Why Do All Superheroes Fight The Same?

In a cinematic landscape populated by metahumans, mutants, and demigods, you'd think there would

be a codified visual aesthetic for the way all of our favorite four-color vigilantes fight

Well, you'd be very wrong. Today, despite more money, time, and effort being poured into the production of superhero

stories than ever before, most spandex-clad crusaders embrace one maneuver over all others

cliche. You're imitating the God-man. It's weird. No, I'm not. He just did it again. Marvel has

completely reshaped what a comic book adaptation means, and most people immediately point to the

comedic dialogue and the spectacle as the trademark of the now-behemoth comic book publisher

turned movie studio. But the true key to their success lies in something slightly more ethereal

movement. Think about the way Marvel characters move through scenes, how they fight, how Captain

America kicks people and throws his shield, how Iron Man flies so distinctly, or even Scarlet Witch's

hand gestures, or Doctor Strange's magical incantations. All of these characters have

distinctive ways they engage in combat. You can tell who each character is by the way they move

They each have a distinctive physical pattern that's linked back to their character. The way

Black Panther poses after landing is distinctly different from Black Widow or the Winter Soldier

Marvel's directors, as well as their extensive team of stunt coordinators and choreographers

have worked for years to plan and develop how each of these characters function

Do they always get it right on the first attempt? No, but they develop things over time

Look specifically at how Captain America fought in the first Avenger. He used hand-to-hand combat, and his trademark shield throw was there

but he wasn't the physically intimidating and impressive human specimen that would appear in The Winter Soldier, where he kicks an assailant off a boat

She seems kind of nice. Secure the engine room, then find me a date. I multitasking This evolved version of Cap is direct no nonsense and purely focused on accomplishing his mission He not there to show off He pure functionality This links back to who he was as Steve Rogers

Now look back at Black Widow. She might have the flashiest and most instantly recognizable fighting style

using elements of multiple martial arts styles. Her most recognizable go-to is a scissor-leg takedown aimed at her opponent's neck

She either climbs on their back or jumps through the air and then employs the takedown

which is utilized heavily in the Vietnamese martial art of Vavanet. They have Natasha put her own spin on this literally

because she is usually spinning around while using it. Happy! That's what I'm talking about

Just slip. You did? Yeah. Looks like a TKO to me. Bryan Singer's X-Men ruled the box office for close to 20 years

Other than Wolverine using his claws, can you name a single visual aesthetic or idea that the X-Men films perfected

They literally only did the fastball special, the quintessential X-Men move once in X3

For a fight scene that happens off camera, it's just adding insult to injury

Class dismissed. In these films, Iceman, Pyro, Cyclops, Havoc, and Bishop all basically fight the same

They just stand there and hold their hands out and look pretty while the camera circles them

Singer, as a director, is interested in the artifice of power, filtered through youth and beauty

not expressing character through action. None of the characters featured in the films

had defined personalities that had tangible physical manifestations, aside from Logan. And maybe Magneto

They say you're the bad guy. Is that what they say? Even quicksilver scenes in Days of Future Past and Apocalypse, while great scenes

completely miss the point of Pietro's character. Living life in slow motion isn't a joyous, impishly cool playground

It's a curse. But that's too nuanced and complex of a character for these films to handle

They just want cool characters doing simple, cool things. The one notable exception being the Nightcrawler opening in X2 The demonic whirling dervish is a truly unique aesthetic choice that definitely played a key role in the film success But tragically Alan Cumming hated wearing the makeup for the character

and refused to return to the role. Tattoos that go on, first of all, that are just maddening

You want to like lash out and punch people. Same goes for the majority of the characters in the DCEU

Wonder Woman? Well, she blocks things with her gauntlets, but she also kind of flies, sometimes

And her powers are wildly inconsistent. One moment she runs at the speed of a normal person, and then the next she's as fast as The Flash

Superman, Black Adam, Batman, and Cyborg all basically fight the exact same way in their

cinematic appearances. They just punch and kick things and pose in generic cool guy positions

There's literally nothing character specific about any of these fights. The point of most of the fight

scenes in these films is to attempt to show the impressive power and might that the central

protagonist possesses. They wade through endless seas of nameless goons effortlessly. There is never any real danger to them, and the fights always express the same visual idea

This is a character that is powerful, but they rarely express anything about the character

other than their power. There's only one way this ends, Cao. Either you die or I do

Currently, even the MCU is struggling with this issue. Since the close of Phase 3, can you name a single new character that has a unique fighting style

They tried with Shang-Chi, but he hasn't had enough time to truly develop. He's in his cap First Avenger era

It's just Kung Fu. It's not a signaturized version of the Chinese traditional martial art that reflects anything

specific about the character. The oversaturation with these characters from both companies has led to less and less innovation

on this front. With each successive film and each project attempting to differentiate itself from the

field of other adaptations, they're all mining the same few pieces of source material for inspiration

The other issue is that there just aren't enough top-level stunt coordinators and fight

to go around. So Marvel and DC often end up employing many of the same people who fall back on similar solutions time and time again Look for example at Sam Hargrave He was the stunt coordinator and the fight coordinator on Suicide Squad Civil War Thor Ragnarok Deadpool 2 Infinity War and Endgame That one guy

Superhero landing! You know, it's really hard on your knees. Totally impractical. They all do it

Think back to probably the most visually inventive superhero movie of all time

The Matrix. Not only did they invent and templatize the way that most superhero films would be shot

with bullet time, but they also understood the importance of action choreography to express

character growth through movement. That's why they were so insistent on hiring arguably the greatest action choreographer

of all time, Yuen Wu-Ping. He and his team worked for six months to create fighting styles that were tailored to each

actor and then trained them personally. The interesting thing is in the challenge

and the challenge is how we can make these people look as though they know they are born with the

skill. Trinity with the scorpion kick, Morpheus's patented leap, and of course Neo with his ability

to literally bend space and time. They all come from thinking about fighting as a way to express

the character. Come on, stop trying to hit me and hit me. That level of thought is rarely placed in

today's blockbuster fight scenes. Marvel and DC want to make sure that they are bringing their A

game, but the solutions aren't ever centered around character. They're centered around spectacle, so that the audience feels like it got its money's worth

Which is ironic, because more often than not, it's the small character moments in a fight

that propel characters into greatness. Like Bucky dropping and catching the knife in his first fight with Steve Rogers, or the

first time that Logan popped his claws, way back in X-Men 1. Those small character beats are the indelible images that generate generations of fans

Superhero movies aren't going anywhere anytime soon, but here's the thing. Focusing on movement and building a character

through the way they physically interact with the world around them is the key to making sure that the next two decades

of comic book adaptations are more like Iron Man 1 and less like X-Men 3