Film
Superheroes
Michael Barnett's documentary follows a scattered fraternity of ordinary Americans who patrol streets in homemade capes and utility belts, hunting for wrongs to right. It's part sympathetic character study, part gentle interrogation of loneliness and civic frustration, shot with a straight face even when the costumes invite mockery. Funny, occasionally sad, and never quite sure whether to laugh or worry — good for anyone curious about people chasing extraordinary purpose.
If you liked this
Confessions of a Superhero2007
Four costumed performers busking as Batman, Superman, Hulk and Wonder Woman on Hollywood Boulevard reveal the same aching hope for recognition and purpose as Barnett's crusaders — pure identity, pure hustle, minus the crime-fighting mandate.
But One subject's unraveling gets genuinely dark, tipping the film from quirky to uncomfortable fast.
Grizzly Man2005
Herzog's portrait of a man who believed he could commune with grizzlies shares the same tragicomic tension — someone building a mythology around himself that the world refuses to honor.
But It ends in real death (audio only, not shown), and Herzog's narration can feel intrusive to some viewers.
American Movie1999
Mark Borchardt's doomed quest to finish his no-budget horror film is scrappy, hilarious and weirdly moving — total commitment to a dream nobody asked for, exactly like these masked crusaders.
But The humor leans on laughing at, not just with, its subject; it can feel unkind in places.
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Unbreakable2000
Superheroes shows real people writing their own origin stories out of loneliness; Unbreakable asks what happens if one of those origin stories turns out to be literally true, treating comic-book destiny as grim, unironic fate rather than costume-shop fantasy.
Shyamalan strips the spandex away and asks, with total sincerity, what it would feel like to actually be the person these documentary subjects imagine themselves as — invulnerable, chosen, necessary.
But Its slow-burn seriousness and famous twist can feel like a bait-and-switch if you want action.
More like this (8)
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters2007
An underdog obsessive chases mastery of Donkey Kong with the same wounded sincerity as any street-patrolling vigilante, and the film finds real emotional stakes in something absurd.
But You'll need patience for arcade-nerd politics, and the villain edit is suspiciously tidy.
Trekkies1997
A cheerful tour through Star Trek fandom's costumes, conventions and devoted weirdness — the friendliest cousin to Superheroes, identity built entirely from borrowed mythology.
But Lighter and less probing than Barnett's film; don't expect much emotional depth here.
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope2011no page yet
Morgan Spurlock follows five fans converging on San Diego, each chasing something the convention promises — validation, romance, a career, a costume contest win.
But Glossier and more corporate-friendly than Superheroes; less interested in anyone's loneliness.
Kick-Ass2010
A teenager buys a costume and decides to actually fight crime, letting the fantasy Superheroes documents play out with cartoon violence and dark laughs.
But It's ultraviolent and mean-spirited in ways the real documentary never is.
The Wolfpack2015
Six sheltered brothers recreate their favorite films shot-for-shot in homemade costumes, building whole identities from cinema the way these vigilantes build one from comics.
But The isolation at its center is genuinely troubling, not just quirky or charming.
Batkid Begins2015no page yet
A five-year-old with leukemia gets his wish to be Batman for a day, and an entire city plays along — the same fantasy Superheroes chronicles, but granted rather than chased.
But It's unabashedly sentimental; if you want irony or doubt, look elsewhere.
Batman1966
These vigilantes borrowed their utility belts and moral certainty from exactly this kind of unguarded, gloriously dumb superhero fiction — watching it shows you the fantasy in its rawest, funniest form, decades before anyone tried to actually live inside it.
The Adam West feature is the actual source fantasy — pure camp, shark repellent and all — that half these amateur crusaders are unconsciously imitating, with zero self-awareness required.
But It's deliberately, aggressively silly; if you wanted anything sincere, this is the opposite of that.
The Incredibles2004
Same yearning to be exceptional and needed rather than ordinary, but relocated from a lonely man's garage workshop to a cartoon dad's minivan; watching both shows how universal that itch is, and how differently it gets answered.
Pixar's superhero family comedy takes the same hunger to matter that drives Superheroes' real-life crusaders and hands it to a suburban dad having a midlife crisis, animated and joyful.
But It's a glossy studio family film — the stakes are fictional and the ending is guaranteed to be tidy.
People
Cast
Stan LeeStan Lee
Directing
- Michael BarnettDirector