All Superheroes Must Die

Lore & Background

The film follows four superheroes—Charge/John (Trost), Cutthroat/Ben (Till), The Wall/Charlie (Nick Principe), and Shadow/Jill (Merkley)—who wake up in an abandoned town with injection marks on their wrists and their powers stripped away. Their nemesis, Rickshaw (Remar), forces them into a deadly game where civilians are executed if they fail. Charge retains some abilities and leads the group through a series of brutal challenges, including a deathmatch at a lumber mill and a scrap yard, where The Wall is killed. The plot reveals that Charge never had superpowers, unlike his companions, and that he has been aging while they remained ageless. He ultimately locates and kills Rickshaw, though Rickshaw activates a failsafe device before dying. A post-credit

Reader's Guide

All Superheroes Must Die is notable as an independent take on the superhero genre, blending horror elements and a grim, low-budget aesthetic. The film was met with unanimously negative reviews, with critics citing poor production values, weak dialogue and characterization, and a failure to live up to its intriguing premise. However, James Remar's performance as the villain Rickshaw was singled out by several critics as one of the few highlights. The film's sequel was released directly on Jason Trost's YouTube channel, reflecting its cult status outside mainstream distribution. Its significance lies in its attempt to deconstruct superhero tropes through a survival-horror lens, though execution was widely considered lacking.

Did You Know?

• The film is also known as Vs.
• Filming took place in Los Angeles, California.
• The sequel, All Superheroes Must Die 2: The Last Superhero, was released on Jason Trost's YouTube channel.
• James Remar's performance was singled out by several critics as one of the few highlights.