Superheroes: Do we need another one? | Sam Chan Bigger questions

Superhero have become incredibly popular and earn big dollars. Twenty years ago, they accounted for just 1% of movie tickets sold—now, they make up over 30% of sales. They are more popular than ever, but haven't we had enough of them? Why are they so popular? In another entertaining and insightful conversation Sam Chan shows how superhero movies help us see something bigger.

Our guest is Dr. Sam Chan. Sam is a preacher, author, cultural analyst and medical doctor. He works as national communicator with City Bible Forum.


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Bigger questions asked in the conversation

Sam, we’re talking today about superheroes. Did you ever read superhero comics?

Smaller Questions

Today we’re asking Sam Chan about superheroes. So Sam, I thought we’d test you on how much you know about superheroes.

Superheroes - origin and explanation

So Sam, if you could have a special superpower - what would it be?

Have you thought about becoming a superhero? BatChan? SpiderChan?

Now, we ask the really big questions on this show. So, I want to get to one of the biggest: Where have all the superhero capes gone? Wonder Woman, used to have a cape - but it’s gone. Now most of the modern superheroes on our screens are cape-less, except Captain Underpants. Why is that?

Why do you think the old superheroes wore capes?

Do you have a favourite superhero?

There are two ‘universes’ of superhero movies: DC and Marvel. What is the difference?

So then - what makes a superhero?

Superheroes - childish and formulaic

But isn’t the whole superheroes thing a bit childish? Rhymer Rigby, journalist with the Telegraph in the UK in an article entitled: No self-respecting adult should buy comics or watch superhero movies, said


Can we all please grow up? Can we acknowledge that Marvel and DC have scraped right though the bottom of the barrel? Can we call time on superhero films? Films which are too dark for kids the comics were originally written for, yet too dumb for any thinking adult.


So are they childish - not something that mature people should watch?

Superheroes - popular

But there still seem to be lots of superheroes - and more coming. Superhero films have become incredibly popular and earning big dollars. Twenty years ago they accounted for just 1% of movie tickets sold - now they make up over 30% of sales. The most recent Marvel Avengers Infinity War movie set a new record as the fastest movie in history to reach $1 billion at the box office. Some say that the superhero genre is reaching “heights of popularity not seen since its origins on the comic book page.” Why is this so? Why do we love superhero films?

Superheroes - battle of good vs evil

Superhero films are escapist - but does our love of superheroes reveal something more? What does our love of superhero films reveal about us?

"But aren't some superheroes vigilantes? For example, Batman who takes justice into his own hands - why do we still vouch for him when we're on screen?"

Superheroes in the real world - Unbelievable?

But what about in the real universe? Some dislike superhero movies because they just don’t make sense in the real world. In an article entitled, ‘10 reasons why I'm sick to death of superhero movies’, the author said that they don’t make sense, he said,


One of the characters is a god. AN ACTUAL GOD. Fighting alongside an irradiated mutant and a bloke in a robot suit and someone who fires arrows. [...] Does this seem ridiculous to anyone else, Thor teaming up with some mortal humans?


Is this ridiculous? Superhero movies depicting gods living and fighting amongst men?

There seems to be a lot of overlap between mythology and superheroes - in Avengers. Thor, the God of Thunder, is literally lifted directly straight from Norse mythology! Other superheroes could be seen as different expressions Greek mythological heroes. So are modern superheroes ju