Who Will Be Summer 2012’s Ultimate Superhero?

Disney announced this morning--with many digital high-fives--that 'The Avengers' has grossed $600 million domestically at the box office, making it the 3rd biggest movie of all time. That's going to be a hard act to follow--I've seen 'The Avengers' three times already this summer and it rocks!

But there are two more superhero movies that could meet, and possibly surpass, the record created by Earth's Mightiest Heroes: 'The Amazing Spider-Man' and 'The Dark Knight Rises.' Who will be crowned the ultimate box office superhero of 2012?

The Amazing Spider-Man

Spidey--who is technically a reserve Avenger in the comics--gets movie number four this summer. This isn't a continuation of the Sam Rami blockbusters, but a darker, grittier reboot of the wall crawler. This time he searches for clues about who his parents were, and battles the Lizard. Aside from the horrible ice-skater costume, this reboot of Spider-man looks awesome. It hits theaters next week on July 3rd.

The Dark Knight Rises

I love Christopher Nolan's take on Batman. Each movie in the series just keeps getting better. From the amazing 'Batman Begins' to Heath Ledger's memorable and incredible turn as the Joker in 'The Dark Knight,' Nolan and crew step up their game each time. 'The Dark Knight Rises' promises to be the best of all. The film looks to follow the 'Knightfall' storyline from the Batman comics where bad guy Bane shows up with his 'roid rage and breaks Batman's back. In the second movie Batman fell, in the third and final Nolan film Batman rises. It promises to be incredible. 'The Dark Knight Rises' arrives in theaters July 20th.

The Verdict

I think we can already go ahead and crown 'The Avengers' as the top superhero movie of 2012. It's made $600 million so far and is the number three movie of all time. Be they spider or bat, that's going to be tough to beat. And no matter how much money Spidey makes--and he will make a ton--Batman will dethrone him on July 20th. 'The Dark Knight Rises' could go on to rule the rest of the summer, but I don't see Batman knocking 'The Avengers' from the top spot.