Super Hero Movies: Do We Still Need Origin Stories?

The past several years have seen a huge increase in super hero films. Every summer is dominated by two or three such movies. Most of these films are sequels but many of them are reboots. Now while the reboots have all knocked it out of the park in my opinion, there is one thing about them that bothers me. So many of them feel the need to retell the origin story.

The origin story is an important part of any super heroes identity. So much of who the character is was first established in their origin. Many heroes have not had their origins told in any medium outside of the comics in which they originally appeared. Those films I have no problem with an origin story film. But looking at the recent stable of super hero films, The Amazing Spider-Man, Batman, and the upcoming Superman: Man of Steel, none of these characters need a retelling of their origins.

I guarantee you if you pulled any random ten people off of the street, nine out of ten of them could tell you the origin story for Superman (and I’m sure the tenth probably has a vague idea of what you’re talking about). Same if you asked them about Spider-Man or Batman. Alien baby rocket to earth. Nerd bitten by radioactive spider. Billionaire playboy orphaned as a child trains and swears vengeance. These stories have been told and retold and reimagined multiple times in multiple incarnations.

If one has not read the comics, they probably saw the previous film incarnations, or one of the many TV interpretations of the character. Or maybe not even any of those. Even if you had never seen a Superman comic, movie or TV show you still probably know his origin as it has simply become a part of the pop cultural lexicon. So much about the character has slipped into popular usage. Someone who is plotting something is referred to as “Lex Luthor.” If you have a weakness for something that may be referred to as your “Kryptonite.” The origin is the least of what we as a culture collectively know about Superman.

But there is an argument to be made that the only reason Superman enjoys such familiarity is because he was the first of what is referred to as “Super Heroes.” He is the archetype by which all the characters are judged (see here). But certainly Batman is just as popular. While Superman may have birthed the idea of the comic book super hero, many credit Batman with that ideas popularity. With the broadcast of the Batman TV show in the 1960s, comic book Super Heroes were thrust into a prime pop culture position. Though if any of you were like me you had no idea Bruce Wayne’s parents were dead from watching that show. I didn’t know his parents were dead until I saw the 1989 Tim Burton film.

Likewise, Spider-Man has been soaked in our cultural landscape. Yet when the franchise was rebooted a year ago (see my thoughts on that here) the filmmakers felt the need to retell the origin story.  True they were trying to distance themselves from the previously established franchise by Sam Raimi, but they could have easily done that without a complete retelling of the origin. The very fact that the character had mechanical webshooters and was set in High School already separates it from the previous films. Not to mention making the love interest Gwen Stacy instead of Mary Jane Watson (though they have cast Mary Jane for the sequel).

Spider-Man I consider to be particularly offensive since so much of the marketing was focused around it being an origin story. Spider-Man’s origin may be the most retold comic book story of all time. Even the much maligned stage performance of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark includes the origin story of Spider-Man. Personally I believe all Super hero films should handle the origin story the way Sam Raimi did in the opening of Spider-Man 2. Quick little snippets of artwork that show how the character came to be.

The very fact that Spider-Man 2 is a better film than Spider-Man shows how useless the origin story is. Same with Batman Begins. While both of the first films in these franchises are entertaining they are both far overshadowed by their sequels. Since all of the necessary exposition is taken care of, the filmmakers are free to delve into the true appeal of these characters and that is their struggle with their respective villains. Once the origin is out of the way, there is plenty of room for adventure and excitement in the script. Batman Begins allows the filmmakers to make The Dark Knight, but The Dark Knight could have easily been made without the requirement of a previous origin film.

Comic books occupy a strange place in the pop culture realm. Very few other mediums are adapted to film with only a cursory reference to the original source material. Books and TV shows are usually adapted to films by taking the original story presented within and reimagining it for the big screen. However most comic book characters that are adapted to the screen have long histories embodying multiple storylines. This means the filmmaker has to pick and choose what elements best capture the essence of the characters and will work on the big screen. But I believe you can still have all what makes a super hero great in a film without necessarily including the origin story.