It's really hard not to love a good superhero movie. Oftentimes, a good superhero movie needs to be of quality from the very first second to the very last. With superhero movies especially, a bad portion of the film can make or break it—Act Three of Spider-Man 3 is a great example, as most note that the first two acts aren't as bad as many used to think.
If there isn't a scene that temporarily takes the audience out of the experience, a good superhero flick can keep people invested the whole time and warp them to a world they wish they could live in (or not, sometimes). This isn't to say that these movies coming up are the only superhero films that are good the whole way through—and they're not being compared or ranked—but these are simply ten that deserve recognition, because of how great they are.
10 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' (2017)
Spider-Man being held in the air with an energy gun in Spider-Man: Homecoming
Despite getting some unfair reviews from people who hated the film for not understanding the character arc within the movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming is an enjoyable movie the whole way through. This Spider-Man flick is non-stop fun, action, comedy, and high school hijinks. Spider-Man: Homecoming follows Peter Parker (Tom Holland) as he grows as a hero and out of the shadow of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.).
When Peter isn't being a lighthearted teenager who wants to be a hero, he's hunting down the menacing Vulture (Michael Keaton), one of the most badass live-action Spider-Man villains of all time. There is always something entertaining happening on screen, and it brings a load of smiles, laughs, and even gets people emotional, in just 2 hours and 13 minutes.
9 'Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker' (2000)
Joker holding up a joker playing card in a dark room in Batman Beyond Return of the Joker.
Anyone who grew up in the late 90s and early 2000s fondly remembers the one and only Batman Beyond. It's such a unique and fun concept for the Batman franchise, which is what drew people to it in the first place. As Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy) grows out of the cape, he hands down the Batman mantle to one young man, Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle). A high school Batman being mentored by the original? Pretty dang cool. Being set in the future, though, meant that they were missing out on one iconic Batman villain for the longest time: the Joker.
That is, until Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker released in 2000. This movie feels like the perfect mix of being an elongated episode of the show and a story that can only be accomplished through making it an event, like a feature-length movie. With the Joker somehow returning, both Bruce and Terry are challenged like never before, and the excitement and thrills don't die until the very last second. The pacing is very well done, both having the faster pace of the show, while actually having the time to slow down a little bit for moments where it matters, thanks to being a movie. One also can't argue with a prime 100% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
8 'The Dark Knight' (2008)
Batman stands in profile over the ruin of Joker's explosives in The Dark Knight.
Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight is known by many as one of the greatest superhero movies ever made. Nolan is a generational director, so, of course, it only makes sense that his take on Batman be received in such a way. The Dark Knight isn't just a typical superhero movie, though. This flick truly takes the time to test the viewer's own moral code and ethics, as the screenplay by Nolan and his brother Jonathan Nolan challenges social ethics, as well as the balance of order and chaos.
It's been said time and time again that, yes, this movie has one of the best villain performances of all time in Heath Ledger's Joker. This, combined with the already beloved performance from Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, kept audiences glued to their seats in 2008. The way that this story challenges people's own views and minds keeps them entranced in the plot for the whole runtime.
7 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (2014)
The Guardians holding the Power Stone together in Guardians of the Galaxy
From the first announcement, it wasn't an unpopular opinion to think that Guardians of the Galaxy was going to flop. No one knew who they were, and not many people seemed to care, either. When the movie came out in 2014, though, people were blown away by how genuinely amazing this lighthearted, but profoundly emotional space opera was. This was all thanks to the one and only James Gunn, who turned these misfits into some of the most popular Marvel heroes of the modern day.
Guardians of the Galaxy was unlike any other superhero film that came before it upon initial release. It was campy, had bright visuals, hilarious comedy, but also featured some incredibly dark and mature plot lines, especially for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These characters abundantly compelled audiences, who found reflection within them. This, topped with the fun and campy tone, makes it pretty dang hard to look away from Guardians of the Galaxy at any point in the movie.
6 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' (2014)
Winter Soldier catching the Captain America shield in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
2014 was clearly a great year for superhero movies, as it also treated audiences to another film that people consider one of the greatest superhero movies ever made: Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This film, directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, takes the superhero genre and melds it perfectly with the political thriller genre, making an incredibly exciting movie.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is constantly twisting and turning, whether it be in the fast-paced action or in its plot. Thrilling is the best way to describe this movie. It's nail-biting, tear-jerking, chill-inducing, and all around an exciting journey from start to finish. Mixing the stakes of a political thriller with the heartbreak of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Bucky Barnes' (Sebastian Stan) story produces a wonderful movie.
5 'Batman: Under the Red Hood' (2010)
Batman: Under the Red Hood is easily one of the best Batman films in his large catalog of movies. This animated flick retells one of the most heart-wrenching Batman stories from the comic books, "Under the Red Hood". People adored this when it came out, and still do, as it has a really nice 100% critic rating and a 92% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The two main protagonists of the movie's voice actors, Bruce Greenwood (Batman) and Jensen Ackles (Red Hood), give performances that absolutely rock audiences' worlds—Ackles especially capturing the trauma and hurt of Jason Todd perfectly. This allows the emotion of the plot to really shine through and keep viewers invested in what the eventual climax of the conflict between the two will be like.
4 'Spider-Man 2' (2004)
With the extended cut of the movie, Spider-Man 2.1, being released in theaters for the first time ever, people are remembering fondly how great Spider-Man 2 is. There's a reason it's been hailed as not only one of the best superhero movies ever, but one of the best sequels ever, too. Sam Raimi directs a film that tells one of the most human superhero stories in cinema.
Doctor Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), Doctor Octopus, is one of the coolest Spider-Man villains to hit screens. Not only because he's powerful and, obviously, cool, but because his backstory is super compelling. He's a good man, plagued by the worst parts of himself, made more prominent by the arms attached to his body. He's also a great parallel to Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), making their hero/villain dynamic even better. Spider-Man 2 also brings in some of the most thrilling superhero action, too. Who could forget the iconic train fight?
3 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' (2023)
Spider-Punk, Miles, Spider-Man India, Spider-Gwen flying in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Another Spider-Man movie to be considered one of the all-time greats when it comes to sequels is none other than Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the follow-up to the wildly successful Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This sequel takes everything that was amazing about the first film and enhances it to the 110th degree, which is good, as not many people were sure this movie could successfully follow up Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
While it's pretty impossible to overtake Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in quality, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse came as close as one can, and, for some, surpassed it—it depends on who you ask. The pacing for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse moves at a breakneck pace in the best way. It's nail-biting and emotional, making it a great successor to one of the best animated movies ever made.
2 'Batman: Mask of the Phantasm' (1993)
Silhouette of Bruce Wayne holding his Batman mask, from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
Pretty much any comic book fan would tell you that Batman: The Animated Series is hailed around the world as one of, if not the best, iterations of Batman ever made. It captures the heart of the character perfectly, and may very well be one of the best representations of him, period. This is a must-watch superhero flick that has yet to be forgotten, even 32 years later.
When Batman is framed for a string of terrible murders, he's forced to face the past in a way he never thought he'd have to, in the form of a new villain named Phantasm (Stacy Keach). It is, without a doubt, the best Batman villain put on screen. Phantasm is an excellent foil to Batman as a hero, which challenges him in a wild new way that other villains had not before.
1 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' (2018)
Spider-Man_ Into the Spider-Verse – 2018
Not only is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse a phenomenal movie, but it was also absolutely groundbreaking for the animated film industry. Directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman crafted a film that took the word "stylized" to a whole new level. So much so that it inspired other animation studios to begin getting more creative with their styles, taking more risks.
Aside from redefining the animated film medium, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a banger from the very first scene to the very last credits rolled. The story of Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is one that many people find themselves relating to, as it is all about finding oneself and growing into the person they're supposed to be, with what feels like the weight of the world on their shoulders. It's a legendary film that is most certainly a modern classic.
