So the publicity machine for Iron Man 2 is beginning to spool up, with Scarlett Johanson revealed as Black Widow. She is the second potential villain for the film (in the Marvel universe Black Widow swapped sides several times, and it is unclear how she will be introduced in the film). Of course, Mickey Rourke has been known to be Whiplash for some time.
And here we encounter what may be the last major challenge facing superhero movies, after Tim Burton finally began to treat the genre semi-seriously with Batman: resisting the temptation to introduce a larger cast of characters with each sequel. Batman Returns yielded to this, adding the Penguin and Catwoman, and the process has remained largely unchallenged since.
It is not clear why directors and writers tend to complicate sequels this way, other than the obvious fact that more names on the marquee potentially add to box office draw. Inevitably, something has to give: characters are less fleshed out, dialogue becomes stilted and rushed, major themes lie untapped. The industry does not seem to have taken to heart the back-to-back lessons of Spiderman 2 and 3: one of the things that made the former a great sequel is that it limited itself to a single antagonist, Doc Oc, while keeping the frame large enough to hint at others waiting in the wings (James Franco in the process of becoming the New Green Goblin, Dylan Barker (Dr. Curt Conners) with the potential to turn into The Lizard). Spiderman 3, in addition to its myriad other faults, forced both Venom and Sandman center stage, as well as the New Green Goblin, and altered a major plot point of the original film, turning the entire movie into a confusing and indulgent mess.
Just because they are based on comics (or toys – did we really need 22 new Transformers introduced in Transformers 2? Were any of of the new additions actually memorable, aside from the inevitable stereotyped minority midget-bots and beardy-Blackbird former Decepticon?) doesn’t mean that these films aren’t worthy of doing well, or lack compelling characters.
So, a plea: writers, producers, directors, resist the temptation of more names and a bigger range of stars. Concentrate on great story, and success – together with critical acclaim – will follow.