The year 2008 was a landmark for superheroes. That's when both The Dark Knight and Iron Man hit theaters; the former gave superhero movies an unprecedented level of prestige while the latter launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe which, along with its many would-be imitators, would dominate pop culture for the next decade. However, two years earlier, a different superhero property was the biggest thing in the genre. And, somewhat amazingly, the TV show Heroes had no connections to DC or Marvel. It came out at the exact moment that a completely original superhero IP could captivate audiences — especially with a tagline like "Save the cheerleader, save the world."
Heroes premiered on NBC September 25, 2006, 20 years ago today. For context, 2006 was a bit of a low point for superhero movies. The first two X-Men movies and Sam Raimi Spider-Man films, which really launched the era of superhero films, had already come out; the disappointing third installments of both trilogies would come out in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Batman Begins came out the previous year, and The Incredibles (which is maybe the best superhero movie ever made) opened in 2004. Other than that, there were a bunch of attempts at blockbuster superhero movies that didn't quite work, like Catwoman, Fantastic Four, Hulk, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, and Superman Returns, the last of which has one great scene going for it but not much else. The genre was still figuring itself out and 2008 would be the year when it all snapped into place. In 2006, though, there was a lane for Heroes to take everything by storm.
