I have seen a grand amount of lists about Superhero movies, and I have seen A LOT of Superhero movies. I think that the lists all end with the same film, The Dark Knight, which, though it was very good, was not the best superhero movie that I have seen. So with that, I now present the films that I believe are the best in the history of the Superhero genre.
5. X2: X-Men United – Director: Bryan Singer
4. The Crow (Don’t say its not because it is about a super-power protagonist who fights for good, and it is based on a comic book) – Director: Alex Proyas
3. The Dark Knight – Director: Christopher Nolan
2. Iron Man – Director: John Favreau
1. Batman Begins – Director: Christopher Nolan
You really think Batman Begins was better than Dark Knight? I mean, I liked it alot and it does rival the original but I thought the sequel was not only better but the best super hero movie ever and one of the best movies ever. But to each his own. I agree with the majority of the list.
I think that it is better mainly because it was revolutionary in the sense of Nolan making a superhero film that was the way it was. The Dark Knight was just an amped up version of the style. The acting was better all around in Batman Begins, though one of the best performances ever was done in The Dark Knight. Either way, Batman is #1.
i like your list, however for mine i’ll have to take out The Crow and put in V for Vendetta (he was kindda a superhero), then im also goin to disagree with Batman Begins being better than The Dark Knight cos that movie certainly leaves all the other batman flicks way behind..
I agree with you putting Batman Begins before the Dark Knight. The Dark Knight, was indeed a brilliant film, but it was highly overrated. I mean, if Heath Ledger hadn’t died, would the films still be as popular?
Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker was absolutely amazing, I’m not saying he wasn’t, but before he died, there was speculation about him, people wondering if he could better Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of the Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman.
Batman Begins was the winner for me. It was much darker, much like Batman should be. It had a more in depth story for me, and I personally enjoyed the acting and the story better than the Dark Knight.
My list would be, on the other hand:
5. Spiderman 2
4. The Dark Knight
3. X-Men 2
2. Batman
1. Batman Begins
Good list. I think that the acting, excluding Ledger’s BRILLIANT acting ability in The Dark Knight, was generally better in Batman Begins.
Kick Ass anyone? Surely a better film than Iron Man. I agree that begins is a better film than Dark Knight and V for Vendetta is a good shout too.
It is a good list, I agree. The Dark Knight was an incredible movie, I don’t need to point that out. But in my opinion, Begins was in fact superior. I think that maskofsanity revised this list much better. Good job, man!
Wow, much debate over super heroes. We’re all forgetting one minor technicality here… how did Watchmen and The Punisher not make the list? Punisher killed it for me, he’s an A+ in my books, and Watchmen was such a great adaptation that stuck mainly to the original graphic novel, except for a change at the end, which I gave possible reasons for in my review of the movie. I have to agree with Mask, if Heath Ledger hadn’t of died, perhaps Dark Knight wouldn’t have been such a success. I did enjoy the movie, and think Nolan is a genius, but it’s a question you’ve got to ask.
My Top Five:
1)Batman Begins
2)Kick Ass
3)X-Men 3
4)The Punisher
5) Watchmen
I agree with the both of you, and The Punisher was great, but X3? Really? I thought it was the worst one in the series, besides the coda after the movie (Which was awesome!). Watchmen was good, too, it just didn’t have all of the things I wanted it to from the Graphic Novel, and the acting was poor at points.
Punisher Warezone was a highly underrated movie but I enjoyed it because it was what the first Punisher should have been and that was a movie where you see criminals being Punished from the beginning to the end. Not one of you guys mentioned Hell Boy 2 or 1, I mean did everyone forget about “Big Baby”?
5.)Punisher Warezone
4.)Iron Man
3.)Hell Boy 2
2.)Kick Ass
1.)The Dark Knight
1.) V for Vendetta
2.) Batman Begins/The Dark Knight
3.) Watchmen
4.) Kick Ass
5.) Hell Boy/Hell Boy 2
6.) Iron Man/Iron Man 2
7.) Punisher Warzone (because it stayed true to the comic)
8.) X-Men Last Stand
9.) Spiderman
10.)Original Batman with Micheal Keaton
I thought tha Punisher Warzone was too much about gore and punishment to really grasp an easy, understanding plot. Hell Boy was great, and so was its sequel, but I just thought those weren’t deserving of a place in the top 5.
I am disappointed to see no mention of Bryan Singer’s beautifully realised Superman reboot, Superman Returns. It was a loving homage to the original film with a significant breakout role for Brandon Routh who absolutley nailed Clark Kent/Superman. For anyone who hasn’t seen the film in a while, it is most certainley worth checking out again.
Brandon Routh and Kevin Spacey certainly did well, but the movie itself failed for me. The shots were good and the effects as well, but the story wasn’t able to keep the mass’s attention.
Fair enough J.C., for me it remains one of the finest comic-book films of the last decade. Nice list anyway, i still haven’t seen The Crow but look forward to seeing it. And yea nice pick for no.1 with Batman Begins, i have to admit that i do rate The Dark Knight slightly more but there aint much in it. And it’s amazing how many people forget how good Begins actually is.
J.C. of your original list I don’t at all agree with the choice of X-Men. I think one of the most underrated superhero movies, and in my opinion one of the best, if not the best, is Watchmen. It is one of the most accurate representations of a novel that I have ever seen. The majority of the movie was shot-by-shot, line-by-line of the book which is arguably one of the greatest graphic novels ever. And if V for Vendetta is being counted as a superhero movie then that would be on my list too. My list would go like this I think:
5. Iron Man 1/2
4. Batman Begins
3. V For Vendetta
2. The Dark Knight
1. Watchmen
Kick Ass would come nowhere near my list. The character of Kick Ass would be an insult to the title of “superhero” not to mention the nearly-always incorrect casting of Nick Cage. His acting career and skill it seems has gone steadily downhill since Adaptation and National Treasure and he has beceome, at least for my tastes, a movie deal-breaker, and even after a second viewing I still could not enjoy Kick Ass. And as for the Spiderman franchise, the first two were quality movies, but the discord the third movie caused threw my tastes for the first two. And I agree with you about Superman Returns. As much as it pains me to dislike any Kevin Spacey movie, Superman Returns was simply mediocre. However, I have high hopes for Thor and Captain America.
Daniel Cummings, I very much agree with you about Superman Returns. I was never I huge fan of the original Christopher Reeve Superman films, only seeing the two films (which is only necessary for Returns), but I thought Superman Returns was amazing.Maybe not top 5 material, but definately up there.
Thor and Captain America look alright. I’ll definately see them, but I don’t necessarely have high hopes. The new X-Men: First Class, however, looks surpisingly really good. Don’t get me wrong, I am a big X-Men fan, and I did enjoy Origins: Wolverine, but obviously not as good as the originals, and I was expecting to see the same qualaty with First Class, but after seeing the trailer, I am very, very excited.
Sorry but X-Men 2 is easily one of the greatest sequels from the last decade, its right up there with The Dark Knight. Kick-Ass was a very different type of superhero movie, a true original and Nicolas Cage was brilliant in it.
Yea Dr.M the original Superman films have dated quite a bit but still remain must-see’s if you are a fan of comic-book films. Also couldn’t agree more about X-Men: First Class, the images and trailer that have been released have got more very excited.
Another reason why I have more hope for First Class is because Bryan Singer came back as a writer for the film.
X-Men: First Class will be good. Regardless. Michael Fassbender is amazing, and he will certainly provide a gripping performance as a young Magneto. On another note, Thor is directed by Kenneth Branaugh, and should be good, given that they have a linear plot and can make up for the bad acting shown in the trailer alone. Captain America: The First Avenger is NOT going to be good, though, however. Joe Johnston (The Wolfman) hasn’t made a good movie in… I’d say… 12 years (October Sky). That being said, this could be the chance for him to turn that bad streak around. I just hope none of them suck.
Would be very nice if they all lived up to expectations.
1. Dark Knight
2. Spiderman 1 & 2
3. Kick Ass
4. Batman Begins
5. Daredevil (ha, ha Just kidding)