Watchmen had it that pirates would be the most popular comic book genre in a world in which superheroes exist. Looking at what's popular now, I'd say it probably be some sci-fi/fantasy genre. Here are the most popular movie franchises as of 2021 according to Statistica.
Marvel Cinematic Universe 22.93 0.96 2.8 Star Wars 10.32 0.86 2.06 Harry Potter 9.22 0.84 1.33 Avengers 7.75 1.94 2.8 Spider-Man 7.22 0.72 1.13 James Bond 7.12 0.26 1.11 Fast and the Furious 6.59 0.66 1.52 X-Men 6.08 0.47 0.79 Batman 6.04 0.43 1.08 Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings 5.85 0.84 1.12 DC Extended Universe 5.78 0.58 1.14 Jurassic Park 5.01 1 1.67 Transformers
Taking away the Supers, what you see is that the big franchises are all some variant of sci-fi, fantasy, or in the case of Star Wars, a mix of both (though I argue that it leans towards sci-fi as a whole).
Though, James Bond and Fast and the Furious are considered action series I suppose, so I guess action films could be another option.
To start with, let me give the caveat that such a change to history could lead to all sorts of differences: perhaps comics never took off at all because people important to their history were never born, or ended up on different paths; perhaps different genres took off due to different historical events; and so on.
That said, it occurs to me that there's media featuring people of all sorts of endeavours: There are for example movies about firefighters, and hitmen, and wedding planners, and so on and so forth. Thus I would imagine that there would be at least some works about superheroes.
Would they have the same place in this hypothetical culture as they do in ours? Likely not, I think, due to having different contexts.
Now, would there likely be media about extant heroes...? Maybe. Superheroes arguably stand out on a more individual basis than do people in many—perhaps most—endeavours. And if they're viewed positively, I could see people wanting to take on media about their favourite supers, thus creating a demand that seems likely to be filled, to some degree.
My Games & WritingBoy, rights issues would be a real nightmare with secret identities.
Wake me up at your own risk.My view is fairly similar to Ars Thaumaturgis. I think they'd probably be fairly similar to cop dramas today. I do doubt you'd see many about actually active superheroes, but I'd expect to see a fairly active 'period superhero piece' market about (for example) the heroes who fought back Napoleon's villains, or vice verse, depending on market.
ETA: What I also might expect to see is reality shows about current superheroes or maybe documentaries? Those are the big forms we see about modern day folks. Otherwise it's just too risky to dramatize.
Edited by ECD on Mar 10th 2022 at 12:17:11 PM
This isn't exactly the question you asked, but it's worth mentioning that superheroes themselves would be treated the same way we consume Professional Wrestling or a News Broadcast in our world.
Award-winning screenwriter. Directed some movies. Trying to earn a Creator page. I do feedback here.Superhero relationships with existing media forces would play a part as well, I would think.
For example, superheroes in The Boys (2019) are sponsored by corporations and governments, so Disney Vought actively produces superhero media to propagandize its in-house heroes (a Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice riff to hype up its Justice League expies, for one).
Edited by Synchronicity on Mar 11th 2022 at 11:46:04 AM
I can imagine fictional superheroes still being a thing in live-action shows and the like in order to keep real pro-heroes' private and official life alone from media, with the exception of where they wish to appear, of course.
For what it's worth, we do have media about firefighters, doctors, police and military and whatnot, all dramatized or fictionalized to varying degrees and over a wide range of mediums. The general cultural landscape around them might not be 100% the same, but it would definitely exist.
Superheroes acting in media about superheroes would be fantastic because it would save a ton of money on visual effects.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Not counting a universe where superhumans are just recently emerging (such as the aftermath of a Mass Empowering Event) and such works already have a history, or documentaries, textbooks, etc that would logically exist in a setting that superhumans are already an established part of. But I distinctly recall a story where a superhero brings up Wonder Woman as a fictional character to make a point in court, which struck me as odd. On a related note, what comic genres would probably be the largest in a universe where superhero comics didn’t take off?
And to clarify I double posted this by mistake.
Edited by ecss on Mar 9th 2022 at 11:23:55 AM