Decades before any of us were born, superheroes were categorized as a love for only the non popular.

“I’ve liked classic superheroes like Superman and the Hulk since I was a kid,” English teacher Brian Aldenderfer said. “But when I was younger, it wasn’t the coolest thing to really be invested in.”

Since the early millenium, superhero movies such as Captain America, The Green Lantern, and the Spiderman and Batman series have grossed millions of dollars and attention. The obsession with superheroes began to expand its fan base to the new generation and to other social groups.

Today, superheroes have come a long way as they come back with numerous live action sitcoms this fall. Other series, like Constantine and iZombie, are bringing non-A-list superheroes to our living rooms. Shows starring the eminent characters, like Flash and Batman, are coming and are already sparking up good reviews.

CW’s new TV show, The Flash, premieres on Oct. 7. The show focuses on the DC superhero The Flash, who has the ability to run at super speed. He is played by Grant Gustin from the popular show Glee.

Just last year, seniors Umar Farooq and Todd Le created AHS’s first comic book club. The club has already compiled a group of 30 members and meet together once or twice a month to discuss the complexities of the strips and heroes.

Comic club coordinators Le and Farooq both plan on watching the upcoming superhero shows and have strong opinions on them.

“I’m pretty psyched about the new shows coming out because it helps generate a larger fan base who include people that don’t really read comics. However, I am also disappointed in DC’s efforts to create a stronger base,” Farooq said. “Even though they are coming out with all these shows, you have to understand that TV shows have limited budgets. That being said a show about superheroes is hard to pull off with low budgets.”

“I’m ecstatic for the upcoming show on Flash. I Think they did a great job with the casting,” Le said. “I love Grant Gustin as Barry Allen and I think he’ll be able to portray the nerdy police scientist well. I love Candice Patton as Iris West even more. Iris is so important to Barry’s story and it’s really good to see a woman of color portraying her on the show.”

FOX is showing the TV show Gotham, premiering on Sept. 22, which is about Batman’s city before Batman. Bruce Wayne is a child, and all of the Batman villains are also very young. Ben McKenzie is the main character, James Gordon, who is a young detective in Gotham City. Rumors have been leaked that the show is unable to use or say the word “Batman” due to production rights. This explains the title of the show and other elements within the series.

“I plan on watching the show, though I have mixed feelings about it,” Le said. “The origin stories in Gotham have been done multiple times, so the show could bring something fresh to the backstory of Gotham and its plethora of complex characters, or it could just be something that’s been done already. They plan to focus on the human element of Gotham and I hope they are able to tell really rich stories about our favorite Gotham city resident.”

With a general look, the new craze of superheroes seems to be making a comeback like a fashion style would.
“Marvel has done such a good job with their movie lineups bc they are able to do all these movies with large budgets and they become successful,” Farooq said. “If DC is able to get some results from the Batman v. Superman movie then it will be able to pave way for an even better age of comic book fans.”

“The fact that superheroes fight for the good of humanity and create a positive outlook for others is what I love best about them,” Aldenderfer said.