Superhero

“No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again.”

My choices for the 10 best Superhero films

The Avengers
The Mark of Zorro
Thor: Ragnarok
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Batman
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
The Incredibles
X-Men: First Class
Hellboy
Avengers: Age of Ultron

The cinematic superhero genre is a relatively new one, depending on how you define superhero. In the ’30s and ’40s, Robin Hood and Zorro were the superheroes. But in common parlance, superheros wear spandex and capes, fight for truth, justice, and the American way, and more often than not spring from the pages of comic books. If we discount serials, the first superhero film appeared in the ’50s and the field didn’t progress until the 1978 Superman. The late ’90s success of Blade and then the early ’00s greater success of Spider-Man and X-Men kicked the film genre into high gear and by the 2010s, superhero films dominated popular entertainment.

In the comic book universe, two companies rule: DC and Marvel. DC owns the two most iconic superheros, Batman and Superman, and came out swinging with the first, great superhero films in the ’70s and ’80s. But they lost their way, first by drifting into camp, and then becoming pretentious and grim as a reaction to Marvel.

Marvel sold off the film rights to their biggest characters: Spider-Man, The X-Men, and The Fantastic Four before the film genre had really developed. When they decided to produce their own films, they had to go to their second tier heroes as it was all they still owned. So they started with Iron Man, and crushed the competition. The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) has become the most successful film series in history, winning over both the public and critics.

In addition to reviews, I have made quite a few rankings related to superhero films. They are: