When Aunty Entity sang "We Don't Need Another Hero" at the end of Mad Mel Beyond Thunderdome, she was doing the theme song for the latest trend in Hollywood. Whenever something is successful, the machine churns out an assembly line of them, and thanks to Spidey, Magneto, Bruce Wayne and The Thing, Hollywood is continuing to churn out superhero movies. When they get to Letterman: The Movie, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, I'll know we've gone to Hell in a handbasket.

Robert "April Fresh" Downey, Jr stars in the upcoming Iron Man, whose character is as tormented as Batman's and twice as drunk. The late Heath Ledger aims to invoke heartbreaking memories of Brandon Lee in the new Batman. I expect both of these films to open big and be at least tolerable, if not enjoyable the way summer movies used to be when I was a wee lad sneaking into R-rated movies. It's a Catch-22, though: I'm sick of these movies and their implied successes will only mean more.

Case in Point: Stan Lee has started a new CG-animated superhero series called Legion of 5. It has nothing to do with the Legion of Doom, I presume, but the Hollywood Reporter states the film will have video game tie-ins and other merchandising. The man responsible for many of those superheroes listed above is keeping tight-lipped about the content of his characters or what they'll be up against, but one thing they'll vanquish is whatever opens opposite them when the time comes.

Lee also has in the works a movie called Tigress, where a woman gets tiger like powers after, I dunno, getting hit with a radioactive fly ball in Detroit. These powers will probably force her to jump on an Exxon sign, think Frosted Flakes are great, and attack fans at Cincinnati Bengals and University of Memphis games. Since she couldn't play Catwoman, this sounds like the perfect job for Sean Young.

Tags: batman, heath ledger, iron man, jr, legion of 5, robert downey, stan lee, tigress