American superheroes spend 98.12 per cent of their time in New York City. They can’t help this though as the place is always being attacked by somebody or something. Spiderman’s needed a break from Manhattan for decades – he never even gets to take a load off and use the subway, poor guy. Occasionally though, they manage to ply their trade in other locations, making the people in those places think “Huh? Aren’t you supposed to be in New York?”
Hong Kong, China – Dark Knight (2008)
Famously, Batman’s hometown is Gotham City, a place loosely based on Chicago in this film (but confusingly on New York in follow-up The Dark Knight Rises). In Batman’s universe, Gotham/Chicago is a grim and constantly rainy place, with no St Patrick’s Day celebrations at all, so he must have surely appreciated the chance to visit Hong Kong in this film. He marks the occasion by paragliding (or is that batgliding?) from one tower of the International Finance Centre to the other. Holy vertigo-inducing views, Batman!
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – The Incredible Hulk (2008)
The best part of this film was the first half hour or so, during which Dr Bruce Banner is seen ducking and diving among the favelas of Rio as he tries to hide from the US government. It doesn’t last too long unfortunately, but at least he had a break from all that military testing he seems to be subjected to endlessly.
New Mexico, USA – Thor (2011)
Thor comes from an alien race that seems to just really love Norway. His first visit to Earth happens when he crash lands in the US state of New Mexico. Cue multiple fish-out-of-water gags such as walking into a small pet shop to demand a horse he can ride off on. The citizens of New Mexico are less than impressed.
Main image by JD Hancock
