Sitting in a crowded movie theater, you look around. It’s 2012 and hundreds of other fans have gathered for the midnight release of the blockbuster movie everyone has been waiting for. A stranger walks up and asks if the seat next to you is taken. You respond no and he takes the seat.
You notice the Iron Man t-shirt and strike up conversation. The entire theater is doing the same, buzzing with enthusiasm. The movie begins and the crowd falls silent, that is until the opening title appears on the screen: “The Avengers,” and the crowd erupts in applause.
Fast forward, it is 2016 and you are in the same theater only this time, the crowd is divided, Iron Man or Captain America. Whose side are you on?
The superhero genre has taken the world by storm, and not just the weather-wielding X-Man played by Halle Berry. These movies are grossing millions of dollars in ticket sales every year and have countless storylines, backstories, and alternate realities to tap into.
However, in recent months there has been a shift from the traditional hero vs. villain superhero movie. Instead, filmmakers are dividing the audience in two as hero vs. hero fight each other over conflicting values and principles.
But why are we so interested in seeing heroes that we were so excited to form in the first place split off into two opposing ideals? “There are a lot of horrible things happening in the world and movies have always been an escape for people,” said Sarafina Pastrana, a server at Hollywood Palms Cinema and Grill. So this explains the attraction but what about the actual fight pitting hero vs. hero?
Tasha Robinson, in her article, “Why we love watching our superheroes take each other down,” explains this hero vs. hero complex and why we seem so interested. She found different reasons this new genre of entertainment is so popular: we empathize with the heroes, there are more constraints, heroes usually do not lose, and frankly we just want to see who would win.
Ideals are a key component to a fight, and we empathize with the internal struggle a heroes face when they fight for their ideals even though it is contradictory to a friend’s.
Kristie Rogers, a box office supervisor at the Hollywood Palms, broke down this idea: “I think it may be because everyone has a little bit of darkness in them. People who thought they were good are actually finding something they see wrong inside themselves.” So even the noblest of superheroes can have that “darkness” that will force them make a hard decision in the end.
Hero vs. hero fights also have more constraints on the actual fight than a typical hero vs. villain brawl. This also ties into the fact that usually heroes don’t lose. When you have a hero fighting a villain good typically triumphs over evil but when a hero is fighting another hero who is supposed to win? Randy Leracy was the first in line to see “Captain America: Civil War,” he explains what he thinks about the hero vs. hero complex. “I feel they are running out of good bad guys for the hero to fight and this adds a new level of depth to the movies not seen before.”
At the end of the day people are frankly just curious as to who would win in a fight. Danny Madden a manager at Hollywood Palms explains his theory on the large numbers “People love but yet are also fearful of a god or higher power. So godlike individuals fighting one another attracts people, they want to see who is stronger.” Madden is referring to when Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice posed this question and brought in over $140 million opening weekend.
This concept of a civil war however is not new. The original “Civil War” comic book set was released 10 years ago and is worth over $300 on Amazon. Now with the rise of popularity in the hero vs. hero genre, Marvel is raising the question of whose side are you on, again and not just in the film industry.
According to Marvel’s official website “Civil War II” is expected to release later in the year in comic book form. This superhero filled sequel will pit hero vs. hero again in a war that can level cities and change the scope of the planet. As with the original, different ideals will be the leading cause of conflict in the series and heroes will fight old allies in order to protect what they believe is right.
As the theater lights go up and the credits begin to roll, the audience is silent. Is there really a winner in a fight between heroes? Just as the disappointment sets in and the crowd files from the theater, the screen goes dark again and opens to a bonus scene, giving the audience one last glimmer of hope that something evil will bring the sides together … in 2017.
