Clayface , the newest film in the burgeoning DC Universe, topped the box office this weekend, earning $43 million worldwide. That's not the sort of high-stakes result we've come to expect from superhero films, but it's important to view this success in its proper context. The movie cost $30 million to make, and already, it's earned back its budget.

Not everything has to be a $300 million epic with world-ending implications. Not everything has to be a tentpole event for the larger narrative to come. That is, after all, what killed people's interest in these films to begin with. Clayface embodies the exact opposite of this mentality, and that's why watching it is a joy and a relief.…