In recent times, live action, feature length superhero films have been the flag carrier for the superhero genre. They are a huge event and a grand spectacle. With so much sensory excitement going into each film, fans love to ingest these stories. It’s a two-and-a-half-hour-long joy ride. Many of the most recent fans of the superhero genre have been inducted because of films. But before the rise of these films, it was animation. Animated shows and animated-straight-to-DVD films. Sure, there were films sprinkled in there but these shows and movies expanded, adapted and respected the source material more than the movies do. The superhero genre, for a large part, lived through animation. It seemed to be a smooth symbiosis between the books and animation. Animation did take its liberty from time to time but still kept the spirit of the books. But now, it has shifted. Instead of having ‘original’ and new animation based on the books, animation is now bowing down to the live action movies.
Animated shows and films were a major part of the superhero genre in the 1990’s to the early 2010’s. Batman: The Animated Series was a huge success and continues to be the cartoon show that other superhero cartoon shows have to beat out to be the best. Of course, the animated Spider-Man series is also a part of the fray. Justice League and Justice League: Unlimited, Teen Titans, and even the underrated The Batman animated series were all animated shows that still receive high praise. That success also bled into animated movies. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Batman: Under the Red Hood are some movies that lead the pack. These projects were each to their own so to speak. Many of them, especially the movies, were faithful to comic book storylines. These projects did not rely on the success and scope of live action movies or a shared cinematic universe. They succeeded on their own. That type of success has changed. Just a few animated projects have been successful on their own in recent time. Perhaps the biggest one is Invincible. Batman: The Caped Crusader has also found success by standing on its own feet in the era. Many of these shows and films are still referred to as the perfect representation of some characters. Even when compared to their comic books counterparts. Many fans even prefer animated portrayals to the live action ones. These were the go-to because not only did they stay faithful to the source material but also due to great writing, directing and voice acting. They were also more accessible. It was common to turn on the tv, put on a superhero cartoon and be obsessed with it. There was no pressure of making it bigger than it was because it was successful for being what it was. It didn’t need any more.
But many of the animated shows coming out now need to cater to the films. One of the first examples of this was when Marvel and Disney decided to switch up some Avenger cartoons. Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes debuted just before the MCU really took off. This show really respected the source material. Going so far as adapted some storylines for some episodes or for the entire season. Each character felt like they came from the page. They weren’t influenced by the changes that films too liberty in making. They were the actual characters a fan could see on the pages. This show beat the MCU to the punch for many things. Black Panther, Vision, Ultron, Kang, Dr. Doom, the Skrulls were all given a huge spotlight before the MCU had the chance to come in and alter their character to best fit the MCU’s image. But once the MCU really took off, Marvel and Disney decided to axe that show in favor of a brand new one that looked and felt more like the Avengers on the big screen. When Marvel did decide to come up with fresh animation, it was still in line of the MCU in the likes of What if…? DC took their turn in bringing animation back. Many considered them to be the better of the two when it does come to animation. DC has kept their stable of animated films pretty solid but their animated shows have definitely lessened. Batman: The Caped Crusader has done well but does find itself in a tricky spot because although it’s not linked to any live action film, it still does serve as a spiritual successor to the Batman: The Animated Series. Similar to what Marvel did with X-Men 97. The next animated show to come out for DC is Creature Commandoes. Although it looks like it stands on its own, it does reference some scenes from The Suicide Squad and is a piece that belongs to the fresh DCU. Marvel and DC were producing many cartoons that were beloved and acclaimed but now everything has to have ties to something bigger or something that came before. Sadly, that has put them in a bind. Since it’s the mainstream thing to put everything in a shared universe, a standalone series will ultimately fail. Tragic because that’s how they gained a large part of their audience nowadays.
Now are the days of superhero movies influencing a large part of the superhero genre. Of course, they will still look at storylines that are being written in the comic books to inspire their stories. But the film’s popularity now, from what it seems, is now heavily influencing animation, a form of storytelling that took many ques from the comic books. It’s a shame because with the films altering many characters’ traits, personality, and much more just to make them more accessible to standard audiences, animation was one of the main ways to accurately and respectfully portray many characters. And not just the characters but storylines as well. The writing is on the wall and it’s clear and bold. Animated cartoons, coming from Marvel particularly, that want to be committed to the source material will struggle to find light to grow. The cartoons attached to movies will steal all that light.
