As a rule, superhero films hardly ever embrace minimalism. Instead, they emphasize heroics on a cosmic scale, preferring grand displays of courage and sacrifice over simple moments of quiet reflection and introspection. With a reported budget of $97 million and an extensive use of practical effects, Logan, the last movie starring Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, challenges this perceived need for more with less, becoming the closest thing to a minimalist's superhero film even as it expands upon and explores bigger, deeper concepts characteristic of Fox's X-Men universe.
A character piece at heart, Luke Cage prioritizes smaller, more intimate moments that turn pleasantries into payoffs and ultimately make for a more sophisticated, more focused series. Showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker, a former journalist, cuts into Cage with an almost surgical care, pulling out pieces of him we didn't get to see when he first busted onto the scene in last year's incredible Jessica Jones.
Recognition of the Joker's significance stretches back to the character's first appearance in April of 1940, when a last-minute editorial move saved the Clown Prince of Crime from a swift exit from Batman lore. Bill Finger, co-creator of the Caped Crusader himself, initially expressed a desire to kill off the villainous jokester before his ever-wise editor, Whitney Ellsworth, demanded that the character live on. And live on he has.