Summary

• Captain America: Civil War perfectly balances multiple characters, providing each one with a defined role and moments to shine, while still advancing the main characters' story arcs.
• Avengers: Endgame is a stunning achievement in event filmmaking, with real stakes, dramatic deaths, and an impressive final battle.
• Batman Returns offers a gothic joy, highlighting the depth of Gotham and introducing iconic villains who bring a darker tone to the Batman franchise.

Well before the start of the best movies of all time have starred superheroes and supervillains.

Since then, Hollywood has broadened the comic book horizons dramatically, exploring multiverses, crossovers, and event movies of such scale that they cost more than most movies could ever dream of making. But which is best? Will a Marvel movie emerge victorious, or a DC release? Whether you like caped crusaders, mutants, or animated web-slingers, our selection of the best superhero movies of all time caters to all.

10 Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Captain America: Civil War perfectly encapsulates so much of what the Marvel Cinematic Universe does so well when it's on top form. Most obviously, in this case, is just how well it manages to balance so many characters, both old and new. This is a film that introduces Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Ant-Man, giving each one a clearly defined role and moments to shine, without trading off on any of its main characters arcs, including Captain America and Iron Man's falling out, Bucky Barnes' hero turn, and Black Widow's torn allegiances. No one really feels underserved, and that itself is impressive.

Then there's the action, which is working - like Captain America: The Winter Solider before it - at the highest level seen in the MCU. The climactic clash as Bucky and Cap take on Iron Man is as personal and poignant a Marvel fight gets. Before it, the airport battle remains to this day the most joyous, awesome showcase of how to do big superhero action. Displaying a dizzying array of superhero powers, even the kitchen sink gets thrown into the mix as all bets are off: it's pure, unadulterated comic book mayhem; cinema as a sugar-rush.

Underpinning all of this, though, are its thematic throughlines. One of those is the idea of choice, some of which are political, most of which are personal, and which is reflected through all the main characters in some way (whether that's choosing a side, choosing revenge, choosing mercy, or choosing to wear a delightful sweater when you're an android). Alongside that is the idea of friendship and betrayal, which is why it ultimately has to come down to Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, and Tony Stark. The movie brilliantly wrestles with those ideas, making it one of the deeper MCU entries, while also delivering almost non-stop popcorn thrills along the way. - James Hunt, Deputy Features Lead Editor

9 Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Billed as the movie crossover event to end all movie crossover events, Avengers: Endgame is that rare thing: a white-hot typed movie that actually delivers. With the impossible task of taking the model for Captain America: Civil War, and beefing it up to include hundreds of characters rather than tens, what results is a stunning achievement in event film-making.

After the shocking Avengers: Infinity War ending that saw Josh Brolin's Thanos win and wipe out half of the universe, the emotional stakes of the surviving Avengers turning the tide back in their favor were pretty much unprecedented. Endgame's greatest success is in its ability to balance things perfectly - something Thanos would be proud of. It's not only an event horizon of escalation, there's also space for the development of individual character arcs.

There are also real stakes, dramatic, MCU-changing deaths, and a final battle that is both eminently quotable and infinitely impressive as a grand spectacle. The only problem now, is how the MCU goes further with the Simon Gallagher, Managing Editor

8 Batman Returns (1992)

Batman Returns is a walking contradiction: at once one of the greatest Batman movies of all time, and yet also the release that ensured a torrid period for the Dark Knight that culminated in Christopher Nolan's reboot. And while Warner Bros. may have balked at Tim Burton's increasingly dark vision for Michael Keaton's caped crusader, more than 30 years later, it's still a gothic joy.

What Burton understood most about Batman is why Gotham deserves him so much: in a city of freaks, this Bruce Wayne is cut from the same cloth. Bigger, bolder, and yes, darker, than Batman (1989), Batman Returns is beautifully inappropriate, hauntingly poignant, and understands that sometimes even the most famous of villains need a tune-up from their source material.

Luckily, Burton counted on Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, Danny DeVito as Penguin, and the often overlooked Christopher Walken as Max Shreck to hold his cards, and all suggest a depth to Gotham no other Batman movie has managed since. - Simon Gallagher, Managing Editor

7 The Batman (2022)

The Batman managed to put a new spin on the classic DC superhero, starring Robert Pattinson as a newer caped crusader who gets dragged into an investigation of gruesome murders committed by Paul Dano's Riddler. The noir aesthetic of The Batman gives it a unique tone in the pantheon of Batman movies, while writer-director Matt Reeves weaves a compelling murder-mystery story that keeps audiences engaged.

At the same time, Reeves builds up the world of his Batman, introducing a number of villains from the rogues gallery and making Gotham its own character in the movie. The Batman works well as a superhero movie on its own and sets the stage for more stories to be told in this DC univers - Molly Freeman, Lead Superheroes Editor

6 Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (2023)

The major success of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse raised something of an issue for the sequel, so good was the first installment that it left its successor with some huge shoes to fill. However, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse proved that the series could uphold this standard, even while expanding its multiverse further than ever before - including LEGO and live-action scenes that didn't feel out of place despite their massive visual differences.

Ultimately, Across The Spider-Verse's only real problem as a movie is its questionable ending pacing, which is arguably a worthy sacrifice intentionally made in order to ensure the third movie, Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse, is able to kick off explosively with the sequel's setup.

Even taking this complaint into , however, the movie's distinctive and endearing takes on the countless iconic versions of Spider-Man ensure it's one of Marvel's most successful movies, both critically and commercially.- Zoe Miskelly, Superheroes Editor

5 Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the middle chapter in Chris Evans' MCU trilogy, but it showcases the strength of Steve Rogers character's world-building up to that point while telling a story that feels entrenched in the franchise's universe.

Reminiscent of classic spy thrillers, The Winter Soldier sees Steve confronting the dark underbelly of SHIELD, and having to face off against his former best friend, while questioning who exactly he can trust. Genre-riffing comic book movies may be more common-place now, but the idea of a Marvel espionage thriller were wild back then.

Any doubts about the decision to hire Joe and Anthony Russo - best known for You, Me & Dupree - for the sequel, evaporated very quickly as their surprising deftness became clear. With some of the MCU's best fight scenes - particularly the immediately iconic elevator sequence - Captain America: The Winter Soldier proved the that even in a sprawling, interconnected universe, individual movies could still stand on their own and deliver well-told stories about Marvel's characters. - Molly Freeman, Lead Superheroes Editor

4 Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 improves on everything its predecessor got right. No longer bound by telling an origin story, Spider-Man 2 shows Peter Parker at his best and jumps straight into a compelling narrative with an all-time great antagonist. Doctor Octopus is a sympathetic villain done right, and his unique visual design makes for striking fight scenes, which are free from frustrating quick cuts or CGI-obscuring dark backdrops.

Raimi's horror background comes into play as well, and Spider-Man 2 uses delightfully campy scares to establish Doc Ock as a terrifying threat without ruining the movie's family-friendly feel. While Spider-Man 2 gets well-deserved attention for its bombastic fight scenes and high-quality CGI, the whole thing works because of the solid emotional core that forms the foundation for everything else.

Spider-Man 2 does the best job in the trilogy of showcasing the impossible challenge of balancing friendships, family, and responsibilities as a superhero, and Tobey Maguire imbues Peter Parker with a perfect mix of vulnerability and hopefulness that makes Peter's troubles - both personal and as Spider-Man - relatable. The ing cast, including Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco, and Rosemary Harris, all help elevate Spider-Man 2 to its status as one of the best Spider-Man movies of all time. - Quinn Levandoski, Superheroes Editor

3 Logan (2017)

It took eight years and two previous attempts (one solid, one... well, let's make like Wade Wilson and be silent), but Hugh Jackman finally got the solo Wolverine movie he deserved - and that fans had long dreamed of - with 2017's Logan. James Mangold's movie manages to serve up a great story in its own right, while being a fitting sendoff to two of the most iconic comic book character portrayals of all time (yes, both later return) and what ultimately works as a conclusion to the X-Men saga started all the way in 2000.

Mixing the X-Men with classic Westerns and The Last of Us, Logan is not always a fun experience: it's heftier than most comic book movies; grim, emotionally draining, and at times utterly heartbreaking, but that's all part of what makes it so good. This is a superhero movie with real stakes to invest it, and through that it also finds glimmers of hope as Logan discovers there's still something worth fighting for. As if that weren't enough, this is also Wolverine fully unleashed: between him and X-23 (Dafne Keen, who threatens to steal the entire movie), viewers are finally given the viseral, violent, full-on beserker action the character always ought to have had.

Logan is the kind of superhero movie that transcends the genre, in the same way something like The Dark Knight does. There's no need to call it a great comic book movie - it's just a great movie (although that doesn't fully hold true, because if this were just a Western, without comic book trappings, it's possible Jackman would've picked up an Oscar nod). And yet, this also truly is a great comic book movie. The big twist that comes partway through, the use (and loss) of powers, and the use of X-Men comics as a plot device are all big genre swings that come off perfectly, ensuring Wolverine's big screen legacy is secured and then some. - James Hunt, Deputy Features Lead Editor

2 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

It's hard to overstate just how important Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has been since its release, not only for the animated movie industry, but for comic book movie fans. For the former, it was a light-bulb moment that has already paid dividends with other movies, and for many of the latter - it was an invitation into a side of movies too often considered inferior.

Into the Spider-Verse is both a technical marvel and an exceptionally well-told Spider-Man story that laughs in the face of such snobbery. Though it focuses on Miles Morales instead of Peter Parker, Into the Spider-Verse executes a deep exploration of what it means to be a superhero - specifically Spider-Man - while still telling a fun and engaging story for all ages.

Beyond the story, the animation styles of Molly Freeman, Lead Superheroes Editor

1 The Dark Knight (2008)

Over 15 years on from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, the gritty approach to superhero movies has been so drastically overcooked you can almost hear Gordon Ramsay yelling down the halls of Warner Bros. With the MCU reigning supreme, the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction, and Hollywood’s comic book movies now lean more often toward lighter, accessible fare. As such, it’s easy to forget just how groundbreaking The Dark Knight was in 2008. Withstanding the disappointed glare of Christopher Reeve’s Superman from behind, one might tentatively call it the most influential and game-changing superhero movie ever made.

Just calling Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight a “superhero movie” feels reductive - especially after realizing Christian Bale’s Batman is by no measure the story’s main character. Rather, The Dark Knight is Nolan’s grimy, distorted vision of a world in which superheroes exist, and this not-so-difficult middle child sees the director perfect his formula in between a finding-its-feet Batman Begins and a flawed The Dark Knight Rises. If a masterpiece is defined as a piece of art from which nothing needs to be added and nothing can be taken away, a comic book masterpiece The Dark Knight absolutely is.

Bale levels-up both his Batman and Bruce Wayne performances to match the heightened suspense and loftier themes of Nolan and David S. Goyer’s story, while an increased directorial flair gives The Dark Knight an unmistakable urban spirit that redefines Gotham City. The ing cast offers yet another embarrassment of riches, with everyone from Michael Caine to Aaron Eckhart, by way of Maggie Gyllenhaal, raising their respective games. To the surprise of no one, however, Heath Ledger’s Joker provides the chaotic heart and soul of The Dark Knight, charismatically delivering a transcendent performance that resonated far beyond the confines of Hollywood’s superhero subgenre.

In truth, it is Ledger’s Joker that so perfectly encapsulates why The Dark Knight remains an unshakable example of cinematic greatness, despite Marvel and DC’s subsequent explosion all over the mainstream. Plenty of great comic book movies preceded Nolan’s sophomore Batman effort, but The Dark Knight was the first to drag the very concept away from men in capes punching criminals, and toward something altogether more meaningful, more cinematic, and in true Christopher Nolan style, more artistic. - Craig Elvy - Junior Features Lead Editor