Marvelous Rise of Superheroes in Cinema

Marvelous Rise of Superheroes in Cinema: Evolution of the Genre from Sequels to Universes addresses the superhero movie genre’s transformation between 1978 and 2019. To emphasize and

illustrate the conceptual and thematic transformation, the main conventions of the genre are

scanned through several periods, focusing on the developmental age of the genre, including the

dominant period of DC Comics-based superhero movies (1978-1997) and the Marvel “boom”

(2000-2007), and the contemporary age. For this purpose, the book traces the fundamentals of

superheroes from the first appearance of Superman in Action Comics #1 (1938) to the final installment

of the MCU’s Phase 3, Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). The transformation has two significant

points. First, the genre’s main conventions have been in a change. Second, the genre’s focus

has changed from sequel filmmaking to the universe concept. The study investigates the Marvel

Cinematic Universe’s dominant, leading, and major role in the genre’s evolutionary process.

Besides, the future of the superhero movie genre is questioned through the multiverse concept to

broaden an understanding of the genre’s following directions.