Once considered too niche for the average moviegoer, superhero movies have become one of the top genres in Hollywood . Fans dissect their plots, critics debate their merits, and film studios count the gold coins in their Scrooge McDuck vaults they made selling them. Superhero films seem like a sudden craze, a genre that previously didn’t exist a few decades ago, but costumed heroes and villains have been on the big screen going back to the ’40s.
There’s an enduring fascination with comic books and cultural icons like Superman and Spider-Man , who have thousands of stories in print. Even before special effects could convincingly make a man fly, studios were still trying, and excited kids and parents who were pretending to go only for their kids continued to show up for the effort. These are the best superhero movies of the last 100 years , ranked by the timeless appeal of their stories and the impact they had on the genre.
10
‘The Incredibles’ (2004)
In The Incredibles , a family with superpowers must keep their gifts a secret in a world where vigilante heroes are banned, a source of frustration for father Bob Parr ( Craig T. Nelson ), who yearns for a return to crime-fighting. When Bob receives an opportunity to do some clandestine superhero work, he finds it too tempting to pass up. All is not what it seems, though, and his family will need to suit up and work together to stop an old grudge from killing more innocent people.
Although the superpowered family bears a striking resemblance to a certain First Family of Marvel, they can be forgiven by starring in one of the most stylistic Pixar films of the studio’s early era . The retro-futuristic world of The Incredibles was a nod to the golden years of comics that appealed to kids of all ages, who are now adults waiting for The Incredibles 3 . The Incredibles received four Oscar nominations, winning two for Best Sound Editing and Best Animated Feature.
9
‘The Adventures of Captain Marvel’ (1941)
Image via Republic Pictures
One of the earliest examples of superheroes on the big screen would be Republic Pictures’ Adventures of Captain Marvel . Told over a series of 12 chapters, the black and white serial followed the adventures of Billy Batson ( Frank Coghlan, Jr. ), a young explorer who is granted the power to turn into Captain Marvel ( Tom Tyler ) whenever he says the name “Shazam.” When a mysterious figure known as the Scorpion kills members of an expedition party to assemble a powerful and ancient device, Captain Marvel must step in to save the day.
The presentation may seem dated by modern standards, but the superhero genre takes a legendary first step via Captain Marvel’s boots. Fawcett Comics, the original publisher of Captain Marvel, licensed their character to Republic Pictures, leading to the Adventures of Captain Marvel becoming the first big-screen adaptation of a superhero. For the many who didn’t read comic books, seeing the Adventures of Captain Marvel was an introduction to a world of superpowers, costumes, and secret identities, a concept they would become very familiar with in the coming years.
8
‘Black Panther’ (2018)
Image via Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios could seemingly do no wrong in the eyes of its fans (if you don’t count Thor: The Dark World), but they broke new ground for the genre with the release of Black Panther. In his first solo adventure since his debut in Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther followed T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) as he took the throne as king of Wakanda. However, when T’Challa faces opposition from Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), a man with a surprising claim to the title, the hero must reconcile an unknown past with a brighter future.
Black Panther was a massive hit, taking in more than a billion dollars in ticket sales and receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. The character has long been a presence in Marvel Comics, going back to the ’60s, with his first appearance in Fantastic Four #52. However, this would be the first time the Wakandan hero had received an adaptation that was more than a supporting role in animated projects. Black Panther gave the MCU a global audience in a way that it hadn’t previously, and a hero fans have missed since Boseman’s tragic death.
7
‘Superman’ (1941-1943)
Image via Fleischer Studios
The fantastical world of superheroes made a splash on the big screen in the 1940s when Paramount Pictures hired Fleischer Studios to make animated Superman shorts. The 17 animated shorts brought the new comic book hero to life, with Superman fighting mad scientists and large robots, his booming voice provided by the Superman radio actor, Bud Collyer. Even nearing a century since they were created, the Fleischer Superman shorts bring the character to life in vivid detail that would still hold up compared to modern animation.
These shorts would have a tremendous impact on Superman, with the series of films being the birthplace of many Superman traits, including donning his costume in a phone booth and, most notably, having the power to fly. Indeed, it was only after the animated shorts that Superman began to fly in the comic books. The Superman shorts would not only influence the future of the Man of Steel; they would serve as the inspiration for the look and style of the widely acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series, and remain a reference point for artists everywhere.
6
‘Batman Returns’ (1992)
Director Tim Burton and Michael Keaton reteamed for a divisive but brilliant superhero sequel with 1992’s Batman Returns. Now an established presence in Gotham City, Batman (Keaton) has become a cautiously trusted hero, but new villain Oswald Cobblepot, AKA The Penguin (Danny DeVito), plans to destroy his public image. Momentarily helping the Penguin is Selina Kyle as Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer), who is torn between justified revenge on her boss, Max Shreck (Christopher Walken), and a budding romance with Bruce Wayne.
The 1989 release of Batman inspired a wave of fanaticism over all things Batman, but Burton flexed his creative muscles more for Batman Returns, and it very much shows. The new vision of Gotham imagined Penguin as a sewer dweller who frequently devolved into feral behavior, and the climax involved killing all the firstborn children of the city via drowning by an evil circus. Parents were horrified, but decades later, Batman’s second outing is a masterpiece that retains its value like a priceless comic book.
5
‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)
Image via Marvel Studios
In the thrilling conclusion to Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga, Avengers: Endgame followed the remaining Avengers as they made one last effort to undo the damage Thanos (Josh Brolin) did in Avengers: Infinity War. Using the winning combination of time travel and teamwork, heroes like Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) and Captain America (Chris Evans) set aside their differences to save the lives of billions. However, Thanos won’t be so accommodating in allowing them to reach their goal.
Avengers: Infinity War has iconic battles and an unexpected plot twist that sets a high bar for cliffhangers, but Avengers: Endgame impressively delivered an epic finale worthy of fan expectations. It would have been easy to wipe the board with a long line of shocking deaths, but Avengers: Endgame found closure for longtime characters like Captain America in a way that felt earned and satisfying. It’s a love letter to the movies that came before, and even though Marvel movies continued afterward, for many, this was their final chapter.
4
‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ (2018)
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
Whereas Sony Pictures’ live-action Spider-Man universe lost its footing, they wowed audiences with the animated effort, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The film introduced the intelligent but unsure Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), who becomes the new Spider-Man after being bitten by a radioactive spider from another universe. Miles is overwhelmed with how to use his powers, but he receives on-the-job training when he teams up with Spider-people from other universes to stop Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) from destroying existence.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was an achievement in creativity and originality in a space where critics were already quick to say everything possible had already been done. The brilliant melding of different art styles made it impossible to look away, garnering critical praise that culminated in a superhero movie winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse boosted awareness of the fantastic new Spider-Man, Miles Morales; now all we need is a live-action debut for this fan-favorite character.
3
‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Director Christopher Nolan created a tough act to follow when he made a second trip to Gotham City in The Dark Knight. The story picks up after the events of Batman Begins, where the citizens of Gotham have adjusted to their new hero, Batman (Christian Bale), even throwing on some hockey gear to join in on the fun. However, a peaceful future is put into question when the anarchic Joker (Heath Ledger) tries to break the heart of the city by destroying any idols worth upholding.
Anticipation was high about seeing Ledger’s interpretation of the Joker, and he didn’t disappoint with a mesmerizing performance that won the late actor a posthumous Oscar. The Dark Knight seamlessly blends the heightened tropes of comic book heroes with a grounded approach and aesthetic to craft a narrative that is a traditional Batman story while still feeling like a modern crime epic. Batman and the Joker have faced off many times, but never did the stakes feel so personal as when they were eye to eye in a Gotham interrogation room with lives on the line.
2
‘Spider-Man 2’ (2004)
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
When Spider-Man came out in 2002, it helped launch the superhero genre for a new age, and Spider-Man 2 proved the success was not a fluke. The critically praised superhero sequel saw Tobey Maguire return as Peter Parker and his alter ego of Spider-Man. Peter is struggling to balance his personal life and the responsibilities of being a hero, and the problems only mount when he faces a new threat in the mechanically tentacled Doctor Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina).
The first Spider-Man spent a lengthy amount of time setting up the world of Peter Parker, a fact that Spider-Man 2 benefited from by being able to jump immediately into its best story of the trilogy. Wisely adjusting Doctor Octavius from a mad scientist with an ego to a sympathetic villain, Spider-Man 2 gave Peter an antagonist he would fight ferociously against while trying to save him. Spider-Man 2 embraces the over-the-top world of comic books, leaning into the grandiosity of costumed heroes and villains to create a movie that feels like flipping through the pages of the newest issue to hit the shelves.
1
‘Superman: The Movie’ (1978)
Image via Warner Bros.
The world was told they would believe a man could fly, and by the end of Superman: The Movie, they did. Starring Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel, Superman tells the origin story of the hero from his Kryptonian origins to his arrival in the bustling city of Metropolis as reporter Clark Kent. Every great hero needs their villain, and Superman had his in Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), a vain, self-proclaimed criminal genius who lost no sleep after murdering many to amass a fortune.
Director Richard Donner broke new ground with Superman , establishing an approach to mixing fantasy into a grounded, familiar world for something that hadn’t been seen on the big screen before. Superman has aged well as a piece of nostalgia-infused filmmaking , bolstered by an earnest and character-defining performance from Reeve that every actor after will always be compared to. Superhero movies would have eventually been made, but chances are high they would have looked drastically different without Superman as an example of what to do.
