Comic book adaptations have been dominating the box office for over a decade now, and it’s been a fun time for fans. Recently, though, there has been a bit of a trend with comic book movies in which villains from the source material star in their own films without their corresponding hero being present whatsoever. It’s becoming more and more annoying with no end in sight. It’s time for this bizarre trend to come to an end.

Sony Pictures started this trend with their desire to create their own Spider-Man movie universe, but because of their agreement with Marvel Studios and Disney, they haven’t been using Spider-Man himself. As a result, they’ve been making movies about other Spider-Man characters, mostly focusing on his enemies. This began with the Venom movies. While they’re entertaining and successful-enough films, it’s hard to deny that fans would rather see Spidey battle Venom on the big screen. 

Part of what makes the Venom movies work, though, is that he does come with his own foes and lore from the source material involving the other symbiotes. There is a story to tell that movies can be centered around without it feeling too jarring. That being said, perhaps Venom should have appeared in a Spider-Man movie first, and then starred in spin-off movies, similar to Loki getting his own TV series after appearing in Thor and The Avengers. Also, the same can’t be said for other movies that follow this trend.

Sony has also produced the likes of Morbius which fell flat at the box office. They also have Kraven the Hunter on the way, which will likely see similar results. Their attempt with Madame Web may not have been villain-focused, but it was such an odd choice to make with a rather minor character that it will further fuel any concerns audiences will have about future non-Spider-Man Spider-Man films.

Marvel and Sony aren’t the only offenders of this trend. DC hit massive success with 2019’s Joker, with the movie grossing over $1 billion. The Joker is probably the only comic book villain that makes sense to make a standalone movie for since he’s one of the biggest villains and well-known characters in fiction. It’s also worth noting that we’ve seen him fight Batman on the big screen a slew of times. Despite the film’s success, audiences noted that it’s still preferred to see the Clown Prince of Crime battle the Caped Crusader. Judging by the performance of the sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, lightning doesn’t strike twice there.

2022’s Black Adam was meant to breathe new life into the DCEU, but it failed to gain the interest of fans and critics. Most fans noted that it’s weird that the character starred in his own movie and never appeared in one of the Shazam flicks. If anything, it would have made much more sense for him to just be the antagonist in one of them.

It’s now been announced that DC villains Bane and Deathstroke will star in their very own film together. This has many fans scratching their heads and asking “why?” What do these two have to do with each other? Are they big enough for their own movie? What would this even be about? Why wouldn’t they just be the antagonists in Batman or Teen Titans movies? This is such a confusing decision to make, and it’s made even more baffling by the fact that it will follow so many failed villain movies like Morbius and Joker: Folie à Deux.

This trend has been obnoxious. It doesn’t match the source material in a way that fans want, and it’s too niche to attract the masses. Oftentimes, fans dream about wanting to see certain things on the big screen like their favorite heroes and villains facing off against each other, and this trend robs them of that. Villains are fun as villains. Let them be evil. Let them commit crimes and be defeated by superheroes. Focusing on them as protagonists without them ever meeting their corresponding heroes has been proven to not work more times than it does. Hopefully Hollywood moves away from it sometime very soon.

Read Next: Are Horror Directors The Way To Go For Superhero Movies?