I’m getting old. I still remember when Marvel movies meant the most god-awful straight-to-video crap (Captain America, The Punisher with Dolph Lundgren, the never-shown Fantastic Four). Then X-Men finally turned things around, followed by Spider-Man and, in some respects, Hulk. Now the word is that Marvel wants to have 15 ongoing movie franchises!

Meanwhile, DC Comics hasn’t had a truly great superhero film since 1989’s Batman, tempered only by their success in animated versions of their characters. (I believe “Mask of the Phantasm” is a superior Batman movie, but it wasn’t really a phenomenal success.)