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Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:22,044 It's been one of those days. 2 00:00:22,044 --> 00:00:24,028 The traffic is monstrous. 3 00:00:25,056 --> 00:00:27,048 Town is a nightmare. 4 00:00:27,048 --> 00:00:31,064 You're surrounded by clowns and your boss is a total Nazi. 5 00:00:33,012 --> 00:00:35,004 It's time to escape. 6 00:00:35,004 --> 00:00:36,084 And here come the heroes. 7 00:00:42,016 --> 00:00:44,036 They're fighting for truth... 8 00:00:45,096 --> 00:00:47,076 That wasn't right. Give me that! 9 00:00:47,076 --> 00:00:49,044 ..justice... 10 00:00:50,060 --> 00:00:54,000 ..or to overcome some longstanding psychological trauma. 11 00:00:55,064 --> 00:00:58,084 They draw power from deep-seated myths and legends... 12 00:01:01,032 --> 00:01:04,032 ..and an army of visual effects technicians. 13 00:01:10,060 --> 00:01:13,092 In Secrets Of Cinema, I explore the conventions which underwrite 14 00:01:13,092 --> 00:01:16,088 the movies we love the most and examine the techniques 15 00:01:16,088 --> 00:01:19,096 film-makers use to keep us coming back for more 16 00:01:19,096 --> 00:01:22,068 and, tonight, I'm looking at what right now is probably 17 00:01:22,068 --> 00:01:25,092 the biggest and most hotly debated genre of all. 18 00:01:28,020 --> 00:01:32,016 I'll examine how superheroes set out to save the world... 19 00:01:34,060 --> 00:01:36,084 ..but ended up conquering it. 20 00:01:48,020 --> 00:01:51,056 It's hard to think of any other time in cinema history when a single 21 00:01:51,056 --> 00:01:54,072 genre has been as dominant as superhero movies are 22 00:01:54,072 --> 00:01:56,004 at the moment. 23 00:01:56,004 --> 00:02:00,088 Take Avengers: Endgame, the biggest worldwide hit of 2019. 24 00:02:00,088 --> 00:02:03,044 It's the sequel to Avengers: Infinity War, 25 00:02:03,044 --> 00:02:06,040 the biggest worldwide hit of 2018. 26 00:02:07,096 --> 00:02:09,060 Now! 27 00:02:12,008 --> 00:02:15,020 Other recent box office smashes include not only sequels 28 00:02:15,020 --> 00:02:17,080 to more famous superhero franchises... 29 00:02:19,020 --> 00:02:20,064 Crash positions! 30 00:02:23,036 --> 00:02:25,028 ..but also films about characters, 31 00:02:25,028 --> 00:02:26,076 until recently, known only 32 00:02:26,076 --> 00:02:28,040 to comics aficionados. 33 00:02:29,064 --> 00:02:31,044 And now even the villains 34 00:02:31,044 --> 00:02:33,060 are getting their own movies. 35 00:02:33,060 --> 00:02:36,096 Indeed, these films have become so successful that some directors 36 00:02:36,096 --> 00:02:40,048 like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola have started to view 37 00:02:40,048 --> 00:02:43,000 them as a kind of alien invasion, 38 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,028 as somehow not cinema at all. 39 00:02:45,028 --> 00:02:48,048 But, actually, superheroes and cinema have been entwined 40 00:02:48,048 --> 00:02:49,092 from the very start. 41 00:02:53,028 --> 00:02:56,040 Take the prototypical superhero Superman. 42 00:02:56,040 --> 00:03:00,020 As the pre-title sequence of Superman The Movie reminds us, 43 00:03:00,020 --> 00:03:03,024 he was created during the Great Depression, a time 44 00:03:03,024 --> 00:03:06,060 when cinema dominated popular culture. 45 00:03:06,060 --> 00:03:10,052 And his creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, 46 00:03:10,052 --> 00:03:13,072 looked to the movies for inspiration. 47 00:03:13,072 --> 00:03:16,088 ..was the responsibility of The Daily Planet, 48 00:03:16,088 --> 00:03:19,060 a great metropolitan newspaper. 49 00:03:19,060 --> 00:03:23,020 Superman's chiselled features were modelled on Johnny Weissmuller, 50 00:03:23,020 --> 00:03:24,084 star of the Tarzan films. 51 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:30,060 His bespectacled alter-ego Clark Kent drew on Harold Lloyd, 52 00:03:30,060 --> 00:03:33,028 and Superman's classic hands-on-hips posture 53 00:03:33,028 --> 00:03:35,080 was straight out of the swashbuckling films 54 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:37,036 of Douglas Fairbanks. 55 00:03:38,076 --> 00:03:42,036 But the Fairbanks influence went even deeper. 56 00:03:42,036 --> 00:03:46,036 1920's The Mark Of Zorro features the classic trope of a hero 57 00:03:46,036 --> 00:03:50,036 with a secret identity, which influenced not just Superman 58 00:03:50,036 --> 00:03:54,048 but Batman, whose comics hit newsstands in 1939. 59 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:58,020 Unlike the colourful Superman, 60 00:03:58,020 --> 00:04:00,000 Batman was a darker figure, 61 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,024 a costumed vigilante with no actual superpowers 62 00:04:03,024 --> 00:04:06,080 who set out to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies. 63 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:10,024 And his artist, Bob Kane, drew on a more sinister 64 00:04:10,024 --> 00:04:13,044 cinematic tradition, such as the creepy 1930 mystery, 65 00:04:13,044 --> 00:04:15,080 The Bat Whispers... 66 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:16,084 Look! The window! 67 00:04:18,032 --> 00:04:21,052 ..and its silent precursor, The Bat, which even features a version 68 00:04:21,052 --> 00:04:23,036 of the famous Bat Signal. 69 00:04:25,028 --> 00:04:28,016 Meanwhile, Batman's great nemesis, The Joker, 70 00:04:28,016 --> 00:04:31,036 was inspired by Conrad Veidt's shocking visage 71 00:04:31,036 --> 00:04:34,048 in the silent melodrama The Man Who Laughs. 72 00:04:39,072 --> 00:04:43,076 Superheroes quickly moved to the big screen in the 1940s, 73 00:04:43,076 --> 00:04:46,024 but, rather than fully fledged feature films, 74 00:04:46,024 --> 00:04:49,060 these were weekly serials in the Flash Gordon mould 75 00:04:49,060 --> 00:04:52,000 and their quality varied. 76 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,008 Fans of Batman and Captain America had to be content 77 00:04:55,008 --> 00:04:57,036 with some low-budget fisticuffs. 78 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:08,048 When Superman finally made his live action debut in 1948, 79 00:05:08,048 --> 00:05:12,056 the serial ingeniously blended actors and animation. 80 00:05:12,056 --> 00:05:15,004 The location is here. 81 00:05:16,016 --> 00:05:19,032 Hm. That's about 2,000 miles away. 82 00:05:19,032 --> 00:05:21,028 I can be there in 30 seconds. 83 00:05:21,028 --> 00:05:24,032 It'll take me about that much time to make the necessary adjustments. 84 00:05:24,032 --> 00:05:26,028 In that case, I'd better be leaving. 85 00:05:26,028 --> 00:05:27,088 Oh, that's the window! 86 00:05:27,088 --> 00:05:29,020 The door is over here. 87 00:05:29,020 --> 00:05:30,044 Yes, I know. 88 00:05:32,076 --> 00:05:34,064 Up, up and away! 89 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:40,056 Fast-forward to the next great wave of comic book superheroes 90 00:05:40,056 --> 00:05:42,020 in the early 1960s, 91 00:05:42,020 --> 00:05:46,016 the ones which went on to spawn today's Marvel Cinematic Universe, 92 00:05:46,016 --> 00:05:49,060 and, again, you can see their own movie roots. 93 00:05:49,060 --> 00:05:53,040 Writer Stan Lee and artists like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko 94 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,092 seem to have been influenced by a spate of science fiction films 95 00:05:56,092 --> 00:05:58,044 reflecting atomic age anxieties. 96 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,012 Ant Man is a good example, 97 00:06:02,012 --> 00:06:04,008 mixing The Incredible Shrinking Man 98 00:06:04,008 --> 00:06:06,032 with the monstrous ants of Them. 99 00:06:09,072 --> 00:06:13,048 The X-Men, teenagers born with uncanny psychic and physical 100 00:06:13,048 --> 00:06:17,052 powers, are like a more colourful and benign version of the children 101 00:06:17,052 --> 00:06:20,008 in the British film Village Of The Damned, 102 00:06:20,008 --> 00:06:23,032 based on the John Wyndham novel The Midwich Cuckoos. 103 00:06:23,032 --> 00:06:25,000 Leave... 104 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:26,056 ..us... 105 00:06:26,056 --> 00:06:28,032 ..alone. 106 00:06:28,032 --> 00:06:31,088 And while the Hulk is often thought of as a Jekyll and Hyde figure, 107 00:06:31,088 --> 00:06:35,016 the original comic book version owes more to 1957's 108 00:06:35,016 --> 00:06:36,072 The Amazing Colossal Man, 109 00:06:36,072 --> 00:06:39,060 where the hero becomes a monster 110 00:06:39,060 --> 00:06:43,012 as a result of accidental exposure during an atomic bomb test. 111 00:06:47,020 --> 00:06:50,028 1966 finally saw the first full length, 112 00:06:50,028 --> 00:06:52,068 full colour superhero feature. 113 00:06:52,068 --> 00:06:54,024 Batmobile to airport. 114 00:06:54,024 --> 00:06:57,048 Red alert. Prepare Batcopter for immediate take-off. 115 00:06:57,048 --> 00:07:00,028 Batman was a spin-off from the popular TV series, 116 00:07:00,028 --> 00:07:02,092 which had reinvented the shadowy crime fighter 117 00:07:02,092 --> 00:07:06,020 as a gaudy, almost comedic character. 118 00:07:06,020 --> 00:07:10,004 It was perfect for the swinging pop art era, which saw artists 119 00:07:10,004 --> 00:07:14,012 like Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol use comic strip imagery. 120 00:07:17,028 --> 00:07:20,056 The camp tone might surprise viewers raised on a high-fibre diet 121 00:07:20,056 --> 00:07:22,044 of Christopher Nolan films, 122 00:07:22,044 --> 00:07:24,088 and it no doubt reinforced the idea 123 00:07:24,088 --> 00:07:28,044 that superheroes were just for kids and kitsch-lovers. 124 00:07:30,068 --> 00:07:34,004 But if you were going to sink big money into a superhero film, 125 00:07:34,004 --> 00:07:36,076 it needed to punch through with the grown-ups. 126 00:07:44,032 --> 00:07:47,052 That's probably why the producers of Superman The Movie 127 00:07:47,052 --> 00:07:51,072 made so much of Godfather writer Mario Puzo's involvement, 128 00:07:51,072 --> 00:07:55,040 and star billing didn't go to newcomer Christopher Reeve, 129 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:58,036 but rather Marlon Brando as Superman's father 130 00:07:58,036 --> 00:08:01,040 in the highest paid cameo in cinema history. 131 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:02,092 These... 132 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:07,088 ..are matters of undeniable fact. 133 00:08:10,048 --> 00:08:17,040 I ask you now to pronounce judgment on those accused. 134 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:19,096 Likewise, a decade on from Superman, 135 00:08:19,096 --> 00:08:23,040 it was Jack Nicholson who got the big bucks and top billing 136 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:27,092 for his turn as the Joker in Tim Burton's Batman. 137 00:08:27,092 --> 00:08:30,088 I'm giving away free money. 138 00:08:30,088 --> 00:08:34,016 And where is the Batman? 139 00:08:35,052 --> 00:08:37,096 He's at home washing his tights! 140 00:08:41,028 --> 00:08:45,048 Batman put a comic strip hero at the very top of the box office 141 00:08:45,048 --> 00:08:48,036 and it cemented the genre as a staple of modern cinema. 142 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:54,020 Since 1989, there's been a steady flow of superhero films. 143 00:08:54,020 --> 00:08:56,016 It's Spider-Man! 144 00:08:56,016 --> 00:08:59,032 Most of which have taken advantage of the digital effects boom 145 00:08:59,032 --> 00:09:01,028 of the last three decades. 146 00:09:01,028 --> 00:09:05,060 They include big established properties like Spider-Man 147 00:09:05,060 --> 00:09:08,080 and comic book newcomers like Spawn and the Mask. 148 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:17,036 Then there are characters created specially for the screen, 149 00:09:17,036 --> 00:09:19,056 like Handcock... 150 00:09:19,056 --> 00:09:21,008 ..The Incredibles... 151 00:09:21,008 --> 00:09:22,056 I didn't want you to worry. 152 00:09:22,056 --> 00:09:24,016 You don't want me to worry?! 153 00:09:24,016 --> 00:09:26,088 ..and David Dunn in M Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable. 154 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,012 And the phenomenon's far from confined 155 00:09:31,012 --> 00:09:32,092 to the English-speaking world. 156 00:09:32,092 --> 00:09:35,020 Italy has Invisible Boy, 157 00:09:35,020 --> 00:09:37,096 Rendel is a kind of Finnish Batman, 158 00:09:37,096 --> 00:09:40,084 and India has the long-running Krrish franchise, 159 00:09:40,084 --> 00:09:42,036 to name just a few. 160 00:09:47,028 --> 00:09:51,028 So why does it feel like superheroes are having their big moment now? 161 00:09:51,028 --> 00:09:53,084 I think the turning point came in 2008. 162 00:09:53,084 --> 00:09:57,008 That was the year Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight bagged eight 163 00:09:57,008 --> 00:10:01,080 Oscar nominations and two wins while smashing the global box office. 164 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:06,056 Nolan set a new creative benchmark for a genre that had become somewhat complacent. 165 00:10:06,056 --> 00:10:09,008 But, perhaps even more importantly, 166 00:10:09,008 --> 00:10:11,068 that same year, if you were the kind of film fan 167 00:10:11,068 --> 00:10:14,088 who stuck to the very end of the credits of Iron Man, 168 00:10:14,088 --> 00:10:18,004 you were rewarded with a surprise scene. 169 00:10:18,004 --> 00:10:20,096 Little did we know, but it marked the beginning of what would become 170 00:10:20,096 --> 00:10:24,080 a box office behemoth, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, 171 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:29,060 a global phenomenon that changed the way audiences watch superhero films. 172 00:10:29,060 --> 00:10:31,016 Who the hell are you? 173 00:10:32,024 --> 00:10:35,024 Nick Fury, director of SHIELD. 174 00:10:35,024 --> 00:10:36,076 Oh. 175 00:10:36,076 --> 00:10:39,044 I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger initiative. 176 00:10:41,024 --> 00:10:43,092 And let's not forget that 2008 was the year 177 00:10:43,092 --> 00:10:46,036 of the global financial crisis. 178 00:10:46,036 --> 00:10:49,040 Remember how the great superhero characters were created 179 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:52,084 during the Great Depression and then the height of the Cold War? 180 00:10:52,084 --> 00:10:56,040 Well, you don't have to be Nick Fury to spy a pattern here. 181 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:59,016 Viewers and readers seem to turn to superheroes 182 00:10:59,016 --> 00:11:02,028 at moments of real life crisis. 183 00:11:02,028 --> 00:11:05,056 The genre fulfils a fundamental need in cinema audiences 184 00:11:05,056 --> 00:11:09,000 and, as we'll now see, it does so by tapping into 185 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,080 a rich tradition of mythic storytelling. 186 00:11:22,052 --> 00:11:25,072 Some heroes are born with their powers. 187 00:11:25,072 --> 00:11:28,016 Some are deliberately given them. 188 00:11:28,016 --> 00:11:30,044 Some get them by accident. 189 00:11:33,016 --> 00:11:36,000 Others train themselves to peak physical perfection... 190 00:11:37,008 --> 00:11:39,000 Three, two, one. 191 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:43,064 ..or rely on their own ingenuity and personal wealth. 192 00:11:43,064 --> 00:11:47,004 The story of how a hero gets their powers and why they choose 193 00:11:47,004 --> 00:11:50,052 to fight for truth, justice and whatever seems important 194 00:11:50,052 --> 00:11:53,076 at the time, is known as their origin. 195 00:11:53,076 --> 00:11:56,088 It's a version of the coming-of-age genre and it often has the same 196 00:11:56,088 --> 00:12:01,068 bittersweet quality, because the gift of superpower usually involves 197 00:12:01,068 --> 00:12:03,092 some kind of trauma, or even tragedy. 198 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:11,040 The opening act of Richard Donner's 1978 Superman focuses 199 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:15,088 on the destruction of our alien hero's birth planet, Krypton - 200 00:12:15,088 --> 00:12:19,044 an opening which sees lots of veteran actors being squashed 201 00:12:19,044 --> 00:12:21,008 by falling debris. 202 00:12:22,024 --> 00:12:26,020 Yes, this is an abbreviated science fiction version of that most hardy 203 00:12:26,020 --> 00:12:28,076 of 1970s blockbuster genres, 204 00:12:28,076 --> 00:12:30,016 the disaster movie, 205 00:12:30,016 --> 00:12:33,028 which, in turn, draws on the old biblical epics. 206 00:12:33,028 --> 00:12:36,000 All that I have, all that I've learned, 207 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,080 everything I feel, all this and more, I... 208 00:12:42,020 --> 00:12:44,020 ..I bequeath you, my son. 209 00:12:44,020 --> 00:12:47,048 Picking up the biblical theme, baby Superman is sent sailing off 210 00:12:47,048 --> 00:12:50,036 across the universe in a spaceship that's a cross 211 00:12:50,036 --> 00:12:54,008 between Moses's basket and the star of Bethlehem, 212 00:12:54,008 --> 00:12:57,004 before being discovered, not in a bed of reeds, 213 00:12:57,004 --> 00:12:59,064 but in the middle of a Kansas cornfield 214 00:12:59,064 --> 00:13:02,048 by a kindly, childless couple who adopt him. 215 00:13:03,076 --> 00:13:05,024 Oh, my. 216 00:13:05,024 --> 00:13:07,020 Superman is a film that delights 217 00:13:07,020 --> 00:13:09,056 in mashing up different movie genres, 218 00:13:09,056 --> 00:13:10,096 but, more than anything else, 219 00:13:10,096 --> 00:13:14,056 the first half of the film is a coming-of-age story. 220 00:13:14,056 --> 00:13:16,044 WOOHOO! 221 00:13:18,012 --> 00:13:19,084 Oh, no... 222 00:13:19,084 --> 00:13:23,064 Which means that Superman needs to experience a proper moment of loss 223 00:13:23,064 --> 00:13:26,060 when he's old enough to understand grief, 224 00:13:26,060 --> 00:13:29,016 and it cements the audience's identification 225 00:13:29,016 --> 00:13:33,012 with this otherwise impossibly powerful and perfect character. 226 00:13:34,060 --> 00:13:36,020 All those things I can do... 227 00:13:38,032 --> 00:13:40,008 All those powers... 228 00:13:43,004 --> 00:13:44,080 ..and I couldn't even save him. 229 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:51,040 Note, by the way, how Donner has shifted from Irwin Allen disaster 230 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:54,080 movie mode to an almost John Ford-like evocation 231 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:56,076 of the American landscape. 232 00:13:56,076 --> 00:14:00,044 And he embeds this fantastic story in the classic tradition 233 00:14:00,044 --> 00:14:01,084 of American cinema. 234 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:06,056 Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is driven to fight crime after his parents 235 00:14:06,056 --> 00:14:09,032 are killed by a mugger before his very eyes. 236 00:14:09,032 --> 00:14:11,040 See you around, kid. 237 00:14:14,052 --> 00:14:17,088 Batman's transformation into a masked vengeance-fuelled 238 00:14:17,088 --> 00:14:22,040 vigilante stands in stark contrast to the biblically-inspired saviour 239 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:23,076 narrative of Superman. 240 00:14:23,076 --> 00:14:26,088 The Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan versions of Batman 241 00:14:26,088 --> 00:14:29,084 in particular make much of the fact that something 242 00:14:29,084 --> 00:14:33,068 not entirely healthy and wholesome is going on. 243 00:14:33,068 --> 00:14:37,016 You can see this in Anton Furst's Oscar-winning art direction 244 00:14:37,016 --> 00:14:41,028 for the 1989 Batman, in which the brooding, claustrophobic 245 00:14:41,028 --> 00:14:46,012 Gotham City is like a manifestation of Bruce Wayne's tortured mind. 246 00:14:49,028 --> 00:14:51,012 Pete, look, you're changing. 247 00:14:51,012 --> 00:14:54,008 I know. I went through exactly the same thing at your age. 248 00:14:54,008 --> 00:14:55,060 No, not exactly. 249 00:14:55,060 --> 00:14:58,076 It's interesting to compare Batman with Spider-Man. 250 00:14:58,076 --> 00:15:01,092 Peter Parker's Uncle Ben, a classic mentor figure, 251 00:15:01,092 --> 00:15:06,004 teaches him the foundational principle of super heroism. 252 00:15:06,004 --> 00:15:11,000 Remember, with great power comes great responsibility. 253 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,020 No sooner has he delivered this lesson, 254 00:15:13,020 --> 00:15:15,060 then Uncle Ben is gunned down by a thief 255 00:15:15,060 --> 00:15:18,036 who Peter has unheroically failed to stop, 256 00:15:18,036 --> 00:15:22,032 thereby motivating him to fight crime from this day on. 257 00:15:22,032 --> 00:15:25,000 But we have a sense that, with his colourful costume 258 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,064 and friendly neighbourhood persona, Peter at least tries to find 259 00:15:28,064 --> 00:15:30,084 a more healthy way to deal with his trauma 260 00:15:30,084 --> 00:15:33,048 than the vengeful Bruce Wayne. 261 00:15:33,048 --> 00:15:35,072 The guy protects us, you know? He protects the people. 262 00:15:35,072 --> 00:15:38,064 You'll see the loss of mentor figures or parents repeated 263 00:15:38,064 --> 00:15:44,016 throughout superhero origins, from Wonder Woman to Black Panther, 264 00:15:44,016 --> 00:15:46,016 Iron Man to Captain America, 265 00:15:46,016 --> 00:15:48,092 which feature almost identical death scenes. 266 00:15:50,028 --> 00:15:53,096 Like all genre tropes, origin stories rooted in popular comic 267 00:15:53,096 --> 00:15:57,032 strip history run the risk of becoming cliched. 268 00:15:57,032 --> 00:16:00,084 So what about films that aren't based on pre-existing characters? 269 00:16:00,084 --> 00:16:03,028 Can they be more inventive? 270 00:16:03,028 --> 00:16:05,084 Well, take Will Smith's hero in Hancock. 271 00:16:05,084 --> 00:16:09,056 He's an amnesiac, making his origin a mystery to be solved, 272 00:16:09,056 --> 00:16:11,060 driving the plot forward. 273 00:16:11,060 --> 00:16:15,024 Note the nice nod to 1930s genre cinema too. 274 00:16:15,024 --> 00:16:17,028 You don't remember anything? 275 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:25,040 Only thing I had in my pocket was bubble-gum 276 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:26,068 and two movie tickets. 277 00:16:28,008 --> 00:16:30,024 Boris Karloff, Frankenstein. 278 00:16:32,024 --> 00:16:33,084 But no ID, nothing. 279 00:16:35,004 --> 00:16:37,068 I went to sign out, the, er... 280 00:16:37,068 --> 00:16:40,036 ..nurse asked me for my John Hancock. 281 00:16:42,004 --> 00:16:43,052 I actually thought that's who I was. 282 00:16:43,052 --> 00:16:46,052 A similar narrative device is used for Captain Marvel, 283 00:16:46,052 --> 00:16:50,044 a comics character whose origin was entirely rewritten for cinema, 284 00:16:50,044 --> 00:16:54,016 and who has only fragmentary memories of her past. 285 00:16:54,016 --> 00:16:58,028 It lends the film a thriller quality reminiscent of The Bourne Identity, 286 00:16:58,028 --> 00:17:00,040 and let's not forget that Jason Bourne's 287 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,000 artificially enhanced amnesiac super spy 288 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:05,080 is a kind of superhero himself. 289 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:07,008 And in Unbreakable, 290 00:17:07,008 --> 00:17:10,060 Bruce Willis doesn't even realise he has superpowers. 291 00:17:11,096 --> 00:17:14,024 Look, I've got to be down on the sidelines during the game. 292 00:17:14,024 --> 00:17:15,064 You can get to your seat, right? 293 00:17:15,064 --> 00:17:19,016 Characters in comics are often attributed special powers. 294 00:17:19,016 --> 00:17:23,080 Invisibility, X-ray vision, things of that sort. 295 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:26,032 OK. 296 00:17:26,032 --> 00:17:28,028 I don't want to play this game any more. 297 00:17:28,028 --> 00:17:30,072 It's an exaggeration of the truth. 298 00:17:30,072 --> 00:17:34,024 It's down to Samuel L Jackson's mysterious, prophetically named 299 00:17:34,024 --> 00:17:36,064 Elijah Price to convince him. 300 00:17:38,008 --> 00:17:39,052 I love you. I love you. 301 00:17:39,052 --> 00:17:41,028 Wow. Whoa. 302 00:17:41,028 --> 00:17:44,016 The Incredibles doesn't even bother to tell us how its heroes 303 00:17:44,016 --> 00:17:47,048 got their extraordinary powers, concentrating instead 304 00:17:47,048 --> 00:17:51,016 on how they bond as a family and fighting team. 305 00:17:51,016 --> 00:17:54,020 Because, ultimately, from a purely cinematic point of view, 306 00:17:54,020 --> 00:17:58,016 the greatest opportunity lies not in how heroes get their powers, 307 00:17:58,016 --> 00:18:00,052 but in showing what they do with them. 308 00:18:07,052 --> 00:18:10,016 # I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars 309 00:18:10,016 --> 00:18:11,092 # On a collision course 310 00:18:11,092 --> 00:18:13,056 # I am a satellite 311 00:18:13,056 --> 00:18:15,024 # I'm out of control. # 312 00:18:15,024 --> 00:18:17,076 The moment when the hero discovers their powers or potential 313 00:18:17,076 --> 00:18:20,008 is a key beat or highlight of the genre. 314 00:18:20,008 --> 00:18:22,096 WOOHOO! 315 00:18:25,016 --> 00:18:29,088 Their powers exhilarate them, but can also terrify them. 316 00:18:29,088 --> 00:18:32,040 And for directors, it's a chance to convey the experience 317 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,004 of leaping across New York rooftops... 318 00:18:39,020 --> 00:18:42,044 ..or shrinking to the size of an ant. 319 00:18:42,044 --> 00:18:45,092 Note the clever use here of perspective and focus effects 320 00:18:45,092 --> 00:18:48,024 that stop this from looking like it was just staged 321 00:18:48,024 --> 00:18:50,000 with oversized props. 322 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:59,036 The most time honoured superpower is brute strength, 323 00:18:59,036 --> 00:19:03,052 as wielded by legendary figures like Hercules and Samson. 324 00:19:04,072 --> 00:19:08,028 Their muscle-straining exploits paved the way for the mighty feats 325 00:19:08,028 --> 00:19:10,028 of Superman and the Hulk. 326 00:19:11,048 --> 00:19:13,004 Super strength has proved to be one 327 00:19:13,004 --> 00:19:15,036 of the easiest powers to capture on screen. 328 00:19:15,036 --> 00:19:18,020 All you need is some good polystyrene or rubber props 329 00:19:18,020 --> 00:19:20,072 and the odd crane that you can keep out of shot to do 330 00:19:20,072 --> 00:19:22,052 the real heavy lifting. 331 00:19:22,052 --> 00:19:24,092 But strength alone is of limited interest 332 00:19:24,092 --> 00:19:29,008 and it's often combined with other powers in superhero movies. 333 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:35,076 WOO! 334 00:19:35,076 --> 00:19:38,048 The next great mythical power is flight. 335 00:19:38,048 --> 00:19:40,056 Perhaps even more than strength, 336 00:19:40,056 --> 00:19:45,004 it speaks to our deepest fantasies and it's a much bigger technical 337 00:19:45,004 --> 00:19:47,000 challenge to capture on screen. 338 00:19:50,032 --> 00:19:52,056 WO-O-O! 339 00:19:52,056 --> 00:19:56,024 The big marketing promise of 1978's Superman was, 340 00:19:56,024 --> 00:19:58,080 "You'll believe a man can fly." 341 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:03,016 Front-projected backgrounds and carefully choreographed camera zooms 342 00:20:03,016 --> 00:20:06,012 suggested that the static, suspended Christopher Reeve 343 00:20:06,012 --> 00:20:09,016 was actually flying toward the audience. 344 00:20:09,016 --> 00:20:12,080 Now, although this innovative effect looks crude by today's standards, 345 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:16,040 there's a real physicality about it which, combined with Reeve's 346 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:19,052 performance, makes it more emotionally convincing 347 00:20:19,052 --> 00:20:21,040 than much modern CGI. 348 00:20:25,016 --> 00:20:29,020 Super speed is perhaps the best example of a superpower more suited 349 00:20:29,020 --> 00:20:31,092 to the moving images of cinema than to the static panels 350 00:20:31,092 --> 00:20:33,076 of the comics page. 351 00:20:33,076 --> 00:20:35,056 You didn't see that coming? 352 00:20:35,056 --> 00:20:38,056 And since the Matrix films popularised the bullet time 353 00:20:38,056 --> 00:20:41,084 technique of stretching and contracting different timeframes 354 00:20:41,084 --> 00:20:46,052 within a single shot, it's now possible to capture these heroes' 355 00:20:46,052 --> 00:20:50,008 own experience of a world where everyone else moves at the pace 356 00:20:50,008 --> 00:20:51,084 of a geriatric tortoise. 357 00:20:53,008 --> 00:20:57,092 # If I could save time in a bottle... # 358 00:20:57,092 --> 00:21:00,040 The result is that a hero like Quicksilver, 359 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:03,000 very much a C-list character in the X-Men comics, 360 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,060 has enjoyed some of the most visually striking 361 00:21:05,060 --> 00:21:08,028 action sequences in the X-Men films. 362 00:21:10,028 --> 00:21:13,088 And you don't even need big effects for a speedy comic interlude. 363 00:21:13,088 --> 00:21:16,000 Hurry it up, will you? 364 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,016 What, you got a problem? 365 00:21:21,016 --> 00:21:23,028 No, there's no problem. 366 00:21:23,028 --> 00:21:24,096 Better not be. 367 00:21:24,096 --> 00:21:28,068 Not all superheroes are superpowered all the time. 368 00:21:28,068 --> 00:21:33,000 Tony Stark bolts on hi-tech armour to become Iron Man. 369 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:36,004 But it helps that Stark is a genius inventor 370 00:21:36,004 --> 00:21:38,036 and also has access to a personal fortune 371 00:21:38,036 --> 00:21:43,068 to fund his heroic activities, as does Bruce Wayne. 372 00:21:43,068 --> 00:21:46,012 What are your superpowers again? 373 00:21:46,012 --> 00:21:47,028 I'm rich. 374 00:21:47,028 --> 00:21:49,016 In a clear nod to the Bond movies, 375 00:21:49,016 --> 00:21:53,004 Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight spends less time in his Batcave 376 00:21:53,004 --> 00:21:56,020 and more in his arsenal of hi-tech weaponry. 377 00:21:56,020 --> 00:21:58,064 Morning, Q. Morning, 007. 378 00:21:58,064 --> 00:22:01,084 We never could get the damn ridge to work, but... 379 00:22:01,084 --> 00:22:03,080 ..this baby works just fine. 380 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:06,084 He's even got his own Q figure in the form of Morgan Freeman's 381 00:22:06,084 --> 00:22:08,092 Lucius Fox. 382 00:22:08,092 --> 00:22:11,040 So, what do you think? 383 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:13,020 Does it come in black? 384 00:22:13,020 --> 00:22:15,028 Batman is highly skilled and trained, 385 00:22:15,028 --> 00:22:17,012 but, with no superhuman abilities, 386 00:22:17,012 --> 00:22:19,064 he can end up just looking like an ordinary guy 387 00:22:19,064 --> 00:22:21,072 in a very silly costume. 388 00:22:21,072 --> 00:22:26,004 Hand me down the shark repellent bat spray! 389 00:22:26,004 --> 00:22:29,052 Tim Burton gave Michael Keaton a suit of rubber-like armour, 390 00:22:29,052 --> 00:22:32,016 which not only helped bulk up the otherwise physically 391 00:22:32,016 --> 00:22:35,052 unprepossessing actor, but also suggested a certain practical 392 00:22:35,052 --> 00:22:37,076 purpose behind the design. 393 00:22:37,076 --> 00:22:40,040 Subsequent films have tended to stick with this approach, 394 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:42,096 even if it does sometimes give the figure of Batman 395 00:22:42,096 --> 00:22:46,048 a certain stiffness and lack of fluidity. 396 00:22:46,048 --> 00:22:49,048 Christopher Nolan's solution seems to have been to stick Batman 397 00:22:49,048 --> 00:22:52,016 in a bat vehicle whenever he got the chance, 398 00:22:52,016 --> 00:22:54,080 hence the thrillingly kinetic chase sequences 399 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:57,044 of the Dark Knight trilogy. 400 00:22:57,044 --> 00:23:00,044 Batman has never looked better than when twisting and turning 401 00:23:00,044 --> 00:23:03,040 on the Batpod, cape billowing behind him. 402 00:23:10,068 --> 00:23:14,032 But costumes are a key element of superhero iconography. 403 00:23:14,032 --> 00:23:17,028 The moment when a character first dons their full regalia 404 00:23:17,028 --> 00:23:21,000 often marks the point when they're fully ready to take on the mantle 405 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:22,080 of heroic responsibility. 406 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:24,060 How do I look? 407 00:23:27,044 --> 00:23:29,024 Fresh. 408 00:23:29,024 --> 00:23:33,048 Even Bruce Willis's reluctant hero in Unbreakable 409 00:23:33,048 --> 00:23:36,080 adopts a kind of improvised costume for his first mission. 410 00:23:46,048 --> 00:23:50,052 Designer Joanna Johnston subtly lengthens Willis's rain poncho 411 00:23:50,052 --> 00:23:52,080 as the drama intensifies to make it look 412 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:55,036 more like a classic superhero cape. 413 00:24:00,008 --> 00:24:03,080 Superhero costumes default to two basic colour schemes - 414 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:07,036 a darker look for moody vigilante types and outcast mutants, 415 00:24:07,036 --> 00:24:11,056 and primary colours for heroes in the more optimistic Superman 416 00:24:11,056 --> 00:24:14,016 and Captain America traditions. 417 00:24:14,016 --> 00:24:15,088 Without him, these things could run wild. 418 00:24:15,088 --> 00:24:18,004 I started with the baby. Started? 419 00:24:18,004 --> 00:24:21,060 No film celebrates the sartorial aspects of super heroism 420 00:24:21,060 --> 00:24:23,064 as much as The Incredibles, 421 00:24:23,064 --> 00:24:26,036 whose presiding genius is Edna Mode, 422 00:24:26,036 --> 00:24:29,060 costume designer extraordinaire. 423 00:24:29,060 --> 00:24:34,004 Significantly, Edna is voiced by director Brad Bird himself, 424 00:24:34,004 --> 00:24:38,016 channelling the great real life multiple Oscar-winning designer 425 00:24:38,016 --> 00:24:39,056 Edith Head. 426 00:24:39,056 --> 00:24:42,064 What on Earth do you think the baby will be doing?! 427 00:24:42,064 --> 00:24:44,064 I'm sure I don't know, darling. 428 00:24:44,064 --> 00:24:46,096 Luck favours the prepared. 429 00:24:46,096 --> 00:24:50,024 Costumes, of course, are inextricably bound up with another 430 00:24:50,024 --> 00:24:53,012 cornerstone of the superhero genre. 431 00:24:53,012 --> 00:24:54,080 The secret identity. 432 00:25:03,056 --> 00:25:06,072 The convention of the secret identity goes back to characters 433 00:25:06,072 --> 00:25:09,020 like Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel, 434 00:25:09,020 --> 00:25:11,080 who posed as foppish idiots so no-one suspected 435 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:14,048 that they were avenging outlaws. 436 00:25:14,048 --> 00:25:17,092 We must mask our identities, suffer the humiliation of being taken 437 00:25:17,092 --> 00:25:20,068 for fops, fools, nitwits. 438 00:25:20,068 --> 00:25:23,024 Bruce Wayne does the same in Batman Begins, 439 00:25:23,024 --> 00:25:26,032 cultivating the image of a spoilt party-going jerk 440 00:25:26,032 --> 00:25:29,020 as a cover for his secret vigilante activities. 441 00:25:31,052 --> 00:25:33,004 Is she in? 442 00:25:33,004 --> 00:25:36,044 Superman, meanwhile, dons possibly the worst disguise ever 443 00:25:36,044 --> 00:25:39,056 to become mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent. 444 00:25:39,056 --> 00:25:41,020 I'm a reporter. 445 00:25:41,020 --> 00:25:43,060 But, like Bruce Wayne, he's really donning 446 00:25:43,060 --> 00:25:46,012 an entirely different persona. 447 00:25:46,012 --> 00:25:47,064 Peter? 448 00:25:49,060 --> 00:25:50,084 Is that you? 449 00:25:50,084 --> 00:25:53,060 A more urgent reason to maintain a secret identity 450 00:25:53,060 --> 00:25:57,024 is to protect your loved ones and, indeed, to maintain something 451 00:25:57,024 --> 00:26:00,068 approaching a normal life, as much as you can. 452 00:26:00,068 --> 00:26:04,068 But secret identities also extend the tonal and emotional range 453 00:26:04,068 --> 00:26:08,068 of superhero films, and therefore their appeal beyond the core 454 00:26:08,068 --> 00:26:10,084 audience of fantasy and action fans. 455 00:26:12,020 --> 00:26:14,092 See how much of the charm of the Christopher Reeve Superman 456 00:26:14,092 --> 00:26:17,008 films comes from the Clark Kent moments, 457 00:26:17,008 --> 00:26:21,036 with the stumbling, awkward Clark acting as a comic foil to Superman. 458 00:26:22,072 --> 00:26:25,096 Why would anyone want to make a total stranger look like a fool? 459 00:26:25,096 --> 00:26:28,024 In Wonder Woman, there's an entire comedy sequence 460 00:26:28,024 --> 00:26:29,096 built around the heroine 461 00:26:29,096 --> 00:26:32,000 acquiring her civilian guise. 462 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,028 How can a woman possibly fight in this? 463 00:26:34,028 --> 00:26:37,096 Director Patty Jenkins neatly pastiches the makeover scene, 464 00:26:37,096 --> 00:26:41,008 that coming-of-age and rom-com staple. 465 00:26:41,008 --> 00:26:43,056 Why don't I meet you back at the office 466 00:26:43,056 --> 00:26:45,048 and, meanwhile, I'll take this for safekeeping? 467 00:26:45,048 --> 00:26:46,076 Oh, no, I don't think so. 468 00:26:46,076 --> 00:26:48,068 You've got to put the sword down, Diana, please. 469 00:26:48,068 --> 00:26:50,068 It doesn't go with the outfit. At all. 470 00:26:50,068 --> 00:26:52,084 Now, as we've seen before in Secrets of Cinema, 471 00:26:52,084 --> 00:26:54,088 the connection between superhero movies 472 00:26:54,088 --> 00:26:56,056 and romantic comedies is strong, 473 00:26:56,056 --> 00:26:59,032 with films ranging from Popeye to Punch Drunk Love 474 00:26:59,032 --> 00:27:03,036 blurring the boundaries between these apparently disparate genres. 475 00:27:03,036 --> 00:27:06,040 And it's often through romance that a hero's civilian 476 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:08,036 and costumed lives collide. 477 00:27:11,004 --> 00:27:15,008 At times, the Spider-Man films played like a teenage soap opera. 478 00:27:19,012 --> 00:27:21,012 How did you get out there? 479 00:27:21,012 --> 00:27:22,032 Fire escape. 480 00:27:23,096 --> 00:27:25,088 Your doorman's intimidating. 481 00:27:32,004 --> 00:27:36,088 But the gold standard for superhero romance is Superman The Movie, 482 00:27:36,088 --> 00:27:40,080 in large part due to the screwball chemistry between Christopher Reeve 483 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:44,056 and Margot Kidder as savvy reporter Lois Lane. 484 00:27:44,056 --> 00:27:48,008 One of the film's finest scenes is when Lois interviews Superman 485 00:27:48,008 --> 00:27:49,064 at her rooftop apartment. 486 00:27:49,064 --> 00:27:53,060 Now, here the audience sees events primarily from Lois's perspective. 487 00:27:53,060 --> 00:27:57,032 The scene opens with her waiting for Superman's arrival. 488 00:27:57,032 --> 00:28:01,004 Note how the classic Hollywood symbol of sex, the cigarette, 489 00:28:01,004 --> 00:28:04,084 is counter-pointed by John Williams lushly romantic score. 490 00:28:06,056 --> 00:28:08,096 You really shouldn't smoke, you know, Miss Lane. 491 00:28:08,096 --> 00:28:11,048 Don't tell me. Lung cancer, right? 492 00:28:14,076 --> 00:28:17,000 Well, not yet, thank goodness. 493 00:28:18,004 --> 00:28:21,072 And the film shifts into full-on romantic mode when Superman 494 00:28:21,072 --> 00:28:25,040 invites Lois to, in his words, "Take a ride with me." 495 00:28:27,044 --> 00:28:30,092 Is the iconic image of Leo and Kate on the prow of the Titanic 496 00:28:30,092 --> 00:28:33,036 anything but a reprise of this scene? 497 00:28:34,088 --> 00:28:38,056 And, at this heightened moment, the film shifts gear again into full-on 498 00:28:38,056 --> 00:28:40,056 musical mode. 499 00:28:40,056 --> 00:28:43,044 Leslie Bricusse of Goldfinger and Dr Doolittle fame 500 00:28:43,044 --> 00:28:46,032 wrote these lyrics to William's music. 501 00:28:46,032 --> 00:28:48,040 LOIS'S THOUGHTS: Can you read my mind? 502 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,068 Do you know what it is that you do me? 503 00:28:59,068 --> 00:29:01,064 I don't know who you are. 504 00:29:06,064 --> 00:29:09,056 Just a friend from another star. 505 00:29:09,056 --> 00:29:13,056 You can never have enough romantic chemistry in a superhero film. 506 00:29:13,056 --> 00:29:17,068 Too often, the love interests of predominantly male superheroes 507 00:29:17,068 --> 00:29:20,016 are reduced to being figures they have to rescue 508 00:29:20,016 --> 00:29:23,004 or the Achilles heels by which they can be attacked. 509 00:29:26,048 --> 00:29:30,016 But time and again, we're shown the difficulty of maintaining both 510 00:29:30,016 --> 00:29:33,000 a heroic and a love or family life. 511 00:29:34,068 --> 00:29:38,012 The very concept of a superhero has sometimes been criticised 512 00:29:38,012 --> 00:29:41,060 for celebrating an almost fascist ideal of strength and physical 513 00:29:41,060 --> 00:29:45,024 perfection, but that's tempered by the idea that superheroes 514 00:29:45,024 --> 00:29:49,036 can't have it all and that we puny mortals may actually have access 515 00:29:49,036 --> 00:29:53,040 to something that these god-like figures don't. 516 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:57,012 And note how the final films of The Dark Knight and Avengers sagas 517 00:29:57,012 --> 00:30:00,080 feature almost dreamlike moments, when the burden of heroism appears 518 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,088 to be given up for love and a settled life, 519 00:30:03,088 --> 00:30:07,060 something emphasised by the warmer colour palette of the images. 520 00:30:14,068 --> 00:30:18,020 Establishing the hero or heroine's personal life and their origin 521 00:30:18,020 --> 00:30:21,072 often takes up the first half of a superhero film. 522 00:30:21,072 --> 00:30:25,004 But by the middle point, another figure has come into play - 523 00:30:25,004 --> 00:30:27,088 the evil yin to their heroic yang. 524 00:30:27,088 --> 00:30:29,028 It's time to face the enemy. 525 00:30:38,008 --> 00:30:41,052 Much of a superhero's day job involves routine work, 526 00:30:41,052 --> 00:30:43,096 addressing health and safety issues... 527 00:30:43,096 --> 00:30:46,008 It's OK, your baby's fine! 528 00:30:46,008 --> 00:30:47,060 ..anti-social behaviour... 529 00:30:47,060 --> 00:30:48,064 SCREAMING 530 00:30:49,088 --> 00:30:51,056 ..and more health and safety. 531 00:30:52,088 --> 00:30:53,092 CAT YOWLS 532 00:30:56,032 --> 00:31:00,012 But sooner or later, there's a bigger threat waiting in the wings. 533 00:31:00,012 --> 00:31:03,000 Is that how a warped brain like yours gets its kicks? 534 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:04,096 By planning the death of innocent people? 535 00:31:04,096 --> 00:31:06,044 No. 536 00:31:06,044 --> 00:31:08,040 By causing the death of innocent people. 537 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:13,016 Lex Luthor is a classic evil genius with an innovative plan to raise 538 00:31:13,016 --> 00:31:15,032 the value of his property portfolio. 539 00:31:15,032 --> 00:31:19,048 It occurs to me that a 500-megatonne bomb planted at just 540 00:31:19,048 --> 00:31:21,052 the proper point would... 541 00:31:21,052 --> 00:31:23,028 Would destroy most of California. 542 00:31:25,020 --> 00:31:27,028 Millions of innocent people would be killed. 543 00:31:27,028 --> 00:31:31,008 The West Coast as we know it would... Fall into the sea. 544 00:31:31,008 --> 00:31:32,024 Bye-bye, California. 545 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:36,040 Hello, new West Coast - my West Coast. 546 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:40,048 Luthor knows he can't match the Man of Steel blow by blow. 547 00:31:40,048 --> 00:31:43,084 Instead, he plays by an entirely different set of rules, 548 00:31:43,084 --> 00:31:48,064 constantly seeking to outwit his vastly more physically powerful foe 549 00:31:48,064 --> 00:31:52,080 and displaying a level of sheer ruthlessness of which Superman is, 550 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:54,084 by nature, incapable. 551 00:31:54,084 --> 00:31:57,052 You were great in your day, Superman. 552 00:31:57,052 --> 00:31:59,052 But it just stands to reason, 553 00:31:59,052 --> 00:32:02,008 when it came time to cash in your chips, 554 00:32:02,008 --> 00:32:05,088 this old, diseased maniac 555 00:32:05,088 --> 00:32:07,000 would be your banker. 556 00:32:11,008 --> 00:32:12,012 Mind over muscle. 557 00:32:14,016 --> 00:32:17,076 More recently, Luthor has been presented as a young upstart 558 00:32:17,076 --> 00:32:21,032 tech genius - the kind of figure who terrifies Hollywood. 559 00:32:21,032 --> 00:32:25,040 He's portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg, who tellingly previously played 560 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:28,032 Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network. 561 00:32:28,032 --> 00:32:29,052 Typecasting? 562 00:32:29,052 --> 00:32:32,048 This Luthor also exemplifies a recurring villainous 563 00:32:32,048 --> 00:32:34,048 characteristic - self-regard. 564 00:32:34,048 --> 00:32:38,080 His loathing of Superman is ultimately based on jealousy. 565 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:41,012 These exceptional beings live among us. 566 00:32:41,012 --> 00:32:44,012 The basis of our myths, gods among men upon our little 567 00:32:44,012 --> 00:32:45,016 blue planet here. 568 00:32:47,052 --> 00:32:51,092 You don't have to use a silver bullet, but if you forge one... 569 00:32:51,092 --> 00:32:55,080 Well, then, we don't have to depend upon the kindness of monsters. 570 00:32:57,036 --> 00:33:00,044 Batman has perhaps the most colourful rogues gallery 571 00:33:00,044 --> 00:33:01,092 of any superhero, 572 00:33:01,092 --> 00:33:05,096 and his villains were a key driver of the appeal of both the 1960s 573 00:33:05,096 --> 00:33:07,068 TV series and feature film. 574 00:33:10,088 --> 00:33:15,048 A quick note on supervillain attire - bad guys tend to favour yellow, 575 00:33:15,048 --> 00:33:16,088 green, and purple. 576 00:33:16,088 --> 00:33:20,096 # All hail the new king in town... 577 00:33:20,096 --> 00:33:24,080 Batman's most celebrated foe is, of course, the Joker. 578 00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:28,072 # Young and old, gather round... # 579 00:33:28,072 --> 00:33:32,008 Unlike Lex Luthor, he's not driven by a lust for power 580 00:33:32,008 --> 00:33:37,040 or material gain, but a sheer delight in unleashing chaos... 581 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:38,044 ..and anarchy. 582 00:33:41,072 --> 00:33:44,076 It's hard to imagine a more different figure to the uptight, 583 00:33:44,076 --> 00:33:46,044 shadowy Batman. 584 00:33:46,044 --> 00:33:50,024 But fundamentally, these two outsiders are like reflections 585 00:33:50,024 --> 00:33:52,060 in a nightmare fun house mirror. 586 00:33:52,060 --> 00:33:55,020 You complete me. 587 00:33:55,020 --> 00:33:57,004 You're garbage who kills for money. 588 00:33:57,004 --> 00:33:59,096 Don't talk like one of them. You're not! 589 00:33:59,096 --> 00:34:01,020 Even if you'd like to be. 590 00:34:03,024 --> 00:34:07,068 To them, you're just a freak... like me. 591 00:34:07,068 --> 00:34:09,004 They need you right now. 592 00:34:09,004 --> 00:34:13,016 You could argue that the Joker is the real star of The Dark Knight. 593 00:34:13,016 --> 00:34:17,004 And with Todd Phillips' 2019 Joker film now believed to be the most 594 00:34:17,004 --> 00:34:19,040 profitable comic book movie ever, 595 00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:23,020 it looks like villains are at least as saleable as heroes. 596 00:34:23,020 --> 00:34:27,048 As his name suggests, Joker is a version of the archetypal trickster, 597 00:34:27,048 --> 00:34:31,088 a character recurring throughout myths and folklore. 598 00:34:31,088 --> 00:34:35,048 The Prince of Mischief in Norse legends is Loki, 599 00:34:35,048 --> 00:34:38,040 who's handily the brother and nemesis of Thor. 600 00:34:40,060 --> 00:34:44,028 Loki can rustle up the usual bit of magical zapping, 601 00:34:44,028 --> 00:34:47,084 but he's at his most dangerous when he tries to get into your head, 602 00:34:47,084 --> 00:34:50,084 as in this scene from Avengers Assemble, 603 00:34:50,084 --> 00:34:53,036 Barton told me everything. 604 00:34:53,036 --> 00:34:55,012 Your ledger is dripping. 605 00:34:55,012 --> 00:34:57,048 It's gushing red - and you think saving a man 606 00:34:57,048 --> 00:35:00,052 no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? 607 00:35:00,052 --> 00:35:03,024 This is the basest sentimentality. 608 00:35:03,024 --> 00:35:07,040 This is a child at prayer - pathetic! 609 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:11,000 The fact that Loki's incarcerated rather than on the loose 610 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:13,012 just makes him more menacing. 611 00:35:13,012 --> 00:35:16,068 That's lesson one from the Hannibal Lecter playbook. 612 00:35:16,068 --> 00:35:21,036 But even mass-murdering psychopaths aren't entirely beyond redemption. 613 00:35:21,036 --> 00:35:24,052 Loki! Loki, over here! 614 00:35:24,052 --> 00:35:25,056 Over here. 615 00:35:26,060 --> 00:35:29,092 Loki's multiple killings were somewhat brushed under the carpet 616 00:35:29,092 --> 00:35:32,088 in later Marvel films, after Tom Hiddleston's character 617 00:35:32,088 --> 00:35:37,048 developed an unexpectedly large fan following - pointing once again 618 00:35:37,048 --> 00:35:39,024 to the strange appeal of villains. 619 00:35:40,024 --> 00:35:43,020 Loki, I thought the world of you. 620 00:35:43,020 --> 00:35:46,012 I thought we were going to fight side-by-side forever, but... 621 00:35:46,012 --> 00:35:49,004 ..at the end of the day, you're you and I'm me. 622 00:35:49,004 --> 00:35:53,076 Loki became a frenemy - a sometime ally in the face of greater threats, 623 00:35:53,076 --> 00:35:56,016 if not an entirely reliable one. 624 00:35:56,016 --> 00:36:00,032 Now, here, the menacing lighting of Loki's earlier appearances is gone, 625 00:36:00,032 --> 00:36:03,012 and the elevator conversation recalls scenes in any number 626 00:36:03,012 --> 00:36:04,052 of rom-coms. 627 00:36:04,052 --> 00:36:09,020 Thor and Loki's relationship has literally become a bromance. 628 00:36:09,020 --> 00:36:11,000 Hey, let's do "Get Help." 629 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:12,064 What? "Get Help." 630 00:36:12,064 --> 00:36:13,080 No. Come on, you love it. 631 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:15,056 I hate it. It's great. Works every time. 632 00:36:15,056 --> 00:36:17,068 It's humiliating. Do you have a better plan? No. 633 00:36:17,068 --> 00:36:19,056 We're doing it. 634 00:36:19,056 --> 00:36:22,020 And what if your enemy actually has a point? 635 00:36:26,008 --> 00:36:29,080 In Ryan Coogler's Black Panther - the most openly political Marvel 636 00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:34,004 film so far - nemesis Killmonger is driven by anger at racial 637 00:36:34,004 --> 00:36:36,028 injustice and poverty. 638 00:36:36,028 --> 00:36:39,000 Y'all sitting up here comfortable. 639 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:40,004 Must feel good. 640 00:36:41,024 --> 00:36:45,016 There's about two billion people all over the world that looks like us, 641 00:36:45,016 --> 00:36:47,024 but their lives are a lot harder. 642 00:36:47,024 --> 00:36:49,096 Wakanda has the tools to liberate 'em all. 643 00:36:49,096 --> 00:36:54,020 Killmonger has a kindred spirit in the X-Men's great foe. 644 00:36:54,020 --> 00:36:55,080 Put your hands over your heads, now. 645 00:37:00,004 --> 00:37:04,032 Magneto is a villain with a cause - seeking revenge on humankind 646 00:37:04,032 --> 00:37:06,052 for decades of prejudice against mutants. 647 00:37:11,084 --> 00:37:13,024 There is no peace. 648 00:37:13,024 --> 00:37:15,064 Not here, nor anywhere else. 649 00:37:16,088 --> 00:37:20,052 Women and children, whole families destroyed simply because they were 650 00:37:20,052 --> 00:37:23,020 born different from those in power. 651 00:37:23,020 --> 00:37:25,096 What's clear from this is that for every Joker or Luthor 652 00:37:25,096 --> 00:37:28,016 who revels in their own villainy, 653 00:37:28,016 --> 00:37:33,008 there are enemies who simply don't see themselves as the bad guys. 654 00:37:33,008 --> 00:37:35,088 Even if they're actually purple. 655 00:37:35,088 --> 00:37:38,024 Thanos's fanatical quest to destroy half of the 656 00:37:38,024 --> 00:37:41,088 Marvel Cinematic Universe is driven by his desire to achieve 657 00:37:41,088 --> 00:37:44,080 balance and sustainability. 658 00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:47,028 Congratulations. You're a prophet. 659 00:37:47,028 --> 00:37:48,084 I'm a survivor. 660 00:37:48,084 --> 00:37:50,044 Who wants to murder trillions. 661 00:37:51,044 --> 00:37:55,040 With all six Stones, I could simply snap my fingers. 662 00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:57,004 They would all cease to exist. 663 00:37:57,004 --> 00:37:58,008 I call that... 664 00:37:59,012 --> 00:38:00,036 ..mercy. 665 00:38:00,036 --> 00:38:05,000 Thanos belongs to a select category of nemesis, the mega-threat - 666 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:08,040 too powerful for any single hero to deal with. 667 00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:12,012 Which means it's time for an exercise in team-building. 668 00:38:23,088 --> 00:38:25,084 Did you find the spear? 669 00:38:25,084 --> 00:38:29,020 For most superhero fans, it's likely that the high point of 2016's 670 00:38:29,020 --> 00:38:34,004 Batman v Superman wasn't the climactic battle with mega-threat 671 00:38:34,004 --> 00:38:37,000 figure Domesday - which was frankly tedious. 672 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:38,024 My world. 673 00:38:38,024 --> 00:38:40,056 I've killed things from other worlds before. 674 00:38:42,068 --> 00:38:44,060 Is she with you? 675 00:38:44,060 --> 00:38:45,096 I thought she was with you. 676 00:38:45,096 --> 00:38:48,088 Rather, it was the moment when three iconic heroes were finally 677 00:38:48,088 --> 00:38:51,060 brought together in a live action feature film 678 00:38:51,060 --> 00:38:55,056 nearly 80 years after they were created. 679 00:38:55,056 --> 00:38:59,020 It was the DC Comics version of the moment when Marvel's super team 680 00:38:59,020 --> 00:39:03,020 The Avengers are finally assembled to fend off both Loki 681 00:39:03,020 --> 00:39:04,036 and an alien invasion. 682 00:39:05,048 --> 00:39:09,004 Interestingly, neither moment occurs until a good three quarters 683 00:39:09,004 --> 00:39:10,076 of the way through each film. 684 00:39:10,076 --> 00:39:12,024 Why? 685 00:39:12,024 --> 00:39:14,092 The athletes of Greece are proud. 686 00:39:14,092 --> 00:39:17,040 I'll tell him only the best can expect a place in the most 687 00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:19,024 perilous voyage in history. 688 00:39:19,024 --> 00:39:23,024 Well, heroes have been teaming up ever since Hercules and Theseus 689 00:39:23,024 --> 00:39:25,072 signed up with Jason on the Argo. 690 00:39:25,072 --> 00:39:29,012 And, as we saw in our Secrets of Cinema on heist movies, 691 00:39:29,012 --> 00:39:32,040 bringing together a band of characters with disparate skills 692 00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:34,072 is a key element of that genre. 693 00:39:34,072 --> 00:39:38,004 I have found the finest crew in old Greece. 694 00:39:38,004 --> 00:39:39,092 Now for a ship that is worthy of them. 695 00:39:42,032 --> 00:39:45,036 But in a heist movie, putting the gang together is usually 696 00:39:45,036 --> 00:39:48,076 relatively simple and occurs near the beginning of the film. 697 00:39:48,076 --> 00:39:52,096 By contrast, the superhero genre likes to make it as hard as possible 698 00:39:52,096 --> 00:39:54,044 for the team to get together. 699 00:39:54,044 --> 00:39:56,092 Indeed, the more time they spend at each other's throats 700 00:39:56,092 --> 00:39:58,068 before they do, the better. 701 00:39:58,068 --> 00:40:03,048 And in that respect, superhero team movies are very much like rom-coms, 702 00:40:03,048 --> 00:40:07,044 only with more characters...and more mass destruction. 703 00:40:08,044 --> 00:40:12,020 Take Avengers Assemble, where the plot contrives to have at least 704 00:40:12,020 --> 00:40:14,048 three hero-on-hero fights - 705 00:40:14,048 --> 00:40:16,052 with Iron Man and Thor, 706 00:40:16,052 --> 00:40:18,016 Thor and Hulk, 707 00:40:18,016 --> 00:40:22,008 Black Widow and Hawk-eye beating seven bells out of each other 708 00:40:22,008 --> 00:40:26,032 before they finally get round to teaming up and saving the planet. 709 00:40:26,032 --> 00:40:29,040 In subsequent films, the Avengers are repeatedly assembled 710 00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:31,012 only to be disassembled. 711 00:40:32,052 --> 00:40:36,060 One of the biggest set pieces of the sequel, Age of Ultron, 712 00:40:36,060 --> 00:40:40,072 is a spectacular battle between Hulk and a beefed-up Iron Man. 713 00:40:40,072 --> 00:40:43,056 Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep! 714 00:40:43,056 --> 00:40:45,088 They're not stopping. Neither are we. 715 00:40:45,088 --> 00:40:49,096 And Captain America: Civil War - an Avengers film in all but name - 716 00:40:49,096 --> 00:40:54,016 sees the ultimate hero-on-hero smackdown at a German airport. 717 00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:59,072 In essence, this appeals to a kind of top trumps playing fantasy 718 00:40:59,072 --> 00:41:03,008 of pitting heroes against each other rather than villains, 719 00:41:03,008 --> 00:41:04,072 and seeing who'd come out on top. 720 00:41:06,032 --> 00:41:10,016 When they're not fighting amongst themselves, The Avengers and their 721 00:41:10,016 --> 00:41:13,092 DC equivalents, the Justice League, operate more like professional 722 00:41:13,092 --> 00:41:16,076 sports teams - disparate individuals brought together 723 00:41:16,076 --> 00:41:18,092 for a common purpose. 724 00:41:18,092 --> 00:41:21,044 But that's not the only kind of super team. 725 00:41:23,084 --> 00:41:25,048 Where are all the guards? 726 00:41:25,048 --> 00:41:26,052 Go, go! 727 00:41:27,076 --> 00:41:30,056 Pixar's The Incredibles pastiches many tropes 728 00:41:30,056 --> 00:41:33,048 of the superhero and spy genres. 729 00:41:33,048 --> 00:41:37,012 But above all, it's a film about a family. 730 00:41:37,012 --> 00:41:40,088 The family members' superpowers reflect their personalities - 731 00:41:40,088 --> 00:41:45,016 the solid, heavy-lifting dad, the overstretched mum, 732 00:41:45,016 --> 00:41:48,096 shy daughter, and hyperactive son. 733 00:41:48,096 --> 00:41:52,016 As we've already observed, The Incredibles doesn't worry about 734 00:41:52,016 --> 00:41:54,056 showing us the origin of its characters' powers. 735 00:41:54,056 --> 00:41:58,008 But crucially, it does show the origin of the family, 736 00:41:58,008 --> 00:42:02,020 in a scene where Mr Incredible and Elastigirl meet-cute. 737 00:42:02,020 --> 00:42:03,052 We could share, you know? 738 00:42:03,052 --> 00:42:05,020 I work alone. 739 00:42:05,020 --> 00:42:08,020 Well, I think you need to be more... 740 00:42:08,020 --> 00:42:09,064 ..flexible. 741 00:42:09,064 --> 00:42:11,096 Are...you doing anything later? 742 00:42:11,096 --> 00:42:13,048 I have a previous engagement. 743 00:42:17,028 --> 00:42:21,044 We get a grittier take on the superhero family in the X-Men films. 744 00:42:21,044 --> 00:42:24,036 The characters aren't actually related, but they live together 745 00:42:24,036 --> 00:42:27,056 at a boarding school under the supervision of headmaster 746 00:42:27,056 --> 00:42:29,020 and father figure Professor X. 747 00:42:30,076 --> 00:42:34,060 Ah, Logan, I'd like you to meet Aurora Monroe. 748 00:42:34,060 --> 00:42:36,044 Also called Storm. 749 00:42:36,044 --> 00:42:39,004 This is Scott Summers. Hello. Also called Cyclops. 750 00:42:42,056 --> 00:42:44,068 They saved your life. 751 00:42:44,068 --> 00:42:47,032 What unites all these characters and makes them different 752 00:42:47,032 --> 00:42:50,048 from the other super teams is that they're mutants, 753 00:42:50,048 --> 00:42:53,072 born with extraordinary powers and feared and discriminated 754 00:42:53,072 --> 00:42:55,088 against by wider humankind. 755 00:42:55,088 --> 00:42:59,016 They say you can imitate anybody. 756 00:42:59,016 --> 00:43:01,016 Even their voice. 757 00:43:01,016 --> 00:43:04,016 IN NIGHTCRAWLER'S VOICE: Even their voice. 758 00:43:04,016 --> 00:43:07,036 Then why not stay in disguise all the time? 759 00:43:07,036 --> 00:43:08,040 You know? 760 00:43:09,044 --> 00:43:11,092 Look like everyone else. 761 00:43:11,092 --> 00:43:14,024 IN NORMAL VOICE: Because we shouldn't have to. 762 00:43:14,024 --> 00:43:16,072 ON TV: ..as the others traverse the rigid security. 763 00:43:16,072 --> 00:43:18,072 ALARM BLARES 764 00:43:21,004 --> 00:43:25,016 The X-Men films are a precursor of the Marvel and DC cinematic 765 00:43:25,016 --> 00:43:30,056 universes, where multiple heroes enjoy both solo and team series. 766 00:43:30,056 --> 00:43:34,028 But with the X-Men, the team came first, with the most popular 767 00:43:34,028 --> 00:43:38,040 character, Wolverine, then getting his own spin-off film, 768 00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:42,076 which in turn introduced another popular character, Deadpool, 769 00:43:42,076 --> 00:43:44,044 who got his own spin-off. 770 00:43:44,044 --> 00:43:48,068 OK, let's pro-con this superhero thing. 771 00:43:48,068 --> 00:43:49,096 Ow. 772 00:43:49,096 --> 00:43:53,012 Conversely, Marvel introduced several key characters 773 00:43:53,012 --> 00:43:56,012 in their own solo films before bringing them together 774 00:43:56,012 --> 00:43:57,036 via the Avengers title. 775 00:44:00,016 --> 00:44:01,020 I've got an idea... 776 00:44:01,020 --> 00:44:05,040 Over the course of 23 films so far, Marvel have built up a connected 777 00:44:05,040 --> 00:44:09,060 narrative with new releases picking up story elements and characters 778 00:44:09,060 --> 00:44:11,076 from previous films. 779 00:44:11,076 --> 00:44:15,084 Coming out on average twice a year, Marvel's films are nothing less 780 00:44:15,084 --> 00:44:19,000 than a mega-budget version of the first cinema 781 00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:20,084 outings for superheroes - 782 00:44:20,084 --> 00:44:23,072 the weekly serials of the 1940s. 783 00:44:27,008 --> 00:44:30,048 If the movie moguls of that era came back today, they'd be astonished 784 00:44:30,048 --> 00:44:33,096 to find properties they wrote off as cheap kiddie fodder were now 785 00:44:33,096 --> 00:44:37,076 the studio tentpoles dominating the global box office 786 00:44:37,076 --> 00:44:40,092 and outperforming the latter-day likes of Gone with the Wind 787 00:44:40,092 --> 00:44:42,020 or the Ten Commandments. 788 00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:53,072 # Knew the signs wasn't right... # 789 00:44:53,072 --> 00:44:57,012 As we've often seen in this series, it's a classic rule of storytelling 790 00:44:57,012 --> 00:44:59,068 that things have to get worse for the protagonist 791 00:44:59,068 --> 00:45:01,068 before they get better. 792 00:45:01,068 --> 00:45:04,076 The lovers are parted, and one decides to relocate 793 00:45:04,076 --> 00:45:06,012 to a different continent. 794 00:45:07,052 --> 00:45:10,056 The survivors in an upturned liner find that their only 795 00:45:10,056 --> 00:45:12,076 escape route is flooded. 796 00:45:12,076 --> 00:45:17,028 It's the darkest hour - the moment when all is lost. 797 00:45:17,028 --> 00:45:20,048 In a genre where heroes can literally fly, 798 00:45:20,048 --> 00:45:22,080 they have to fall even harder. 799 00:45:22,080 --> 00:45:26,064 And this moment, usually in the last quarter of the film, 800 00:45:26,064 --> 00:45:29,004 often takes a particular shape - 801 00:45:29,004 --> 00:45:31,052 trial by endurance. 802 00:45:31,052 --> 00:45:34,048 Rather than be destroyed outright by their nemesis, 803 00:45:34,048 --> 00:45:38,040 the hero will be abandoned to their fate, and they will need all 804 00:45:38,040 --> 00:45:42,040 their strength, wits and, above all, willpower to survive. 805 00:45:46,036 --> 00:45:50,008 Spider-Man: Homecoming pays tribute to a classic moment in the 806 00:45:50,008 --> 00:45:55,064 original comic when our hero gets buried under a collapsed building. 807 00:45:55,064 --> 00:45:57,096 HE GASPS 808 00:45:57,096 --> 00:46:01,068 Alone, hallucinating - the situation is as much a test of 809 00:46:01,068 --> 00:46:05,096 Spider-Man's courage and determination as of his strength. 810 00:46:05,096 --> 00:46:09,064 There's a similar sequence in The Dark Knight Rises 811 00:46:09,064 --> 00:46:12,072 when the villainous Bane condemns a broken-backed Bruce Wayne 812 00:46:12,072 --> 00:46:13,084 to a prison hellhole. 813 00:46:13,084 --> 00:46:15,008 As will you. 814 00:46:15,008 --> 00:46:17,092 "Hole" being the operative word here, given the unusual 815 00:46:17,092 --> 00:46:20,040 architectural design. 816 00:46:20,040 --> 00:46:24,036 Bruce's plight explicitly echoes the opening scene of the first film 817 00:46:24,036 --> 00:46:28,032 in the Dark Knight trilogy, Batman Begins, which suggests that 818 00:46:28,032 --> 00:46:31,076 this moment, rather than the murder of his parents, 819 00:46:31,076 --> 00:46:35,092 is Bruce Wayne's real primal trauma - one he eventually overcomes 820 00:46:35,092 --> 00:46:39,084 by becoming the very thing he feared as a child. 821 00:46:39,084 --> 00:46:41,076 So, what's the moral here? 822 00:46:41,076 --> 00:46:45,012 Bruce's dad, who's clearly a part-time screenwriting guru, 823 00:46:45,012 --> 00:46:46,060 has the answer. 824 00:46:46,060 --> 00:46:49,020 It's OK. Took quite a fall, didn't we, Master Bruce? 825 00:46:49,020 --> 00:46:51,008 And why did we fall, Bruce? 826 00:46:51,008 --> 00:46:52,096 So we can learn to pick ourselves up. 827 00:46:55,020 --> 00:46:59,084 We see that same mix of entrapment and primal trauma when Superman 828 00:46:59,084 --> 00:47:02,096 is plunged into a flooded subway station, chained to 829 00:47:02,096 --> 00:47:04,060 a piece of kryptonite - 830 00:47:04,060 --> 00:47:08,028 the one substance that can render him utterly helpless. 831 00:47:08,028 --> 00:47:10,072 Kryptonite has symbolic value. 832 00:47:10,072 --> 00:47:14,072 It's a by-product of the destruction of Superman's home planet, 833 00:47:14,072 --> 00:47:18,080 a reminder of his own primal loss and isolation. 834 00:47:18,080 --> 00:47:23,080 And crucially, it poses no threat whatsoever to ordinary humans. 835 00:47:27,044 --> 00:47:31,060 David Dunn is also forced to take the plunge in Unbreakable, 836 00:47:31,060 --> 00:47:35,048 because water is, as he discovers, his own kryptonite, 837 00:47:35,048 --> 00:47:37,036 his secret vulnerability. 838 00:47:42,016 --> 00:47:46,060 Note, by the way, how claustrophobic and intimate these moments are, 839 00:47:46,060 --> 00:47:49,072 and how they prey on our own instinctive human fears 840 00:47:49,072 --> 00:47:53,012 of being buried alive, drowning, or falling. 841 00:47:55,032 --> 00:47:56,080 HE YELLS 842 00:47:58,004 --> 00:48:01,092 Spider-Man and Batman call on their deepest personal reserves 843 00:48:01,092 --> 00:48:04,004 to get themselves to safety. 844 00:48:04,004 --> 00:48:07,012 But look how Superman and David Dunn are only saved 845 00:48:07,012 --> 00:48:09,048 by the intervention of strangers. 846 00:48:09,048 --> 00:48:13,096 Sometimes even the fate of superheroes depends on mere mortals 847 00:48:13,096 --> 00:48:15,012 doing the right thing. 848 00:48:16,044 --> 00:48:19,072 That same idea underlies one of the most powerful moments 849 00:48:19,072 --> 00:48:21,032 of the first Spider-Man movie. 850 00:48:24,040 --> 00:48:27,044 When bystanders pick up the fight against the Green Goblin. 851 00:48:29,068 --> 00:48:32,004 Come on up here, tough guy, I got a little something for ya! 852 00:48:32,004 --> 00:48:34,088 We're going to kick your freaking ass! Leave Spider-Man alone! 853 00:48:34,088 --> 00:48:37,068 You going to pick on a guy trying to save a bunch of kids?! 854 00:48:37,068 --> 00:48:39,068 Oh, yeah! I got something for your ass! 855 00:48:39,068 --> 00:48:41,076 You mess with Spidey? You mess with New York! 856 00:48:41,076 --> 00:48:44,052 You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us! 857 00:48:44,052 --> 00:48:47,040 Repeatedly we see the distinction between superhero 858 00:48:47,040 --> 00:48:50,020 and ordinary human breaking down. 859 00:48:50,020 --> 00:48:54,060 The heroes are reduced to our level, or perhaps we're exalted to theirs. 860 00:48:56,040 --> 00:48:58,092 But there's one more test to come. 861 00:48:58,092 --> 00:49:02,088 We've already seen that villains are ruthless, ready to sacrifice 862 00:49:02,088 --> 00:49:05,032 others in pursuit of their goal. 863 00:49:05,032 --> 00:49:08,008 But where the hero ultimately has the upper hand 864 00:49:08,008 --> 00:49:11,028 is in their willingness to sacrifice themselves in pursuit 865 00:49:11,028 --> 00:49:14,060 of their fundamental goal, which is to save people. 866 00:49:15,096 --> 00:49:17,036 No! That's Batman! 867 00:49:18,080 --> 00:49:22,028 No sooner has Batman fixed his broken back, escaped his hellhole 868 00:49:22,028 --> 00:49:25,032 and returned to Gotham then he's volunteering to take a 869 00:49:25,032 --> 00:49:28,072 ready-to-explode neutron bomb beyond harm's way, 870 00:49:28,072 --> 00:49:30,044 regardless of the personal cost. 871 00:49:32,092 --> 00:49:33,096 Can you read me? 872 00:49:33,096 --> 00:49:35,072 Captain Rogers, what is your...? 873 00:49:35,072 --> 00:49:38,080 Steve, is that you? Are you all right? Peggy! Schmidt's dead! 874 00:49:38,080 --> 00:49:39,092 What about the plane? 875 00:49:39,092 --> 00:49:44,024 It's a similar scenario to Captain America: The First Avenger. 876 00:49:44,024 --> 00:49:47,060 Cap has to pilot a plane full of weapons of mass destruction 877 00:49:47,060 --> 00:49:50,016 away from civilisation. 878 00:49:50,016 --> 00:49:52,008 I gotta put her in the water. 879 00:49:52,008 --> 00:49:55,040 Please, don't do this. We have time. We can work it out. 880 00:49:55,040 --> 00:49:57,020 Right now, I'm in the middle of nowhere. 881 00:49:57,020 --> 00:50:00,052 If I wait any longer, a lot of people are going to die. 882 00:50:00,052 --> 00:50:04,088 The sacrificial hero is a repeated trope of Marvel's films. 883 00:50:04,088 --> 00:50:08,048 A powerless Thor offers to lay down his life for his friends. 884 00:50:12,068 --> 00:50:13,072 So take mine... 885 00:50:14,092 --> 00:50:15,096 ..and end this. 886 00:50:30,044 --> 00:50:31,048 No! 887 00:50:35,028 --> 00:50:38,056 Ant-Man defeats his enemy at the cost of plunging himself 888 00:50:38,056 --> 00:50:41,012 into the subatomic Quantum Realm. 889 00:50:43,080 --> 00:50:47,060 And even in a movie with multiple heroes, someone needs to be ready 890 00:50:47,060 --> 00:50:49,048 to take a bullet for the team - 891 00:50:49,048 --> 00:50:52,068 or a nuclear missile, in the case of Avengers Assemble. 892 00:50:56,080 --> 00:51:01,068 It's in these moments of sacrifice that superhero films tap most deeply 893 00:51:01,068 --> 00:51:03,056 into age-old narrative traditions. 894 00:51:06,028 --> 00:51:07,032 TEARFULLY: No... 895 00:51:12,092 --> 00:51:14,008 Daddy, where are you?! 896 00:51:17,088 --> 00:51:20,088 And these ancient stories reassure us that every good 897 00:51:20,088 --> 00:51:21,092 and noble death... 898 00:51:24,032 --> 00:51:26,000 ..is followed by rebirth. 899 00:51:33,076 --> 00:51:34,080 HULK ROARS 900 00:51:34,080 --> 00:51:36,016 TONY PANTS 901 00:51:37,028 --> 00:51:39,076 HULK ROARS 902 00:51:39,076 --> 00:51:40,080 What the hell? 903 00:51:43,080 --> 00:51:45,012 What just happened? 904 00:51:45,012 --> 00:51:49,020 What just happened is the most comforting and hopeful myth of all. 905 00:51:49,020 --> 00:51:51,076 And the success of the superhero genre proves that 906 00:51:51,076 --> 00:51:53,068 we still need to hear it. 907 00:51:53,068 --> 00:51:55,016 But for how much longer? 908 00:52:03,068 --> 00:52:05,052 I am Asgard's doom. 909 00:52:05,052 --> 00:52:07,028 And so are you. 910 00:52:07,028 --> 00:52:08,076 All will suffer. 911 00:52:08,076 --> 00:52:11,008 All will burn! 912 00:52:11,008 --> 00:52:12,028 Oh, that's intense. 913 00:52:12,028 --> 00:52:16,072 As the great myths of old remind us, nothing hangs around forever. 914 00:52:16,072 --> 00:52:19,020 Even the gods must face their twilight - 915 00:52:19,020 --> 00:52:22,052 or, in the Norse legends, Ragnarok. 916 00:52:22,052 --> 00:52:25,068 You cannot stop Ragnarok. 917 00:52:25,068 --> 00:52:27,020 Why fight it? 918 00:52:27,020 --> 00:52:31,000 Because that's...what heroes do. 919 00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:34,004 Will the huge global success of the superhero genre 920 00:52:34,004 --> 00:52:35,040 be its downfall? 921 00:52:35,040 --> 00:52:37,016 Have we reached peak hero? 922 00:52:38,024 --> 00:52:40,040 It doesn't matter how obscure you are! 923 00:52:40,040 --> 00:52:42,000 You're all getting a movie! 924 00:52:42,000 --> 00:52:43,032 You want a little sneak peek? 925 00:52:43,032 --> 00:52:46,084 The family cartoon feature Teen Titans Go! To The Movies 926 00:52:46,084 --> 00:52:48,084 satirises Hollywood's determination 927 00:52:48,084 --> 00:52:51,068 to squeeze every last buck out of the genre. 928 00:52:51,068 --> 00:52:56,028 ANNOUNCER: Coming next next summer, the story of Batman's greatest ally. 929 00:52:56,028 --> 00:52:57,064 That's me! That must be me! 930 00:52:57,064 --> 00:53:00,016 And best friend in the whole wide world. 931 00:53:00,016 --> 00:53:02,004 HE TITTERS 932 00:53:02,004 --> 00:53:03,056 Finally! 933 00:53:03,056 --> 00:53:05,068 Thank you for making a movie about... 934 00:53:05,068 --> 00:53:07,032 Utility Belt. What? 935 00:53:07,032 --> 00:53:08,072 The Movie. 936 00:53:08,072 --> 00:53:12,008 And as we've noted, such luminaries as Martin Scorsese, 937 00:53:12,008 --> 00:53:16,008 Francis Ford Coppola, and our very own Ken Loach have weighed in 938 00:53:16,008 --> 00:53:19,068 against the genre, variously accusing it of being boring, 939 00:53:19,068 --> 00:53:22,008 despicable, and "not cinema." 940 00:53:22,008 --> 00:53:24,048 Ragnarok can't come too quickly for them. 941 00:53:29,040 --> 00:53:30,044 No! 942 00:53:30,044 --> 00:53:34,036 So, like a classic mentor figure, I'm going to offer superhero movies 943 00:53:34,036 --> 00:53:37,032 three lessons that I think they need to learn for the future. 944 00:53:37,032 --> 00:53:40,024 Just...don't kill me off after I've delivered them. 945 00:53:40,024 --> 00:53:43,040 First, get some better endings. 946 00:53:43,040 --> 00:53:46,068 We've seen that superhero movies have a powerful moral message 947 00:53:46,068 --> 00:53:47,092 at their core. 948 00:53:47,092 --> 00:53:50,088 But all too often, it's lost in the maelstrom of overblown, 949 00:53:50,088 --> 00:53:53,004 smashy-crashy action and effects - 950 00:53:53,004 --> 00:53:57,040 which seems to be de rigeur for almost any superhero movie climax. 951 00:54:00,096 --> 00:54:04,088 Every other Marvel film ends with some kind of collision or mashup 952 00:54:04,088 --> 00:54:07,028 between dimensions and galaxies, 953 00:54:07,028 --> 00:54:10,096 with heroes either jumping through portals between different realms 954 00:54:10,096 --> 00:54:12,036 or trying to shut them down. 955 00:54:14,012 --> 00:54:15,016 The Dark Dimension. 956 00:54:16,072 --> 00:54:20,040 It's a problem inherent in any genre based on spectacle, 957 00:54:20,040 --> 00:54:24,016 the expectation that each set piece will be bigger or more complex 958 00:54:24,016 --> 00:54:25,024 than the last. 959 00:54:25,024 --> 00:54:27,072 And it's one that's dogged even the best-loved superhero 960 00:54:27,072 --> 00:54:28,076 movies for decades. 961 00:54:33,036 --> 00:54:35,072 The climax of Superman leaves villain Lex Luthor 962 00:54:35,072 --> 00:54:39,024 out of the picture altogether and sees the Man of Steel struggle 963 00:54:39,024 --> 00:54:41,084 with some of the film's least-convincing effects. 964 00:54:44,012 --> 00:54:45,016 HE SCREAMS 965 00:54:48,004 --> 00:54:52,000 And that's before perhaps the biggest cop-out conclusion ever, 966 00:54:52,000 --> 00:54:57,024 in which Superman reverses the Earth on its axis to turn back time. 967 00:54:57,024 --> 00:54:59,096 Now, that doesn't just defy the laws of physics, 968 00:54:59,096 --> 00:55:04,016 it defies the even more important laws of good storytelling. 969 00:55:04,016 --> 00:55:07,092 Superman should forever be an object lesson to Hollywood in 970 00:55:07,092 --> 00:55:09,056 how not to end a movie. 971 00:55:13,032 --> 00:55:17,060 Interestingly, in Glass - the final film of his Unbreakable trilogy - 972 00:55:17,060 --> 00:55:20,080 director M Night Shyamalan sets us up for a massive showdown 973 00:55:20,080 --> 00:55:22,052 at the top of a skyscraper. 974 00:55:22,052 --> 00:55:25,052 Only to surprise us with a far more effective and altogether 975 00:55:25,052 --> 00:55:28,012 more low-key scrap in a car park. 976 00:55:28,012 --> 00:55:30,068 It's one of my favourite superhero movie endings. 977 00:55:33,040 --> 00:55:34,064 THE BEAST ROARS 978 00:55:34,064 --> 00:55:35,068 GIRLS SCREAM 979 00:55:40,016 --> 00:55:44,004 Lesson two - let's see a greater range of talent and voices 980 00:55:44,004 --> 00:55:45,072 involved in the genre. 981 00:55:45,072 --> 00:55:48,064 And here, there are definite signs of hope. 982 00:55:48,064 --> 00:55:52,088 Recent blockbusters which combine diverse talent both in front of 983 00:55:52,088 --> 00:55:55,044 and behind the camera - like Captain Marvel, 984 00:55:55,044 --> 00:55:59,084 Black Panther, and Wonder Woman - have proved to be huge hits. 985 00:55:59,084 --> 00:56:01,052 What is a secretary? 986 00:56:01,052 --> 00:56:02,088 Well, I do everything. 987 00:56:02,088 --> 00:56:05,060 I go where he tells me to go, and I do what he tells me to do. 988 00:56:05,060 --> 00:56:07,092 Well, where I'm from, that's called slavery. 989 00:56:09,080 --> 00:56:11,080 So, bring it on, Hollywood. 990 00:56:11,080 --> 00:56:15,036 Let's see what would happen if film-makers who don't all look 991 00:56:15,036 --> 00:56:19,060 the same are given free rein with these characters, and indeed, 992 00:56:19,060 --> 00:56:22,004 with characters of all genders and races. 993 00:56:24,040 --> 00:56:27,068 It's encouraging that two of 2020's big releases - 994 00:56:27,068 --> 00:56:30,068 Marvel's Eternals and DC's Birds of Prey, 995 00:56:30,068 --> 00:56:34,096 are directed by Chinese-Americans Chloe Zhao and Cathy Yan. 996 00:56:34,096 --> 00:56:37,084 Of course, the studios are never going to take too many risks 997 00:56:37,084 --> 00:56:40,088 with their big name, big-earning franchises. 998 00:56:40,088 --> 00:56:42,080 So, here's lesson three. 999 00:56:42,080 --> 00:56:47,020 Many superhero themes, situations, and character types are open 1000 00:56:47,020 --> 00:56:49,012 for anyone to play with. 1001 00:56:49,012 --> 00:56:51,048 Let's see more of that. 1002 00:56:51,048 --> 00:56:52,084 I'm an apex predator. 1003 00:56:52,084 --> 00:56:53,088 BUS HORN BLARES 1004 00:56:55,092 --> 00:57:00,048 Films like Josh Trank's Chronicle, a lower-budget found footage take 1005 00:57:00,048 --> 00:57:03,048 on the extraordinarily-gifted youngsters scenario of 1006 00:57:03,048 --> 00:57:04,052 the X-Men films. 1007 00:57:05,076 --> 00:57:09,028 Or the recent Brightburn, which asks what would happen if 1008 00:57:09,028 --> 00:57:13,072 a Kansas couple adopted a child who crash-landed from an alien planet, 1009 00:57:13,072 --> 00:57:15,044 only for him to turn out to be evil? 1010 00:57:23,044 --> 00:57:24,048 SHE SCREAMS 1011 00:57:24,048 --> 00:57:27,092 It's a sort of We Need To Talk About Kal-El. 1012 00:57:27,092 --> 00:57:31,020 Both of these films splice superheroes with horror - 1013 00:57:31,020 --> 00:57:34,004 a genre that can work very well on a tight budget, 1014 00:57:34,004 --> 00:57:37,008 and they raise interesting questions about the very notion 1015 00:57:37,008 --> 00:57:38,012 of superheroism. 1016 00:57:43,028 --> 00:57:47,052 The darker side of the superhero genre is a rich scene to mine, 1017 00:57:47,052 --> 00:57:51,088 judging by the success of 2019's breakout hit Joker. 1018 00:57:51,088 --> 00:57:54,044 Would you please stop bothering my kid? 1019 00:57:54,044 --> 00:57:55,048 Sorry. 1020 00:57:56,052 --> 00:58:00,024 It takes a character who, as we've seen, was inspired by a classic 1021 00:58:00,024 --> 00:58:01,048 of Silent Era-cinema... 1022 00:58:02,088 --> 00:58:06,096 ..and re-imagines him as a fusion of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver 1023 00:58:06,096 --> 00:58:08,068 and The King of Comedy, 1024 00:58:08,068 --> 00:58:11,012 which makes it all the more ironic to hear Scorsese, 1025 00:58:11,012 --> 00:58:13,024 who once considered producing Joker, 1026 00:58:13,024 --> 00:58:16,004 moaning about modern superhero movies. 1027 00:58:16,004 --> 00:58:19,092 # Send in the clowns... # 1028 00:58:22,024 --> 00:58:25,092 All this is a reminder of the long-standing relationship 1029 00:58:25,092 --> 00:58:29,012 between superheroes and cinema as a whole. 1030 00:58:29,012 --> 00:58:33,012 And as long as that relationship is kept healthy and enriching, 1031 00:58:33,012 --> 00:58:35,096 I don't think the heroes - or the fans - 1032 00:58:35,096 --> 00:58:38,044 need to worry about Ragnarok just yet. 93624

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