Below is an essay I had to write for a college Film Genre Class:

In 1978, when Christopher Reeves flew on to the silver screen as the Last Son of Krypton, the superhero film genre was born. The film Superman: The Movie would go on to establish the narrative structure that is still used in the superhero films made today. Budgeted in 1977 at $55 million, it would set many precedents for the popcorn blockbuster, “not the least of which was the idea of hiring big stars in action genres that previously were made under mostly B-picture budgets” (McAllister, 110).

The first and most important thing...