Super Hero / Comic Book movies: Rank 'em!

The Avengers just shattered the opening weekend box office record set by Harry Potter only one year ago. I like heroes more than wizards, so I'm cool with this. Superhero movies have been the biggest trend in Hollywood for the last decade. I'm not going to confirm this, but I don't think a year has past that we haven't seen at least one. Fortunately, most have been high-quality summer action flicks.

Considering the trend, and the high number of Superhero movies, and considering that I am human and therefore like lists, I wanted to start a topic where we can all rank our favorites, and provide a short (and probably shallow) statement to support it. So, here is my top 5 list:

Note: It's in reverse in order. #5 is my favorite.

1. Watchmen: I may only love this movie because I love the source material. It's a pretty flawed movie. In many ways, I feel like the effects of the film really betray the mood of the comic. They really overused slow-mo and bones popping out of flesh. However, the movie makes up for it by having a cast that is remarkably true to the comic.
2. V for Vendetta: I love V for Vendetta. It's just great. I think they did a really good job of altering the source material. I won't say whether I prefer this or the comic, but the changes made sense.
3. The Dark Knight: I think most people will disagree with me not putting this at #1. I won't deny that TDK is a fantastic movie. Though I'll acknowledge that it is the better film, it simply didn't have as big an effect on me as it's prequel.
4. Spider-Man 2: Sam Raimi's second take on Spider-Man was just awesome. I particularly love how well the movie portray's the effect Spider-Man has on Peter Parker's life. It's much deeper than just killin' bad dudes.
5. Batman Begins: Nolan's first Batman movie is, in my opinion, his best. It was mature in a way most of us never imagined a superhero film could be. Absolutely my favorite comic book movie

I love Watchmen, I'm glad I didn't read the comic before seeing the movie. That's probably the only superhero movie I love. I have to watch The Avengers once more to properly judge it.

Watchmen is the best and I pretty much agree with the order. In highlight of recent events though, it's probably not a great thing that I agree with you on this.

V for Vendetta and Watchmen are my favorites. I thought Captain America was alright....dialogue was pretty corny and there wasn't enough combat.

Does it have to be based on a comic book? Cause I fucking love The Incredibles.

1. The Dark Knight

2. Watchmen

3. Avengers. At first I hesitated because it was so new, but man I definitely like it a lot more than Iron Man, Captain America, or Spider-man 2.

4. Batman Mask of the Phantasm

5. Toss-up between Batman Returns and Superman II

@Flawed_System said:

V for Vendetta and Watchmen are my favorites. I thought Captain America was alright....dialogue was pretty corny and there wasn't enough combat.

I found the entire CapAm movie to be too corny for me, and didn't understand the appeal when most internet peoples seemed to enjoy it the best out of the recent Marvel movies. I'll probably never figure it out.

@Brendan said:

@Flawed_System said:

V for Vendetta and Watchmen are my favorites. I thought Captain America was alright....dialogue was pretty corny and there wasn't enough combat.

I found the entire CapAm movie to be too corny for me, and didn't understand the appeal when most internet peoples seemed to enjoy it the best out of the recent Marvel movies. I'll probably never figure it out.

Yeah, same.

@Doctorchimp said:

Does it have to be based on a comic book? Cause I fucking love The Incredibles.

1. The Dark Knight

2. Watchmen

3. Avengers. At first I hesitated because it was so new, but man I definitely like it a lot more than Iron Man, Captain America, or Spider-man 2.

4. Batman Mask of the Phantasm

5. Toss-up between Batman Returns and Superman II

Have you seen Batman: Under The Red Hood yet? I just refuse to believe that there is a living, breathing soul out there that has seen both that and Mask of the Phantasm and still chooses Phantasm as a better film.

1. The Dark Knight
2. The Watchmen
3. 300

The rest are in no particular order:

Kick-Ass

Spider-Man 2

The Avengers

X-Men: The First Class

The Dark Knight

The Incredibles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Kick-Ass

Iron Man

@NlGHTCRAWLER: I've seen both. That film is cool. I love all of the Robin flashback fight stuff. Beautifully animated.

Weird list I guess. I'm a pretty massive Batman fan but I don't care a whole lot for TDK. I really like Begins, terrible shaky cam and all, but I much, much prefer the Burton movies especially Returns.

Batman Returns - So much fun, such great villains and I absolutely adore the Penguin army.

Hellboy - I fell in love with Mike Mignolas art years ago and thought the first film got everything about that universe spot on. Clockwork nazis, huge tentacles and Rasputin with an electric glove. The second film is gorgeous and has its moments, but there are far too many offputting things about it.

Spiderman 2 -Train sequence, Sam Raimi having fun with the scene with the surgeons getting sliced up.

The Avengers - Perfect superhero movie, just perfect.

The Crow - Yeah it's totally of its time, goth soundtrack and all. One of the most visually pleasing things to my eyes. I have a ridiculous amound of love for that movie... I try to forget the sequels exist.

Others I like a ton, Captain America, The Rocketeer, Blade 1&2, Watchmen,... I even really, really like Superman Returns.

Ah! How could I forget Captain America?! I thought that one was pretty good. Perhaps it's because I had low expectations of Evans and the movie.

My list:

1- The Watchmen

2- Captain America

3- ...?

I'll probably change this list a whole bunch, since the new Spiderman and the new Batman movies are not even out yet.

In reverse order (#1 is my favorite):

5.The Dark Knight: I really did not give two shits about Batman Begins and I don't really understand the hype surrounding the third one. The Dark Knight however, was a fantastic film that, in my opinion, was completely carried by Heath Ledger's Joker. That was my favorite portrayal of the character yet. It really is a shame he died, because with him died my interest in Dark Knight Rises.

4.Wanted: While it did diverge a bit from the comics it was still an enjoyable film with with bullets that curve and violence galore. I would love to see a sequel. Also the game is pretty damn awesome too.

3.Kick-Ass: This was a fun, goofy movie that is super entertaining and ridiculous. Sometimes that is really all a movie needs to be.

2.All of the Marvel Studios Films since Iron Man: Yes, I realize this isn't really fair but I can't decide which I like best and I didn't want these films to make up my entire list. I love them all, and I wholeheartedly believe that the film universe that Disney/Marvel has set up is better then the current Marvel comics universe.

1.The Avengers: I know, this just came out, but I am a huge Marvel fanboy and this movie is just a dream come true. The dialogue, the action, the pace, everything was spot on in my opinion. I dare say these Marvel films rival the greatness of the Original Trilogy itself. Seriously, you guys should watch it.

I know I will get yelled at... but... Watchmen movie I believed was better than the comic book... Hell, the ending in the movie is WAY better IMO than the comic book.

However... The comic book is still awesome.

@GunstarRed said:

@NlGHTCRAWLER: I've seen both. That film is cool. I love all of the Robin flashback fight stuff. Beautifully animated.

Weird list I guess. I'm a pretty massive Batman fan but I don't care a whole lot for TDK. I really like Begins, terrible shaky cam and all, but I much, much prefer the Burton movies especially Returns.

Batman Returns - So much fun, such great villains and I absolutely adore the Penguin army.

Hellboy - I fell in love with Mike Mignolas art years ago and thought the first film got everything about that universe spot on. Clockwork nazis, huge tentacles and Rasputin with an electric glove. The second film is gorgeous and has its moments, but there are far too many offputting things about it.

Spiderman 2 -Train sequence, Sam Raimi having fun with the scene with the surgeons getting sliced up.

The Avengers - Perfect superhero movie, just perfect.

The Crow - Yeah it's totally of its time, goth soundtrack and all. One of the most visually pleasing things to my eyes. I have a ridiculous amound of love for that movie... I try to forget the sequels exist.

Others I like a ton, Captain America, The Rocketeer, Blade 1&2, Watchmen,... I even really, really like Superman Returns.

Ah dude you sound like carbon based copy of me almost! Burton's Batman Returns is my favorite bat-film to date.. It use to scare the hell out of me as a kid fro some reason. The clock Nazi made of sand was a great character. I loved the Spider-Man 2 hospital sequence to because for some reason I felt really bad for the lady doctor who Oc killed. The Crow is the 90's version of TDK. The dude died after taking on such an epic role and both played some pretty dark characters. Everything else was on point except The Avengers. I thought it was better than I had expected, but I can't believe the amount of comedy they shoved into that film.

@NlGHTCRAWLER: I guess being a Joss Whedon fan helps with the constant one liners in The Avengers. I was surprised how funny the film was, but I could see how it could be a little offputting to some.

I dunno if I can rank em, but my top 5 are:

-Hellboy: Nothing to hate, except maybe all the tentacles. Even my mom likes this movie.

-X2: X-Men United: Everything an X-Men story should be, and what so few of them are.

-Batman Begins: It kind of falls apart in the back third/half, but for what is in my opinion the first good Batman movie - shark repellent is in a class by itself - it does ok, and it's probably the best origin story that's been done so far.

-The Dark Knight: Yes, it's been hyped to hell, and it doesn't hold up quite as well on repeat viewings, but that first time you see it, you just feel like you have no idea what the Joker's going to do, and it's scary. Not many normal films can reach that level of pure dread, let alone comic book ones. Also, that thing with the truck was frickin awesome.

-Men in Black. Which I actually just found out is based on some comic books, so I'm glad I can put it here.

Runners up are: Rocketeer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (both of which are getting in on pure nostalgia), Road to Perdition, aaand.... 30 Days of Night. I guess.

@MarkWahlberg said:

I dunno if I can rank em, but my top 5 are:

-Hellboy: Nothing to hate, except maybe all the tentacles. Even my mom likes this movie.

-X2: X-Men United: Everything an X-Men story should be, and what so few of them are.

-Batman Begins: It kind of falls apart in the back third/half, but for what is in my opinion the first good Batman movie - shark repellent is in a class by itself - it does ok, and it's probably the best origin story that's been done so far.

-The Dark Knight: Yes, it's been hyped to hell, and it doesn't hold up quite as well on repeat viewings, but that first time you see it, you just feel like you have no idea what the Joker's going to do, and it's scary. Not many normal films can reach that level of pure dread, let alone comic book ones. Also, that thing with the truck was frickin awesome.

-Men in Black. Which I actually just found out is based on some comic books, so I'm glad I can put it here.

Runners up are: Rocketeer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (both of which are getting in on pure nostalgia), Road to Perdition, aaand.... 30 Days of Night. I guess.

Arg. I almost forgot that 30 Days Of Night was originally a comic. I actually thought the film was BETTER than the graphic novel.

1. Watchmen 2. The Dark Knight. I don't like any others after that.

1. Batman: The Mask Of Phantasm

2. Batman Returns

3. Batman Begins

4. Iron Man

5. Thor (surprising I wasn't expecting to like it much)

6. Kick-Ass

7. Dark Man

I can't rank them because that is too hard, but here is my top 5.

• Spider-Man 2
• Dark Knight
• Thor
• Captain America
• Avengers

Batman Begins, Watchmen, and the newer Incredible Hulk get honorable mentions as they barely don't make the cut here.

Just Superheroes? Or comic book adaptations in general? List is in reverse, the best being on the bottom.

1. Daredevil
2. Watchmen
3. Superman The Movie
4. Superman II
5. Incredible Hulk
6. Ang Lee's Hulk
7. Punisher: Warzone
8. Thor
9. Captain America
10. Ironman
11. The Dark Knight
12. The Crow
13. Blade
14. Avengers

1. Avengers - Perfect film, almost. Full of fan-service without being pandering. Did not like their interpretation of Deputy Director Maria Hill.
2. X-Men: First Class - So much fucking pathos oh my god. It's about character first. The super-hero stuff is just a nice bonus.
3. Dark Knight - The Joker. He is dead now uuuuuuuuuuu...
4. Iron Man - Almost as much the actor as it is the film, still was an amazing step forward for comic-book-movies.
5. Kick-Ass - Creative liberties aside (not sure how I feel about Big Daddy not turning out to be a total weirdo loser), full of amazing style.
6. Watchmen - Really torn on this one. I understand removing the super squid from the ending. What the fuck was with that extra prison fight scene?
7. Sin City - So much great character acting and visual flair.
8. V for Vendetta - The dialogue...!
9. Iron Man 2 - Gotta love Robert Downey Jr.
10. Spider-Man 2 - A lot of depth all around in this film and some amazing CG at the time. Molina kicked the shit out of the Doc Ock role.
11. Thor - As many misgivings as I had about this film at first, I was amazed at how nothing felt out of place. Also the writing for Loki was brilliant.
12. Batman Begins - Batman! I'm just a bit sad because it feels like they squandered Ra's al Ghul.
13. Captain America - Decidedly not as hokey as it could have been. Gotta love Cap with a gun.
14. X-2 - Although this is where it really started becoming Wolverine (and the X-Men), it was still a great film with a powerful message.
15. Spider-Man - Bio-organic webbing...? Still, super hero movies really started flexing their muscle here. It was a solid film.
16. Incredible Hulk - A good movie, but I personally believe that Hulk just isn't cut-out to be the main character (at least not rage Hulk).
17. X-Men - This is where it started but, unfortunately, it does not hold up as well.
18. X-Men 3: The Last Stand - Should have been called X-Men 3: Wolverine. Kelsey Grammer as Beast was genius though.
19. Spider-Man 3 - A bit off the rails. It was still a fun romp but as a film, meh.
20. Daredevil - I <3 Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner but this movie was a bit lost.
21. Ghost Rider - I can't believe I actually watched this movie.
22. X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Fuck.

1. The Crow

2. Kick -Ass

3. Iron Man

4. Sin City

5. 300

I don't generally enjoy superhero movies, even though I have watched many of them..counter intuitive, I know.

1. V for Vendetta

2. Nolan Batman movies

1) Dark knight

2) Batman begins

3) Scott piligrim

4) Watchmen

5) X-men first class

edit am I the only one who loved Scott Piligrim?

Superman 1-3 and Returns

Daredevil

@gamefreak9 said:

1) Dark knight

2) Batman begins

3) Scott piligrim

4) Watchmen

5) X-men first class

edit am I the only one who loved Scott Piligrim?

I think the Scott Pilgrim movie was a lot better than the comic. Also, everyone saying they actively liked the Watchmen film, y'all are crazy. Too many stupid changes to the comic ruined that movie for me.

@gamefreak9 said:

5) X-men first class

Damn, I forgot about this. I really liked this movie as well.

I've got it pretty simply set.

The Avengers is the best comic book movie.

The Dark Knight is the best movie with comic book characters.

5. Blade

4. X-Men 2

3. Iron Man

2. Unbreakable

1. Dark Knight