Given that the song for the newest Batman vs. Superman trailer was leaked with excitement just before the trailer itself was released, makes it easy to say that comic book movie fans care deeply about the music tied to their beloved heroes and villains. Once upon a time, comic book movies were great vehicles for catchy rock and pop songs and vice versa. Soundtracks were assembled with, not scores, but twelve to fourteen lyrical, radio approved songs. In recent years, especially after the success of Hans Zimmer's Dark Knight score, comic book movie soundtracks, with a few exceptions, have moved away from made-for-the-masses music.
However now it seems everyone wants to be the next Zimmer and deep, dark, soul-quaking soundtracks are blanketing every new release, thus hindering their chance to stand out, despite their strengths, against one another. As they start to all bleed together, we forget the joys of a song with lyrics or the use of a popular song to bolster nostalgia and to further tap into the other interests of the comic book movie fan base. While it isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's certainly a shift that was worth noticing and one that changed the way fans interacted with big movie releases.
That is why the trailers for both Suicide Squad and Deadpool were pretty refreshing in terms of music. The Suicide Squad trailer features a song by Sidney Chase, a relatively unknown singer who has just about 4,500 followers on Facebook and 2,300 on YouTube. The power of, what intends to be, a summer blockbuster using a song from an up and coming artist, instead of a tried and true composer, is an exciting turn of events when it comes to comic book movie soundtracks. It's a turn that reflects a transition back to lyrics and possible hits.
Deadpool's trailer features both "Shoop" by Salt-N-Pepa and "X Gon' Give It To Ya" by DMX. Granted Deadpool's aesthetic and mood lends itself to the use of well-established and entertaining pop music, and less so to a Zimmer knock-off, but still we are reminded that we can have a little fun when we go to the movies.
In light of Deadpool's trailer release and memory of all those great soundtracks from years ago, we give you our Top Ten Comic Book Movie Hits.
