Talk:List of American superhero films

Wanted

Wanted is not a superhero film...

Birdman

Where is Birdman?

What is up lately adding random stuff on this, this year?

After checking and editing this wiki, I just found out movies such as Star Wars, Terminator, Ghostbusters, Austin Powers, Indiana Jones, Resident Evil, Machete, Kill Bill and Baywatch are on this, btw what are these got to do with being a superhero film? I removed them but a person named Sparkles32 think those should be included. I mean Terminator, The Matrix, Underworld, G.I. Joe, Transformers and Kung Fu Panda are ok on there since they are somewhat superhero influenced. But if this is confusing for people maybe they should put down "List of Superhero/Superhuman/Magical Films" or something. 67.225.39.87 (talk) 05:00, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

I restored those entries because they had independent reliable sources (books, magazines, newspapers, etc) verifying that the characters are superheroes. Two things- One, everyone has a different opinion of what a superhero is. As it's mentioned above, the boundaries of superhero fiction are not clear-cut. The second thing is that the personal opinions of editors are immaterial. Some people would say superheroes are strictly people with super-powers, wear costumes and only fight super-villains. But considering genre flexibility, it's not always the case. Some would say Underworld, Ghostbusters and Resident evil aren't superhero movies is like saying Blade, Hellboy and Constantine aren't superhero movies. Saying Star Wars isn't a superhero franchise would be like saying Guardians of the Galaxy isn't a superhero franchise. Saying Austin Powers isn't a superhero would be like saying the Black Widow isn't a superhero. Saying Kill Bill and Machete aren't superheroes is like saying Batman and the Punisher aren't superheroes. Saying Kung Fu Panda and the Matrix aren't superheroes is like saying Shang-Chi and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles aren't superheroes. As for movies like Indiana Jones and Baywatch; well, it's not always about costumes, powers or supervillains- it's about the attitude. Of course, there's always the argument saying that the DC and Marvel characters mentioned qualify as superheroes because they come from superhero universes, and anything else doesn't qualify, which is neither here nor there. Fans could spend decades arguing over this subject, which is why independent reliable sources are important. If you can find sources saying that the characters are superheroes or if the movies are superhero movies, then they should cite them. And those that already are cited with sources should stay unless the sources turn out to be no good. The reason I didn't restore Beverly Hills Ninja was because the source was good, but it said the character posed as a superhero, which is not the same thing. And I didn't restore Spies In Disguise because it turned out the source was talking about other movies, so I wasn't sure about that one. I also realize I'm probably wasting my breath because a lot of editors think their opinions are material. Also, if you can't find good sources for certain entries then go ahead and remove them. Well, I hope this helps. God bless!!!Sparkles32 (talk) 17:01, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

Where's Batman 1966?? Pretty monumentally important to the history of superhero films... you've got the Batwoman movie from the same year but not Batman? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 138.88.63.45 (talk) 12:48, 12 December 2022 (UTC)

The List of films based on DC Comics publications is on the top of the list. The Wild World of Batwoman isn't related to DC comics. God bless!!!Sparkles32 (talk) 00:35, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

Okay, but then why is Superman (1978) on this list? This has to be one of the worst, most nonsensical lists I've encountered on this site. 75.164.54.222 (talk) 22:05, 22 December 2023 (UTC)

Superman 78 is no on the list. It's on the DC list. Plus, once again, personal opinions are immaterial.Sparkles32 (talk) 21:17, 4 February 2024 (UTC)

List criteria

I'm sorry, am I reading this article's title right? "List of American superhero films", right? More than half of the massive table clearly do not qualify as superhero films. Back to the Future? Transformers? Terminator? Jurassic Park?! InfiniteNexus (talk) 18:24, 4 February 2024 (UTC)

Do people not bother to read the above posts? I said it before and it looks like I have to say it again. We all have different opinions of what is a superhero movie and what isn't. Most of the unlikely superhero movies have independent reliable sources verifying that they are superhero movies, or have superhero characters. Personal opinions are immaterial. I don't know about Jurassic Park and the Back to the Future movies- I didn't post them there. Personally, I couldn't find sources for those so if you want to remove them than help yourself. But the Transformers and most of the Terminator posts have sources and should stay. I don't understand why I have to keep explaining this to people. They're either not reading the above posts already explaining this, or they have but don't care.Sparkles32 (talk) 21:17, 4 February 2024 (UTC)

The various Terminators fit quite well with certain types of supervillains, and the Autobots are often viewed as superheroes in various relevant lists outside Wikipedia. Back to the Future and Jurassic Park are both science fiction franchises, but I thought they did not depict superhumans of any type. Dimadick (talk) 21:28, 4 February 2024 (UTC)

we need more concrete definitions of what a superhero film is

there are some iffy ones here Yrs601 (talk) 13:09, 15 March 2024 (UTC)

Agree. There's an user on this page who insists that there are reliable sources listing some of these out-of-place movies as superhero movies, despite the fact that any article that'd consider Star Trek, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Back to the Future, or Jurassic Park as films about superheroes is written by someone who hadn't the faintest idea of what they were talking about.

The fact remains that as it is right now, this list is completely useless, since it basically just lists every blockbuster ever made. Can someone more knowledgeable about Wikipedia policies invoke something like Wikipedia: Common Sense or Wikipedia: General Consensus?

And by the way, the definition already exists in the superhero film article. I quote: "A superhero film is a film that focuses on superheroes and their actions. Superheroes are individuals who usually possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public". This list clearly doesn't follow that definition given that James T. Kirk, Indiana Jones, Alan Grant, and Marty McFly don't possess superhuman ability and aren't dedicated to protecting the public. Kumagoro-42 (talk) 15:34, 20 March 2024 (UTC)

But the definition of superhero has little to do with protecting the public. Whatever that is. The main article states that superheoes were influenced by real-life masked vigilantes. In fiction, masked avengers with secret identities are largely derived from the Scarlet Pimpernel/Percy Blakeney (1905) by Baroness Orczy. Who wanted to protect aristocrats from execution. Early examples of the superhero genre include:

• • "Jimmie Dale/The Grey Seal (1914), Zorro (1919), Buck Rogers (1928), The Shadow (1930), and Flash Gordon (1934), and comic strip heroes such as the Phantom (1936)" and "non-costumed characters with super strength, including the comic-strip characters Patoruzú (1928) and Popeye (1929) and novelist Philip Wylie's character Hugo Danner (1930)." Dimadick (talk) 15:47, 20 March 2024 (UTC)