I write about stories a lot, and one thing I’ve been thinking about lately is how repetitive many new pieces of media feel. Many movies, shows or video games are either sequels, remakes or reboots of tried-and-true stories. Creativity in fiction feels like it’s at an all-time low, and this is a massive issue because it causes writers to stagnate.
Superheroes are a genre in and of themselves. I can write an encyclopedia on them in my sleep. As of late, there have been little to no newly introduced superheroes that have made a big splash. New characters help make fascinating and fresh stories and add to the fictional universe. The recent trend seems to be to adapt these popular icons to the silver screen. In the past handful of years, Marvel has given lesser-known characters — like Moon Knight, She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel — television shows. But, as for brand new superheroes, the only one I can think of is Invincible.
Invincible was a superhero comic active from 2003 to 2018 (1). This was a brand new character not related to any other superhero — as fresh as it can get. The series is very popular nowadays thanks to Amazon’s animated series. Think about this though — the last majorly popular character in pop culture was created over 20 years ago. What new characters are being made nowadays? Seemingly not a ton due to how little we’ve heard from these underdogs.
Many new superheroes in Marvel and DC Comics are “legacy characters.” This means they are successors to previously existing characters — think Miles Morales for Spider-Man or Nightwing for Batman. Don’t get me wrong, I adore these characters, but there’s something off about them because they feel very similar to their mentor superhero. Miles Morales is a character that is popular on his own, but is ALWAYS being compared to Peter Parker, because they’re just so damn similar from a superhero standpoint. Miles is great, but writers have fallen back on what works and that gets old and redundant after a while.
Let’s look at some other media. Movies — who doesn’t love them? Think of some of the recent super-successful blockbusters. Many of them are based on some existing media. “Dune: Part Two” is an absolutely phenomenal movie, but it’s an adaptation of a book and can be seen as a reboot of sorts. “Oppenheimer” is a cinematic juggernaut with some cool creative liberties taken, but since it’s based on a true story, it’s been in media before. These stories are repetitive and not necessarily new. “Barbie” might be a middle ground and you can argue that it does its own thing, but it is still based off of an existing empire of toys. See what I’m getting at? So much of fiction nowadays is iterative because writers choose to adapt or remix instead of just telling new stories.
Now, it’s not all bad. Go to the “Land of the Rising Sun.” In Japan, many comic creators have too much creativity on their hands. New Japanese manga are always being published, such as “Chainsaw Man” and “Jujutsu Kaisen,” two massively popular series that started as humble comics and now have dedicated fanbases. Different manga publishers are pumping out series year-round, so new characters and worlds are always being made. Because the work culture in Japan is also a lot more cutthroat, creators are encouraged to produce as much as possible.
The West has some catching up to do. The trend of iterative media is understandable — it’s a safe and easy way to make a quick buck. But, it gets old and boring, and it’s no longer what story-loving consumers want. These comic auteurs from Japan have been doing it right since day one. Take notes, Hollywood — take more risks because these series can be just as successful as some of the tried-and-true characters we all know and love. Get creative with your work. It inspires not only yourself, but your competition, and healthy competition will make YOU better.
Nicolas Scagnelli is a senior majoring in English.
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