By Kevin Ford
Student Reporter
“I like Captain America for his hard work and his patriotism,” senior health and sports science major Brycen McClendon from Pampa, Texas said Tuesday. McClendon expressed his excitement for the upcoming Captain Marvel movie. News for superhero fans: that movie premieres Friday nationwide.
According to boxofficemojo.com, eight of the top 20 all time grossing movies are superhero movies from Marvel Cinematic Universe or DC universe. The top 20 movies all have grossed over 1 billion dollars worldwide. The charts for superheroes have skyrocketed significantly since the end of the 2000s. Superheroes have become larger than life figures due to their impact on young children and pop culture popularity. What makes the Marvel Cinematic Universe so successful is the quality of their movies.
When a series of movies improve upon the original, it is evident to gain more and more support as to suspect why the box office numbers are so high. These movies are not just for kids, but for the entire family and valuable life lessons can be learned whether an adult, elder or a child.
McClendon mentioned how he actually prefers DC movies over Marvel movies. “To be honest, I think Captain Marvel is going to be good, but I am more looking forward to Shazaam,” he said. “I like the Marvel movies, but I am a bigger fan of the DC universe and in particular Batman.” Batman has a blue collar work ethic, one that all people should strive to have, McClendon said.
Superheroes allow for kids to grow up with an inspiring role model. “I think as young kids, we look at superheroes and dream of saving the world,” said Erick Cook, senior psychology major from Pensacola, Florida.
Cook is a big fan of Superman and enjoys the superhero movies, despite not being all caught up with the latest. “I like Marvel and DC, but I don’t really keep up with the latest movies or none of that,” Cook said.
In the latest entry to MCU, Captain Marvel features a female lead played by Brie Larson. Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, returns to the screen as well. Fans have been buzzing about the new spin, having a female lead. This is huge. Other fans of MCU are looking past this movie and just looking over the horizon for the next Avengers film.
Shazaam may also spark a lot of attention for a bunch of fans as well. “Not too thrilled for the upcoming Captain Marvel, but Shazaam on the other hand looks pretty cool,” McClendon said.
McClendon’s favorite superhero movie is the Dark Knight from 2008. This Oscar winning spectacle featured Christian Bale as Batman and the late great Heath Ledger as the Joker.
“I love the Joker, he makes that movie totally worth it,” McClendon said. It is interesting to see which superhero movie is next to crack the billion dollar worldwide grossing mark for this calendar year.