1 . Superman，the first American superhero，appeared in 1938 with his cape (斗篷) and an “S” on his chest. Shortly after his appearance in comics, moviemakers began trying to bring superheroes to the big screen. In the early 1940s, they made their first attempts to bring comic books to life.    1    Instead, they were made as 5 to 10 minutes episodes that would play at movie theaters before the main feature. Unlike today’s superhero films, these serials were aimed mainly at children.

This pattern changed in 1978 when Richard Donner made his first Superman film. First of all, it was aimed at an adult audience.    2    Second, the film's special effects were very sophisticated（复杂的）for that time. Finally, the Superman film was a departure from earlier superhero films in that it used talented and famous Hollywood actors.     3    

Yet another revolution in superhero movies came in the 1990’s and 2000’s, when Computer-Generated Image technology made it possible to recreate even more fantastic landscapes and more monstrous（可怕的）creatures.    4    These films were similar to Donners Superman in that they targeted an adult audience Watchmen (2009), for instance, was released with an R rating, meaning that it was not intended for children under the age of 17.

    5    Their success at the box office continues to attract big-name Hollywood actors and directors and higher production budgets, so lovers of action and adventure should have plenty of reasons to go to the movies for years to come.