Superhero Sellouts?

The movie industry goes through its phases, and a big one right now is the superhero outburst. Once X-Men took off, all other superhero movies just blew up in the box office. They were cheesy, box-office hits that made the stars a lot of money and gained them a new reputation and fame. But, do we consider those star celebrities sell outs, or does it depend on the movie?

This post was inspired by two recent trailers I saw, one for Iron Man and one for the new Hulk movie. Two actors I deeply respect, Robert Downey Jr. and Edward Norton have now jumped on the superhero train. I always saw their movies because they had an eye for good flicks, but this? It doesn't make sense to me.

Now I can understand Ben Affleck choosing a superhero role. He doesn't pick good movies. Tobey McGuire selected a decent film, Spiderman, but it's still iffy. The Hulk and Superman chose actors not as known: good or bad idea? I was a bit surprised that Halle Berry chose Catwoman because she also picks good movies, but is it different when a good actor/actress plays a superhero? Is it everyone's dream?

X-Men blew up this whole ordeal, but that trilogy was excellent. I never was a comic book geek, and I know they are all based on the comic series, but it was very interesting. I could see how people could get hooked on a comic book series, although I still don't think I ever could.

So, do we blame actors who choose these cheesy blockbuster superhero movies, or is it somehow understandable? What do you think?