More than a decade after securing a virtual stranglehold over the global cultural discourse, superhero movies are finally entering their rebellious adolescence—with hope and an enduring belief in the power of unity to overcome all obstacles.
Popular culture, by its very definition, represents the practices, beliefs and artistic output of the general public, rather than the cultural elite. Spanning various films, TV shows, and of course the original comics, the dominance of the superhero since the release of the original Iron Man in 2008 has for many elevated the genre’s status to that of modern myths, with the heroes of the ‘funnies’ replacing the gods of Roman and Greek myth.
As with all forms of popular culture, the stories contained in each instalment of a superhero franchise reflect the wishes and apprehensions of the society that produced them. For Iron Man, conceived as the initial phase of America’s war on terror wound down, the titular character evolved from one who armed the state to one who believed he was the most competent authority for deciding where and how his weaponry should be utilized. The narrative represents a disenchantment with authority, but retains a belief in the power of the individual overcoming the barriers placed in their path by the state.
Similarly, 2016’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice saw the two heroes manipulated into fighting each other before uniting against a common enemy. A common trope, it reflected the growing unease over the power of disinformation to divide allies in an increasingly connected globe. Ultimately, Superman sacrificed himself to protect the world, highlighting the heavy cost required to overcome falsehoods.
In a post-COVID world, however, viewers are looking less for a lens into the world outside and more a dose of hope and the power of community. This is especially true when comparing films released before and after the second Trump administration, which has laid bare the divisions within American society and heralded a new wave of rightwing populist leaders globally, sowing the seeds for mounting xenophobia.
This division can most clearly be observed when comparing films conceived prior to Trump’s election and those that came after. One such example is 2023’s The Flash, which sees the titular character trying to change the past before realizing the new present—butterfly effect-style—is far worse than the version he left behind. It ends with him returning to his reality, opting to right injustice through courts, implicitly supporting a belief in existing structures and their ability to protect citizens.
The same year saw the release of The Marvels, which shines a spotlight on S.H.I.E.L.D., a governmental organization that insists on the need for an overarching authoritative presence to maintain the status quo. The trend persists through the start of 2025, with Captain America: Brave New World—produced at the tail end of the Biden administration—focusing on the importance of sustaining existing systems even in the face of intrinsic flaws within offices of authority.
By contrast, movies such as 2025’s Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps appear to actively shun the importance of authority, replacing it with a faith in community and human connection.
Superman cherry-picks from the comics in positioning the refugee from a doomed planet as an analogy for assimilation. Urging viewers to look past nationality and origin, it stresses on the benefits of finding commonality through belief in a better tomorrow. Likewise, Fantastic Four centralizes the importance of family and the love and empathy shared between individuals that comprise part of a larger whole. Both films reflect a growing societal shift away from belief in government and toward community, calling on viewers to stand firm against efforts to divide them, especially from forces and individuals far stronger or resourceful than them.
The shift, in a seeming direct reproach of Trump’s aggressive posturing, encourages kindness and empathy. It calls on viewers to see heroism as a panacea to oppression and fascism, rejecting the politics of division. In doing so, it returns the superheroes to their comic book roots, embodying the wish fulfilment for miracles that can provide fixes reality lacks.
Superheroes were never meant to reflect the aspirations of authority; at its core, the genre has always offered a means for fans to escape into a better world, one where all dangers can be overcome in the span of a few minutes or pages. Today’s superhero is reminding us to start caring again. Once champions of the state, superheroes are now champions of the people, reminding us that real power lies in unity, not authority.