Superheroes are everywhere in Pop-Culture an too often they can become repetitive and interchangeable. However, the superhero genre is incredibly malleable and can incorporate any art style or tonality. With the success of The Boys, Invincible, The Umbrella Academy I thought it was perfect timing to explore alternative superhero films and TV.

Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass is a pivotal film that pushes the superhero genre into R-rated territory. The violent, wicked, and oddly charming underdog story has a strong cult following and made waves in Japan. Some of the dialogue has aged as badly as South Park, but it’s still funny. Nic Cage and Chloë Grace Moretz’s performances as Big Daddy and Hit-Girl steal the show!

The Guardians of Justice

The Guardians of Justice is a mixed-media satirical black comedy created by Adi Shankar that utilizes “bootleg” versions of popular superheroes. This series can be seen as a prototype for Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix in which Shankar explores an alternate reality of video game characters. The Guardians of Justice is what happens when a generation grows up on superheroes, Saturday morning cartoons, violent video games, all while under the weight of a 20-year war on terror. While Guardians of Justice is clearly influenced by all of the pop culture that came before, I believe you’ll see its influence in the next wave of indie creators that come after.

The Crow

In The Crow, Brandon Lee plays Eric Draven, a rock musician who is resurrected from the dead to seek vengeance against the gang who murdered him and his fiancée. The themes of resurrection and redemption are given a tragic meta-textual layer due to the tragic death of Lee while making the film. Brandon Lee gives an unbeatable final performance equal to Heath Ledger’s Joker. The Crow is possibly the most spiritual superhero film. Every time we watch The Crow, Lee lives again and when the film concludes we say goodbye.

I’m A Virgo

I’m A Virgo is a coming-of-age joyride about Cootie, a 13-foot-tall black man, who escapes to experience the beauty and contradictions of the real world; he forms friendships, finds love, navigates awkward situations, and encounters his idol named, The Hero. Director Boots Riley has created his own alternate universe that’s unlike anything else in entertainment. I’m A Virgo deconstructs our capitalist consumer culture and the part our idols play in maintaining the status quo.

Chronicle

Chronicle is a found-footage film about three high school friends who gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery underground. The movie is an indie-gem filled with humor and pathos. I’m surprised it isn’t talked about more often. Chronicle is also an early role for superstar Michael B. Jordan.

The Witch: Subversion

When strange people start appearing in an adopted girl’s life, she falls into turmoil, as her seemingly ordinary world rapidly turns upside down. The Witch: Subversion is an incredibly slow burn with a wickedly bloody payoff. The splatter-punk Matrix-style fight choreography is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a superhero film. For those who dig action blended with horror you can’t go wrong with The Witch: Subversion.

Upgrade

Set in the near-future, technology controls nearly all aspects of life. But when Grey, a self-identified technophobe, has his world turned upside down, his only hope for revenge is an experimental computer chip implant called Stem. Somehow even more pressing with current concerns about AI, Upgrade delvers a surprising take on the augmented human genre.

Hardcore Henry

Hardcore Henry is a first person POV parkour action revenge film directed by Ilya Naishuller. Hardcore Henry is possibly one of the most violent and insane action films I’ve ever seen. The film delivers impressive stunts and fights beyond what we see in bigger-budget blockbusters. I love that the villain has psychic powers and it’s never explained. Wild, bombastic, and inventive Hardcore Henry is a cult classic.

Electric Dragon 80000V

Electric Dragon 80.000 V Japanese tokusatsu film written and directed by Shogo Ishii. The comic-book style story stars Tadanobu Asano and Masatoshi Nagase as electricity wielding super-heroes. Electric Dragon 80.000 V has a unique aesthetic I can only describe as cyberpunk meets Abstract German Expressionism. More of an experience than a story, the film has a punk-rock energy that out shines its “plot.”

Mechanical Violator Hakaider

Mechanical Violator Hakaider is a Japanese tokusatsu film about a dark defender in a post-apocalyptic future. The film pulls from the legacy of Shotaro Ishinomori creator of Kamen Rider and Cyborge 009. Mechanical Violator Hakaider blends Japanese superhero iconography with American anti-heroes like RoboCop and the Terminator. The movie is shot like an arthouse Jodorowsky film with heavy symbolism and spiritually subversive images.

Shin Kamen Rider

Directed by Hideaki Anno (Neon Genesis Evangelion) Shin Kamen Rider is about an ordinary motorcyclist who is mechanically upgraded by a shadowy organization known as SHOCKER. The film is full of gorgeous symmetrically composed shots that embrace the use of natural light. The effect is that some frames look like an Edo period woodblock print come to life. This arthouse presentation gives each scene a level of gravitas and contrasts with the Pop Art nature of the superhero characters. Shin Kamen Rider is like watching ’60s Batman with cinematography by Stanley Kubrick and fight scenes by Quentin Tarantino. The film expertly blends lowbrow superhero camp with avant garde filmmaking.