The 10 best superhero movies ever made
For decades, superhero movies were considered nothing more than children’s entertainment. Even though they raked in millions at the box office, nobody was meant to walk away having been taught a lesson from men in tights kicking the snot out of bad guys. As the genre began spreading out, though, fans got a taste of what the best of the genre had to offer from heroes like Batman and Spider-Man.
Starting in the late 1970s, directors put their heart and soul into original takes on iconic characters, bringing a certain level of soul into the equation that hadn’t been seen before in a superhero context. As opposed to seeing them as absent-minded punching machines, the characters felt like real people who just happened to be a superhero for a living.
As the years go by, a gritty realism has been introduced into superhero movies, bringing a heightened sense of authenticity to a genre in transition. Although some of the stories might seem far-fetched, there are more than a few films in which it feels like the movie’s stakes aren’t too far removed from the terrorism seen every day.
Above all else, the best superhero films never feel like they’re talking down to the audience in any capacity. As much as the superpowered beings might be leagues above any average human’s strength, it’s all about using one’s power for something greater than personal glory.
The 10 best superhero movies of all time:
10. Wonder Woman (Patty Jenkins, 2017)
For years, there had been an unspoken rule that the best superhero movies were made exclusively with male protagonists. Some of the most popular comic book franchises revolved around macho male stereotypes, and some of the first stabs at female-fronted comic book movies tended to fall on deaf ears, like Catwoman and Electra. When everyone involved in production collectively cares about the characters, fans get movies like Wonder Woman.
After a lacklustre start to the DCEU with efforts like Batman vs. Superman, Gal Gadot’s iconic turn as Princess Diana is the perfect breath of fresh air from hours of gritty realism. Although some common superhero tropes are used this time around, it’s fun to see the fish out of water story play out, where Diana becomes accustomed to the world outside of Themiscara and has to work alongside Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor to bring down the forces of evil.
Whereas most movies of this ilk tend to be formulaic, there’s a certain power in Gadot’s performance in No Man’s Land, as she walks onto a battlefield with nothing but her strength and shield to shield her from danger. Superhero films had started to forget what heroes were supposed to be like, and Diana is the perfect clean slate that got the DCEU back on track for a little while.
9. Superman (Richard Donner, 1978)
The beginnings of superhero films were treated more like a punchline than anything else. Although it might have been fun to see Adam West’s Batman in action, his turn as The Caped Crusader was going more for the madcap comedy tone than anything dark and brooding. It’s hard to make a man in tights look grounded in reality, but Christopher Reeves had the perfect formula for the last son of Krypton.
Though Superman might seem like the most by-the-numbers hero for the uninitiated fan, Reeves inhabits Clark Kent perfectly, switching from the mild-mannered nerd working at The Daily Planet to changing into the most powerful being on earth. Despite a chunk of the movie being dominated by his backstory, seeing Clark discover his powers and become one of the most relatable super-beings was sorely missing from the early portion of superhero films.
As the film progresses, seeing Clark get used to his role as a hero is almost heart-warming, seeing him embrace his role as the hero the world needs and having a concern for anyone who might be standing in harm’s way. The concept of Superman might be simple on the surface, but it takes a certain amount of movie magic to make a literal alien feel this down to earth.
8. Batman (Tim Burton, 1989)
Batman was in for a major uphill battle when production was announced in the mid-80s. After enduring some of the most groan-inducing puns from Adam West back in the ‘60s, fans were prepared to complain again when they saw Michael Keaton cast in the role of Bruce Wayne. Then again, anyone who thought this next phase of Gotham would be campy has never seen a Tim Burton film before.
Although there are some definite comic book elements to Batman, some of the film’s best moments come when subtlety is brought into the mix. Though fans aren’t shown the Waynes’ murder all over again, Keaton carries that tragedy in his every bone in this performance, remaining stoic as he fights crime.
There are certainly some dated portions like Kim Basinger’s Vicky Vale playing a typical damsel in distress, but the real shining star is Jack Nicholson as The Joker, who I’m willing to bet was given a full paycheck just to be himself whenever the camera started rolling. Superhero movies might have a reputation for being operatic in scope, but this was the first time that the tale of Batman felt like a tragedy when put on screen.
7. The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004)
Given the massive amount of properties they have their hands on, Disney didn’t need to branch out into superhero films. The House of Mouse had been home to some of the most iconic animated tales of many viewers’ youths, so why try to branch out to a completely different market? While The Incredibles might not have been based on any comic book property per se, this is a subtle dissection of what superheroes are all about.
Using Pixar’s iconic computer animation, this is a story of what superheroes in the real world might look like, as some of the world’s biggest heroes have to grow up and look after kids. Compared to the usual kid’s jokes, there’s a lot of nuance in Mr Incredible, as he has an existential crisis about not being strong enough to save his family, only to have his family help him to safety in the process.
The action might be kept at a distance (it is for kids, after all), but this was the first time a parody of the superhero brand held together as a decent movie on its own. The Incredibles might have given all the action and superhero poses they wanted, but this was always a family movie first and a superhero movie second.
6. Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse (Bob Persichetti, 2018)
There’s a certain innocence that comes with Spider-Man that isn’t present with other superheroes. As opposed to other masked vigilantes that seem to have things figured out, Peter Parker is figuring his life out alongside everyone, constantly trying to juggle life as a teenager and having to save New York City. Anyone can see themselves in Spider-Man, so why not make a movie where the audience isn’t limited to just one of them?
While viewers have seen different iterations of what the web-slinger was all about, Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse is the best love letter to the character, following a bunch of different spider-men and women from different universes and watching them bounce off each other. Even though Miles Morales is the main character throughout the film, it’s fun to ride along with every version of the character, from Gwen Stacy’s too-cool-for-school demeanour to Peter B. Parker’s over-the-hill arrogance to the perfect casting of Nicolas Cage as a noir version of Spider-Man.
The movie also isn’t afraid to be tongue-in-cheek here and there, referencing some of the previous films with Peter Parker and seeing what they can improve upon in their own version. While this might not be the best introduction for someone who’s never seen a Spider-Man film before, it’s essential for anyone who’s felt something when they see that red and blue wallcrawler swinging through the skies.
5. Batman: Mask of The Phantasm (Eric Radomski, 1993)
Batman fans have debated for years about which incarnation of the character is the greatest onscreen. Though Bruce Wayne’s arc has been changed more than a few times in the comics, plenty of iterations take a different approach, from the respectable job Ben Affleck brought to the role to the stoic menace behind Michael Keaton’s version. If there’s debate about the central idea of Batman, though, there’s no question that Kevin Conroy wins hands down.
First springing to life on the small screen in Batman: The Animated Series, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is one of the greatest movies for the central idea of Batman. Long before Christopher Nolan rebooted the franchise with Batman Begins, this was the first onscreen look at Wayne’s origin story, including a powerful score from Shirley Walker, which coats the entire story in melancholy.
Instead of looking at Batman’s code, this is an in-depth character study into what’s inside Wayne’s head, including one of the most powerful sequences put to screen when audiences see the old Bruce Wayne fade away when he dons the cowl for the first time. Considering Joel Schumacher was hard at work on Batman and Robin around the same time this film was being made, it’s interesting that the animated version offered a more adult take on the character than the live-action version.
4. Logan (James Mangold, 2017)
For decades, the entire X-Men franchise was an entirely mixed bag. Sometimes fans were treated to a playful take on the characters in X2, and other times there would be creative decisions so bad that Deadpool would later make fun of them, like X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Audiences always loved seeing what Logan would get up to, but the hardest thing any viewer can do is have to say goodbye.
Set in the not-too-distant future, Logan is a dramatic take on X-24, showing him reaching his twilight years and having to look after Professor X while in hiding. Though this may have been known for the bloody violence and excessive swearing, the tone of the film was ripped straight out of old westerns, as Logan’s reluctant hero is tasked with helping his adopted daughter escape over the Canadian border.
With James Mongold’s brilliant direction, this is the kind of send-off that more superhero movies should be taking, as Hugh Jackman leaves the character behind with dignity and gives the fans what they want one last time. No X-Men deserves to be this good, but Logan finally being able to rest marked the end of an era for the golden age of X:Men entertainment.
3. Spider-Man 2 (Sam Raimi, 2004)
The idea of giving a director like Sam Raimi permission to make a Spider-Man film is insane. Raimi’s indie style of filmmaking made The Evil Dead horrifying and charming simultaneously, and his first take on the wallcrawler with Tobey Maguire made for one of the most charming superhero films ever made. It’s impossible to make that kind of lightning-in-a-bottle movie twice, but the madman sprinkled some fairy dust and came up with an even better take on Spider-Man.
After dealing with the first film’s repercussions, Peter Parker struggles to make ends meet every second of this movie, struggling to pay rent and becoming distant from his friends as he tries to balance being a superhero. The pain becomes too much as Peter decides to look out for himself and quit being Spider-Man halfway through the movie, only to discover that New York City needs him now more than ever.
Although there are some cheesy elements on full display throughout the film, the story behind everything is fantastic, as Peter always finds the will to get up again, even if it means sacrificing being happy. People may look at this movie and cheer when they are in their teens, but as grey starts to form around the temples, this story hits even closer to home.
2. Avengers: Infinity War (The Russo Brothers, 2018)
It’s impossible to talk about the latest incarnation of superhero films and not bring up the MCU. Created with Iron Man in 2008, the entire world that Kevin Feige and his team have created has become bigger than any other franchise could hope to be, telling a coherent story and turning movies into seasons in a feature film TV show. Everything was building to something, and the villainous Thanos was not taking any prisoners when he was finally brought to the screen.
Chasing after the Infinity Stones, Josh Brolin’s portrayal of The Mad Titan could give someone like Darth Vader a run for his money, being grossly misguided in his quest to save the world. As Earth’s mightiest heroes do their best to stop him, fans are treated to some of the most bombastic set pieces ever to be put in a superhero film, including a huge battle in Wakanda with Captain America and Black Panther leading the charge against an army of aliens.
Even though The Avengers have always been known to come out on top, the beauty behind this film is how grim everything turns, with Thanos getting exactly what he wanted and reducing half of the galaxy to ash and disappearing to a farm looking out on a grateful universe. The events of this film might have been rectified after the release of Avengers: Endgame, but this is what superhero films are really like when they are operating at the peak of their powers.
1. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
There’s always been something about Batman that keeps drawing viewers in. Instead of the outlandish powers that come with his contemporaries like Superman or Spider-Man, Bruce Wayne is just a regular dude who trained for years to fight crime after his world was shattered by an act of violence. His code might be unbreakable, but The Dark Knight is what happens when “an unstoppable force meets an immovable object”.
Though Christopher Nolan might not have envisioned making a franchise out of his first take on Batman, The Dark Knight is one of the first sequels that blows the original out of the water. With Heath Ledger’s brilliant portrayal of The Joker, fans were treated to the true embodiment of anarchy, creating moments that had the potential to go from genuinely comedic to pulse-pounding intensity in one line. Given the state of the world in 2008, this was also an in-depth study of what terrorism means, dissecting how the law enforcement system works in the US after the events of 9/11.
While most superhero movies grounded themselves in realism, this was the first time stories about extraordinary men in costumes reached Shakespearean levels of storytelling, as Batman has to go into hiding and take the fall for Harvey Dent so the city doesn’t lose hope. The Dark Knight might not have been the hero that Gotham City needed, but whenever the time calls for it, he’ll become whatever the city needs him to be.
