Superheroes are having a bumpy ride. Marvel, which gave the world Spider-Man and Captain America, is reeling from a string of disappointing film releases such as 2023’s The Marvels and 2025’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps. This has forced owners Disney to completely rethink their Marvel strategy just before the new Spider-Man and Avengers films hit cinemas later this year.

DC Comics, the creators of Batman and Superman, are vying to relaunch their own cinematic franchise, but leaving much to be desired if audience opinion is anything to go by. This places a big question mark over the success of the forthcoming Supergirl film.

And Sony, which still owns the rights to Marvel’s Spider-Man (it can get a bit confusing), is also rebooting its cinematic offerings following a long string of box office disappointments.

All of this creates the perception of “superhero fatigue”, with complaints of “same plots, same villains”. Consumers seem tired of superhero content and want to move on after a 20-year-strong romance.

Yet the superhero genre is known for its incredible survival skills. After all, DC is 92 years old now, and Marvel is not far behind at 87. So, is superhero fatigue really a thing?

What’s really going on

First, let’s look at the evidence. While Marvel’s cinematic offerings are underperforming, its video games are hugely successful. For instance, Marvel’s Spider-Man........

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