Heroes in the Real

I would attribute the main reason for the success of modern comic book movies to their “real world” approach. People don't put on fancy costumes nor have powers, but everything from the first Spider-man to Heroes has taken the fantastic elements and set them in a world that's otherwise familiar and relatable to all of us. In Batman Begins, we don't even see the hero in costume for the first hour. More time is spent on character, on developing the man who puts on that costume. Anyone can put on a costume; not everyone can grasp the idea of being a hero.

As often happens, Netflix recommended an obscure film to me based on my tastes. I don't think I've ever seen Hero At Large, though elements of the 1980 classic were familiar. Perhaps kids in my elementary school talked about it. I certainly wouldn't categorize it as a comic book movie, though it centers on a costumed hero. The late, great John Ritter plays a struggling actor in New York, taking on various publicity gigs in order to pay his rent. It was great to see how little Manhattan has changed as well as how much. The architecture was the same, but the signage was very different.

One night, while wearing a “Captain Avenger” costume to promote a movie, Ritter stops in a convenience store on his way home. He ends up foiling a robbery, which inspires a news story, which inspires him to go out and do more good deeds in costume. He doesn't have any powers, or any special training, and the film is realistic in its portrayal of what would happen if a regular guy put on tights and a cape and went after the armed and the dangerous. Without spoiling too much, I will say there are realistic consequences. Maybe his character is a little crazy, maybe he's trying to impress his neighbor, played by a lovely young Anne Archer, or maybe he's just a nice, idealistic guy who wants to give people something to believe in. It was a little sappy, the humor dated at times, but it was a very enjoyable bit of entertainment that reminded me how much it sucks that Ritter died. Before Jim Carrey and Ryan Reynolds, people like Ritter and Robin WIlliams reigned.

Will Smith, another growing legend with both comedic and dramatic skills, is set to portray a superhero named Hancock next year. Not based on any specific comic, but inspired and playing off comic standards like Hero At Large, Heroes, or My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Hancock looks at a hero like a celebrity or a professional athlete. The glory days don't last, and he reaches a point where he just doesn't care anymore as the public turns on him as well. It could be very funny, and certainly a very different approach to the genre. When you relate the fantastic to the world we occupy, it's more convincing, and makes escaping into that alternate world much easier.