10 Most Universally Loved Superhero Movies of All Time

Superhero movies have been big business in Hollywood for the last few decades, wowing audiences with special effects and elaborate world-building. Because these films star characters with devoted fan bases, the cinematic interpretations can sometimes split audiences on whether the movie did justice to the hero in question.

However, there are a few big-screen superhero epics that everyone can agree on. Whether it’s a new take on an old character or a climactic finale of a story that was built over 10 years, the following superhero movies are universally loved. Each one, in their own way, reminds viewers why there is such an enduring love for masked crime fighters who save the day.

10 ‘The Incredibles’ (2004)

While studios spent decades trying to make an entertaining Fantastic Four movie, Pixar nailed it without any of the characters in The Incredibles. In a world where costumed heroes are illegal, the superpowered Parr family must hide their abilities, frustrating patriarch Bob (Craig T. Nelson). When Bob is offered a chance to become his alter ego, Mr. Incredible, once again, he will inadvertently pull his family into a villain’s evil plan.

The Incredibles offered a fun take on spandex-wearing crime fighters before the genre became oversaturated. It was both a loving homage to the golden era of comic books and a playful acknowledgment of tropes with warnings about the dangers of capes and a villain’s tendency to launch into monologues. The film is so beloved that when a sequel came out over a decade later, fans still flocked to it, and they’ll do the same when the third entry in the series premieres.

9 ‘Wonder Woman’ (2017)

Even when films based on DC heroes were struggling to connect with audiences, the first Wonder Woman became a sensation. The film followed Amazonian Diana (Gal Gadot) as she escorts a U.S. soldier named Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) from her island home back into the trenches of World War I. Together, they work to prevent a dangerous chemical weapon from being unleashed on the front lines and killing thousands of soldiers.

Wonder Woman’s noble, unwavering sense of right and wrong was the antidote to a long string of superhero movies featuring dark anti-heroes. The film lured in a mixed crowd of die-hard and casual fans, grossing over $800 million worldwide. Gadot’s presence remained a bright spot in the shared cinematic DC universe until a reboot of the franchise, and the first film’s combination of romance and action remains a favorite among moviegoers.

8 'Superman’ (1978)

With the combined efforts of director Richard Donner and actor Christopher Reeve, audiences believed a man could fly in the 1978 adventure Superman. The film tells the origins of Clark Kent, from a superpowered baby to a mild-mannered reporter living in Metropolis who saves the world in secret as Superman. Everyone is a fan except for the villain Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), who makes it a personal mission to sideline the hero before he interrupts his next scheme for riches.

The character of Superman has been a pop-culture icon since his creation in 1938, and it seemed like a forgone conclusion that he would need to be the star of the first blockbuster superhero film. There have been many great actors to put on the red and blue suit, but Reeve is hard to dethrone as the reigning Man of Steel on the big screen. The sequels slowly lose the shine and instant nostalgia of the first entry, but Superman’s theatrical feature debut remains legendary.

7 ‘Black Panther’ (2018)

After making a memorable debut in Captain America: Civil War, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) starred in his own film as Wakanda’s king and protector in Black Panther. The film follows T’Challa as he adjusts to his new role as Black Panther and as a leader who must determine the future of his kingdom. When Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B. Jordan) steps forward as a threat to peace and a challenger for the Wakandan throne, T’Challa must learn the truth about his family’s past while defending his land.

Marvel Studios would be wise to study the success of Black Panther when plotting their next crop of movies. The hero was a Marvel fixture who had been underutilized in media, and a fresh creative voice in director Ryan Coogler built a new world for audiences to get lost in. Black Panther remains one of the MCU’s biggest achievements, making over a billion dollars and earning an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

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6 ‘Iron Man’ (2008)

Without Iron Man hitting theaters in 2008, who knows what the future of movies would have looked like for the next few decades? Robert Downey Jr. made Tony Stark a household name in a story that saw the billionaire inventor nearly die after being attacked with his own weapons. To survive an abduction by terrorists, Stark creates a suit of armor that he will later tweak a few hundred times as the world’s most unlikely superhero.

There was never a doubt that Downey Jr. was the most talented performer in whatever room he was in, but the actor had yet to get his hands on a role like Tony Stark that played perfectly to his strengths. Iron Man was a superhero film that defied the tropes of what viewers had come to expect, and in doing so, attracted an audience that found their new favorite hero. Loose, energetic, and highly rewatchable, Iron Man may be the first MCU film, but it’s also still one of the best.

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5 ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (2014)

Director James Gunn made characters like a gun-toting raccoon and a talking tree person into billion-dollar properties with his space-set action comedy Guardians of the Galaxy. The film follows Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), a human intergalactic thief who catches the attention of dangerous figures when he steals an artifact with eyes on a big payday. After his path crosses with a group of equally desperate misfits, they must team together to stop the angry warlord Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) from destroying his enemies one planet at a time.

Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the most crowd-pleasing MCU films, offering something for everyone during its runtime. The action scenes are both enthralling and continue to move the story forward or develop the characters' relationships to one another. The humor the movie is known for is often used as a deflection tool by the Guardians crew, making the dramatic reveals hit harder and feel more earned. It's an all-around perfect comic book movie that kicked off one of the best trilogies for Marvel-inspired films.

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4 ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ (2018)

It’s surprising that there aren’t more animated superhero films in theaters, because movies like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse can do amazing things with the medium. The film tells the story of Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), a bright student who is bitten by a radioactive spider in a world where Spider-Man already exists. While Miles grapples with new superhuman powers, tears in the multiverse give him time to train with alternate Spider-heroes from other dimensions.

The visual presentation in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is jaw-droppingly beautiful, but that’s only one component of why the movie resonates with audiences. Miles is a relatable superhero underdog for the modern era, leading a story that perfectly understands Spider-Man’s internal struggle to protect the greater good despite the type of self-doubt everyone feels in their daily lives. Add to that a killer soundtrack and a dash of Spider-Ham, and you have a superhero movie no one can pass up.

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3 ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)

After lurking behind the scenes for years, the Mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin) comes out swinging with an unspeakable plan in Avengers: Infinity War. With billions upon billions of lives at stake, every superhero who is able to fight unites to take on Thanos and his minions. However, with Thanos slowly collecting the powerful Infinity Stones, the collective might of the Avengers and their allies might not be enough.

For fans who had followed the MCU movies for the past decade, they received elevated fan service with a movie that incorporated previous plotlines in a cohesive manner that included all the characters they had grown to love. For those just curious as to what all the buzz was about, they witnessed a large-scale epic where some of the most famous superheroes stood side by side in team-ups no one would have ever thought possible. Neither group left the theater disappointed.

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2 ‘Spider-Man 2’ (2004)

Spider-Man 2 is a sequel that stands as the ideal superhero film from beginning to end. Tobey Maguire returns as a Peter Parker who’s older, wiser, and flat broke because his duties as Spider-Man continue to derail his life. When his powers start to inexplicably fade, he sees it as a good thing— until his mentor, Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), has an accident, turning him into the dangerous Doctor Octopus.

The first Spider-Man movie in director Sam Raimi’s trilogy loses some of its repeat value, and Spider-Man 3 was universally rejected by most fans, but Spider-Man 2 is comic book perfection. Molina is well-cast as Doctor Octopus, and he adds gravitas to a villain who could appear silly if not approached with care. Spectacle and character development are equally balanced, and the film helped to cement the superhero genre as an ongoing fixture in theaters for years to come.

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1 ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)

In The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has started to make a difference by cleaning up Gotham City’s corruption as Batman, but his presence also serves as an inspiration for villains with a flair for the dramatic. Such is the case with the Joker (Heath Ledger), a criminal mastermind prepared to create chaos by any means necessary. As the two fight for the future of Gotham, lives will be lost, and long-held ethics will be tested.

Similar to Spider-Man 2, The Dark Knight benefits from getting the origin story out of the way in the first movie so that the second installment can start with a bang. Ledger commandeers the film as his own, earning a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and setting a high bar for those to follow him. The story is a rich and complex crime drama, appealing to moviegoers who would normally skip stories with people wearing capes to become a crossover success that everyone loved.