Superhero origins in movies -

[tomgirl4life]

I'm getting real tired of seeing origin stories for every single superhero. It takes up half the goddamn movie sometimes getting them set up, and then you still have to build tension between them and the villain, who has hopefully been introduced in the meantime.

I know you want to explain some of the backstory, show how they came to be who they are, etc. But you can do that by dropping things here and there. Look at 2008's The Incredible Hulk. It wasn't a sequel to the 2003 film, it was complete and stand-alone; they went to great effort to distance themselves from it. They dropped hints to the origin story in the opening credits and made references throughout the film. 0 time dedicated to "origin story", and it worked.

It doesn't even have to be characters that everyone is familiar with though. Look at Guardians of the Galaxy and how awesome it was! 2 minutes into the movie and we've got Star Lord. We learn about the rest of the characters -- good and evil as the story goes on.

I like what it seems they're trying to do in the new DC movies; with Suicide Squad we'll get a cast of characters and learn about their stories as the film progresses. With Batman vs Superman we may get a bit of exposition, but I'm hoping it's not a lot.

Everyone knows how Batman came to be. We've seen his parents get shot in no less than 5 movies in 20 years. We're on our 3rd Spiderman in less than 15 yearswith Captain America: Civil War, and I pray to God Marvel doesn't make us spend half of the movie learning what comes with great responsibility.

 

[CatParty]

I pray to God Marvel doesn't make us spend half of the movie learning what comes with great responsibility.

http://www.ibtimes.com/new-spider-m...-says-screenwriter-jonathan-goldstein-2035610

Screenwriter Jonathan Goldstein has confirmed the new “Spider-Man” movie will not be the origin story. “I think that everybody feels like you know he got bit by a spider and you know Uncle Ben died, and we probably don’t need to revisit that,

With Batman vs Superman we may get a bit of exposition, but I'm hoping it's not a lot.

Everyone knows how Batman came to be. We've seen his parents get shot in no less than 5 movies in 20 years.

yeah they've already cast his parents and shot in a crime alley location for batman v superman

 

[That Chris Guy]

Seeing his parents get shot is somewhat of an exception to the rule imo, since it can be over with so quickly - they just get shot. Getting bitten by the spider, changing and then losing Uncle Ben is a much longer sequence, same with Superman's origins. Batman's is just something that can be explained in under 2 minutes, if even that.

Long as they don't try to give full exposition with why he chose bats, how he picked up his life, blah blah blah...

 

[Some JERK]

Seeing his parents get shot is somewhat of an exception to the rule imo, since it can be over with so quickly - they just get shot. Getting bitten by the spider, changing and then losing Uncle Ben is a much longer sequence, same with Superman's origins. Batman's is just something that can be explained in under 2 minutes, if even that.

Long as they don't try to give full exposition with why he chose bats, how he picked up his life, blah blah blah...

With Batman it makes sense to shoot that scene for nearly every film. They certainly don't need to show the entire incident every time, but a brief flashback? sure. It's a traumatic event in his life and a huge part of his overall motivation, so it makes sense that it would be something that he replays in his head over and over.

 

[dabluearmedbandit]

With Batman it makes sense to shoot that scene for nearly every film. They certainly don't need to show the entire incident every time, but a brief flashback? sure. It's a traumatic event in his life and a huge part of his overall motivation, so it makes sense that it would be something that he replays in his head over and over.

Exactly, I can see it being done very easily. Batman's on the ground getting the living shit kicked out of him. The shooting flashes before his eyes, inspiring him to get up and keep fighting. That simple and quick, and no one could complain.

 

[Zorceror44]

I think showing a superhero's origin is fine if we haven't seen that origin a thousand times already, and/or you get the origin story over with within the first ten minutes. Otherwise, it just takes away from the film.

 

[TheMightyMonarch]

I don't mind flashbacks but when origins stories take up at least half of the plot, then it's more likely to be rather lackluster than not. It might be unrelated, but it might have to do with the fact why I found both Man of Steel and Batman Begins to be boring as hell.