From freshman breakout series 'Heroes' to the hit video game 'Marvel: Ultimate Alliance,' squads of superheroes are now flying high outside of comics. DERRIK J. LANG investigates why superheroes are teaming up more than ever.
The Justice League takes Wall Street! (AP Photo/David Karp)
Together, the "X-Men" have clawed to the top. (AP Photo/HO/Twentieth Century Fox/Diyah Pera)
Spider-Man plays well with others. (AP Photo/HO/Activision)
Superheroes will team up in "Smallville" this February. (AP Photo/HO/The CW)
What's better than one superhero? Several superheroes, apparently.
For months, fans of "Smallville" have been buzzing about A Very Special episode featuring superhumans Aquaman, Green Arrow, The Flash and Cyborg. The foursome, all seen in the series' past but never together, form a nascent Justice League to battle evil Lex Luthor.
The hype and subsequent speculation -- Will they wear costumes? What will they be called? What about Batman?! -- is huge considering the episode, titled "Justice" and set to air during February sweeps, hasn't been filmed yet.
"Look, when you're a 6-year-old television show and people are still talking about you, it's great," says co-creator and executive producer Al Gough. "The thing you still want to be is relevant. The fact that we can introduce these characters and have this story line and the fans of the show are still excited is very gratifying."
Clark Kent and his superfriends are not alone.
The tried-and-true trend of superheroes teaming up to stop evildoers is transcending the comics, where superpowered alliances have been in full effect for decades. Although the "X-Men" made their last stand at multiplexes this summer, once singular superheroes across multiple platforms are no longer going it alone.
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CONQUERING BIG SCREEN AND SMALL
Next summer's "Fantastic Four" sequel will feature the addition of the Silver Surfer on the big screen. Video games starring both the Justice League and dozens of Marvel good guys were recently released. And NBC's breakout hit "Heroes" is, well, plural.
"There's something neat about watching all these superheros you know working together and how they get along," says Gough. "For us, it's always been more about the interpersonal relationships than how much whiz-bang explosions are involved."
It's also about the bottom line. Teaming superheroes together usually equals dollar signs. Domestically, the three "X-Men" films grossed more than $600 million. According to Nielsen Media Research, NBC's "Heroes" has won its Monday time slot for the coveted 18-to-34-year-old demographic for three weeks in a row.
"Fans like to see the heroes get matched up, because it's fun to see your favorite characters meet, interact and fight together -- or against each other," says SuperheroHype.com editor-in-chief Mirko Parlevliet. "It makes the world of superheroes bigger, more interesting and full of possibilities."
Fans also like to become their favorite characters.
Activision's "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance" was the best-selling video game last week, according to UBS Securities. Featuring more than 140 Marvel characters, the action role-playing game allows players to form dream teams from a menu of superheroes including Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Spider-Man and Elektra.
Similarly, Warner Bros. recently released "Justice League Heroes," which enables players to assume the roles of such supercharged DC Comics characters as Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern.
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OWNING THE HEROES
Chris Palmisano, "Ultimate Alliance" associate producer, attributes the super bundling to one thing: consumers' increasing infatuation with customization.
"I think that inside of the video game world and outside alike, people really like to feel like they have ownership over what they're doing and the experiences they're having," says Palmisano. "There aren't many things that allow that to happen."
Does this mean solitary superheroes don't pack the punch they once did? Depends. Last year's "Batman Begins" was a triumphant redux and 2004's "Spider-Man 2" was financially and critically successful. But this summer's "Superman Returns" was less than stellar.
"I don't think it diminishes the heroes at all," says "Smallville" co-creator Gough. "I think it's the next generation of where this is going. I think it's a natural evolution of translating superheroes from page to screen."
The just-add-more-superheroes strategy hasn't always equaled victory outside comic book pages. Case in point: 1997's "Batman & Robin," which saw the demise of the Dark Knight franchise years before the "Batman Begins" reboot. The Joel Schumacher-directed film featured Batman, Robin and Batgirl teaming up to combat villains Poison Ivy, Bane and Mr. Freeze. It was the lowest grossing Batman film ever made.
"If you can fit 20 characters into one story and make it work, you have gold," says SuperheroHype.com editor-in-chief Parlevliet. "Otherwise, you end up with a bunch of action figures that no one wants to buy."
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Will Clark Kent's superfriends be wearing costumes on "Smallville"? And is there talk of a Justice League spinoff? asap's pop culture blog, The Slug, knows.
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Derrik J. Lang is an asap reporter in New York.
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