This past decade saw an explosion in superhero films. With comic mainstays such as Batman, Spider-man and Superman, even lesser known ones like Daredevil, The Punisher, and Ghost Rider, seeing their films released in a span of time that needed heroes more than ever.
Spider-man centered around a teenager in Queens, who, after receiving a bite from a radioactive spider, rose to meet the pressures of doing the right thing in a tumultuous time. For many New Yorkers it was too easy to relate to a character like that. Bruce Wayne becomes a vigilante after seeing his parents shot down and Tony Stark see his business turned against him as the weapons his company manufactures are used to hold him ransom. The X-Men are a group of societal outcasts who are fighting simply for the right to exist. All of these heroes compartmentalized what we wanted to believe about ourselves. Forced into rigid circumstances we can do what's best.
For many these films represented a zeitgeist. Those who experie…