My Favorite Comic Book Movies..... So Far

Yep. I am a huge comicbook nerd. And since, admitting that usually doesn't garner much respect out in the general populace, I only expect the best when a project interprets my favorite medium up on the big screen. B'cuz we comicbook fans don't need any more ammunition to makes us seem any more goofy than we already are. We can do that all by ourselves.
ALL by ourselves.
At the time of this post, I had just returned from watching X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
And even though it isn't one of my favorite comicbook films, it did inspire me to make a list of which ones are.
So here are my favorite* comic-book based superhero movies:



14. The Crow
One of those rare times that the I like the film version of the character better than the one in the comicbook.
Because in the movie, the Crow's a Goth who actually has the ability to kick your ass. Which makes the Crow the epitome of an oxymoron. Of course, I would never say that to his face.
I mean, y'know.... if I was character in the movie or somethin'.

"Tell them death is coming for them, tonight. Tell them Eric Draven sends his regards."


13. The Mask
I was a fan of the Mask back when hardly anyone knew anything about the comicbook.
So for me, it was kind of surprising when I heard that a movie about this character was going to be released.
Now, since superhero movies were just starting to finally prove to be able to generate attendance from the general public, I knew that there was no way they were going to be able to translate the dark humor & the violent tone of the comic for the silver screen, so I just assumed that out of necessity, Hollywood was just to completely re-invent the character, and Hollywood being Hollywood, would just completely eff it up.
However, they somehow were able to make this reinvention work for the medium of a live action movie. Not perfectly, mind you, but with the bizarre ingredients that were required for the basis of this weird, reality-altering anti-hero, it came off pretty well & pretty consistent. While the Mask doesn't hold the weight of any of its comicbook colleagues of this genre, it held it's own enough to be succesful at the box office & not spawn the ire of nerds like me who, especially at the time, just wanted to see these kinds of films earn a little more respect.

"It's party time. P-A-R-T-why?... Cuz I gotta!"


12. The Incredible Hulk
Even though I agree with the general consensus that this is the better flick, I'm not surprised that this movie only fared as well at the box office as the Ang Lee's.
The Hulk always seemed to me to be a superheroic Frankenstein's monster (or maybe a more diminutive King Kong?). Therefore, it's theme has been basically the same as we've seen many times before, with no real difference in respect to a unique emotional angle. In both versions, the effort to be able to create a character that the audience could connect to never was successfully established. Or at least, established to a degree that could hold that audience during the inevitable "battle-royale". Personally, I was able to crossover a bit more just because as a comicbook nerd, I already had a nostalgic connection to this character (the Incredible Hulk was one of my favorite comicbooks as a kid). But as everyone knows, a comicbook geek is not very representative of the every-man.

[Speaking Portuguese badly] "Don't make me hungry. You wouldn't like me when I'm hungry." (Pause, then in English) "Wait, that's not right."


11. Spider-Man
As someone who was more of a Marvel-nerd than a DC-nerd, I was very pleased with Marvel's 1st. initial effort at trying to do what Burton did with the Batman: Introduce the webhead as a serious legitimate property for film.
One of the things that usually bugs (pun unintentional) me about comicbook based movies is that the changes made in the character's universe for the sake of the film are usually so off, that it oft-times it strays away too far from the character's unique feel that helped to separate it from that of other superheroes.
Spider-Man's debut featured adaptations in the wallcrawler's world that showed that not only did Sam Raimi & crew understand the character's premise, but also, respected it as well.

"Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: 'With great power, comes great responsibility.' This is my gift. My curse. Who am I? I'm Spider-Man!"


10. Batman
Okay, maybe, the latest incarnations of the Batman have sort of watered down the impact of the Caped Crusader's modern film debut.
And maybe, Jack Nicholson, for the role of the Joker, was a little too old, not to mention, not exactly in the kind of shape that one would expect for a Clown-Prince of Crime.
But in the same manner of Marlon Brando in Superman's 1st big budget blockbuster, Nicholson also brings a certain class & credibility to a movie based off a comicbook. And just as in Clean & Sober, Michael Keaton shows that he can provide the kind of weight that is needed for more "non-humorous" roles. Besides, Tim Burton's adaptation of the Batman still was the first serious effort outside of the comicbook to try & depict ol' Bat's as a true Dark Knight of justice.

"Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight? I always ask that of all my prey. I just like the sound of it."


9. Iron Man
A much more cohesive origin story than Spidey's first go-at-it. The problem with the first film of any superhero flick is to be able to show enough of a detailed origin while still leaving enough room in the film for a transition of the character learning to deal with his/her powers & then some kind climatic confrontation with some sort of antagonist figure. I found this movie to be much better paced than other initial efforts of Marvel properties like the Hulk or Spiderman, with a much more naturalness to the characters, as evidenced by Downey Jr's humor & the comfortable chemistry between he, Gweneth Paltrow & Terence Howard.

"Iron Man? That's kinda catchy. Not technically accurate, since it's a gold titanium alloy, but…"


8. V For Vendetta
A dystopian british nation must be saved by the tyrannical totalitarian government under which it has become subjected to since a recent nuclear war that has left much of the Earth crippled. And who will act as the people's modern/futuristic Robin Hood, to inspire hope within the masses of a spiritually tattered land of The United kingdom? In this case, it will be the mask vigilante known as "V". And so confident is this anarchist avenger of the masses, that he requires naught but swords to combat gunplay, a name no longer than that of a single letter, and a mask based not on of fear, but one based on a visage of a happy but rebellious historical figure.
Alan Moore's storytelling is just so rich in detail, atmosphere & concepts, that it can almost seem impossible to capture even just a sliver of it's essence onto a film adaptation. Therefor, even though this movie quite obviously cannot compare to the comicbook series, just the fact that it was able to retain anything at all from Mr. Moore's work to any kind of degree of consistency to the story
(which, IMO, is the only movie to do so far) is enough to mark it as a success for me.

Who? Who is but the form following the function of what, and what I am is a man in a mask."


7. Batman Begins
While Tim Burton's was the first to finally introduce the down to earth grittiness that revealed Batman as the real badass that we who read his comics knew that he really was, there was still a certain flamboyancy (as is in all of Burton's films) that allowed those filmmakers who followed in this franchise after Burton, to systematically bring the Caped Crusader down almost to the level of Adam West doing the bat-toosie. This reboot came along & completely eliminated the almost unrepairable bat-damage still lingering in the minds of general movie-goers.
I remember sitting thru the first scene of this film & thinking to myself that it was hard to believe that what I was watching was actually a superhero movie. I can even overlook the fact that the Bat-Mobile was now more of a massively unbatlike tank/dune-buggy hybrid than it was an actual sleek yet indestructible @ss-kicking ride that all we average joe mortal-types like to fantasize about owning.

"I'm Batman."


6. Watchmen
Now, even though I'm a comicbook nerd & I own the graphic novel, I haven't read it in years & it was only about twice that I picked up the book,
so I don't remember it clearly.
Which I think was an advantage, because since I can't really recall what would be the parts that didn't make it into the film, for me, the story felt incredibly full & tight. Since the concept of the Watchmen was alot more intelligent than the time-constraints of the film allowed it to be, for me personally, the movie felt alot like the kind that Marvel were putting out when they first started to "grow up" with runs like the Claremont/Byrne era of X-Men or Frank Miller's Daredevil (before the company sold out & reverted drastically to the immature stories of the 90's).
I really enjoyed the way this movie panned out, & from what I remember in the graphic novel, I definitely think that the film's version of the ending fit in perfectly within the context of the media in which it was told.
Really good stuff that I really found myself enjoying alot more than I expected when I first walked in.

"Give me smallest finger on man's hand. I'll produce information. Computer unnecessary."


5. Blade
A very insignificant character in the Marvel universe is transformed on the big-screen into a sword-welding, bad-ass with the fighting skillz that Batman only wishes he possessed. The fight scenes in this movie are a true stand-out for any kind of action movie. Yo, and the story & visuals supercede any comicbook that Blade was ever involved in.
Now this is how all comicbook superhero film adaptations should be approached.

(BTW, even tho as a comicbook movie, I have Blade ranked at #5, as a vampire character, Blade definitely rates as #1.
So, for any vampires out there reading this, I don't care what your position is in the bloodsuckers' heiarchy, Blade would still kick all yo' asses.
Suckas.)

"You better wake up. The world you live in is just a sugar-coated topping. There is another world beneath it - the real world. And if you want to survive it, you better LEARN TO PULL THE TRIGGER!"


4. The Dark Knight

Considering that it seems like everyone & their grandma went out to go see this, do I really need to explain why this one kix so much ass...?
Gotham City is falling apart, Bruce Wayne is becoming more distant, chaotic vigilantism is growing more rampant & on top of it all, there's some crazy make-up wearing Joker out there taking advantage of it all.
Heath Ledger in a final performance that marks a high point in his all too short career.

"You'll hunt me. You'll condemn me. Set the dogs on me. Because that's what needs to happen. Because sometimes...the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded."


3. Superman 2

Okay, after his intro in the first movie, Supes finally gets to take the kid gloves off, kick some real @ss & take names. Three rogue Kryptonians come to Earth to reveal to the Last Son of Krypton that he's not exactly the last son of Krypton. And though this isn't as good as the first one, it's still pretty soild for a sequel, especially back when good sequels were rarer than last sons of Krypton.
Even the infamous out-of-left-field "wtf" moment when Supes pulls off a big plastic-wrap S insignia off his chest during the climatic battle is negated by the strength of the Lois Lane/Clark Kent romance subplot.
Yo, Ka-El, with great power not only comes great responsibility, but also, great sacrifice too.

"I expect better manners from my guests, Zod."


2. Spider-Man 2
In this follow-up to ol' Webhead's mega-successful intro into the silver screen, Peter Parker roughs thru his dilemas with the same down-to-earth fustrations as in the comicbooks, his relationship with Mary Jane convincingly reaches it's next level, & Doc Ock is portrayed much better as a villian than he ever was on the printed age.
The most I could've hoped for this sequel was that it be at least half as good as it's predessor.
Instead, Spidey-2 turned out to become one of my favorite movie adaptations of a comicbook superhero ever.
Which I guess I should've anticipated since before I entered the theatre, my spider-senses didn't go off, all atingling an' sh*t.

"I wanna tell you the truth... here it is: I'm Spider-Man. Weird, huh? Now you know why I can't be with you. If my enemies found out about you... if you got hurt, I could never forgive myself."


1. Superman
No matter what anyone says, this is the original gangsta of superheroes. So it is only fitting that the last son of Krypton's big-budget movie debut should turn out to be the one that all others must be measured by. And while I know that this movie does have it's dated flaws, it was, just like the character whom it portrayed, the one that started on the idea of how epic the concept of a superhero could truly be.

"Uh, no, no thanks. I never drink when I fly."


*( Let me stress that "my favorite" does not mean "the best".
I agree with many that TDK is technically the best superhero movie made so far.
However, as much as I love the movie (and I do), there is very little "super" in it. Right before I saw it, someone mentioned to me that one of the reasons it was so good was because, if the comicbook elements were to be removed, the film would still work. And I agree. The story would still be awesome.
However, as a kid, I was drawn to comicbooks about superheroes because I wanted to read about characters doing super-human things. Picking up trucks, smashing buildings, emitting rays of force from their eyes, crawling up buildings, surfing the spaceways, etc..
Therefore when I first began watching superhero movies, a film that could make me believe that a man could actually fly not only shaped the way I enjoy these kind of movies, but also, it formed the foundation of why going to the theatre & having the experience of my belief being completely suspended by what is playing on the big screen has become one the greatest joys in my life.)