Mystery Men was savvy enough to poke fun at 25 years’ worth of superhero films yet to come, but, watched now, it clearly plays on the Nineties Batmans too.

When Mystery Men debuted in 1999, it was the only superhero movie to drop that year. Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Janeane Garofalo and William H. Macy made fun of superhero movies when there were none.

Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, before whatever will come out of James Gunn’s DCU, and before a billion deconstructions of the superhero genre, there was Mystery Men.

Mystery Men was savvy enough to poke fun at 25 years’ worth of superhero films yet to come, but, watched now, it clearly plays on the Nineties Batmans too.