Geekery: Logan & the Evolution Comic Book Movies

Logan marked Hugh Jackman’s last turn in the role – it also says something more nuanced about the genre.

We’re coming up on nearly 20 years of the comic book movie boom – are we seeing an evolution with the addition of movies like Deadpool and Logan, or is it change due to boredom with the subject? Evan Puschak takes a look at changes made within the genre over time – using John Cawelti’s work as a tool to examine the themes in the last Wolverine movie.

Cawelti posits that a genre goes through four modes of transformation:

1. Humorous burlesque
2. The cultivation of nostalgia
3. Demythologization
4. The affirmation of myth

Note: video contains Logan spoilers.

What do you think – is this an end, or is it a turning point?

Author: Mars Garrett

Pop culture writer and news editor that has been on the BoLS team since 2010. Contributor on the One of Us podcast. Marvel, Batman, and dystopian sci-fi fan. Enjoys bad movies, LEGO Technic, and the internet. Hates rom-coms. (she/they)