Spider-Man in film
The first live-action film based on Spider-Man was the unauthorized short "Spider-Man" by Donald F. Glut in 1969. This was followed by "Spider-Man", an American made-for-television film that premiered on the CBS network in 1977. It starred Nicholas Hammond and was intended as a backdoor pilot for what became a weekly episodic TV series.
Superhero film
Alex Proyas' "The Crow" (1994) became the first independent comics superhero film that established a franchise. As Joel Schumacher's "Batman & Robin" (1997) was critically panned for being too jokey and tongue-in-cheek, "The Crow" brought in a new realm of violence absent in previous popular superhero films targeted at younger audiences and bridging a gap to the more modern action film. The success of "The Crow" catalyzed the release of a film version of "Spawn" (1997), Image Comics' leading character. The success of the "darker" Image Comics characters shifted the direction of comic book movies. Marvel soon released their films to become franchises, "Men in Black" (1997) and "Blade" (1998). After Marvel bought Malibu Comics (The company owned "Men in Black"), Marvel and Columbia Pictures released the "Men in Black" film and comics in 1997. The film became the first Marvel property to win an Oscar and the then highest-grossing comic book adaptation until the release of Sam Raimi’s "Spider-Man" in 2002. "Blade" was also a mix of a more traditional action film as well as darker superhero film with the title character having vampire powers as well as carrying an arsenal of weaponry. The success of "Blade" began Marvel's film success (which debuted in Marvel Comics) and set the stage for further comic book film adaptations.