During the 90s, there was a wave of pulp-era superhero movies like The Shadow, Rocketeer and The Phantom, why?

I was looking back over the history of superhero cinema the other day (as one does), and I realized something weird: there were an unusual number of pulp superhero or superhero-adjacent movies in the 1990s, all set in the 30s/40s or owing some sort of debt to that era.

• Dick Tracy (1990)
• Darkman (1990, plus direct-to-video sequels)
• The Rocketeer (1991)
• The Shadow (1994)
• The Phantom (1996)

You could argue that some other films, like the Brendan Fraser-starring The Mummy (which took place in the 20s, IIRC), could also fit into that trend.

So I'm wondering....why? I mean, I love that era for stories (Gangsters! Ever-punchable Nazis! The dawn of the age of jets, rockets, and the atom!), but it's weird that there were enough "pulp era" comic hero movies in the 90s to set up a good movie marathon.

Admittedly Dick Tracy has always been a passion for Beatty, but my BEST guess is that the overall trend was the result of the '89 Batman and the success of Indiana Jones, mixed with the fact that rights for characters from or taking place in that era (such as The Shadow) were available. (Oh, and Sam Raimi wanted to make a Shadow movie but didn't have the rights and so he made Darkman.)

Does anyone have any other theories?

Submitted February 16, 2020 at 12:27AM by ContinuumGuy https://ift.tt/2u13o6V