I sometimes hear the strange idea according to which super-hero movies or science-science fiction movies are, in general, not profound. That they are mostly based on the visual spectacle aspect (special effects). That they are aimed at a younger audience, or that they exist only to entertain, instead of provoking profound reflection. For example, Martin Scorcese's recent comments were similar to that, suggesting that these types of films lacked development in terms of intrigue, characters, etc.
Although all kinds of movies have their masterpieces and their stinkers, it is not at all true that the science-fiction or super-hero genre is not, or cannot be profound. It is actually quite the opposite. The enormous fascination that these movies arouse, how much so many people become passionate fans of them, is nowadays something unmatched and unprecedented. Other genres of movies (or forms of artistic expressions aimed at telling a story) that do not contain such elements of super-heroism, fantasy or science-fiction can also arouse great interest, but not of the same type, and not for the same reasons.
An archetype like that of the super-hero, of a sort of warrior with superhuman powers, sacrificing everything to achieve a certain mission for the good of all, particularly resonates within ourselves because it is a symbol of the future human. It is a symbol of the natural glory of the soul, fully realized, without limitation, highly virtuous, in service of what is greater than itself. Intuitively, the superhero teaches us about ourselves, about that aspect of ourselves that knows it is fundamentally unlimited - that is to say, that the limitations that we are now experiencing are not real, but circumstantial, impermanent, and therefore temporary.
The soul or consciousness is not naturally limited, it is so only circumstantially. Its expansion through matter, through these temporal dimensions which are not its own, cannot be instantaneous. The fact that our consciousness contains darker areas, or spaces of unconsciousness, is proof that its expansion is not complete, but still seeks to be. One of the goals of this expansion is to render fully conscious these so-called psychical dimensions - the realms of desire-emotions and conceptual thought (the mind). The soul is something very different and much greater than what a psyche or a personality is or can ever be. Thus, when the soul has overcome the natural resistance that physical and psychical matter opposes to its energy, that is to say, when its expansion through these dimensions is complete, then it is completely present and conscious of it, and of itself in it.
The super-hero archetype of superhuman skills and powers symbolizes the full presence of a soul that has become “stronger” than the apparent limitations of (physical or psychical) matter now defeated, transcended. Victory on the Spiritual Path is precisely that: full consciousness going towards ever greater expansions of that consciousness. Full consciousness making these limitations that we take for granted nonexistent, making the archetype of the super-hero much more real than fictitious. The current fascination in popular culture for these archetypes is, therefore, something very just, very positive, and very favorable for the future possibilities of consciousness.