Superhero marvel stories have been a part of popular culture for over 75 years, but it's not just on the printed page that they're being told. Many kinds of adaptations have been told across various media, but the big screen is arguably the most popular destination besides the comic books themselves. The last four decades or so have seen continued expansion of full-length superhero features, and whether it's traditional narratives or takes that deconstruct the material, they're frequently great tales to watch.
Currently we live in a time when the superhero movie's popularity is at an all time high. Marvel and DC continue to announce new projects for their cinematic universe, and even other companies are contributing to the genre whether it's adapting an existing property or coming up with something original. With so many entries, both live action and animated, there's more than enough to determine which are the greatest of the bunch. With that in mind, Cinema Blend has put together its definitive list of the 30 best superhero movies ever made. Not everyone will necessarily agree on the exact order, but we guarantee that many of your favorites made the cut. And don't worry, folks, with all the positive buzz surrounding Captain America: Civil War, it's guaranteed to get a spot on here later down the line.
1. The Wolverine
Hugh Jackman would be the first to tell you that for most of the X-Men series, they never fully captured the spirit and essence of Wolverine on screen. Before Logan, the closest they arguably came was with James Mangold's The Wolverine. An attempt to adapt Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's "Japan Saga," The Wolverine sends our clawed mutant to Tokyo where he's asked to repay a life debt. In the process, he gets pulled into a war involving the Yakuza, his true love Mariko, and the Silver Samurai. It mostly works (losing its way when the Silver Samurai arrives), and Jackman continues to develop his cherished character right before the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past.
2. Captain America
Captain America: The First Avenger wasn't the first time the Star Spangled hero was featured on the big screen, but it did introduce Steve Rogers in a more faithful fashion to those not familiar with the comics. Jumping back in time to the 1940s, when World War II was raging and Captain America was the United States' top hero, the movie managed to convey a timeless feel reminiscent of director Joe Johnston's previous movie, The Rocketeer. Thanks to Chris Evans' performance, great choreographed action and a unique story, Captain America: The First Avenger provide moviegoers a fun adventure in the MCU decades past.
3. Ant-Man
Just like they did the previous year with Guardians of the Galaxy, 2015's Ant-Man took an obscure character from Marvel's library and turned them into a hit at the box office. The Peyton Reed-directed flick featured Scott Lang as the Tiny Titan working to harness the Pym Particle technology and make up for his criminal past with Hank Pym and Hope van Dyne's help. By adding plenty of humor and incorporating a heist into the story, Ant-Man turned out to be anything but small when it came to enjoyability, and also made for a nice "epilogue" to Phase Two following Avengers: Age of Ultron.
4. Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange marked another first for the MCU: the full introduction of magic after a few years of those particular forces being tiptoed around. This movie hit some of the same beats as Iron Man with its arrogant protagonist (Stephen Strange) learning how he can truly help the world (using the mystic arts), but Doctor Strange still felt extremely different than past Marvel movies. With the inclusion of magic, the exploration of other realities and a truly unique final confrontation that shows you don't always need fists or brute force to defeat an adversary, Doctor Strange is not only a solid origin story, but will always be appreciated for opening up a new corner for the MCU for future movies to delve into.
5. Superman
We believed a man can fly. Most point to Richard Donner's Superman as the movie that started it all, and while it certainly wasn't the first superhero movie, you can trace virtually every hit from the modern era to this landmark feature. Donner understood the importance of the hero's origin story, spending as much time on Krypton and in Kansas as he did in Metropolis because understanding Clark Kent helped us appreciate Superman. Christopher Reeve embodied DC's mightiest hero, Margot Kidder was a delightfully zany Lois, and the movie had supporting roles for Gene Hackman and Marlon Brando! Superman makes this list for John Williams' score, alone
6. Batman
The superhero genre was stuck in a rut in 1989. Warner Bros. drove its Superman franchise into the ground with Superman IV: Quest for Peace, and audiences wanted no part of duds like Supergirl or Howard the Duck. Fortunately, with the gothic Batman, Tim Burton proved a director could put his or her stamp on a classic comic-book character, and reinvent the hero for a new generation. Michael Keaton wiped the memory of Adam West from our collective minds, and Jack Nicholson broke the mold on playing The Joker... at least, until Heath Ledger broke his mold decades later. Prince's music was the icing on this Bat-cake.
7. Deadpool
No
other movie defied odds and expectations quite like 2016's Deadpool.
After one majorly disappointing silver screen debut, and years in
development hell, Ryan Reynolds finally got the chance to don the red
and black suit in earnest to portray the beloved comic book Wade Wilson.
Deadpool is nothing if not vulgar, violent, and a rip-roaring good time
that subverts expectations of a comic book film whilst embracing the
over the top absurdity of a classic 1980s action flick. It's a small
scale, gore-filled revenge thriller that also seems to possess an
astonishing amount of heart and sentimentality. In a genre dominated by
sanitized content and PG-13 ratings, Deadpool turned the movie industry
on its head by proving once and for all the niche characters slapped
with R-ratings can undoubtedly appeal to massive mainstream audiences
and yield absolutely insane box office returns if given the proper
silver screen treatment.
8. Spider-Man
Although there's a significant portion of the population who would refer to Spider-Man 2 as the pinnacle of Sam Raimi's trilogy, the contribution of the original Spider-Man to the genre as a whole cannot be understated. From the film's hyper-stylized aesthetic, to the perfect casting choices in the form of Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, and J.K. Simmons (just to name a few,) Spider-Man was one of the first major superhero films to prove that a faithful adaptation of treasured source material could yield a profit on the silver screen. Without this one movie the genre would look quite different today.
9. Iron Man
We've seen a lot of great superhero casting over the years -- especially in the modern era -- but the argument could be made that the choice of Robert Downey Jr. to play Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man completely changed the comic book movie landscape. Jon Favreau's brilliantly entertaining 2008 blockbuster is truly fueled on the unstoppable wit and charisma of its star, and it's what propelled Iron Man to greatness. Armed with a great character arc and a classic redemption story, the actor made the material sing, and got amazing buzz for a film centered on a lesser-known comic book property. This buzz led to smashing box office success, and eventually paved way for what will go down in history as one of the most successful franchises ever made. It's the film that truly ushered in a new era for the comic book movie world, and continues to stand as one of the best ever made.
10. Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman was one of the best parts of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and over a year later, moviegoers got to see the Amazon princess shine to her fullest in her first solo movie after over seven decades of existence. Turning the clock back to World War I, Diana's origin story saw her coming to man's world for the first time to try to stop the greatest conflict the planet had ever seen. The movie itself is a lot of fun, but more importantly, it's incredibly inspirational. Diana is the epitome of a great superhero, and make no mistake, Wonder Woman was an incredible achievement for how it highlights female empowerment. Female-led superhero movies had been released before, but usually to negative reception. Wonder Woman, on the other hand, has been almost universally loved, and it's because of that that it will maintain a positive position in pop culture for many years.
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