Is a Will Smith backlash inevitable?

In the action comedy "Hancock" (which arrived in theaters Tuesday night), Will Smith plays a new kind of superhero: a man of steel whose weakness is bourbon. He's mean to kids, is known to sleep on the street and causes ridiculous amounts of collateral damage, including one highly metaphorical train wreck, whenever he tries to save the day.

But there are certain impossible to ignore real-life parallels to having Smith play a hero like Hancock -- someone indestructible yet flawed, a guy who can make the impossible look easy but is just one step ahead of a public relations crisis.

In the midst of a career hot streak -- a staggering 11 of the actor-producer's films have grossed more than $100 million at the box office -- the Philly-born 39-year-old has surpassed his buddy Tom Cruise to become the biggest movie star in the world. Equally sure-footed with drama, comedy and action, Smith has won over international audiences as no black actor before him has, and his marquee presence seems to provide a quality guarantee to film fans and movie financiers.

In an age of dwindling star power, studios know they can rely on Smith to "open" a movie, and audiences depend on him to be entertaining in that old "Fresh Prince" with a gun and a grin kind of way. Exhibit A: moviegoers' pre-release anticipation for Smith's new blockbuster is at fever pitch despite some withering early reviews. According to box-office tracking figures, "Hancock" could haul in as much as $110 million in its opening five days.

All that fanfare has ratcheted up the scrutiny given Smith's personal life, putting whatever public misstep he might make -- and in particular, his perceived ties to the Church of Scientology -- into stark relief.

Like Barack Obama, who has become a lightning rod for innuendo over the course of his rapid political ascent, Smith's spirituality, domestic union with wife Jada Pinkett Smith and even his sexual orientation have been raked for muck. So much so that it has lead some industry observers to wonder: Can Will Smith withstand the unique pressures and vagaries of being No. 1? Moreover, is a Will Smith backlash inevitable?

Let Hollywood history provide a cautionary tale. Before he was jumping on sofas, dissing Brooke Shields and verbally sparring with Matt Lauer, Smith's BFF Cruise seemed just as invulnerable to failure as the "Hancock" star is now. But his increasingly erratic behavior led to a well-publicized fracture with Paramount (then home to Cruise's production company) and what has been widely regarded in industry circles as diminished star power.