Nowadays, though, you can find a small but thriving bundle of games out there for comic book lovers. From City of Heroes and the coming expansion pack to big-name action titles like Spiderman 2 and X-Men Legends, to games based on obscurities like XIII and 100 Bullets, you can snag yourself a comic book title to match pretty much any gaming taste. Even 400-pound gorilla EA is moving in that direction with an upcoming title that pits original heroes from them against classic Marvel creations. It's a big step forward for superhero gaming.

So what broke the curse? What happened?

Freedom Force happened.