(CNN) For comic-book fans, the release of "X-Men" in 2000 represented a watershed moment: after years of indignities and disappointments on screens big and small, a serious, well-made superhero movie helped set in motion the dominant cultural and box office force they have become. So it's appropriate that two offshoots of that franchise -- the latest Wolverine saga "Logan," and to a lesser degree the FX series "Legion" -- are at the center of questions about whether the genre has crossed another threshold, one where R-rated movies and more cerebral and ambitious TV offerings might be the next evolutionary phase. It's also possible, though, that "Logan" is something of an anomaly -- not quite a perfect storm, but a title that lent itself to more adult and, yes, bloody treatment than might be advisable for most comic book fare. Certainly, the proliferation of such titles, and Marvel's enormous success and influence since embarking on a series of films that began with "Iron Man" in 2008, have opened the door in ways that once would have seemed unimaginable. Moreover, "Logan" -- which opened to huge box office returns around the world -- follows "Deadpool," another R-rated Fox hit.

Source: CNN March 06, 2017 19:42 UTC