- Title: Small screen superheroes rally at Comic Con
- Date: 22nd July 2017
- Summary: SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JULY 21, 2017) (REUTERS) ACTRESS SIGOURNEY WEAVER BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTRESS, SIGOURNEY WEAVER, SAYING: "I think it's a very undervalued space traditionally but I think it's always been to me where some of the most exciting modern stories happen and a lot of it is the diversity of this world and the fact that women can be as powerful as men - maybe because it's still a fantasy. I just think the stories are so original and they all deal with 'Where are we now as a species? Who are we? What is our world' all these things that young people are very rightfully concerned about."
- Embargoed: 5th August 2017 05:33
- Keywords: Inhumans The Tick The Defenders Comic Con superheroes television filim
- Location: SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- City: SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES; UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Television
- Reuters ID: LVA0076QSS47H
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: It's hard to move at San Diego's Comic-Con without bumping into someone dressed as an iconic comic book character.
Now, several more niche characters are hoping to become a greater part of popular culture not in films but on television.
Fox Networks is bringing "The Gifted" to the small screen along with X-Men cult characters Polaris, Blink and Thunderbird, "The Punisher" on Netflix is making a return and Marvel's historical Inhumans Black Bolt, Medusa and Lockjaw are all going to be appearing on ABC and in IMAX theaters soon.
"It just seems to be something that people are really into at the moment," said "Inhumans" and "Game of Thrones" actor Iwan Rheon. "I think maybe there are things going on in the world that's quite difficult to deal with in many ways and I think that escapism in superhero or fantasy seems to be a very popular way of dealing with it in popular culture."
Superheroes on the small screen made a splash at first in 2015 with Netflix shows about Marvel characters "Daredevil" and "Jessica Jones." Those two characters have now joined forces with fellow Netflix and Marvel superheroes Luke Cage and Iron Fist to create the superhero team "The Defenders" which is also set to premiere soon.
They will collectively be going up against a mutual villain Alexandra, played by Sigourney Weaver, who is no stranger to the world of sci-fi and fantasy after playing Ripley in the "Alien" franchise.
"I think it's a very undervalued space traditionally but I think it's always been to me where some of the most exciting modern stories happen," said Weaver on "The Defenders" press line. "A lot of it is the diversity of this world and the fact that women can be as powerful as men - maybe because it's still a fantasy. I just think the stories are so original and they all deal with 'Where are we now as a species? Who are we? What is our world' all these things that young people are very rightfully concerned about."
And with the influx of new superheroes, also comes cultural phenomenon "The Tick," which is about the friendship between wannabe superhero Arthur Everest (Griffin Newman) and the thick-skinned superhero The Tick (Peter Serafinowicz).
"Ben Edlund created 'The Tick' 30 years ago and it's always been in dialogue with whatever's big in superhero culture at the time," explained Newman. "When it was a comic, it was satirizing what was going on in comics at the time. When it was a cartoon, it was satirizing other Saturday morning TV shows and now there is a template for what is a live action superhero movie is that we're able to deconstruct and rib at and all of that." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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