看到三天前的 Forbes 文章讨论超英片，这应该是正规媒体不是农场文了吧？我不想精准措辞全文翻译以避免争议，仅把每段用自己话大致摘译一下并附加点主观感想，还请有兴趣者自己阅读英文正文。
新闻网址：
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2023/03/21/superhero-films-just-dont-feel-essential-anymore/
缩网址：shorturl.at/lpzA6
标题：Superhero Films Just Don't Feel Essential Anymore
我的中译：超英电影似乎不再不可或缺了
作者：Dani Di Placido
日期：2023/03/21
Superhero movies seem to have lost their momentum at the box office, with the
last two entries from Marvel and DC facing audience apathy; superhero movies
seem to be slipping from their pop culture pedestal.
这段说“超英电影看来失去了票房的动量”不论漫威DC都有这迹象。（我也这么觉得）
Shazam 2 opened to a limp $30.5 million domestic, and Ant-Man: Quantumania
never lived up to its $106 million opening weekend, sputtering toward a $462
million global total and unlikely to hit $500 million.
这段说《沙赞 2》票房很惨，但强他很多的《蚁人 3》也好不到哪去。（我则都没看也没在意）
This is disappointing, considering that Quantumania was a vital stepping
stone to Marvel’s next big crossover event, introducing Kang (Jonathan
Majors) the big bad of the MCU’s Phase 5. Technically, it is Kang’s second
introduction, if you count his appearance on the Disney+ series Loki.
这段看来已懒得谈沙赞只想谈蚁人，毕竟这是漫威下阶段“多重宇宙”一大步！但...
Marvel Studios seems to be suffering from the same issues the comics did,
releasing too much, too soon, resulting in a confused, fatigued audience. DC,
on the other hand, has been inconsistent and messy for years; new DC bosses
James Gunn and Peter Safran have pledged to clean things up, having recently
shown off their new slate.
这段说漫威影业看来正重蹈漫画的覆辙：推出作品太多又太快，让受众感到困惑又疲劳。至于DC，几年来反复无常又混乱，新老板 Gunn & Safran近来正展现重整意志。（看来他对DC两位新老板颇有期待？那我祝福）
It was never really clarified if Shazam was going to be part of the new plan
for DC, which perhaps explains some of the audience disinterest. Plus, fans
already got burned on Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam, which featured a
post-credits scene promising the return of Henry Cavill as Superman, which is
no longer happening.
这段接着说：然而，沙赞到底是不是DC新计划的一部分？这点保留模糊恐也令观众丧失兴趣。此外粉丝对《黑亚当》片尾承诺了亨利卡维尔演的超人将回归、但后来又没要发生，感到很怒。（这段说得有点像是粉丝对《黑亚当》这片很怒，但真的是这样吗？我想这也很难说）
Post-credit scenes, a fun feature first introduced by the MCU, have grown
stale, often holding empty promises and underwhelming reveals; The Eternals
post-credits scene, for example, introduces Harry Styles to the MCU, along
with a creature known as “Pip the Troll.”
这段再谈“片尾”这东西，从漫威宇宙引入至今也渐趋疲乏，给的承诺常沦为空头支票，透露的讯息也不怎么令人惊艳。譬如《永恒族》片尾，竟是 Harry Styles 和一个小山怪生物。（《永恒族》我个人是很爱的，片尾这段我就当没看见）
There’s a stench of desperation to the superhero landscape; Marvel has
started taking legal action against spoilers (they’re currently attempting
to track down an anonymous script-leaker from Reddit), despite little of
consequence having occurred in their films since Iron Man sacrificed himself.
这段说“超英片风景正散发一股绝望的气息”：漫威开始对爆雷者采取法律行动，尽管自某片某人自我牺牲起，漫威电影也没啥真够份量的雷值得一爆。（我觉得这种“负面”气氛的放送才是真致命！做电影是给观众带来娱乐的、做英雄电影更是给人们带来激励的，这样剑拔弩张起来那正向精神已烟消云散）
Even the conversation around these franchises has undergone a dramatic tonal
shift; previously, actors, writers and directors would talk about their
superhero films with reverence, recognizing that they were riding a popular
wave into a big payday. Now, they post defensive tweets, and still seem angry
at Martin Scorsese for criticizing the MCU four years ago.
这段说，甚至电影周边的话题谈论，那基调也与过去大不同：过去演员编导等创意人会带着敬意与景仰谈论他们的作品，充满乐观地知道他们站在流行浪头上准备乐赚一笔；但现在他们连推特推文都充满防卫性语言，而且对几年前马丁史柯西斯批评 MCU仍忿忿不平。（我也仍老派地觉得，娱乐事业大家就是要多说好话做好事，创作事业面对批评更该带着笑容虚心受教呀。但这时代看来不流行这个）
Shazam director David F. Sandberg posted on Twitter that he’s done with
superheroes for now, while star Rachel Zegler tweeted about the box office
failure of Shazam, writing that some people were being “senselessly mean”
and asked the public to “give it a chance.”
这段谈《沙赞 2》的相关谈论：导演 Sandberg 推文说他不想再拍超英了、影星 Rachel Zegler推文抱怨部分评者“无感而刻薄”、诉求大众“给这片一个机会”。（我则觉得现在的宣传行销到底怎么了，导演自叹不如归去是他自由，但传统做法应该会等片子下档后再低调说吧；而演员诉求大家来看居然不是正向光明细数它的好，而是有种受害姿态恳求个机会？这是英雄片耶，观众期待更多正能量呀）
Quantumania screenwriter Jeff Loveness said he was left “despondent” by the
negative response to his film, and pushed back against fan criticism over his
controversial interpretation of comic villain MODOK, stating: "No, [the
reviews] are wrong! I’m right! MODOK is great!”
这段谈《蚁人 3》相关谈论：编剧 Loveness 提到他对负评感到沮丧，而面对粉丝批评他对漫画反派 MODOK的诠释时竟还“他们错了！我是对的！MODOK 很棒！”（我个人对艺术不喜欢说“对错”之别，倒是觉得谁人都值得分享自己的不同观点与诠释，但是否现在“黑白分明”比谁大声才是主流呢？）
It’s all kind of a downer, especially compared to the heights of Infinity
War, when it seemed that superhero movies were just going to continue soaring
to new heights at the box office.
这段则比较过去不胜唏嘘：回想复三《无限之战》时还一副超英荣景没有终点似地。
It’s unclear who the Avengers are nowadays, because they don’t seem to team
up anymore. DC is full of half-remembered heroes who, seemingly, aren’t
coming back. On the outskirts, there’s oddities like Morbius, a movie which
seemed to be clinging on to the tattered edges of the MCU, and might
crossover one day, maybe? Possibly with Tom Hardy’s Venom?
这段试着开始分析一下气氛低迷的原因：现在复仇者们各在干嘛大家都不了，他们也不再像以前跨片集结了；DC英雄则总是出来一下故事才讲一半，还没留下印象就默默消失了；外围还有《魔比斯》这类在 MCU外围打打酱油的，好像要连结又好像没有？（对我来说这也是前述“推出太多太快”令观众“困惑又疲劳”的问题）
In a sense, the Morbius meme, an ironic celebration of bland, corporate
mediocrity, encapsulated how many feel about the current crop of superhero
movies; increasingly interchangeable costumed crusaders soaring around a
tangled web of shared universes and multiverses where, if they’re lucky,
they might get to stand beside Spider-Man in the next sequel.
这段以《魔比斯》为例来说一种“平庸”的征兆：越来越多穿着戏服煞有其事宛如“十字军”的角色们，在揪成一团的共享宇宙甚至多元宇宙里各找营生，其中够幸运的也许有机会搭上蜘蛛人这等一哥。（我也觉得，现在就是大家都来贴超英，觉得应该都会分到一杯羹）
Unless one has been doing their homework, it all just seems like a tangled
mess; the clean simplicity of the early MCU isn’t coming back.
这段回想 MCU最早的魅力：简单清楚的 simplicity。现在却已复杂混乱揪成一团。（我回想起来，自己最爱的漫威片几乎都 2015 以前的）
Is superhero fatigue finally kicking in?
Audiences are still willing to show up for superhero movies, if they feel
like an event. But it’s not hard to see that superhero films tend to fall
short compared to other genre films.
接下来几段谈超英片的未来。第一段先谈现况：如果超英片仍像是一种值得共襄盛举的“事件”，观众应该还是愿意买票进场的，只是以这角度看超英片很容易被其他片型比过去。（我觉得 "event"的概念很重要：看电影，要成为一种社交生活，就要有 event的参与体验呀，不然若只是补完宇宙那看 D+ 就好）
For sci-fi, compare the muddy, muted Quantumania to the vibrant world of
Avatar 2, or Doctor Strange’s dull jaunt through the multiverse to the
existential musings of Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. For action,
audiences are better off watching Tom Cruise performing a death-defying
stunt, or Keanu Reeves shoot up a roomful of assassins than watching a masked
actor float in front of a green screen.
譬如要看科幻，人们宁看生气蓬勃的《阿凡达二》而非混乱平淡的《蚁人三》、宁看《妈的多重宇宙》那存在主义而非《奇异博士》的无聊旅行。又譬如要看动作，当然宁看阿汤哥电影种种玩命特技、或是基哥电影大杀四方，都远胜一堆面具人在绿幕前飘移来去。（拿汤哥基哥与卡麦隆来比？这好像有点残忍）
Iconic superheroes like Spider-Man, Batman and the Joker still seem able to
draw big numbers and spark conversation; the former by soaking in nostalgia,
and the latter by boasting unique, distinctive takes on familiar characters.
当然真经典英雄如蜘蛛人、蝙蝠侠和小丑这些是例外，光自己仍有高票房号召与高话题讨论，其中蜘蛛人好好卖了乡愁情怀，蝙丑则各以独特取径给与旧角新诠释。（我也比较爱这系：单一角色，好好说自己故事走自己旅程）
Will superhero movies become essential again?
Some will. Marvel has yet to use Majors to his full potential, and once his
Kang is facing characters like Shang-Chi, She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel, he’s
likely to make more of an impression. When Marvel eventually begins to
incorporate the X-Men and Fantastic Four, fans are going to be interested to
see how the iconic characters have been rebooted.
最后大哉问“超英电影还会再次成为必要吗？”这篇觉得有些应该还行：只要把主要角色潜力好好发挥出来，譬如征服者康终于杠上尚气浩克惊奇少女等主要角色时，应该终于会留下点深刻印象了。又譬如惊奇四超人与 X战警也加入宇宙后，粉丝应该也会好奇这回有何重开与新诠。（我则觉得，这仍是越来越复杂地“揪成一团”，我身为非粉丝的一般观众只会越来越“困惑又疲惫”）
Plus, Superman’s next incarnation will see a fresh take from James Gunn,
which could well revitalize a character who always seemed a tad lost in the
modern landscape.
此外超人的重启英能看见 James Gunn 的全新取径，应能将在当代总有点找不到定位超人角色重新赋予活力。（我相信必会有属于冈恩的全新观点！至于活力够不够，就请有看的观众未来分享囉）
Essential or otherwise, superhero movies have become absorbed into mainstream
pop culture, and seem to have lost their novelty. They’re just movies now.
必要或不必要，超英电影都已融入了主流流行文化，看来也失去了一开始的独特创新，现在就只是电影而已。（我还蛮同意“只是电影”这句，成为电影也并没什么了不起，不用听到有人撂一句“不是电影”就忿忿不平 XD ）