Over the past few years we have been swamped with superhero films. From Spiderman, to Batman, to Hulk to X-men. They have generally dominated our screens and continually been successful at the boxoffice. However I feel like times are changing. In the past we had certain films that re-defined the genre, influencing all future superhero films that followed, but today I don't see that happening. The original Spiderman started a huge swarm of origin movies. But just when we were getting tired of them, two totally different films came out in the same year: Iron Man and The Dark Knight. These two films would come to represent the different kind of superhero movie. The dark gritty superhero movie and the joke filled, action packed superhero movie. However at least one of these seem to have come to their natural conclusion with The Avengers. Let's be honest, where can the Marvel dream team go from here? I am looking forward to Thor 2, and I will probably go watch it in cinemas, but I doubt that it will bring anything new to the table. That isn't necessarily a problem for the immediate future, but when genres run out of new ideas they stagnate. Just look at the Western genre (which happens to be making somewhat of a comeback recently). The reason I ask this question is because I think the superhero movies in the style of recent Marvel efforts have peaked. Sure Avengers was fantastic fun, but from here on out the novelty of 'bringing together all your favorite superheros' just wont be there. So that leaves us with the more realistic films. Last years Chronicle was an interesting effort and I hope shows where these films can go to in the future. By changing around the classic formula Chronicle made the genre interesting again. The Dark Knight - which is one of my all time favorite films - worked not just because of Heath Ledgers performance, but because what the film was saying, not just a commentary on society but on the price of being a superhero. But these films seem to be a minority. Sure The Amazing Spiderman is supposedly going dark and gritty, but when I watched it I found it fairly light. I enjoyed it, but it made me realize how few superhero films are going for the more serious vibe and that worries me. That doesn't worry me as much as the idea of the fun superhero movies stagnating. The dark ones work because they are in contrast with those that don't take themselves too seriously. They balance each other and are often commentaries on each other. So it seems, to me at least, that the superhero genre is in an interesting place, and seeing how it adapts and changes over the next year or so will - I think - define how much longer they stay relevant. I do have some hope though, with The Man of Steel looking fantastic and fairly different there could be more films trying to be original. But let's be honest, are there all that many more places these films can go and still remain successful? I'm not so sure. But what about you? Where do you think the superhero genre can and will go? Do you think it will survive? What kind of superhero films are your favorite? Do you think the genres hope lies with films such as Chronicle and The Man of Steel? Please discuss.