2018 saw the release of a record-breaking number of major superhero films. That includes Avengers: Infinity War, the first superhero film to gross more than $2 billion worldwide, and Black Panther, which grossed $1.34 billion, making it the fourth highest-earning superhero film ever. It was a year in which superheroes triumphed — but it was, also, unfortunately a year in which ugly political realities made most superhero fantasies seem increasingly strained and irrelevant. The superhero genre is clearly one of the major draws for moviegoers at the moment. But it feels less and less like what we need as a culture.
Superheroes have always been political. Colorful figures in tights were beating the tar out of the Nazis long before America...