The Top Ten Superhero Movies of All Time

A Superhero movie is a sure-fire hit-or-miss concept these days. For every well-done classic, there's always a piss-poor rendition too off set it. The ten I have gathered here are loosely based on opinion, sure, but many of them are definitely the best comic book adaptations ever created. Right off the bat I'll tell you a few that didn't make the cut more or less because they sucked for one reason or another. Firstly, The Hulk from Ang Lee. It had moments that were genuinely entertaining, but all in all the Hulk himself was just all wrong for me. Secondly, Fantastic Four. Yes, I'll concede that the second one was at least better, but I just found others to be superior for this list. Thirdly, no Shadow or Rocketeer. Neither of these two made the list, but definitely just barely for the latter of them. So, now that you know what didn't fit the mold, here are the ten that most certainly did.

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10) GHOST RIDER

For my money, Ghost Rider was a pretty damn cool movie. However, it needs to be said that I'd pretty much watch paint dry if Nicholas Cage were narrating it. Anyway, it had a pretty cool story, really impressive effects, and an appearance by the iconic Sam Elliot. I figure if they were going to do a Ghost Rider movie, it really didn't take too much more than a flaming head and kick-ass chain, and that's precisely what you got with this one.

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9) IRON MAN

This movie hasn't even hit theaters yet and it's almost guaranteed to be something special. There have been previews galore, clips, snippets, and pictures popping up all over the place and not only does it look like Robert Downey Jr. is going to make an amazing Tony Stark, but it also seems that John Favreau has the reigns of this sleigh firmly in hand.

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8) SPAWN

Yes, yes, OK, I'll admit that this was an odd choice considering this wasn't exactly a bank-breaking summer blockbuster nor the McFarlane-esque masterpiece one might expect. However, using John Leguizamo as The Clown was something of pure genius as he added a much-need slice of humor to an otherwise dour performance. The Spawn effects were very nice and if someone ever decides to either remake this or else do another, it is obvious that with the more advanced CGI daily saturating the film industry, the Maelbolgia character could turn out far better.

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7) X-MEN II

The first film certainly set the standard for team-related movies, but the sequel took the ball and ran in a touchdown. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Halle Berry as Storm, Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, Patrick Stewart as Professor Xavier... it was all perfect casting. Though each character was introduced in the series' first installment, it took the sequel to really expand on the background of a few main heavies, especially Logan and the Weapon X program. All in all, X-Men 2 is the gold standard by which all other 'X' films must be tested. Nearly perfect.

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6) THE MASK

Making a movie based on the violent slapstick that is Dark Horse's The Mask was definitely not going to be an easy task. But, fortunately, Jim Carrey was available and in all honestly, who better to fill the big, green face? No, the movie wasn't perfect, and no, the movie wasn't nearly remotely as violent as the comic, but it was fun, it was funny, and it did introduce the world to a far less annoying Cameron Diaz. It had all the cartoonish humor offered in the comic, and it had the almost anti-hero in Stanley Ipkiss show the audience what an Id-riddled maniac he could ultimately become with the artifact. Good movie.

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5) TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

The original comic book written and drawn by Eastman and Laird was far different from the surfer-dude, pizza-chompin', wackiness of the rubber-costume-clad foursome that eventually hit the screen, but that isn't to say that this movie was anything short of awesome. Real martial artists filled the suits, and the voice skills of such favorites as Corey Feldman provided the recognizable audio. It had Splinter, it had Shredder, it had April... hell, it even had an Elias Coteas as the sporting goods-utilizing KC Jones. Tons of fun and an instant classic that holds up quite well even today.

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4) BATMAN BEGINS

After a series of Batman movies from such creative geniuses as Tim Burton and... well, let's not talk about the others, the world of the Dark Knight took a drastic, decidedly more sinister turn. And, I might add, for the better. Christian Bale donned the cape and cowl and did it so well that the newly re-imagined set of movies has demanded a sequel due this summer. It is darker, it is more comic-faithful, and it is just amazing to see such a well-written book become such a well done film. Let's all just collectively hope that our soon-to-be released Part 2 doesn't suffer from the dreaded 'Too Many Villains' curse that befell the original quadrology.

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3) BATMAN

No one in their right mind could have guessed that Michael Keaton, Beetlejuice himself, could ever do any justice to the Batman. We were very wrong. Keaton was brooding, vindictive, and just black enough to do Bruce Wayne proud. Toss in an amazing performance by the incomparable Jack Nicholson as the most perfect Joker to date, and you have just a beautifully done, masterpiece of a movie. Oh, and who could really forget the Prince soundtrack? Yeah, I kinda did, too. Now I am not saying that the sequel, Batman Returns, is to be scoffed at, quite the contrary. Once again helmed by Burton and featuring Keaton, we were introduced to an amazingly sad performance by DiVito as The Penguin, and a teeth-clenchingly sexy offering by Pfeifer as Cat Woman. Also well worth viewing.

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2) SUPERMAN

Look! Up in the sky! It's NOT Brandon Routh. I'm sorry, I don't care what anyone says, that new Superman movie is a big, BIG piece of shit. Nothing compares to the winning combo of Donner and Reeve, and nothing shy of a digitized, animated remake ever will. It was cute, it was exciting, it was everything a comic book adaptation ought to be, and yes, we were all made to believe that a man could fly. The amazing soundtrack by John Williams... are you kidding me? Awesome. Hackman as Luthor was just another in those perfect castings that tend to fill out an otherwise already wonderful film. But, unfortunately, after the sequel, things kind of fell apart when Richard Pryor was brought on for a bit and some dumb-ass Nuclear guy in the fourth one. But, I digress: Superman and Superman II are, were, and will always be the only Man of Steel movies outside of cartoons. I have spoken.

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1) SPIDER MAN 2

Once again, it was difficult for many of us to believe that a horror movie maker could safely helm a superhero movie, and when it was green-lit for Sam Raimi to take on the task of the most beloved Spider Man, I admit I was a bit skeptical as well. But, once again, when I initially bore witness to Tobey Maguire first slinging across a web-line from building to building, I was blown away. The first movie obviously focused on origins and story arcs, and that worked very well. But it was the majesty of the sequel -Spider Man 2- that really drove home the outstanding acrobatics and day-to-day grinds of our hero, Peter Parker. Spider Man 2 is not only a sequel that is heads above the original, but it also the most perfectly done super hero movie of all time. Sadly, it took a third film in the evidently crested franchise to really yank the solid legs out from under it tossing in too many villains (see Batman) into the mix, but for a time, the zenith belonged to the Wall-Crawler. And yet, Spider Man 2 is still as flawless and superior as always.