There’s no end in sight to superhero blockbusters ruling the silver screen. From gritty Batman detective films to comedic Deadpool flicks, there’s a wide variety of tones and genres that these comic book adaptations fit into. However, there seems to be a growing trend common between a majority of them, and that’s a cavalcade of cameos from other heroes.
Seeing characters cameo in each other’s movies is by no means a bad thing, especially if those characters exist in a known shared universe like the MCU or DCEU. That being said, they often don’t serve a purpose. One could argue that it’s to tie the universe together, but that’s why films like The Avengers or Justice League exist. The whole point is that those crossovers are built up to and are exciting and satisfying after being built up to. Some of that satisfaction is lost when every single movie is a crossover of sorts.
Familiarity, like seeing a known character show up in a different character’s movie, triggers an understandably positive response. It’s like seeing a friend while running errands. It’s exciting. Those cameos and appearances don’t necessarily make a story good, though. A filmmaker saying “look at this character, look at that character,” while fun, is not a substitute for a well-written story. If anything, it has distracted from it at times.
There are movies in which a different character steals the spotlight. Iron Man makes the story of Spider-Man; Homecoming about him. The Flash is overshadowed by Michael Keaton’s Batman, along with other characters, in his own movie. Arguably the most interesting characters in Black Adam were the members of the JSA rather than Black Adam himself. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice may be about Batman and Superman duking it out, but it’s Wonder Woman who steals the show.
There are other movies that have a small cameo that interrupts the flow of the story. Thor: Ragnarok has an emotional moment with Thor and Loki grieving the loss of their father in which Doctor Strange intervenes for a bit of fan service. Ant-Man takes a break from his heist to battle the Falcon in his very first movie.
With the recent casting news regarding the upcoming Superman: Legacy that has the likes of Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, Mr. Terrific, and other heroes, it looks like this is a trend that will continue. Only time will tell if the story actually still feels like it belongs to Superman.
A well-written story should always come first. If a movie is meant to be about a certain character, the story should be focused on them without being interrupted for the sake of fan-service. If a story is meant to adapt a certain superhero’s comic books, then it should cover that hero and their villains. Multiple Batmen being featured in The Flash but none of the Flash’s foes is an odd choice, making it no longer feel completely about him.
It’s also worth noting that it’s not fair to those characters who are only used as cameos or references. Why shouldn’t Doctor Fate or Hawkman be able to star in their own movies like they do with their own comics? Wouldn’t fans of those characters want to see that rather than their favorites getting stuck playing second fiddle?
There are definitely some films that make this work, though. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse featured countless Spider-Men and Women from various versions of the iconic web-slinger. There were enough to have a blast playing “spot-the-reference, and yet it never took away from the story. It’s still Miles’ story, and the various Spider people serve a purpose outside of being cameos or references. They’re there to make Miles feel like he has a lot to compare himself to and not feel as good as them, as well as feeling even more alone in the multiverse.
There are also some recent superhero flicks that don’t rely on cameos at all, like The Batman or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. This means that this trend thankfully hasn’t hit every single movie quite yet, so there are certainly superhero movies coming out that feel more like character-driven stories than fan-servicey cameo machines. It does vary from movie to movie, but perhaps this trend is varying less and less as time goes on.
It may be fun to get a cameo-fest every now and then. It just shouldn’t be every movie. It’s reached a point where it feels like it’s most comic book superhero adaptations, and it has hurt the storytelling at times.
Nonstop Nerd 