Best superhero movie of all time? (Nominations thread)

[Joshua Randall]

The 1st Raimi Spider-Man is a great movie, and almost got my vote, but John Williams' score for Superman pushed that one over the top.

I adore (good) movie music, and the John Williams bombast is perfect for Superman.

 

[Reynard]

Vibes! Did my post not illustrate that lol?

But more seriously, the other two Holland-Spidey films are, respectively, a super-corporate and kinda dodgy* coming of age story which uses the superhero stuff as a backdrop (it's not a bad movie, to be clear - indeed it's pretty good when it sticks to the fun stuff), and an inept and confusing movie that's not sure what it is, but kind of wanted to a "European Vacation" movie then just gave up on that in favour of a sort of a technothriller that is nominally about Spider-Man.

Whereas No Way Home is absolutely centered on and focused in on what it means to be a superhero, and what it means to do the right thing, even if you don't really want to, even if it costs you emotionally, physically, in your connections to others and so on. It also does a great job of capturing the essence of Spider-Man's (strong) morality, which was largely absent from his previous MCU appearances (he's blandly a "good guy" and not much else in those), and really puts it at the heart of the movie. This is actual superheroism, not mere "nice guy in a bodystocking" stuff.

* = I am very sensitive to moral double-standards if a movie preaches.

That strieks me as a very narrow definition of "superhero story." A lot of superhero comics wouldn't make it by that definition. It is like saying Bladerunner is not sci-fi because it is about identity, not spaceships.

 

[payn]

Right. It strikes me as more of a recipe for uniting the rest of the world against America rather than with America. The constructed aliens really would be the external threat rather than the FO part of FAFO on America's part that Dr. Manhattan might be.

Except America was bombed out too like everybody else, making Doc Man the greatest threat to everyone.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

What a golden age it was back when we believed a global threat to the health and safety of humanity, nations and the economic order could get everyone to work together.

 

[billd91]

Except America was bombed out too like everybody else, making Doc Man the greatest threat to everyone.

Rest of the World: "Oh, so the US is hoist on its own petard for once? Sucks to be them. Let's send them thoughts and prayers."

 

[Zaukrie]

This is a HARD question.....

Which makes me happy! So many great movies to choose from. That's it. I have no idea how I'd answer this.

 

[Greg K]

For me, it depends on the day, but the choice is between

• Across the Spider-verse
• Ant-Man
• Black Panther
• Big Hero 6
• Captain America: Winter Soldier
• Into the Spiderverse
• Iron Man

Honorable mentions: Captain America: First Avenger, Superman: The Movie (1978), The Incredibles

 

[Deset Gled]

One nomination that I think has been neglected: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The original 90s film. A great blend of fun-for-kids stuff, action, and drama. It represents everything I want out of a superhero movie, without resorting to over-the-top manufactured apocalypses or over reliance on special effects.

I'll also second a vote for Raimi's Spider-Man being a solid contender, but I'd need a rewatch to pick between 1 and 2.

Frankly, MCU is over-represented in this discussion. As a whole, phases 1-3 are amazing and worthy of all the accolades they receive. But I can't think of any one movie that stands at the peak of "best" by itself. The movies rely on each other, which also holds back the greatness of any one film as an individual consideration.

 

[Cadence]

Adrian's plan in the movie makes more sense than the one Moore swiped from an episode of The Outer Limits.

In spite of having read Watchmen a billion times, I had missed the Outer limits relationship...

Did Watchmen Steal From The Outer Limits, Or From Jack Kirby?

Did Watchmen Steal From The Outer Limits, Or From Jack Kirby?

www.comicsbeat.com

The article gives a lot of places preceding the Outer Limits too.

"Sometimes I think the people of this distracted planet will never really get together until they find someone in [sic] Mars to get mad against." - British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden at a United Nations Association rally at Albert Hall, 1947.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

That strieks me as a very narrow definition of "superhero story." A lot of superhero comics wouldn't make it by that definition. It is like saying Bladerunner is not sci-fi because it is about identity, not spaceships.

I don't think so - I'd say the opposite, in fact, it's like saying The Expanse is not particularly good sci-fi, because it's primarily concerned with politics and intrigue (most of which is analogous to post-9/11 stuff) and fighting, rather than any kind of actual exploration of ideas. And that'd be slightly unfair on The Expanse, but I don't think deeply unfair. Whereas Bladerunner is about exploring ideas, is asking questions about what makes a human, human and so on, so is to me, much truer SF than The Expanse (likewise, Star Trek asks big questions constantly - and as much as I love DS9, and I think it's the better story and TV show, I would say TNG is "more SF" than DS9).

I don't think merely involving spaceships makes a show really SF in any meaningful sense, beyond the aesthetic. Nor does merely involving people labelled as superheroes really make it a "superhero story" in a real sense. It's also not, not one if that makes sense, but the question asked was "which is the best superhero movie", and I don't think, personally, that can be a movie that is barely interested in superheroes or superheroism beyond the aesthetic. Just my opinion man, but I don't think it's narrow.