Superheroes Shine in the Best Superhero Movies May 31 '08 (Updated Jul 18 '08)    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Movies Under the Tuscan Sun From $9 Casablanca From $1 The Bottom Line Superhero movies can be very enjoyable and entertaining when they are done well, like the movies on this list. In the last several years, there have been many superhero movies made, some much better than others. I tend to enjoy superhero movies and am willing to give most of them a chance. I decided it was time for me to come up with a list of what I consider the best superhero movies to be. I have decided to limit my list to movies that feature actual superheroes, whether they were based on comic books or not. There have been several very good movies that were based on comic books or graphic novels that did not feature superheroes. Even though I really liked many of those movies that I have seen, they will not be included on this list. This review is based on the superhero movies that I have seen up to when I came up with the list. I will edit this list if I feel any superhero movies that I see later deserve to be on it. These movies aren’t in any particular order. It took me long enough to figure out which superhero movies I considered to be the best without ranking them. Superman: The Movie - The first big, successful superhero movie is still one of the best. Time was taken to introduce Clark/Superman without rushing straight into the action. Superman is one of the most popular superheroes, and this movie was a wonderful introduction to the character for people who haven’t read the comics. It made people care about an alien with amazing powers and believe that a man could fly. The movie was highlighted by Christopher Reeve’s wonderful performance as Clark/Superman. Superman II/Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut - I didn’t know about the huge mess involving Richard Donner being replaced to direct this movie when he already had a lot of it filmed until just a few years ago. Since then, Donner was able to go back and make his version of the story that he originally intended to tell. Both versions tell basically the same story, with the villains from Krypton ending up on earth and Zod trying to take over. Both also further developed the relationship between Clark/Superman and Lois Lane. That aspect really gave the movie it’s heart. I have now seen both versions, and even with the technical issues that Donner’s version has because of how he had to put it together, I prefer his version. The story was just better, especially the way he handled Lois discovering that Clark was Superman. Spider-Man - Peter Parker was just an average, somewhat geeky, teenager when he was bitten by genetically engineered spider. Soon after, Peter developed spider like abilities. He had fun with his new abilities for a while before deciding to use them to help others after the death of his Uncle Ben. This movie broke all kinds of records when it was released and is a wonderfully entertaining movie. Time was taken to show Peter and how he changed after the bite. It was also shown how he had real life problems. He even faced a classic villain from the comic books, though the mask for the Green Goblin was a bit goofy looking. Spider-Man 2 - Peter had new problems to deal with, including problems with his powers and struggling just to pay the rent on his really crappy apartment. He also had a new villain to face in Doctor Octopus, a scientist who was involved in an accident that drastically changed him. Everything about this movie worked so well and I do like it more than the first movie. It successfully built on what had been established in the first movie while also telling a new, entertaining story. I also really liked Spider-Man 3, but it just wasn’t as good to me. There were too many plots and villains crammed into one movie. X-Men - Charles Xavier had a school where he taught young mutants how to control their powers. He believed that mutants could peacefully live along side normal people even though many wanted to hunt them down. Magneto, a former friend of Charles, had other ideas with how to handle the issue. This movie was a wonderful introduction to the world of the X-Men, though I did miss a few characters who weren’t featured. Since there were several characters, the development wasn’t as strong as it could have been, but the movie was still very entertaining. X2: X-Men United - In this sequel, one of the few that is even better than the original, Charles and Magneto find themselves having to work together to stop something that threatens all mutants. More characters were introduced, including Nightcrawler, my favorite new addition. The way he could teleport was just cool. There were also new developments about Wolverine that were shared as well. Hellboy - During World War II, the Nazis turned to black magic to win the war. They brought Rasputin back to life and brought a demon from another dimension to earth. Instead, the young demon, named Hellboy, was raised by Dr. Trevor Bruttenholm, an expert in the paranormal. Years later, he was in charge of the B.P.R.D. and Hellboy was fighting evil along with Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman. Hellboy was an actual demon, so he isn’t exactly a typical superhero, but he definitely acted as a hero, frequently battling all sorts of evil to protect earth. The characters were very interesting and the movie was very entertaining. The Incredibles- This animated movie from Brad Bird and Pixar explored what would happen to superheroes if they were forced into retirement. Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl had been well known superheroes fighting crime until a rash of lawsuits against superheroes forced them into hiding. Several years later, they were trying to live like a normal family with their three children, Violet, Dash, and Jack Jack. Violet and Dash already had powers. Bob had the opportunity to work as a superhero again, and he jumped at the chance, not realizing that his actions would endanger his whole family. Everything about this movie worked and it won a well deserved Oscar for best animated movie. Batman Begins - After getting off to a good start with Batman and even Batman Returns, the series quickly spiraled into an awful mess with Batman & Robin. All that changed with 2005's Batman Begins. Director Christopher Nolan restarted the series, taking time to establish Bruce as a person before he started dressing up as Batman. Bruce is a complicated character, and that was explored in this movie, showing why he decided not only to fight crime, but to dress up like a giant bat to do it. Gotham City was given a more realistic look and it was explained how Bruce developed or got all of the gadgets he used as Batman. Christian Bale worked wonderfully as both Bruce and Batman and the rest of the cast was just as strong. This is what a good superhero movie should be. I’m looking very forward to The Dark Knight, Nolan’s second foray into the world of Batman. Iron Man - Billionaire Tony Stark enjoyed life and the profits from the weapons he designed. All that changed when he suffered a severe injury and was held captive in Afghanistan. Instead of building the weapon his captors demanded, he built an iron suit that allowed him to escape. Once back home, Tony made changes to his life and started working on an improved armored suit that he could use for good. Time was taken to establish the character and give Tony a believable motivation for what he was doing. He’s a regular man who figured out how to fly, and that’s just cool. This is the first movie made by Marvel’s own studio and it was a wonderful effort. By getting the rights to their characters back, Marvel has opened up all sorts of interesting possibilities for future movies. I have also enjoyed many other superhero movies that I haven’t included on this list like Sky High, Mystery Men, and Hulk. I just happen to think the movies in this list are the best of the superhero movies that I have seen. All of these movies were very well done and deserve to be seen at least once. I also want to point out two other movies based in comics or funny pages that I really like but that feature actual superheroes. The Mask of Zorro was a fun, entertaining adventure movie showing with Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. I know it is cheesy as hell, but there is something about Flash Gordon that I can’t resist. It’s just a fun, entertaining movie. **Update** The Dark Knight - This sequel to Batman Begins is one of the rare sequels that is actually better than the first movie. The movie has Batman working with Lt. James Gordon and district attorney Harvey Dent to fight crime in Gotham City. They also had to deal with a new criminal, the Joker, who arrived to terrorize the city. This movie was much darker than the first one, but that worked since the Batman comic books tend to be dark. The plot was strong and the cast was perfect in their respective parts. Heath Ledger was amazing as the Joker, reinventing an iconic character as a truly scary, dangerous, psychopath who enjoys causing destruction. Ledger reached greatness with this part and created one of the best villains ever. This movie deserves all the praise it has been getting. This review is part of elvisdo’s 2008 Funny Pages Write-Off.

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