What is superhero fatigue? Why Marvel and DC fans feel overwhelmed
Superhero fatigue is associated with the underperformance of blockbuster comic movies by major franchises. Marvel and DC studios release several films and TV shows every year for cinema and major streaming platforms, but too many projects have been linked to the dilution of interest in the superhero genre.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- The superhero genre has been around for over a century, but recent overexpansion by Marvel and DC universes has led to criticism from critics and fans who feel overwhelmed.
- Superhero fatigue appears to be real as major studios experience underperformance at the box office, low streaming numbers, and poor ratings.
- MCU's fatigue started to emerge after the Infinity Saga, whose story arc spanned 23 interconnected films from 2008 to 2019.
Understanding superhero fatigue
Superhero fatigue describes the lack of enthusiasm for new superhero releases by major studios, mainly the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Universe. It has been linked to oversaturation of superhero content in theatres and on major streaming platforms, making it hard even for diehard comic book fans to keep up.
Most of these projects have repetitive plots and predictable structures, leading to a decline in quality. Fatigue led to the decline of the Western genre, which reached peak popularity in the mid-20th century, but overproduction led to its eventual collapse.
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Superhero fatigue effect on major franchises
The Marvel Cinematic Universe started in 2008 with the release of Iron Man, which has remained one of its highly rated projects. Several of their subsequent releases throughout the 2010s were box office hits, including Avengers: Endgame and Infinity War, Black Panther, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Interest in MCU films seemed to wane after their highly successful Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Eternals (2021) became Marvel's first movie to be rated Rotten on Rotten Tomatoes with a 47% critic rating. Secret Invasion (2023) had one of the lowest viewership when it debuted on Disney+, with just 994,000 in the first five days.
The Marvel fatigue is also seen in the underwhelming box office earnings that failed to cross the $400 million mark, which is a flop considering their high production budgets. Endgame earned $2.7 billion, but subsequent projects like The Marvels (2023) made $206 million, and Thunderbolts* (2025) earned $382 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
DC is not new to box office flops, with nearly 10 of its last projects underperforming. Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) made just over $134 million, while The Flash (2023) earned $271 million worldwide.
Away from MCU and DC, Sony's Spider-Man Universe had a major box office flop with Madame Web (2024) starring Dakota Johnson, which made just over $100 million worldwide. It also has one of the lowest critical ratings of 10% on Rotten Tomatoes. Morbius (2022) made $167 million with a 15% rating.
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Hollywood's take on superhero fatigue
Veteran actor Tom Hanks feels comic book movies should offer stronger storylines beyond what the audience already knows about their favourite superheroes. During his November 2024 appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he shared:
We're in an evolutionary place of, 'And the story is what? And the theme is what? And the point of this movie is what?' That's a good challenge for any filmmaker... The industry often says, 'Well, this works and it will work again.' The audience is far ahead of it. They see the familiar and say, 'I've seen that already. What's next?'
Filmmaker James Gunn agrees there is superhero movie fatigue, but like Tom Hanks, he thinks it has nothing to do with the MCU and DC superheroes, but with how their stories are told. In an April 2023 interview with Rolling Stone, he said:
It has to do with the kind of stories that get to be told... We love Superman. We love Batman. We love Iron Man. Because they're these incredible characters that we have in our hearts. And if it becomes just a bunch of nonsense onscreen, it gets really boring.
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Can superhero fatigue be solved?
The obvious solution seems to be redirecting focus to quality over quantity of superhero projects released by the MCU and DCU each year. The fatigue started to emerge when Marvel Studios rushed to stream a lot of projects on Disney+ while releasing three movies yearly after the Infinity Saga in 2019.
The success of Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), which made over $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office, shows that the MCU can win back fans with the right projects. When it comes to Sony, their animated Spider-Verse films tend to get better reviews than the live-action ones.
DC Studios co-chairman James Gunn revealed in early 2025 during a press event at the Warner Bros. Lot that the DCU aims to release seven projects annually. They will reportedly feature two live-action films, one animated film, and two animated series for HBO Max.
Gunn introduced a new era of the DC Universe in July 2025 with the release of Superman, starring David Corenswet as Clark Kent. Other upcoming DC Studios productions include Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, starring Milly Alcock and Lanterns, starring Aaron Pierre.
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Who is the most depressed Marvel character?
Marvel has explored the mental health struggles of several of its superheroes and villains. Bruce Banner/The Hulk has suicidal tendencies, which stem from the trauma of transforming into the Hulk and an abusive childhood, while Moon Knight has Dissociative Identity Disorder.
What is the superhero effect in psychology?
The superhero effect often refers to how superheroes affect an individual's behaviour and sometimes identity and relationships, according to NeuroLaunch. Viewers, especially kids, are often inspired to emulate model traits like courage and altruism.
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Conclusion
Superhero fatigue can be solved before the genre crashes, but major franchises need to come up with a story arc that is better or close to the MCU's Infinity Saga. Despite being overwhelmed with films, TV shows, and spinoffs, the superhero world remains one of Hollywood's major genres.
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