Cinematic superhero universes have changed a lot in the 21st century. In the 20th century, we got Superman and Batman franchises, but little else on the big screen, and they were completely unrelated. 2000’s X-Men changed that, leading to the creation of numerous cinematic universes, each of them revolving around a certain property. Marvel Studios changed this with 2008’s Iron Man, creating the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Instead of each superhero being their own property, the MCU took its marching orders from the comics, creating a shared universe that enthralled non-comic fans. Since then, everyone has been trying to create their own cinematic universes with DC Comics trying to play catch-up, film studios tried to buy up everything in the chance they could have an MCU of their own.
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However, as with all things created for profit first, the superhero cinematic universe hasn’t been doing so hot in recent years. The MCU isn’t anything close to the blockbuster it once was (despite still having some successes – you have to remember to say stuff like that or MCU fans will jump in the comments and bring up Deadpool/Wolverine and Spider-Man: Brand New Day), the DCU doesn’t have the flawless track record everyone thought the MCU had back in the day, and the various indie comic properties have had varying levels of success, with Invincible and The Boys subverting expectations. It might seem like cinematic superhero universes have gone the way of the dodo, but there’s one waiting in the wings that could prove to be the one that fixes everything – Black Hammer.
Black Hammer Blended Marvel and DC Perfectly
Dark Horse Comics has long been one of the industry’s most venerable indies. The company was able to make a splash with licensed comics like Aliens #1, using beloved franchises to bring in fans. This allowed them to start getting the best creators in the industry, allowing them to own the characters they created at the publisher. For over 30 years, Dark Horse has been putting out amazing comics, allowing creators to tell whatever kind of story they want. There have been numerous great Dark Horse superhero universes, but few of them can match the sheer artistry of Black Hammer.
Writer/artist Jeff Lemire first meant for the series to be his next big book after Essex County, but his successes at DC Comics meant that he had to put on the back burner until 2014. He originally meant to write and draw it, but the amount of work he was doing forced him to bring on an artist, Dean Ormston. The first volume of the book would drop in 2016 and it immediately turned heads. The book starred a group of pastiche superheroes – Abraham Slam, Barablien, Golden Gail, Colonel Weird, Talky-Walky, and Madame Dragonfly – living on a farm in a town where no one knows who they really are. It’s an interesting premise, one that keeps getting better as we learn more and more about how they superheroes got where they were.
The universe of Black Hammer is what would happen if the entirety of American comics got squashed into one universe. So, for example, the Black Hammer is a hero who combines aspects of both Thor and the New Gods, and the main enemy of Anti-God, who is basically Darkseid. Abraham Slam is a World War II costumed vigilante, fighting the mob and the Nazis. Golden Gail is like Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel except she’s gotten tired of being trapped in a kid’s body, Barbalien is a homosexual Martian Manhunter, Colonel Weird and Talky-Walky are ’50s sci-fi heroes, and Madame Dragonfly is a horror character a la the Cryptkeeper, Cain, Abel, and the Fates from The Witching Hour. They were just the beginning, though.
As Black Hammer became more popular and the secret of the series was revealed – that the heroes were from another universe full of superheroes and had to figure out how to get home – Lemire started to create even more pastiches and fleshing out the history of his universe. There’s stories like Black Hammer ’45 and Black Hammer: The Quantum Age, which take place in the past and future. There’s The Unbelievable Unteens, a teen team based on ’60s superheroes and numerous miniseries starring the various members of the cast. Lemire was able to make the Black Hammer feel like a fully functioning superhero universe with decades of history, making it perfect for big and small screen.
Right now, the most popular new cinematic superhero universes (although both are on streaming, so I don’t know if you can call them “cinematic”, but that’s what I’m doing) are Invincible and The Boys. Both of these took ideas from Marvel and DC and added to them – in the case of both of these horrific violence – giving them a more realistic feel. The universe of Black Hammer doesn’t go as hard as those two when it comes to the violence and sec, but it also doesn’t feel exactly what came before, like it can in the wannabe MCUs we’ve been getting for years. Black Hammer comics do a fantastic job of bringing the kind of maturity and realism that modern fans want, all while having the classic superhero thrills that made the MCU so popular.
Superheroes were the biggest thing in pop culture for a while, all because Marvel decided to bring the shared universe concept to the big screen, creating actual superhero universes in the cinemas. Everyone tried to get on the bandwagon and since then we’ve seen cinematic superhero universes reach dizzying heights and catastrophic lows. Even the mighty MCU has fallen. While there have been successes, for the most part it looks like superheroes are on their way out as the driving force of pop culture. However, this sea change doesn’t mean that it’s time to give up the ghost and Black Hammer is a perfect example of why.
Writer/artist Jeff Lemire took ideas from across the history of American comics and brought them together, giving readers one of the best reading experiences of the mid ’10s. Since then, he’s transformed it into a fully realized superhero universe, with its own history and characters. Black Hammer is exactly the kind of superhero universe that can be a success in 2026; it hits the right familiar notes, but does it in its own way. It’s a love letter to superhero comics, and it’s one that we need to see in live action.
