Bad boy? He’s among the lead contestants for the title of “Marvel’s second-straightest bullet” (the first position is clearly owned by Steve Rogers, with an advantage of several galaxies).
Yes, it is more about their charisma than about their looks. Plus, How many actors have been Superman? How many actors have been Batman? I know changing faces is something Marvel will run up against in the future, but Iron man is, and for right now, has always been Robert Downey, Jr. The same applies to all their Big Names.
That also makes it easier to connect with them as fans. Routh and Cavill had all the depth and soul of a Calvin Kline underwear model.
My favorite iterations of Batman and Superman are the animated ones from Justice League Unlimited.
Because the movies have done well, and are appealing on multiple levels.
The most recent spate of Batman movies were brooding, dramatic, dark films made to appeal to fanboys. Marvel is making fun, sometimes comedic, occasionally touching action films with broad appeal. That means more people see them. That means more women see them, and then the self feeding of popularity starts.
They are doing a fantastic job of casting - and it isn’t just hot guys (Chris Pratt in his Parks and Recreation mode was “cute” not “hot”) but guys with charisma. And they are doing a fantastic job scripting and directing to maximize that charisma (see Chris Evans as Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four movies, then watch him play Steve Rogers).
Right, I’m surprised to see this treated like it’s a complicated question or a new development. “Why do attractive people get cast in leading roles in movies?” Because the people who make movies think they’ll sell more tickets if the actors and actresses in the movies are really good-looking. Whether it’s because we’re projecting our inner ideals onto the screen or because of a fear that people won’t pay to see the movie if they think the actors are ugly, there’s a very strong preference for attractive people as movie stars. And yes, I think it’s also possible that studios are making more of an effort to appeal to women using handsome actors, since the inverse has been going on forever. But it’s not like attractive people in movies or on stage is a new thing.
Not in the first movie. He was denied the throne of Asgard because he was arrogant and too eager to fight for glory.
Then he met Jane, and became righteous and such.
(Plot condensed to make a point)
Women liked to look at hot men!? Who knew!?
I’m dying for the fuglification in Hollywood, when it comes to leading men in the last 10-20 years or so, to end.
We’ll get a hot guy here & there, maybe 1-3 movies a year (–as it seems to me) that have a reasonable attractive guy, but more often than not the roles of “antagonistic, know-it-all, butt fedoras” ruin the physical attraction for me. As it was said above, charisma is the key component.
I do like the Marvel movies for a fun, lighthearted movie night. Hubby gets to see a superhero movie & I get to see some hot guys & we both get the dialogue & good CG stuff.
(I read some comics here & there when I was younger, but only ever got into the Sandman comics as a late teen.)
Someone needs to make this fucking movie.
A bit of a hijack, but how is it that Marvel is firing on all cylinders with at least one blockbuster every year while DC, for the most part, isn’t doing much of anything? They had the Christopher Nolan Batman movies, but they haven’t yet been able to establish a Superman franchise and Green Lantern (the one with Ryan Reynolds) was a dud. Warner Bros is leaving all kinds of money on the table.
I’m basically picturing a remake of Tree’s Lounge, except Buscemi is wearing the cape and tights for the whole thing.
It appears that many are reading the Thread Title, but not the OP… perhaps request a subtle change to the Title, adding: (as opposed to D.C.)
Anyways, I would agree that it is because of the charisma thing more than anything else.
The DC movies have been more gritty and serious, and the Marvel movies have been more light and fun action-adventure movies. So this means that the leads in the DC movies are more serious, and in the Marvel movies they are less serious and can do more wise-cracking. Christian Bale is a very attractive man, and can be charming and charismatic, but the Batman movies called for more brooding. Also, he seems to be a somewhat intense, private guy in real life, which doesn’t lend to being goofy and charming in interviews and appearances like a lot of the Marvel guys. I haven’t seen Man of Steel, but it sounds like that’s serious and gritty, and so Henry Cavill has to be serious in it as well. I haven’t seen that many interviews or anything with Cavill, so I don’t know how charming he is in those.
Also maybe Comic Con helps illustrate the differences between Marvel and DCs approaches. Robert Downey Jr was throwing flowers at the crowd at the Marvel panel. For DC, they brought out Cavill, Affleck, and Gal Gadot after footage for the next movie was shown, but they didn’t say anything to the crowd.
The Batman movies weren’t only seen by fanboys,they made more money in the US that all the Marvel movies except for The Avengers.
I absolutely would not throw Mark Ruffalo out of bed for eating crackers. 
Although, to be fair, my list would go something like this:
- Tom Hiddleston
- Robert Downey Jr.
- Clark Gregg
- Michael Fassbender (young Magneto counts, I think)
- James McAvoy (as does young Xavier)
- Chris Helmsworth
- Mark Ruffalo
- Chris Evans
- Samuel L. Jackson.
Now that I think of it, Chris and Sam might be reversed, but I could go either way.
I don’t think it’s hard to figure out why ladies are going for the Marvel guys.
My experience is that a wider variety of people see the Marvel movies, the Batman movies were seen more times by a smaller audience. i.e. my mother sees the Marvel movies, my friends saw The Dark Knight four times.
Kate Upton, really?
She’s not even pretty. And her body is pretty flabby and has no ass.
Wait… is this a complaint thread? 
Cuz… well… I mean, sure, it’s very challenging, but I’m love my country and cinema so much that I am willing to suffer through more movies with Chris Evans and RDJr and Chris Pratt without their shirts on because, well… because… I care. Deeply. 
(Oh, if only William H. Macy had taken off his togs as The Shoveller! Maybe another Macy/Buscemi team-up?)
I think I’m the only straight woman in America for whom Thor does nothing. But I love Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. It’s the characters I like, not the actors. Although Marvel has done very well at getting the right actor for the part.
StG
The recent Batman movies really brought it home how much Batman is part of the 1%. This is, of course, not news. So is Tony Stark. But those movies seemed to revel in it. As Catwoman says, you wonder how they “thought they could live so large and leave so little for the rest”. Besides, he wasnt a patch on Keaton. I have slowly started to like him again but it turned me off for a while. I don’t like christian bale much, I didn’t like Catwoman, the movies were slow and dark and ponderous, and i hated batmans damn voice.
I think Mark Ruffalo is the first good Bruce Banner we’ve had. Hulk is like Batman in that its equally or more important to play Banner/Wayne than the alter ego. And Ruffalo brought an understated touch that Norton and the other guy didn’t have.
Me, while I think they’re all pretty, I do like me some Iron Man. Tall dark and snarky is the one for me.
The Marvel heroes and actors are sassier than DC’s. Superman and Batman are impressive, but harder to imagine wearing sweatpants and eating chinese takeout with.