It's finally here: More comic book superhero films that every fan should watch! In case you have not read it, last week I came out with an article titled "Superhero Movie Fans Should Watch: Part 1." If you did not get a chance to read it, just check out the link and look it over really quick before coming back to this article. Finished? Great! Here are some more films based on comic book superheroes that every fan of movies, comic books, and superheroes, should check out and watch at least once.
2002's Spider-Man
If I didn’t love superheroes before, Spider-Man sealed my fate as a comic book geek, and I am probably not the only one. The movie was a faithful adaptation of the amazing and spectacular Spider-Man, largely due to director Sam Raimi’s personal appreciation of the character. With Andrew Garfield’s and Tom Holland’s portrayals of Spider-Man, some might not remember how good Tobey Maguire was at making audiences believe in Spider-Man in a world of Supermans and Batmans. It was also a real treat to see Spider-Man battle against his arch-nemesis, the Green Goblin, played by Willem Dafoe, with all kinds of small nods to the comic books themselves. The story is a simple hero’s journey with a superhero origin, but it is really well done and has undoubtedly influenced many of the latest superhero movies.
2005's Batman Begins
Adam West was a campy and bright Batman. Michael Keaton was the spitting image of the caped crusader. I won’t even talk about Val Kilmer and George Clooney. Christian Bale was the Dark Knight Detective with a gruff voice brought to the real world. After the disappointing Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, it seemed uncertain whether or not film audiences would embrace Batman like the millions of comic book fans did. Christopher Nolan proved that Batman could be cool again in 2005’s Batman Begins. The film not only provided the character’s infamous origin but also expanded upon it, showing audiences and fans Bruce Wayne's training and growth into the role of Batman and the protector of Gotham City. I included Batman Begins on this list not only for reimagining the iconic character but for also building a realistic world based on a comic book character. Furthermore, this film led to two more awesome Batman movies, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. Christopher Nolan’s realistic and dark-toned films are likely the inspiration for DC’s current realistic and dark toned films, Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
2008’s Iron Man
Who would have thought that a movie about a B-List superhero would launch an entire franchise that makes millions of dollars every year? Definitely not my brother or me. But as soon as it came out in theaters, both of us were obsessed with Iron Man and looking forward to Marvel’s upcoming projects, unknowingly living in the dawn of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man not only wowed fans and audiences, but also made Robert Downey Jr. the A-List celebrity he is today, and obviously so. With such a perfect representation of the billionaire playboy, Tony Stark, no one will ever be able to match RDJ. Like 2002’s Spider-Man, this movie is a simple origin story, but in a way it set a standard for future Marvel films and superhero movies. Though Iron Man may not be as epic or exciting as today’s Marvel films, it was definitely exciting for its time and deserves credit for being the foundation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
2012’s The Avengers
Fans love crossovers and team-ups, which is why everyone was shaking with anticipation for Marvel’s The Avengers. Fans loved Iron Man, were impressed by Thor, and cheered on Captain America: The First Avenger, and it was all leading up to seeing earth’s mightiest heroes teaming up to battle Loki and defeat an alien invasion. There was so much hype for The Avengers, and rightly so, but what this movie did that a lot of others fail to do is it delivered on the hype. Fans were promised The Avengers and they got the Avengers! Fans were promised epic battles and got epic battles! Fans were hoping to be left feeling amazed and got the Mad Titan THANOS! Ah, that one smile from the purple alien tyrant was just incredible. It is safe to say that The Avengers is a milestone in the history of comic book movies and is held to a level of greatness that all comic book superhero movies that came after have yet to achieve.
Now, there are a lot of movies based off of comic book superheroes that I did not mention, including X-Men: First Class, Batman Returns, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I would love to geek out over all of these other great movies, but I wanted to limit myself to movies based off of comic book superhero movies that are good to watch if you have never seen these kinds of movies. Hopefully this list benefits someone and has made you interested in exploring other films, because that is what happens to everyone who becomes a geek. We get a taste of something good and hunger for something even better, never satisfied.
