Has there ever been a movie set in a superhero universe that is about a non-superhero character?
For example, I'd like to see a Lois Lane movie
Or maybe a tv series or comic book
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Marves Agents of Shield? Season 1 specifically. Season 2 and on goes into metahuman territory
I hadn't thought of that. I haven't gotten around to watching that series yet
I remember enjoying it and I dont typically care for Marvel
It's excellent, but weird.
The first season is monster of the week and fine but nothing amazing. Until it reaches the Captain America Winter Soldier crossover. In that film SHIELD is revealed to be HYDRA, so the same event unfolds in the show. It's awesome.
The second season is a bit directionless. It was supposed to link up with the new Marvel show Inhumans (who are kinda like X-Men, but legally distinct.)
But about halfway through that season and for the rest of the series they largely ignore the rest of the MCU and connected properties, which gives them a lot of freedom and the ability to tell their own stories.
I think a tightly connected TV series and films universe would have been great, as it was when they connected the SHIELD/HYDRA reveal. But since different people were in charge of movies versus TV, and the TV guy sucked, doing their own thing was the best option, and it worked well.
Yeah but the first season seems quite directionless and a slog, I remember enjoying it far more from season 2. However I might be wrong.
It helps they dive into some of the whackier bits of Marvel's universe
But even when it does, you always have Ming-Na Wen as May kicking butt as a normal human.
I mean, almost all of them kick various kinds of butt as normal humans!
On the flip side of the coin, Maximus from Inhumans
Not a movie but The Boys is a show that largely follows a regular guy impacted by the fallout of living in a world with superpowered people. Solid show though!
Also The Watchmen show and movie are mostly regular people with no actual powers. The show is excellent, the movie is pretty decent.
There's other stuff out there (Agents of Shield, Gotham, Arrow, etc.), but most of it is not nearly as good as the above two shows IMO.
Those sound good. I like when the MCU kind of shows life in the MCU from the perspective of regular people. Like Spiderman Homecoming and Ms Marvel, even though they're about superpowered characters, we kind of get a glimpse at the MCU through the lens of everyday people
Yeah, Watchmen and The Boys are a little darker than the MCU but better IMO.
'Little' is doing a *lot *of work in that sentence. Episode 1 has a named character literally exploded into blood and chunks by a speedster supe running right through her.
Spoilers lol
Adding context because I had to look it up: MCU = Marvel Cinematic Universe
gotham I think is the closest idea I have seen based on OP.
Extraordinary, was a British show about the only girl that didn't get a superpower, in a world where everyone does.
Sounds kind of like Encanto or Sky High before he gets his powers
Hey, now, I'd say Mirabel has a power, and it's the same as Abuela - their connection to Casita. I feel like Casita does what it does because of them, it doesn't just favor them.
I'm sure others have delved into the mechanics or whatever a bit more deeply, and so maybe the prevailing opinion differs, I don't know.
I can believe everything about Encanto, superpowers, living house, sure love it. Abuela admitting she was wrong and apologizing... just doesn't click, completely ruins the suspension of disbelief.
Yeah, but without the innocence.
Ohhh, that was a fun one!
Does Agent Carter count? I don't think she's a superhero?
Yeah, I think that counts. I haven't gotten around to watching it yet
I’d say that the show Gotham is primarily about Jim Gordon and an adolescent Bruce Wayne dealing with all of the supervillains in Gotham City, but, drama queens that they all are, the show is a lot about them too
The show is about Gordon walking in announcing GCPD and then punching someone in the face. Zsasz shows up every now and then and shoots up the police and then leaves.
But it's mainly Gordon punching people and yelling GCPD
I ❤️ Zsasz
Zaasz is pretty great. The actor plays NoHo Hank in Barry. It's a different role for him but he plays it so well.
Anthony Carrigan. He’s hilarious
Yeah where is his next project?
Judging by wiki it looks like he's in the new season of Twisted Metal (which I've never seen, but might be good) and the new Space Balls movie.
He’s in both season one and two, and he’s pretty great in it. Although he’s not in it a whole lot.
I’m really looking forward to that!
Powerless is about unpowered characters in a super hero universe.
Sounds fun
There was a TV show about Batman’s butler.
That sounds fun
I made two episodes in before I dumped it. I thought it was trash.
It was not
Batman isn't superpowered either.
Are you really pretending that Batman is not supercape shit?
There was a show called powerless. It was about employees at Wayne enterprises. It was a comedy. It didn’t last long.
Yes, someone else brought that up too. It sounds good
Yeah it's too bad too, it was really fun. Somebody should really put danny pudi to work
yeah I loved it.
The Boys ?
Yes to a point, but consider…
::: spoiler Tap for spoiler …Hughie and Butcher both take Compound V in the books and a temporary version in the show, which gives them powers, and the universe is set up so, theoretically, anyone who wants powers can get them. :::
Yes but the driving force for the narration is « how people without powers will react to people with power » but yes it’s not all non-power characters
I'm not super familiar with that show but it is about superpowered characters isn't it?
Of course that brings up the question of what the definition of a superhero is. Technically Batman, Black Widow, and Hawkeye are non-superpowered characters
The first season is more about the effects of super power on normal people lives and they react about it … after that there’s a lot of power that are thrown around
What you’re searching have been done in comics but not a lot in TV or movie IIRC
Sounds cool
I prefer the comic
The Boys is about non-superhero characters in a superhero universe, pretty much matches your post question. The core group of people ("The Boys") start out as regular people living in a world being trashed by people with superpowers.
As the series progresses it does veer off from that but maybe the first season is closer to what you're looking for.
Ah. Sounds interesting
/boggle
It is entirely about superheros.
Would The Penguin count?
I guess so. I hadn't thought of that
No powers, just a fantastic gangster's rise to power story. The setting occurs in the aftermath of superhero events, so I think it checks all the boxes (and it's fantastic!)
Breaking Bad actually happens in the Marvel universe. They just don't mention any of it because they are busy selling drugs and such.
Any sources on this, or are you just joking?
I like to think The Breakfast Club is in the marvel universe. No reason it can't be
It is. If the last scene doesn't freeze, that guy throws his fist up so he can fly away home.
You might check out Free Guy. It's about a video game NPC who comes to life in a Grand Theft Auto themed universe.
That's a good movie
Encanto.
What about kickass?
And now you know Batman's superpower.
Just looked that up. Looks interesting
I highly recommend it.
Another one: super - shut up crime
If you want a movie about someone dressing up and trying to be a hero then watch Super. Rainn Wilson plays the superhero wannabe. It is different.
Andor, depending on whether you consider Jedi superheroes.
Came here to say Rogue One but also this yeah
Jedi/Force users... definitely have superpowers
We have a few pieces of Star Wars media that aren't about the jedi. Yet still no Star Trek media that isn't about Starfleet. I guess Picard and Prodigy kinda sorta qualify
Mystery Men is all about the B-Team superheroes who have to step up after Captain Amazing, super hero of Champion City, releases Casanova Frankenstein from the insane asylum in order to get better ratings and sponsorships but instead gets kidnapped and accidentally psycho-frakulated. Their powers are: get mad, throw forks, fart, bowling ball, shovel, and invisible when nobody is looking. Doug Jones shows up as Pencilhead and Dane Cook as The Waffler during tryouts. Tom Waits also shows up as basically Tom Waits.
Hey, that bowling ball was sentient!
Sounds funny
"We're not your classic heroes. We're the other guys."
The movie is on YouTube in full
Agents of Shield was about Shield: The Marvel universe non-superhero government agency made to... Uh... Keep superheroes in check? I don't even remember, lol.
But they're just regular ass people who are badasses without super powers.
They're far from regular ass people. Some are borderline geniuses, some are non-powered who can nearly go toe-to-toe with powered villains, artificially enhanced in some way, and are/become powered themselves.
yeah there was a super powered member of the team I think to eventually. still I do think its a good example although like technically iron man has no superpowers its just technology from the universe.
I plan to watch that eventually
Oh I have an old one: Norman Normal.
It's about a guy who's the only one in the family not developing super abilities.
Sounds like Encanto or Sky High before he gets his powers
Wonder Man has powers, but we see very little of them. It's mostly about a persecuted minority trying to get work as an actor. Ben Kingsley is fantastic in the show.
I like that show
Not a movie but There's been a lois lane cartoon show: My Adventures with Superman
Megamind, though he is a super-person, is unpowered and develops his tech in response to a superpowered person. Suoer interesting movie!!!
Thank you, I'll have to check that out
Since Batman has been mentioned a bunch, you may like a twist on his formula. In the Absolute Batman comics, Bruce Wayne isn’t rich at all - and engineered some of his gadgets off his job at a construction site. But The Joker? Obscenely rich.
Sounds interesting
The two Joaquin Phoenix Joker movies, maybe kinda sorta? No flying or capes or utility belts, but they're about Batman characters, and presumably set in a Batman universe, or at least a precursor/adjacent universe.
Well, I wasn't counting that because it's about a traditional supervillain, much like the Venom movies,
But it is essentially about a non-superpowered character and we wouldn't even know it's superhero adjacent if he had a different name
Interior China town is tangentially related. Not super hero world but procedural police show world and it follows people not part of the cast
Think "law and order" if it followed the guy who they interviewed once at a bar to ask about a murder. It's a show following that guy's life, but you see "marishka hargatay" sometimes, but only briefly as they cross paths. It's also a surreal show that knows it's filming a show while the characters don't know they are characters in a show.
Sounds interesting
It is a good premise, but drags a bit in execution for me. Ronny chieng from the daily show is in it and does a great job.
Monty Python's Life of Brian is the first one that came to mind
Ah yes, the one about a normal guy living in the time of Jesus
Marvels for sure if you're into reading comics.
What's the use of a superhero universe if it isn't about the superhero?
There was this one movie where the superhero was such a jerk, a really miserable person, and disliked by the whole neighborhood because he caused lots of destruction and never took care. But in the end he was the hero again, of course.
People get bored of the same old story and want a fresh take.
They have a comic series about a clean up construction crew that fixes the city after all the battles. I could see a comedy show spin-off from that.
Oh, that construction crew sounds interesting, can you tell me the name?
I'm guessing "Damage Control", at least for Marvel.
They actually are in the MCU but seem to be taking on a different role.
We see them briefly in Spider-Man Homecoming, as them taking over the cleanup of New York being the basis for the Vulture.
We've also seen them in other MCU film/TV, but they're more antagonistic.
There were rumors of a more cleanup focused show, hopefully we get one post Secret Wars.
Yeah Damage Control started as clean up crew after Avengers 1, but that never took off, the show was abandoned, and the idea was recycled for Spider-Man, I think they show up in Ms. Marvel, but they quickly turned into some sort of ICE/FBI (that comparison came up when ICE was just starting to be a bigger problem under Trump 1). They clearly didn't know what to do with it and turned it into random government agency that they couldn't decide if it was Nazi corrupt or just "hero bad" kind of JJ Jameson dumb, forgetting the entire "Stark is funding a clean up crew from the destruction caused by alien invasions" premise that disappeared entirely.
They're still in the next Spider-Man, but they'll probably never be anything more than "SHIELD light" generic government agency that's there to be a pain in Spidey's ass (like full private military but not worldwide air carrier and interstellar force).
Powerless actually did that really well as legally not MCU with a great cast, but that was canceled.
Hancock? Is that the movie you were thinking of?
Yes, that was it.
the production baclground of this movie is more interesting than the movie itself
Would you mind elaborating?
Basically, it was in development hell for years and had multiple rewrites. Which more or less is why the movie feels like two movies stitched together
I think it would be cool to explore side characters connected to established superheroes. I know it wouldn't appeal to everyone but a Lois Lane movie would appeal to me. I've heard rumours of a Jimmy Olsen movie or series in the works
Not a movie, but check out the painted "Marvels" comic book mini series by Alex Ross. It's been years, but it follows a photographer who captures the beginning moments of The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man etc.
Sounds good
Gotham Central and Ordinary are a couple good graphic novels that explore this idea.
Sounds good
Not a movie, but the song Jimmy Olsen Blues by the Spin Doctors seems on point.
I'll have to check that out