Nick Picks | Are You Sick of the Superhero Origin Story?

Welcome to Nick Picks, a regular column by Nick Spake. There are countless important questions regarding the current state of cinema and I’m here to answer them.

People have criticized the new Fantastic Four so much that to complain anymore would be like beating a dead horse. There’s one notable problem that doomed this flop from the start, however: it was yet another origin story. Being a reboot, Fantastic Four naturally hit the reset switch. Since the 2005 film already told us about how these people got their superpowers, though, there was no interest in hearing the same origin story again. Wouldn’t it have been more entertaining if they had their powers from the get-go and were able to set off on an original adventure?

It doesn’t help that almost every superhero origin story is the same. Somebody gains superpowers, masters their superpowers, and then defeats the big bad with their superpowers. That doesn’t mean we should eliminate the origin story altogether. Ant-Man basically followed the same formula as Iron Man, but we still enjoyed that film because the characters, superpowers, and approach to the origin story were all fresh. With Fantastic Four on the other hand, we already knew who these people were, how they got their powers, and what they were going to learn. So there was no need to rehash their origin story.

A lot of superhero reboots have been making this same mistake. Man of Steel did everything it could to set itself apart from the other interpretations of Superman’s origins. While an admirable attempt, we had still seen his origin story before in Richard Donner’s original classic, the animated series, and ten seasons worth of Smallville. By 2013, we were all officially sick of seeing Superman’s beginnings. As timeless as the tale might be, eventually audiences want something innovative and new.

Although The Amazing Spider-Man only came out ten years after Sam Raimi’s 2002 blockbuster, the studio still felt the need to restart from the beginning. To be fair, The Amazing Spider-Man arguably did several things better than its predecessor, like the romance, action sequences, and Peter Parker’s buildup before becoming Spidey. However, Raimi’s version was much stronger in the villain, humor, and pacing departments. A close call, but the original film is ultimately going to resonate with mainstream movie audiences more because it came first.

The only superhero reboot that got away with telling an origin story was Batman Begins. The reason that film worked, however, was because Tim Burton’s interpretation didn’t delve too deep into Batman’s origins. It kept things ambiguous and let the audience fill in the holes. So when Christopher Nolan went into great detail with the Dark Knight’s origins, it was a truly unique, fascinating take. For any other superhero reboot, though, another origin story is simply unnecessary.

Many people believe The Incredible Hulk is one of weakest and most pointless additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially considering Edward Norton didn’t even return in The Avengers. To that reboot’s credit, however, it didn’t just repeat the 2003 dud. Bruce Banner was already the Hulk so it was interesting to see where the story would go. Superhero reboots could actually learn from this movie’s example. As a matter of fact, it looks like some reboots already are.

Marvel has stated that they aren’t going to depict Spider-Man’s origin story for a third time on the big screen. Spidey will just show up in Captain America: Civil War and then go on to get his own standalone picture. DC has also noted that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice won’t be all about the Caped Crusader’s origins. Rather, Bruce Wayne will have been Batman for several years and his relationships with various villains will already be established. Doesn’t that sound much more intriguing than Batman Begins…AGAIN?

While it’s unclear if any of these upcoming superhero movies will be good, it is at least comforting to know that studios are learning their lesson regarding origin stories. Every reboot essentially starts off with an old concept, but the idea is to offer something completely new in the process. It’s impossible for a reboot to stand on its own when its just revisiting the same plot points and story arks we’ve seen a million times before.