It’s the age of the comic book movie. As a child, collecting comic books was my favorite hobby, and now it’s a trillion-dollar industry. During Marvel’s financial crisis in the 90s, the company licensed off its character’s movie rights to different studios. Sony scooped up Spider-Man, while Fox grabbed the X-Men. In fact, the only characters whose movies rights stayed at Marvel, were the Avengers. Heroes like Thor and Iron Man were considered too obscure to make silver-screen money. Fast forward to 2017. Marvel Studios is in command of the box-office with Disney pulling the strings, while Warner Bros. and DC are frantically trying to catch up and establish a movie universe of their own.
To compare, Marvel has released 17 movies in their cinematic universe, while DC has only delivered 5. Wonder Woman, which was released earlier this year, has been heralded as the shining light in the DC cinematic universe. Gal Gabot, who originally caught my attention in the Fast & Furious franchise, plays the Amazonian princess warrior, alongside a wide-eyed Chris Pine. Wonder Woman is making her third appearance in movie theaters across the country with Justice League, which opens this weekend. Starring Ben Affleck as Batman, Justice League hopes to capture the worldwide audience in the same way that The Avengers did. While contemplating the implications of Justice League, ranking comic book movies became relevant to me. Personally, there will always be a love for Batman Returns, Blade, and Heath Ledger’s Joker. The X-Men also dominated my list, an obvious bias because the X-Universe isn’t really constructed very well. Soon, my list mutated into something more, as social media polls were thrown into the equation. With only two simple rules to follow, comic book fans and movie lovers chimed in, and gave us their lists. The rules were as followed:
- Only one movie in a trilogy can be selected. For example, both Iron Man 1 and Iron Man 2 cannot be on the list. Only one.
- One hero cannot make more than two appearances on the list solo. We get it, everyone loves Batman, but this isn’t a list of the best Batman movies.
After carefully gauging responses, a list began to take shape. It went from the top 25 comic movies, to the top 15, and finally trimmed down to a top 10. It was difficult to cut some movies, while others made sense to dismiss. There are even a few titles that wouldn’t grace my top 20, but overwhelming fan support placed them firmly in this top 10.
So, without further ado, here are the 10 best superhero movies of all time...Let us know what you think, and which ones are your favorite.
Unbreakable
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Released: November 22, 2000
M. Night Shyamalan movies are a hit or miss, but Unbreakable was a definite hit. Possibly the best movie of Shyamalan’s career, Unbreakable stars Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. Willis survives a train crash that kills everyone on board except for him, and afterward, he is approached by Jackson, who convinces him that he is a superhero. The script is untraditional, and unconventional story-telling makes Unbreakable a thriller as well as a hero movie. The twist at the end is unpredictable and memorable, while Jackson delivers another legendary performance. A sequel was released last year, entitled Split, and the third movie in the trilogy will be released next year, entitled Glass.
The Incredibles
Director: Brad Bird
Released: November 5, 2004
Disney was in the superhero game years before they purchased Marvel in 2009. The Incredibles is a charming family/hero movie that centers around a retired hero's lackluster life as a civilian. His family life is turned upside down after a former fan turned enemy threatens to destroy his hometown. Director Brad Bird had been pitching this idea since the early 90s, but Pixar didn’t agree to make The Incredibles (their first film with all human characters) until the early 00s. The Incredibles is a family movie, but Pixar and Disney did an immaculate job of highlighting mature themes like marriage, raising a family, retirement, and mid-life crises.
Captain America: Civil War
Director: The Russo Brothers
Released: May 6, 2016
Marvel has got this hero mash-up thing on lock, as they should, almost a decade into their cinematic universe. Captain America: Civil War is the culmination of the events that took place in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The team is split when the government decides to hold heroes accountable for the disastrous consequences of their actions. Anyone with superpowers, or that acts as a superhero, must register with the government, and relinquish their freedoms to fight crime as they please. Captain America isn’t too thrilled with being a puppet, while Iron Man faces the guilt of allowing Ultron to kill millions in Sokovia (a fictional country in the MCU). Friends become foes and the road to the Infinity Wars is paved in Captain America’s final solo outing. The Russo Brothers, praised after their astounding work on Captain America: Winter Soldier, were tapped to direct the next two Avengers movies after helming Civil War.
Guardians of the Galaxy
Director: James Gunn
Released: August 1, 2014
James Gunn and Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige took a substantial risk launching a band of heroes that were relatively unheard of, beyond comic book shops. While Rocket Racoon did make an appearance in Marvel V Capcom 3, the rest of the Guardians were obscure characters that had barely made a splash in pop culture. Parks and Recreation’s Chris Pratt teams up with an all-star cast that includes Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Djimon Hounsou, and Lee Pace, and gives The Avengers a run for their money. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 is the first Marvel movie to fully explain the purpose of the Infinity Stones. Not too mention, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1. has the best superhero movie soundtrack ever. The Avengers and The Guardians will finally meet in next year’s Avengers: Infinity Wars.
Deadpool
Director: Tim Miller
Released: February 12, 2016
Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool was put to shame in Wolverine Origins. The character's back-story was under-developed, and his powers were completely erroneous to the original character. Reynolds fought for years to bring a more comical, accurate, and R-Rated, version of the Merc’ with the Mouth to the silver screen. His persistence paid off, after test footage for the film was leaked to the public, there was overwhelming fan support thus forcing Fox’s hand. The film was greenlit, and ultimately became Fox’s most successful comic movie to date. Honestly, Reynolds has been playing variations of Deadpool since Van Wilder, a foul-mouthed, sarcastic, hyper-sexual idiot with charismatic charm. Sound familiar? A sequel is set to be released in 2018 co-starring Atlanta’s Zazie Beetz as Domino and Josh Brolin (who also plays Thanos) as the time-traveling Cable.
Avengers
Director: Joss Whedon
Released: May 4, 2012
The first time Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye assembled, it was movie magic. Marvel spent four years building up the hype for their interconnected hero showdown, and fans were rewarded with one of the most entertaining movie experiences to date. Loki stole the show as Marvel’s best villain, while Mark Ruffalo delivered the best Hulk performance of the angry green monsters troubled movie career. Imagine if Edward Norton didn’t bail on playing Hulk? Marvel’s over-watching, and now interacting, arch-villain Thanos was first introduced in a post credit scene after The Avengers.
Superman
Director: Richard Donner
Released: December 15, 1978
Christopher Reeve defined what it was to be a hero in Superman’s first theatrical release. No man had ever stepped into a role and commanded it the way that Reeve did with Superman. It would forge a legacy for his name, and create the paradigm for what an onscreen hero should be. Originally, Superman was to be shot in two parts simultaneously. The sequel was halted after the director and the producers’ relationship became strained, although over 70% of the movie had been shot. Donner released Superman to critical acclaim and commercial success, but he was kicked off his own sequel. Richard Lester reshot the sequel (to attain full director credits), which focuses on General Zod, who was introduced in the first movie. Years later, a Richard Donner Cut of Superman II was released to restore the duology to its original conception.
Logan
Director: James Mangold
Released: March 3, 2017
Wolverine was Marvel’s most famous comic book character through-out the 80s and 90s. That is why X-Men was one of the first Marvel movies launched, and Hugh Jackman embodied the Canadian assassin perfectly. Jackman makes an appearance in every single X-Men movie; that’s three in the original trilogy, three in the recent trilogy, and three in his own Wolverine trilogy. The first Wolverine movie introduced the world to Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool, a character who became Fox Studio’s Iron Man. In Logan, Hugh delivers his final performance as Wolverine, in all its Rated-R glory. Arguably the best X-Men movie ever, Logan is exactly what an adult comic story movie adaptation should be.
Iron Man
Director: Jon Favreau
Released: May 2, 2008
The first time Robert Downey Jr. junior stepped into the role of Tony Stark, the entire world knew something special had happened. He was born to play Iron Man, and after a tumultuous lifestyle in the 90s, Downey was aching for a comeback. The sarcastic wit and egotistical humor of the Avenger’s money source set the tone for the first movie in the Marvel cinematic universe. If not for Iron Man’s success, there would be no MCU. The movie was actually a shot in the dark, Marvel’s attempt at securing a theatrical presence with the characters they still owned the movie rights for… and it was a home run. Terrance Howard co-stars as James Rhodes, a character who ultimately becomes War Machine, but he was replaced by Don Cheadle for the sequel and subsequent Avengers titles.
The Dark Knight
Director: Christopher Nolan
Released: July 18, 2008
Why So Serious? Heath Ledger’s Joker is the best comic villain silver screen portrayal ever. He might have even been the best movie villain, period. Christopher Nolan rebooted Batman after Joel Schumacher destroyed the franchise with the horrific Batman & Robin. For the record, Arnold Schwarzenegger had the best one-liners of all time in that movie. The first film in the Nolan reboot was Batman Begins, which shocked the world with its gritty and realistic depiction of Gotham City. The Dark Knight took Nolan’s vision to the next level with an immaculate script, unforgettable cast, and soul-stirring soundtrack. That single note performed on the cello that signaled the Joker’s malice is the best character theme ever. The hero is pushed to his limits, the villain spawns another classic villian, and Batman's moniker is born. The Dark Knight will forever be held to the highest levels of respect amognst comic fans, and movie lovers alike. Rest in Peace Heath.
