The following is a ranking of, what I consider to be, the best comic book movies ever made. There are many great superhero films and as a result this list was hard to compile.
I rate these movies on 3 criteria:
1) Faithfulness: Does the film boil the source material or character(s) down to its essence, hit the major points of the character or at least give a decent idea to the viewer of what the mythos is all about?
2) Entertainment Value: Is the film entertaining? Does it leave the viewer with a sense of wonder, amusement or enjoyment?
3) Story: Does the film tell a compelling story? Does the story fit the character?
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10) Hellboy (2004)
Although director Guillermo Del Toro took some liberties with the movie version of Hellboy, this film tells a compelling story. The film is well paced and gives a succinct origin for the hero, hitting many of the major beats of the first Hellboy story, Seed of Destruction. For many people, myself included, this was what got them into the Hellboy comics.
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1) Faithfulness: Does the film boil the source material or character(s) down to its essence, hit the major points of the character or at least give a decent idea to the viewer of what the mythos is all about?
2) Entertainment Value: Is the film entertaining? Does it leave the viewer with a sense of wonder, amusement or enjoyment?
3) Story: Does the film tell a compelling story? Does the story fit the character?
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10) Hellboy (2004)
Although director Guillermo Del Toro took some liberties with the movie version of Hellboy, this film tells a compelling story. The film is well paced and gives a succinct origin for the hero, hitting many of the major beats of the first Hellboy story, Seed of Destruction. For many people, myself included, this was what got them into the Hellboy comics.
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9) Road To Perdition (2002)
Although not a superhero movie, this film is based on one of the greatest graphic novels ever written. Famed crime fiction writer, Max Allan Collins wrote a fast paced, suspenseful tale that was turned into one of the greatest modern noir films. Tom Hanks was brilliantly cast as the lead, Michael Sullivan. This should be held up as an example that great comic book movies don’t have to feature long underwear characters.
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8) Batman Begins (2005)
7) Spider-man 2 (2004)
This movie is the most impressive statement about Spider-man ever put to screen. It boils everything about the classic Stan Lee/Steve Ditko creation down to its essence and features, arguably, the best villain in Spider-man’s rogues gallery, Doctor Octopus. It’s a movie with great action, a fun story, and is probably as close as classic Spidey will ever come to being straight off the page.
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6) The Avengers (2012)
2) Batman (1989)
This film is more style over substance and doesn’t really feature much of a plot, but its importance in the pantheon of superhero movies cannot be denied. I rank this so highly as a superhero movie almost purely out of childhood nostalgia. It takes liberties with the mythos and is very indicative of the time it was created in. That being said, every time I watch it, I am impressed and awed by the set pieces and the mood. The film is such an entertaining spectacle, and gives me such a feeling of joy, that it will forever be one of my favorites. It’s also the purest expression, in live action anyway, of the Batman from the 70’s and 80’s, my favorite eras in the bat books. For more on this movie, go here.
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While this is probably the best Batman movie ever made on a filmic level, it forsakes much of the fantasy of a superhero in favor of grounded realism. The film is a master class in dramatic storytelling, taking its main cue from the story, Batman Year One. It even manages to tell a great origin story, playing on the fears of a post-9/11 world. However, it misses the escapism that a great superhero story can provide. This is a great Batman movie. The rest of the Dark Knight trilogy, while well-made films, are not good adaptations and explicate too much.
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7) Spider-man 2 (2004)
This movie is the most impressive statement about Spider-man ever put to screen. It boils everything about the classic Stan Lee/Steve Ditko creation down to its essence and features, arguably, the best villain in Spider-man’s rogues gallery, Doctor Octopus. It’s a movie with great action, a fun story, and is probably as close as classic Spidey will ever come to being straight off the page.
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6) The Avengers (2012)
This film is probably the best superhero team movie ever made. It is the blueprint for how to film a team of superheroes. It builds off of many of the solo hero movies that gave birth to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and manages to be mostly faithful to the origin of the team. Impressive visual effects and a credible villain make this film an entertaining spectacle.
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5) Wonder Woman (2017)
Before seeing this I had not been very impressed with DC’s attempt at a cinematic universe for their heroes. Man of Steel and Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice were not that great. Wonder Woman changed my mind. It is one of the best superhero films to ever come out of DC and one of the best superhero movies of the last few years. Gal Gadot is impressive in her role as the Amazon Princess but the story is what really blew me away. There is faithfulness to the origin and it works well as a period film.
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4) The Rocketeer (1991)
The Rocketeer is the perfect example of a pulpy action adventure film. It tells an engaging story, features plenty of action, has heart and is one of the most faithful adaptations of a graphic novel ever put to screen. Billy Campbell is perfectly cast as The Rocketeer and Timothy Dalton expertly plays the villainous Neville Sinclair. Jennifer Connelly isn’t too bad either. This is one of the greatest adventure films ever made.
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5) Wonder Woman (2017)
Before seeing this I had not been very impressed with DC’s attempt at a cinematic universe for their heroes. Man of Steel and Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice were not that great. Wonder Woman changed my mind. It is one of the best superhero films to ever come out of DC and one of the best superhero movies of the last few years. Gal Gadot is impressive in her role as the Amazon Princess but the story is what really blew me away. There is faithfulness to the origin and it works well as a period film.
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4) The Rocketeer (1991)
The Rocketeer is the perfect example of a pulpy action adventure film. It tells an engaging story, features plenty of action, has heart and is one of the most faithful adaptations of a graphic novel ever put to screen. Billy Campbell is perfectly cast as The Rocketeer and Timothy Dalton expertly plays the villainous Neville Sinclair. Jennifer Connelly isn’t too bad either. This is one of the greatest adventure films ever made.
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3) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles nails the tone of its source material better than any superhero movie ever made. It perfectly captures the gritty, fun and absurd flavor of the original comic book. It adds a few details from the wildly popular cartoon show of the late 80’s and melds everything that was ever good about the TMNT into a masterpiece. Its compelling story is constructed out of bits and pieces of the first dozen issues of the original comic series. It’s probably the greatest TMNT movie that could ever be made.
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles nails the tone of its source material better than any superhero movie ever made. It perfectly captures the gritty, fun and absurd flavor of the original comic book. It adds a few details from the wildly popular cartoon show of the late 80’s and melds everything that was ever good about the TMNT into a masterpiece. Its compelling story is constructed out of bits and pieces of the first dozen issues of the original comic series. It’s probably the greatest TMNT movie that could ever be made.
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2) Batman (1989)
This film is more style over substance and doesn’t really feature much of a plot, but its importance in the pantheon of superhero movies cannot be denied. I rank this so highly as a superhero movie almost purely out of childhood nostalgia. It takes liberties with the mythos and is very indicative of the time it was created in. That being said, every time I watch it, I am impressed and awed by the set pieces and the mood. The film is such an entertaining spectacle, and gives me such a feeling of joy, that it will forever be one of my favorites. It’s also the purest expression, in live action anyway, of the Batman from the 70’s and 80’s, my favorite eras in the bat books. For more on this movie, go here.
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1) Superman: The Movie (1978)
In 1978, when Superman was released, director Richard Donner delivered a blueprint for all future superhero movies to follow. This is the gold standard for all comic book films. Christopher Reeve was perfectly cast as Superman. The story was an epic three-act fantasy that also served as a compelling origin. The effects were like nothing ever seen at the time and are especially impressive because they were all practical effects. It perfectly captures the essence of Superman’s character and is an affectionate tribute to one of pop-culture’s most important icons.
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HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
The Dark Knight (2008)
X2: X-men United (2003)
Black Panther (2018)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
The Dark Knight (2008)
X2: X-men United (2003)
Black Panther (2018)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
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