The R-Rated Super Hero

As someone who has long been a champion of “Comics Are Not Just For Kids” it warms my heart to see a film like Deadpool, an R-Rated super hero if there ever was one, being so successful. Both critically and financially. With such a deluge of super hero movies coming at us every year (about six on average at this point) it was inevitable that more would eventually be aimed at adults than at children. But what are the benefits or detriments of having R-Rated super heroes? Are they going to be the next evolution of the genre or are they going to be the final nail in the coffin?

History would not show a theme of increased super hero R-rated flicks being likely. While a few of these types of films have come out, they have mostly failed at the box office. Or at the very least been lukewarm received by their intended audiences. The most notable of which being the film adaptation of Watchmen, a comic book that many had declared unfilmable prior to the age of Super Hero films. Of course this was before Spider-Man broke box office records and The Avengers became one of the highest grossing film franchises of all time. Then the idea of “unfilmable” no longer applied to any property with super heroes in it.

But ironically we only have the super hero genre because of an R-Rated super hero film. While many people give the credit to Spider-Man and the X-Men for starting the super hero film obsession, it was 1998’s Blade that really started the super hero movie trend. This obscure character who existed in the Marvel Universe as a vampire hunter may not bare much resemblance to Captain America or Iron Man, but he has fought alongside both those characters in the four color pages. And while it often gets classified as Horror, make no mistake, Blade is completely a super hero. Take away the blood and gore and the movie Blade follows the Super Hero blue print to a letter. Super powered individual seeking vengeance with a wise mentor who sacrifices himself so that the individual can finally beat the threat to the city/country/world.

While the popularity of super heroes is a cheerful thought for me (I hate to say this, but I liked comic books before it was cool) there is a major problem with R-Rated super heroes. Kids. One of the big reasons why the super hero genre is such a money maker is the popularity it has with kids. Be on the look out the next time you’re in a toy store or around Halloween, and just count all the super hero merchandise. Most kids aren’t even aware these characters existed in a medium prior to the films. Like the old saying goes “It’s Show BUSINESS.” What gets money is what gets made.

So why even bother with R-Rated super heroes. Surely Hollywood can make due with making family friendly super heroes. But the truth is not all super heroes are family friendly. The key to a good adaptation is being true to the core of the character and some characters (like our good ole friend Deadpool) just can’t be done for the kiddies. Characters like The Punisher, Spawn, Judge Dredd, these characters have buckets of blood and foul language dripping on every page and their three dimensional counterparts cannot be playing patty cake on the big screen. For it to truly be a faithful adaptation, there needs to be just as much if not more offensive material on the screen as there is in the pages of comic book fans, eighteen and older.

And make no mistake, those older and mature comic book fans are there. While the kids are flocking to the theatres, it has been the older comic book fans who have been keeping the medium afloat. Without that initial fanbase there would be no Iron Man, Hellboy, or any of the other comic book films that have driven this genre to its current popularity. The comic book companies long ago realized that they were dealing with a more mature audience and transitioned their storylines accordingly. Vertigo, an imprint of DC comics, was set up as an entire printing line of comics with less super heroes and more dark adult content. Marvel followed suit years later with a line called MAX, featuring primarily The Punisher. Because of the success of this version of the character, people will always associate The Punisher with a darker and more violent tone than his contemporaries.

These darker associations can sometimes be hard for some people not familiar with comic books to understand. For a comic book fan like myself, I associate a character like Batman with Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. For someone not a comic book reader, they associate Batman with Michael Keaton or even Adam West, a slightly more tongue in cheek interpretation of the character. The Dark Knight Returns Batman showed a caped crusader not cracking jokes but breaking bones. So influential was the Dark Knight Returns that the upcoming Batman V. Superman film is borrowing heavily from it for its legendary smackdown between DC’s biggest icons. So dark is The Dark Knight Returns that there is consideration of releasing a rated R version of Batman V. Superman when it comes out on Blu-Ray.

End of the day, movie ratings shouldn’t really matter. A story that deserves to be told should be told no matter what elements it contains. And when you start worrying about whether the final product will be R or PG 13 (or substitute the film ratings relative to your country of origin) then you miss out on an important part of storytelling. Characters have a life of their own and if your character is a foul mouthed, hyper sexualized, ultraviolent madman then you need to write that story and not bow to the pressures of a ratings board.