Flame Tree Fiction

It's fair to say that among all the movie announcements and trailers revealed at last weekends Comic Con 2015, it was superhero movies that really stole the show. Yesterday we analysed the amazing second trailer for Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice, you can click here to read it.

Ah, Comic Con. Apple of my eye. You really are too good to me sometimes. This year, you may have outdone yourself. You've given us a handful of awesome superhero movies and a couple of amazing trailers (plus a few more if you count the leaked ones).

Though we see movie posters almost every day, it is often the ones for sci-fi movies that feature the most striking and evocative imagery. The genre has pioneered some of the most recognisable imagery for movies as well as establishing certain genre tropes, making subsequent sci-fi posters look mimetic by comparison. 

We see movie posters almost every day. They may pique the interest, or remind you of a film you had forgotten you wanted to see. It's this upfront, direct form of marketing that connects with audiences, often working in tandem with the trailers - either as a gateway for first time viewers or as a reminder of a trailer they liked. Combining to make sure the presence of a movie endures in one's mind up to the point of release.

The internet melted this weekend. The trailer for Zack Snyder's Superman v Batman was leaked and even though the quality was grainy and a little hard to hear, comic and sci-fi fans worldwide rejoiced. 

One thing struck me after my intial excitement waned for the Batman v. Superman trailer that was leaked last week. It was the repetition of the suffix 'man'. Once you start saying it over and over it starts to become really noticable. BatMAN, SuperMAN, BatMAN, SuperMAN, MAN, MAN, MAN. 

What are the repurcussions of excessive power? Superhero films have lately opted for darker storylines: Man of Steel's final battle left Metroplis in ruins, with surely thousands of citizens dead. Equally Avengers Assemble's final set piece destroyed most of New York. One may wonder if the same levels of destruction will be found in the sequel. 

With the new movie, Avengers: Age of Ultron about to hit cinemas tomorrow, we thought we'd take a look at the epic might of superhero movie sequels, reboots and their general appeal to the public.