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The movie 鈥淟ogan,鈥� an R-rated superhero tale set in the 鈥淴-Men鈥� universe, is now in theaters and its opening weekend box office performance will be the latest test of an older superhero movie audience.

鈥淟ogan鈥� stars Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, who is now living in the future with mutants like him close to being completely gone. His mentor, Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart), is one of the mutants who has survived and the two encounter a young girl named Laura who has powers that are similar to Logan鈥檚.聽

Unlike the past 鈥淴-Men鈥� movies, which stretch back to 2000, 鈥淟ogan鈥� is rated R, with the MPAA rating it with that label for 鈥渟trong brutal violence and language throughout, and for brief nudity.鈥�

While it may be difficult to remember with superhero movies ruling Hollywood and drawing so many different age groups, comic books, which are of course the basis for the 鈥淴-Men鈥� movies, used to be considered a children鈥檚 pursuit. In 1986, Los Angeles Times writer Eric Bailey wrote, 鈥淕olly gee! Comic books aren鈥檛 just for kids anymore鈥� and discussed adults who enjoy purchasing comic books and finding rare ones.

Earlier that year, the 鈥淏atman鈥� comic 鈥淭he Dark Knight Returns鈥� had been released, which had a grim story and the popularity of which likely prompted the various dark tales that soon came from comic books. 鈥淭he success of 鈥楧KR鈥� ushered in a wave of copycats that sent superhero comics spinning down a grim and gritty spiral, sucking the fun out of a genre that was built on the idea of men and women putting on colorful costumes and having fanciful adventures as they fought equally colorful evil-doers,鈥� A.V. Club writer Oliver Sava writes.聽

A.V. Club writer Caitlin Rosberg added, 鈥淚 would argue that this book in particular can be credited with helping to establish comic books as a medium to be taken seriously as literature by fans and academics alike.鈥澛�

In the comic book and graphic novel world, other works such as 鈥淲atchmen鈥� (which came out later in 1986) and 鈥淧ersepolis鈥� (published in 2000) would soon be hailed as impressive works of fiction for any age, not just stories for children.聽

When "Batman" hit the big screen in 1989, some,聽such as Los Angeles Times critic Sheila Benson, questioned whether the movie was even acceptable for children. 鈥淭he Joker, with his gruesome death dealing, is also the cautionary figure for parents of young children,鈥� Ms. Benson wrote at the time. 鈥淭ake that PG-13 very seriously; this is where bad dreams are born.鈥澛�

The mid-2000s 鈥淒ark Knight鈥� film series by Christopher Nolan had dark themes and sometimes so much violence that observers wondered if the PG-13 films should have been rated R.

Comic book movies are doubtlessly popular today with children; we鈥檝e all seen Captain America and Iron Man merchandise. Yet the movies are far from just kid stuff now, as seen with the opening weekend demographics for the 2016 Marvel comic book hit 鈥淐aptain America: Civil War,鈥� in which teenagers only made up 11 percent of those who bought tickets opening weekend, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Adults were 69 percent of that group, while families followed at 20 percent.

And earlier in 2016, the R-rated hit 鈥淒eadpool鈥� made no pretense of being for children and became a big success. And while the film was popular with young adults, only 47 percent of opening weekend ticket buyers were under 25.

In comic books鈥� transition from being seen as just for kids to being adult fare as well, the genre鈥檚 status in some ways mirrors that of animated movies. While likely seen once as only for children, the work of Disney, Pixar, and director Hayao Miyazaki, to name only a few, yielded animated movies that were impressive for any viewer, with Disney鈥檚 1991 film 鈥淏eauty and the Beast鈥� receiving a best picture nomination, the only animated movie to do so when only five movies could compete for the prize. 鈥淎nimated movies [are] not just for kids,鈥� Time Magazine staff wrote in naming films including Mr. Miyazaki鈥檚 鈥淪pirited Away鈥� and Pixar鈥檚 鈥淲ALL-E鈥� as impressive works.聽

When 鈥淔inding Dory,鈥� Pixar鈥檚 most recent movie, opened in 2016, Deadline writer Anthony D鈥橝lessandro wrote, 鈥淓ven though 鈥楧ory鈥� pulled in 65 percent families, the studio noticed that a number of adults are showing up, including young couples sans kids, a testament to the Pixar character鈥檚 broad appeal.鈥�