On Jan. 23, the nominations for the 90th Academy Awards were announced, and this year, something monumentally shocking and surprising occurred: a superhero flick earned itself an Oscar nomination, and this time, it was not for visual effects.

After decades of comic-book-based films, James Mangold’s “Logan” has managed to achieve something that no other film in the entire genre has achieved. “Logan” has become the first superhero movie to land a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Previous winners of this category include “Gone with the Wind,” “The Godfather,” “Schindler’s List,” and most recently, “Moonlight.” Now, a Wolverine film has a chance to join that prestigious club.

Ever since its release in early March 2017, one question rolled around superhero fans’ minds: “Will ‘Logan’ get an Oscar nomination?” From a critical perspective, it should be a no-brainer given the overwhelmingly stellar reviews surrounding the film, as well as it landing on the National Board of Review’s Top 10 films of 2017 list. However, with all the high praises being thrown its way, “Logan” had one giant roadblock standing between it and Oscar recognition: it is a superhero movie.

While superhero films have had their fair share of Oscar recognition in more technical categories such as Sound Mixing and Visual Effects, this nomination for “Logan” means something entirely different. The film was nominated for its story. This is the first time that a superhero film has not just been seen by Academy voters as “technically” good but actually good. The only other superhero movie in history to be recognized for something outside of the technical categories was Heath Ledger’s Supporting Actor win for “The Dark Knight,” but that was more rewarding the iconic performance as opposed to the film. “Logan” is the first film based on a superhero comic to receive a nomination for having one of the best screenplays of the year.

While this achievement boasts well for the superhero genre, “Logan” is not an average superhero flick. We live in a superhero world at the moment. We have not Marvel and DC, and we even have had three different “Spider-Men” in only 10 years. The reason these films do so well is that they all follow a formula. Each film sets up the next one, and there is never any true resolution. While audiences may love this episodic quality, Academy voters need that closure – the classic, contained story – and that is where “Logan” came in.

The film was risky. It rolled the dice and crafted a story specifically for adults. There are no McDonald’s toys for this one. It is not the classic “good vs. evil” spectacle either. It plays out like a modern-day Western or a tragic drama. The film tells the story of what happens after the hero saves the day, and at its core, it is the story of a broken man who must reluctantly become the man he once was in order to save a child. The film also deals with themes of death, loss, family and finding peace. This is one of the few times a superhero movie has put its main focus into its story, and while the genre seems to only be getting better with the likes of “Wonder Woman” and “Black Panther,” there seems to be no studio willing to take the risk Fox took by flipping the entire genre on its head like “Logan” did.

Hopefully, studios will take more risks with their superhero properties in order to build upon this achievement, as it signifies the superhero genre finally getting its foot through the door to the Oscars.

Image from 20th Century Fox via YouTube.com