only superhero getting a make over.

It seems that Hollywood loves to beat ideas to death. When something is successful, it breeds clones until no one can stand to see the genre any more. We've seen it happen time and again. Horror films (slashers, specifically) have undergone three or four life cycles, and it seems we're destined to see the superhero flame burn until the wick is vaporized.

On the small screen we've already seen the death of interest in superhero tales. "Heroes" faded last spring, leading to its cancellation. This year, the shows "No Ordinary Family" and "The Cape" tried to restore interest in superheroes in a weekly series only to see those efforts fall flat. Neither show is expected to see a second season.

On the big screen, several prominent series are about to see another new effort, but the question is with nearly a dozen superhero films in the works the next two years, will audiences still turn out to see them? And, more importantly, should the studio be re-booting all these series?

Consider, "Superman" was an iconic film in 1978. It spawned three sequels, two of them dreadful, then a pair of TV shows — "Lois & Clark" and "Smallville" (which is ending this year). Then, in 2006, director Bryan Singer rebirthed the Man of Steel with "Superman Returns." I liked the film, but since it cost $270 million to make and grossed only $391 million worldwide, it was considered a bust.

Now, in 2012 or 2013, we'll be getting an entirely new take on Superman. Director Zack Snyder ("Watchmen," "300") is bringing Superman back to the big screen, promising an original take. Doubtless the visuals will be different, but I'm skeptical about the chances of a new series, or even interest in a new series.

But that's not the most egregious re-boot. In 2002 "Spiderman" debuted. The three film set of "Spiderman" tales were some of the most profitable of the last decade. Now, the series is getting a complete re-boot with new stars, a new director, and a new take. Really? A decade after the first film and a mere five years after "Spiderman 3" we're getting a whole new version?

But Spiderman's not the only hero getting a re-boot after a successful run in the 2000s. This summer we're getting "X-Men: First Class," a prequel/re-boot of the "X-Men" series that came to the big screen for the first time in 2000, spawned three movies and a spin-off, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." And, by the way, there is another "Wolverine" film slated for release in 2012, so Marvel is trying to have its cake and eat it too. A re-boot and a spin-off sequel of the same series.

When you combine these with the rest of the superhero movies slated for release (This summer alone brings "Thor," "The Green Lantern," and "Captain America" along with "X-Men: First Class"), it's easy to see why there is reason for concern.

I like a good superhero movie as much as the next guy (maybe more), but this is getting ridiculous. It would be nice if we could get a few original ideas instead of just getting retreads of the "Spiderman" and "Superman" stories.