2024 was a rough year for the comic book film. So rough that all the naysayers that have been praying for the death of the genre were writing its obituary.
But 2025 was supposed to be the year that the comic book films came back. Two of the biggest properties in comics, the one that originated the superhero comic in the 1930s, the other that revolutionized comic books in the 1960s, were both getting big budget revamps with tentpole movies. Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps were supposed to bring back the comic book film with a vengeance. But the results are still out.
However, there was one film last year that gave me faith for the future of the comic book film. Too bad not enough people saw it.
That film was not Captain America: Brave New World. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it a whole lot more than most of the people that reviewed it, but that was because I thought it was a harmless, low-key action film and not hot death on celluloid.
A lot of my good will was generated by the acting performance. Harrison Ford was great, as he often is when he is not phoning it in. Anthony Mackie is a great actor too and seems to really enjoy portraying Sam Wilson. However, the film was perfunctory in execution, giving us a by-the-numbers plot elements. It suffered by news of the massive reshoots being leaked prior to release and Marvel screwed the pooch by revealing the Red Hulk, a plot element the film itself went out of its way to build to, in the trailers. It also didn’t help that the film was an ipso-facto sequel to The Incredible Hulk, a film that was released 17 years prior, only this time with no Bruce Banner to be found.
Captain America: Brave New World was not the worst film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by a long shot. But it didn’t do the franchise any favors. The film made $415 million worldwide, $10 million below the $425 million that pundits said it needed to break even. The lackluster response to the lackluster movie caused many moviegoers to skip the next film in the franchise. This was a shame, because Thunderbolts* was one of the best films in the entire MCU.
Perhaps it was because the film was composed entirely of MCU supporting characters that writers Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo and director Jake Schreier were allowed to dig in, get their hands dirty, and present its cast as rich, intriguing characters instead of never-changing archetypes. The Thunderbolts were a group of damaged people, lost and adrift in a world of Thanos snaps and Avengers melees, who come together to kill each other but end up becoming a pseudo family by the end. That is a difficult journey to take the characters on, but the filmmakers made it a successful one.
The film is buoyed by the performance of Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, a Black Widow who is reacting to the massive amounts of red in her ledger far worse than her “sister” Natasha did. Pugh, who is an excellent casting choice by Marvel Studios and she better make it out of Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars alive, portrays this sadness perfectly. She especially shines in scenes with her surrogate father figure Alexei (David Harbour), a man who loves Yelena as a daughter but was only her father figure because the KGB mandated it. He desperately wants to help her but doesn’t feel he has the right because he knows that he is not her real father.
This is a deeper and richer form of characterization than you typically get in a comic book movie, even one in the MCU, and that’s what made Thunderbolts* a great film. However, the great MCU malaise of 2025 kept fans who would have loved the film away in droves. The film only made $382.4 million worldwide, far below the $425 million that was needed to break even. That’s a shame because the film shows that Marvel Studios could recapture the glory of their early days. Thunderbolts* flopping will keep them from taking advantage of it.
Next, the DCEU is dead! Long live the DCU!
James Gunn’s revamp of Warners’ DC Comics began with Superman. And while your mileage may vary, it entered with a whimper rather than a bang. No, I haven’t turned into a Snyder Bro. I was just expecting better from a creator of Gunn’s caliber in his take on the Man of Steel.
Gunn seemed fearful to make a wholly original take on Superman and instead delivered a story that references the Supermen that came before. Many times, during the film, Gunn seems to go out of his way to show that his Superman is different from Snyder’s, as well he should. But his giving Luthor the same lame land grab motivation that the character had in Superman: The Movie and Superman Returns, the character moves from threatening to silly. Yes, it is a tip of the cap to those prior movies, but it essentially undermined Nicholas Hoult’s masterful performance as Luthor. His Luthor was the richest man in the world, has the Pentagon on speed dial, was able to create a pocket universe and a skyscraper with a detachable flying control room. He didn’t need to go to such silly machinations to get his own country. That whole plot element took me out of the movie.
And that’s a shame because there was a lot to love about the film. David Corenswet captures the earnestness and common decency that makes Superman great, Rachel Brosnahan makes a great Lois Lane too, and together, they build the best Clark and Lois romance that we have seen on screen to date.
Superman earned $616.8 million worldwide, which is enough for an estimate $100 profit, although it is seen as a disappointment by some because it was expected to earn between $700 million and $1 Billion dollars. This ‘success but not a success’ was enough for the Snyder Bros to expect Warner Brothers to come crawling back to Snyder, begging him to take back the franchise. However, Warners is sticking with Gunn for the foreseeable future.
Finally, Marvel’s third chance this year to return to greatness, Fantastic Four: First Steps, arrived. Fans have been itching to get the Fantastic Four back so they could finally be done right. What they got was…well…Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Fantastic Four: First Steps is the best FF film to date. But the bar for that accomplishment is abysmally low. I gave the film a positive review when I first saw it (click here to read it). I stand behind that review. Overall, I still like the film. But, in hindsight, I keep coming back and finding an issue with the tone and pacing of the film. Fantastic Four: First Steps is a comic book film on valium. Everyone is so laid back in the film, it almost becomes somnambulistic. Especially in Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s performance a Ben Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing. His take on the character is so laid back, he seems to make The Thing fade into the background. And if you are familiar with they character from the comics or in other films and TV shows, you know that presentation is the opposite of what the character really is.
The film made $521.9 million worldwide, which is considered a minor success, but a disappointment in comparison to the film’s $1 billion expectations.
So, what does this say about the state of the comic book film. Well, first of all, I’d say that the expectation of the $1 billion payday should be left by the wayside. It was hard to get to begin with, and it is nigh impossible in today’s climate. Second, audiences are less willing to come back if you keep feeding them dreck. Because if you give them trash, they will think everything you make will be trash.
And the continued existence of the comic book film will probably depend on how well the 2026 films do. Supergirl and Clayface expand James Gunn’s DCU. The former is adapted from one of the best Supergirl stories of all time. The latter will be an R-Rated horror film from the talented Mike Flanagan. Both could either move the genre in new and exciting directions or could be refused by comic book film fans who just want more of the same.
Marvel Studios is trying to win back its fanbase by giving its what they think they want: big movies that are overfilled with their favorite characters. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man returns in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The film will also feature Jon Bernathal’s Punisher and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk and Sadie Sink playing an as yet unnamed character. His supporting cast will return too. What they will all be doing, nobody yet knows.
And wrapping up the year will be Avengers: Doomsday. This is Marvel Studios desperate ploy to recapture their pre-Avengers: Endgame mojo. RDJ is back. Chris Evans is back. Can Scarlett Johansson be far behind? It seems like Marvel Studios is trying to use stunt casting to make people forget about all their lapses in quality over the years. Will it make any difference? We’ll know in a year from now. But if it fails, it might take the whole genre with it.
