The Best Superhero Movies Ever Made
Superhero movies may seem like a current trend, but the truth is, superheroes on film have been around since the beginning of celluloid. Most of the best superhero movies come from the comic giants like DC Movies or Marvel Films. Top heroes like Batman, Spiderman, Superman, and Wolverine are all favorite superhero movie characters who have made it from the pages of comics to the big screen time and time again.
Superheroes began in classic American comic books in the 1930s, though their predecessors date back to earlier crime fighters and even mythological superhuman characters, like Zeus and Thor. In the Golden Age of comic books, superheroes frequented the pages of DC Comics, including Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern. In the 1960s, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and Iron Man showed up in the pages of Marvel Comics. More modern superhero stories like Kick-Ass and Watchmen still delight audiences.
Good superhero movie serials once played before big features at movie houses. Today, Hollywood turns out giant summer blockbusters that routinely break records and bring in big business for studio execs, costumers, and special effects crews alike. Everyone has a favorite superhero film, and you can add yours to the rankings by voting up an existing item or creating your own full re-rank of your favorite super hero movies.
- Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Christopher Nolan
With the help of allies Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman (Christian Bale) has been able to keep a tight lid on crime in Gotham City. But when a vile young ...more - Robert Downey, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
- Released: 2018
- Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers unite to battle their most powerful enemy yet -- the evil Thanos. On a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the ...more - Robert Downey, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo
- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Joss Whedon
When Thor's evil brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), gains access to the unlimited power of the energy cube called the Tesseract, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), director of S.H.I.E.L.D., initiates a ...more - Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: Taika Waititi
Imprisoned on the other side of the universe, the mighty Thor finds himself in a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against the Hulk, his former ally and fellow Avenger. Thor's quest for ...more - Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista
- Released: 2014
- Directed by: James Gunn
Brash space adventurer Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) finds himself the quarry of relentless bounty hunters after he steals an orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain. To evade Ronan, Quill is forced ...more - Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson
- Released: 2014
- Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
After the cataclysmic events in New York with his fellow Avengers, Steve Rogers, aka Captain America (Chris Evans), lives in the nation's capital as he tries to adjust to modern times. An attack on a ...more - Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: James Mangold
In the near future, a weary Logan (Hugh Jackman) cares for an ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart) at a remote outpost on the Mexican border. His plan to hide from the outside world gets upended when ...more - Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Scarlett Johansson
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability when the actions of the Avengers lead to collateral damage. The new status quo deeply divides members of the team. Captain America ...more - Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Tim Miller
Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is a former Special Forces operative who now works as a mercenary. His world comes crashing down when evil scientist Ajax (Ed Skrein) tortures, disfigures and transforms ...more - Robert Downey, Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Jon Favreau
A billionaire industrialist and genius inventor, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), is conducting weapons tests overseas, but terrorists kidnap him to force him to build a devastating weapon. Instead, ...more - Robert Downey, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Adrift in space with no food or water, Tony Stark sends a message to Pepper Potts as his oxygen supply starts to dwindle. Meanwhile, the remaining Avengers -- Thor, Black Widow, Captain America and ...more - Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson
- Released: 2005
- Directed by: Christopher Nolan
A young Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels to the Far East, where he's trained in the martial arts by Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), a member of the mysterious League of Shadows. When Ducard reveals ...more - Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld
- Released: 2018
- Directed by: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Bitten by a radioactive spider in the subway, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales suddenly develops mysterious powers that transform him into the one and only Spider-Man. When he meets Peter Parker, he ...more - Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Dr. Stephen Strange's (Benedict Cumberbatch) life changes after a car accident robs him of the use of his hands. When traditional medicine fails him, he looks for healing, and hope, in a mysterious ...more - Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch
- Released: 2021
- Directed by: Jon Watts
With Spider-Man's identity now revealed, our friendly neighborhood web-slinger is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life as Peter Parker from the high stakes of being a superhero. ...more - Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: Patty Jenkins
Before she was Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, Diana meets an American pilot (Chris ...more - Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy
- Released: 2012
- Directed by: Christopher Nolan
It has been eight years since Batman (Christian Bale), in collusion with Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman), vanished into the night. Assuming responsibility for the death of Harvey Dent, Batman ...more - Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr.
- Released: July 7, 2017
- Directed by: Jon Watts
Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, young Peter Parker returns home to live with his Aunt May. Under the watchful eye of mentor Tony Stark, Parker starts to embrace his newfound identity as ...more - Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Brad Bird
In this lauded Pixar animated film, married superheroes Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) and Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) are forced to assume mundane lives as Bob and Helen Parr after all super-powered ...more - Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
- Released: 2018
- Directed by: Ryan Coogler
After the death of his father, T'Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T'Challa's mettle as king -- and as ...more - Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: James Gunn
Peter Quill and his fellow Guardians are hired by a powerful alien race, the Sovereign, to protect their precious batteries from invaders. When it is discovered that Rocket has stolen the items they ...more - Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly
- Released: 2015
- Directed by: Peyton Reed
Forced out of his own company by former protégé Darren Cross, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) recruits the talents of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), a master thief just released from prison. Lang becomes ...more - Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender
- Released: 2014
- Directed by: Bryan Singer
Convinced that mutants pose a threat to humanity, Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) develops the Sentinels, enormous robotic weapons that can detect a mutant gene and zero in on that person. In the ...more - Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Jon Watts
Peter Parker's relaxing European vacation takes an unexpected turn when Nick Fury shows up in his hotel room to recruit him for a mission. The world is in danger as four massive elemental creatures ...more - Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Sam Raimi
"Spider-Man" centers on student Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) who, after being bitten by a genetically-altered spider, gains superhuman strength and the spider-like ability to cling to any surface. He ...more