10 Underrated Superhero Movies To Rewatch in 2026

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Xolo Maridueña as Blue Beetle shooting from his cannons in Blue Beetle

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As the rest of 2026 approaches and a whole new wave of gigantic superhero successes make their way to theater screens, people may find themselves wanting to look back on the great superhero films of cinema's past. While one may initially want to go to some of the bigger, more recognizable successes to rewatch in the New Year, there are plenty of more underrated superhero films worth looking at.

Just because superhero movies are the biggest films in Hollywood at the moment does not mean that every single one is a massive success or gets the recognition it deserves. Whether they're from Marvel, DC, or another party, these underrated superhero flicks are well worth watching or rewatching in the New Year, before the industry gets completely taken over by major successes like Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

10 'Mystery Men' (1999)

Furious holding his fists out and screaming in a tunnel in Mystery Men.

If there's anything that Mystery Men is, it's perfect. That said, it is still a movie that is an enjoyable ride through and through. It's truly one of the funniest superhero flicks out there, starring the legendary Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, William H. Macy, and more. It's written to almost be more of a spoof of the superhero genre, and it makes that work incredibly well, as it follows some of the most ridiculous superheroes in the Mystery Men universe.

It is such a preposterous movie, but still, somehow, as engaging as if it weren't. While it's super goofy, it can pack some heart and good character moments when it really needs to. Most importantly, though, it is so abundantly clear that the entire cast and crew alike had an incredibly fun time making Mystery Men, which can be seen through the quality.

9 'The Wolverine' (2013)

Wolverine standing in Japan, ready to fight in The Wolverine

While the trilogy surrounding the one and only Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) first and third movies may be known very well, the second movie, The Wolverine, is not as well-recognized, despite being pretty good. Is it perfect? No. But for being the first Wolverine movie following X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it was considered pretty good when it was first released. Despite this, though, The Wolverine is a great globe-trotting cape flick.

As some general audiences may not know, Japan is a huge part of Wolverine's lore in the comics, and The Wolverine took it upon itself to establish said lore in the live-action movies. While the movie can surely be a mess at times, it is ten times better than many would expect, especially given the fact that Hugh Jackman gets to bring some of the best live-action Wolverine moments to life within it.

8 'The Rocketeer' (1991)

In the modern age of superheroes, almost everyone has completely forgotten about the likes of both the character and the film of the same title, The Rocketeer. This hero is a classic one that has seemingly been forgotten as time has gone on, which is a huge shame, and the 1991 film directed by Joe Johnston (known for Captain America: The First Avenger) is a perfect example of why.

The Rocketeer may be a bit of a product of its time, but it's so much better than one would think, with the fact that it has been forgotten to the ages. 35 years after release, The Rocketeer deserves all the love and praise of a modern-day superhero movie, thanks to how fun it is and how genuinely well-written the screenplay is. It's a massively anti-fascist film, which makes it quite timely to watch in 2026.

7 'Sky High' (2005)

Will Stronghold (Michael Angarano) talking with his dad (Kurt Russell) in Sky High

While a lot of the current generation of young adults are well aware of Sky High, it's underrated for the fact that it doesn't get nearly enough of the critical attention it deserves. While it can suffer from the typical Disney-isms, at times, this is one of the strongest low-budget Disney projects (the movie was made for only $35 million) in their long catalog of films. It was a pretty dang successful movie at the box office, too, garnering a sizable $86,369,815, which is relatively good against the budget it had.

Following the young man known as William "Will" Stronghold—son of two of the world's greatest superheroes—Sky High comments on what it's like to come from a lineage of great expectations, and the struggle of familial pressures as a whole. Alongside this, it's also got some iconic actors like the likes of Danielle Panabaker, Kurt Russell, Bruce Campbell, and the ever-lovable Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

6 'Batman: Under the Red Hood' (2010)

While it's underrated for the fact that it's barely known by the general audience (for being a smaller animated movie), Batman: Under the Red Hood finds itself being one of the best DC Comics movies ever made. Telling the comic book storyline of the same name, this project—screenplay helmed by the original comic writer himself, Judd Winick, and directed by Brandon Vietti—packs all the emotion, themes, and meaning of the source material excellently.

The voice cast is iconic, also starring Bruce Greenwood as Batman, and the ever-popular and talented Jensen Ackles as Jason Todd, the Red Hood. Everything that should work in a Batman film works in Batman: Under the Red Hood. All of this makes it entertaining, thrilling, engaging, and compelling for the entire 75-minute runtime.

5 'Blue Beetle' (2023)

Blue Beetle drew the short straw when it came to early 2020s superhero movies. Not only were theaters still recovering from the pandemic, meaning audiences were only going out for the biggest and grandest releases (like Spider-Man: No Way Home), but it was also released in a really rough time for DC Comics. It was the height of their negative reputation from the DC Extended Universe, and released the same year as The Flash, which made things even worse.

Mixed with the fact that not many people even knew who Blue Beetle (Xolo Maridueña) was, it was a rough situation to be placed in. However, the movie is beyond wonderful. Acting as what feels like the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie for the DC Comics world, Blue Beetle is a great standalone origin flick that gets audiences connected to Jaime Reyes almost immediately. The visuals pop, Xolo's performance is great, and the character writing is astounding.

4 'Unbreakable' (2000)

David Dunn (Bruce Willis) stands frowning in the rain with a water jacket on.

M. Night Shyamalan's own superhero flick, Unbreakable, is one of the best non-Marvel and DC superhero movies out there. While the franchise that began with this project ended up gaining extreme popularity because the sequel, Split, was so successful, this original one doesn't get nearly the amount of attention that Split did.

Starring the legendary actor, Bruce Willis, Unbreakable brings a great performance out of him that isn't typically found in his other projects, which makes this one feel pretty special in his resume. M. Night Shyamalan may have become a mixed bag as his career has gone on, but Unbreakable is an example of one of his greatest feats to this day, which makes its underappreciation even more tragic.

3 'Blade II' (2002)

Wesley Snipes as Blade fighting a horde of Reapers in Blade II.

After the success of the first Blade movie—which was well-known for the fact that it was a successful R-rated superhero movie—people wondered how Wesley Snipes' character would continue to evolve, should the movie get a sequel in the first place. Well, audiences were treated to Blade II in 2002, and were quite impressed. Helmed directorally by the one and only Guillermo del Toro, this sequel manages to stand out so well against the original.

Because of the reputation that Blade had, Blade II had a big job on its shoulders, and achieved it with grace, thanks to this director's talent and prowess. Some even consider it to be one of Guillermo's best projects, which is truly saying something, thinking about how he brought the likes of Pacific Rim, Frankenstein, and The Shape of Water to life. Some others also consider Blade II to be better than the first, which is everything a sequel could possibly hope for. Despite this, though, it barely gets the amount of attention that Blade does.

2 'Chronicle' (2012)

Andrew (Dane DeHaan) and Steve (Michael B. Jordan) discuss their powers after flying to the top of the city in 'Chronicle.'flying

The fact that Chronicle is still underrated, even though people have recognized how incredibly inventive it was, especially because there hasn't been a major superhero movie since then that has been executed in this manner. This has allowed this low-budget hero flick to maintain how special it is throughout the years since its release.

Starring the amazing Dane DeHaan, Michael B. Jordan, and Alex Russell, the dynamic between the core cast is a huge part of what drives the film—next to the found footage format. Many people would be curious to see how a superhero project would work in found footage, but Chronicle proves that not only is it possible, but works very well when done right.

1 'X2: X-Men United' (2003)

The first X-Men movie, released in 2000, is known as an essential founding father of the modern superhero space. How does one follow up a movie like that? Well, director Bryan Singer managed to do that and do it very well, and, in the opinion of a big portion of audiences, X2: X-Men United is actually better than X-Men.

The opening scene of this movie is one of the best in superhero film history, showing Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) breaking into the White House and taking down Secret Service agents left and right with his teleportation ability. The action is fast-paced and thrilling, while the rest of the story to come after provides the perfect social commentary that a film or project in general featuring the X-Men should.