For the last decade, eager film critics and cinephiles clamoring for the end of superhero films have all developed one seemingly bulletproof comment, preloaded on the tip of their tongue, that both dismisses and nullifies the unstoppable reign of the genre. "Superheroes are just the new Western."
In theory, I can understand their point. Both genres are action-oriented and armed with a simplistic moral dichotomy embodied by their protagonist and antagonist. In addition, the comment speaks to the oversaturation of both genres at the box office during their heyday. It's not a terrible critique by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a malformed one for a variety of reasons.
In the video linked above, the YouTube channel Eyebrow cinema gives a thirty-minute breakdown of why the comparison between the western and superhero genre isn't as apt as some film fans would like you to believe.
