I am a superhero fanatic. Even as far back as the age of five, I had a Batman-themed birthday party. I used to imagine that I was Spider-Man or the Green Goblin when playing with my brother as a kid. Even today as a student in grad school, you can probably catch me doodling superhero logos in my notebook as I take down notes. And coincidentally, I happen to really, really love movies.

For these (clearly professional and high quality) reasons, I believe I am eminently qualified to comment on the greatest pieces of art to emerge from the superhero film genre (one of — if not the most — profitable and popular sectors to ever emerge in cinema).

Well, perhaps I am not "eminently qualified" — there are a select few superhero flicks I have not yet viewed, such as the first two "Thor" movies — but I've seen enough films, old and new, to pick a likely-to-change top five.

Here are the five (probably subjectively) best superhero films of all time, in order:

5. "Superman" (1978)

"Superman", starring Christopher Reeve, was in effect "the real OG" for the modern-day superhero movie. Fans who love their heroes big on combat won't find much to like here, but this movie packs an emotional punch, with one of the most likable lead performances we've ever seen in a hero delivered by Reeve. Margot Kidder also did a fantastic job playing Lois Lane as a strong investigative reporter, even if some of the character tropes in the script didn't age as well. This movie (and its immediate sequel) remain the definitive takes on America's first superhero.

4. "Spider-Man 2" (2004)

Like "Superman", the Sam Raimi-directed "Spider-Man" series is probably directly responsible for the popularity of superhero movies today. I was nine when this movie came out, and (perhaps because I was so young) I had never seen such advance hype for a movie before. The film didn't disappoint, either — Alfred Molina turned into one of the more powerful villains ever as Otto Octavius, a role model for Peter Parker who proved that the people we look up to are often plenty flawed (and also that it could be, you know, dangerous to attach cybernetic enhancements to your brain stem). With plenty of intrigue, great acting from Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Rosemary Harris (her speech in the late stages was incredible), and more, this film is still top-five worthy in the age of Marvel.

3. "Black Panther" (2018)

Lots of superhero movies have tried to be culturally astute before; perhaps none have done this as well as Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther". It is the rare film in which the villain, Michael B. Jordan's Erik Killmonger, is actually right to some degree — and even rarer, a film in which the hero actually adjusts course after realizing the villain's point. With rich depictions of African culture and empowering roles for women instead of just men in the film, the movie breaks barriers while some other superhero films sadly continue to hold them up. And for all this, the film seemed to captivate the world for months on end, establishing itself among those films that will be talked about for years to come.

2. "Logan" (2017)

This movie, only loosely a part of the X-Men continuity, is undoubtedly the finest chapter in the saga. More than almost any other superhero movie ever made, it has real stakes, which allows it to explore questions of mortality that most such films can't. Though it is a film that is impeccably grim, it has charm in the relationship that develops between its three gruff leads; in fact, they form about as odd a trifecta as possible with Logan's aging hero, Xavier's old man, and Laura's already cynical but still idealistic child. You leave the cinema feeling that for once, the heroes in this film have an understanding that has escaped their cinematic counterparts; an understanding, that is, of the cost of their heroism.

1. "The Dark Knight" (2008)

It's been ten years now since Christopher Nolan's sequel to his gritty Batman reboot hit theaters. Though Nolan had success with his first chapter ("Batman Begins"), there was some uncertainty surrounding aspects of the follow-up, specifically surrounding Heath Ledger's performance.

That sure turned out to be much ado about nothing.

Ledger posthumously won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his turn as The Joker, somehow finding a way to take (arguably) the best villain in comic lore to another level. It's often Ledger's work that people talk about when they mention the greatness of this film, and rightfully so, as his Joker is clearly the driving force behind this film. (Credit also has to be given to the very effective screenwriting of his character.)

But though some people say, in hindsight, that Ledger dwarfs the rest of the film, he actually enhances it. Like the final, perfectly fitting piece to a puzzle, The Joker provides the perfect foe to Batman and to the city of Gotham as Nolan portrayed. Rather than leaning into the supernatural, as so many superhero films (understandably) do, Nolan leaned into the realistic so hard that we barely had time to breathe as moviegoers.

This masterful script, paired with equally masterful performances from stars ranging from Maggie Gyllenhaal to Christian Bale, used metaphors to take us places that superhero films have never so successfully gone before or since. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that the entire story serves as an allegory for the perils of interventionism, arguing that sometimes we create the circumstances in which our greatest enemies might rise in our quest to do good.