A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature action, adventure, fantasy, or science fiction elements. The first film of a particular character often focuses on the hero's origin story. The first film also frequently introduces the hero's nemesis. (See also: supervillain or archnemesis.) Many superhero films are based on superhero comics. By contrast, films such as the Ultraman, Kamen Rider and Super Sentai franchises, the RoboCop series, The Meteor Man, the Unbreakable film series, Hancock and They Call Me Jeeg, were made original for the screen. While The Green Hornet is based primarily on the original radio series and its 1960s television adaptation, both Underdog and The Powerpuff Girls are based on animated television series. Anime superhero films are based on manga and television shows. The highest grossing superhero film franchises (according to the box office income) since 1967 are Tsuburaya Productions' Ultra Series, Toei Company's Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, New Line Cinema's Blade, 20th Century Fox's X-Men, Sony Pictures' Spider-Man trilogy directed by Sam Raimi and the Amazing Spider-Man duology directed by Marc Webb, Pixar's The Incredibles, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). On its own, the superhero film has become a popular genre of film, earning over $28 billion dollars for Marvel alone. 1939–1978: Early years Almost immediately after superheroes rose in popularity because of comic books (see List of DC Comics Characters and List of Marvel Comics characters), they were adapted into Saturday film serials, starting with Mandrake the Magician (1939). Serials such as The Shadow (1940), Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941), Batman (1943), The Phantom (1943), Captain America (1944), Superman (1948) followed. In the following decades, the decline of Saturday serials and turmoil in the comic book industry put an end to superhero motion pictures, with the exception of Superman and the Mole Men (1951), starring George Reeves, which was a trial balloon for the television series Adventures of Superman, compilations of episodes of that same series released theatrically, and Batman (1966) a big-screen extension of the Batman television series starring Adam West. In 1957 Japan, Shintoho produced the first film serial featuring the tokusatsu superhero character Super Giant, signaling a shift in Japanese popular culture towards masked