Entertainment
The 8 Most Fun Superhero Movies of All Time, Ranked
One of the main reasons that people go out to the movie theaters to see superhero movies is because they want to have a boat load of fun. Superheroes movies, inherently—most of the time—are fun! Wild action sequences, fun humor, popping visuals, and more, keep people coming out and enjoying these films—a big reason that these projects continue to be as popular as they are.
Whether they’re from Marvel, DC Comics, or a company not part of the big duo, superhero projects have always had audiences leaving the theaters with smiles on their faces in some way, shape, or form. This isn’t to say that every superhero movie needs to be fun, per se, but some of the best ones are, and these projects more than prove that.
8
‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)
The Avengers franchise is one that is filled with gigantic crossover events—completely made up of them, in fact—and that’s a huge part of what makes them so much fun. There are cameos from characters that people love, great character introductions, and action sequences that are genuinely well-made spectacle. None of the other films in the franchise—no, not even Avengers: Endgame—do these things like the third entry, Avengers: Infinity War, does.
The first part of the two-part finale of the legendary Infinity Saga is one that is commonly considered by most to be the best movie in The Avengers franchise. From minute one to the final second, Avengers: Infinity War has abundantly epic moments. Characters are getting sick introductions, gigantic battles are seeping spectacle and excitement, and the performances across the board are great. Despite this very much being Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) movie, every single Avenger included gets a moment in the sun that gives most of them an arc of some sort. This is some masterful storytelling and balancing on the directors, Anthony Russo and Joe Russo‘s, parts.
7
‘Kick-Ass’ (2010)
One of the most popular non-Marvel or DC Comics superhero movies of all time comes in the form of not some high-budget epic, but the smaller Matthew Vaughn movie, Kick-Ass. With a budget of only $30 million, this project ends up being one that is incredibly enjoyable. It has excellent humor—truly one of the funnier superhero movies ever made—and the performances from the entire cast help bring it to life.
Kick-Ass has a good balance, though. While it may mainly be a comedic flick, it balances heart, emotion, and drama, blending it into the lightheartedness borderline perfectly. Director Matthew Vaughn absolutely knew what he was doing when he brought this movie to the table, clearly aiming to give people the kind of experience they could walk out of theaters of with a huge smile on their faces—continuing to deliver said smiles to people to this day.
6
‘The Suicide Squad’ (2021)
If his entire filmography is any proof, James Gunn knows how to make a fun movie. After a bit of a scuffle with Marvel Studios and Disney for a bit there, Gunn got the opportunity to hop over to DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment for a little bit to bring a new product to life. Given the choice, he actually chose to do none other than a Suicide Squad sequel/soft reboot. While many would initially consider this a bad idea, it actually ended up working out very well for everyone, as it was executed excellently.
When The Suicide Squad was released in 2021, Gunn proved that this franchise could be saved, and was worth giving another shot. It’s clear that if there’s anything that the director is great at, its taking characters and franchises that are underrated—like Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy—and showing the world that they’re actually amazing. This movie has great humor, pretty visuals—see: Harley Quinn’s (Margot Robbie) flowery action scene, and a very solid cast. Many consider this to be DC Comics’ Guardians of the Galaxy for the very best reasons. It also has one of the best superhero movie openings of all time, killing off such a plethora of characters in multiple ridiculous ways.
5
‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ (2023)
After the massive success of the first movie, fans everywhere—all across the world—were waiting in both excitement and anxiousness for what was going to come next. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse had so much riding on it to be considered a success… and it did, in fact, succeed! This sequel may very well be one of the best superhero sequels of all time, and for very good reasons.
Everything that made the previous movie so great is present in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, featuring an all-new villain, all-new—and way more—Spider-People, and excellent attention to detail, this project is legendary. The visuals are bright, stunning, visceral, and truly beautiful. When it comes to Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, this sequel is going to be hard to beat.
4
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (2014)
Another incredibly fun, spectacular, hilarious, and visually-popping James Gunn superhero movie comes in the form of his first huge superhero hit, Guardians of the Galaxy. As stated earlier, the director knows exactly what he’s doing when it comes to bringing lesser-known or lesser-appreciated franchises to the theater screen. The greatest case of this is one of Marvel Comics’ most under-appreciated cosmic teams put to page.
Guardians of the Galaxy went from a movie many were unsure about—Marvel Studios were probably not even sure it’d be such a massive success—to a group of heroes that almost immediately became the favorites of fans everywhere. Nobody could have expected the Guardians to become such a gigantic property before 2014, but that’s what Gunn excels at. It’s funny, has great acting, beautiful frames, and inventive space-opera action.
3
‘The Incredibles’ (2004)
With Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man 2 releasing the exact same year, one would most definitely expect another superhero movie to become such a triumph and, arguably, one of the best animated movies ever made. Pixar knows how to bring the heat, and boy, oh boy, do they do exactly that with the revolutionary Brad Bird‘s—known for The Iron Giant—The Incredibles.
This super family—the Parrs—is filled to the brim with some abundantly relatable characters for almost every single demographic that would be sitting down to watch this movie. This story is a classic Pixar tale that’s bursting with heart, extremely well-written characters, unique action and powers, and, clearly, a story that is unforgettable. It is so difficult to step up against The Incredibles, and if that isn’t proof of its quality, nothing is.
2
‘The Lego Batman Movie’ (2017)
When it comes to the character of Batman—whose become quite a dark character since the 80s—no one could have ever expected to have a lighthearted, comedy-centric Lego movie to end up being one of the best representations of the character put on the screen. The Lego Batman Movie is a flick that is entertaining for pretty much everyone. It proves that a Batman movie doesn’t need to be dark and gritty to be phenomenal.
The Lego Batman Movie encapsulates the heart and soul of the hero in a way few others have. Alongside that, as stated, it is so funny—potentially one of the funniest superhero movies ever made. Will Arnett‘s performance as the Caped Crusader is unironically a top-tier performance for the character (regardless of it being comedic). The humor has perfect comedic timing, which is very in line with a Lego property. Somehow, The Lego Batman Movie wound up being one of the best superhero movies of the 2010s.
1
‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ (2018)
No matter what, there has yet to be—and most likely will not be for quite some time—a movie like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This is a film that is genuinely groundbreaking. It changed the animated film medium forever, inspiring studios to get more creative with their overall art styles, and opening up a world of animated projects that have abundantly unique styling. Alongside this, though, the movie itself is one of, if not the most fun, superhero flicks out there.
The visuals are astounding, the comedy is smart, the animation is flowing and done very well, and the vocal performances from literally every single cast member are so dang great. Daniel Pemberton‘s score and the soundtrack also treat the ears and not just the eyes. There is so much that is amazing about Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse that is truly undeniable. Despite this being a Phil Lord and Christopher Miller production, the directors—Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman—do not get the credit they deserve for delivering such an excellent movie.
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