When the progress of success has leveled off, there is one option ahead; change. At times, the factors that have brought that kind of success turn corrosive. What has brought the uplifting achievement becomes the downfall. Marvel is facing this issue. DC pivoted into this issue. That issue is incorporating, playful, light, family-friendly, safe, and overly comical tones over and over. What needed to be done and what didn’t need to be done, especially for Marvel, reflects the maturity that the target audience has grown into. The superhero movie genre, for the most part, is similar across the board and in abundance. For that reason, many groan when a superhero film comes out and again incorporates the tones mentioned above. Or just might simply groan at another superhero project. As of now, the superhero genre needs an audible. A movie or two that refreshes the genre and fixes the mistakes of the heaps of superhero films. Or perhaps this type of movie came out already? Perhaps this type of film came out at the wrong time? Because this movie does exist. And that movie is Watchmen.
When it came out in 2009, Watchmen was received with a lukewarm welcome. Controversy immediately followed since it was unthinkable to have an R-rated superhero movie. The scenes and the tone that were in the film pushed it further away from a full, positive embrace. With many characters getting the main character spotlight and playing with different story dynamics, it was a tough narrative for audiences to digest. It wasn’t a superhero film that didn’t play it safe. That was intentional. Some of the heroes were murderers. Some of the heroes engaged in horrific acts. There was psychological scarring. Emotional detachment from the ones that needed saving, And the villain won in the end. Up till that point, Watchmen went against the norms that a few superhero films established. Yet, over the years, it has received some traction. Perhaps because it still goes against the grain. It still plays against the tones that many superhero films still play with.
The MCU began its reign with jokes, humor, good-hearted heroes, cinematic final fights, and one-dimensional villains. This not only brought them triumph but created the playbook for other superhero films and other franchises, such as Transformers. Audiences enjoyed it until they didn’t. This is a problem that has been going on for years. A criticism that has been said for years. But the biggest influence on superhero films has yet to change. This is where Watchmen would have been crucial for the genre if released now. Watchmen, even at the time it was released, went against the tropes. Again, it was part of the reason why the film didn’t get a positive review. Yet, what may have been controversial in 2009 will now be considered a fresh course of action. Many of the components that make up Watchmen are, in a sense, the Anti-Marvel formula. It’s dark, violent, gritty, and lacking heroes that have good moral standing. The film shows what could possibly happen with these characters existing in the real world. There are notes of power corrupting characters such as The Comedian and, in some parts, Dr. Manhattan. The heroes actually take out threats permanently, a course of action that seems logical for other heroes to do, but they don’t. Rorschach feels no sympathy for criminals, so he takes away their lives. And again, the villain wins. Ozymandias turns out to be the wolf-among-sheep type villain and gets the win. In fact, he beat Thanos to the punch. Both value life but see that by taking a lot away, the ones who remain will have a better future. Marvel took quite a bit of movies to get to that point. Even other DC films had to work up to it. Case in point The Dark Knight. The Joker won to some degree, but it took the second movie to do it. Watchmen was just one film and had the villain win. So, if Watchmen was released within the past three to five years, it could easily capitalize on the frustration the superhero genre is venturing. It could meet the demands that have been the criticisms of the genre. It would reflect the maturity that audiences have grown into. Watchmen came before the superhero genre really took off. It followed The Dark Knight and Iron Man, two films that are monumental in the genre. These two films are cherished. But since that time, DC has ventured into a lighter tone most of the time, and Marvel hasn’t strayed away from that tone. Since it’s a tone that many superhero films use now, Watchmen would stand out even more because of the bitter, cold, and dark tone it has.
Since Marvel began its tight grasp on the genre, there have been some superhero projects that have ventured into a darker tone. Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the Marvel Netflix shows, Joker, the Deadpool films, and The Batman, to name a few. And they have all done great. But if anyone were to say that Watchmen will simply be another superhero project in a sea of them and won’t get recognized, there is evidence that it could. The narrative spirit of Watchmen is currently happening. That spirit lives within The Boys. Both projects have a similar tone, explore the character’s psyche, show how power could corrupt, and dive into the question of what if superheroes were real. Obviously, they take their paths on it, but the ride is very similar. And The Boys is one of, if not the best, superhero show. Maybe best project overall. And the show came out during the time when the light, playful tone of superhero movies started to become redundant. Watchmen, if released now, would have done the same.
Bottomline, Watchmen does exist. It still has everything and does everything mentioned above. So, if one were to rewatch it now, see it for the first time now, or anticipate its theoretical new release date, the film still goes against the grain. Although the film is not new, someone could still appreciate what it could offer them, and what it has to offer is a break from the light tone that has been etched in superhero films. But if that film were released today, respect for Watchmen and what it’s doing for the superhero genre will be welcomed more positively.
