Top 100 Best Superhero Movies To Watch In 2024

 

Polish your cosplay techniques and get your capes and suits ironed and mended because ENTOIN is making a ‘superhero landing’ with this latest article comprising the best Superhero movies of all time, not to forget a few favourite anti-heroes.

 

We couldn’t resist adding those… And would you look at that, this article seems to have arrived in the month of Samhain, aka Halloween!

 

Each movie listed below should be seen as a collective. No ‘special favors’ were given to any of them based on a numbering or ‘order of appearance’.

 

Feel free to revisit some of your old favourites detailed below. This writer intentionally did not gather all the movies (parts, sequels, instalments) featuring a particular IP or hero/heroine in one continuous series of write-ups, but has sprinkled them throughout the article (as needed) for ‘entertaining’ readability.

 

Nearly anyone exploring this blog will be familiar with all things superhero-related, especially in regard to movies and series that feature insanely beloved pop-culture icons from ‘multiverses’ like DC, Marvel, and more.

 

If you wish to check out other parts, sequels, or instalments in any particular series of super-movies, feel free to hit the search button and find them within this article itself.

 

Or you can leap on Google and get started revisiting some of the amazing storylines that may not have been covered here.

 

If you have not seen a few of the titles on this master list, you’re welcome!

 

Because now you know exactly what to add to your Halloween Watchlist.

 

 

 

1. Spawn (1997)

 

 

 

An anti-hero movie is just a superhero movie with a darker plotline, and Spawn is a legendary addition to this diabolical roster.

 

In the story, a military soldier-assassin called Al Simmons (played by Michael Jai White) hellishly transforms into the titular Spawn a while after being betrayed by a secret government agent called Jason Wynn (played by Martin Sheen).

 

When the government’s top assassin Jessica Priest (played by Melinda Clarke) is sent to take Al out, one thing leads to another and the man perishes in a fatal fire. Al soon finds himself in hell where he demands vengeance from a demonic ruler Malebolgia (played by Frank Welker).

 

The two strike a Faustian bargain. Malebolgia wants Al to be leader of Hell’s army when Armageddon comes. For this, Al is promised the power he needs to return to Earth and see justice done. This includes giving his love Wanda Blake (played by Theresa Randle) emotional closure.

 

Al accepts the deal and is promptly remade into a Hellspawn entity encased in a ‘necroplasm suit’ that lets him perform incredible feats of strength and agility. This suit is a creature in its own right, and it is the only way the heavily disfigured and quite dead Al can survive on Earth.

 

Malebolgia appoints him a minion called The Violator (played by John Leguizamo) who looks, to all intents and purposes, like a plus-size clown. But this vile creature wields demonic powers and is practically a chaperone to make sure that Al keeps his side of the bargain with their mutual demon-master.

 

Back on Earth, however, five years have passed and much has changed, with not just Wanda but also Al’s murderer Jason. The latter also seems to have struck a devilish deal, but with the Violator. Jason now has demonic support to develop a lethal virus that will help him take over the world, and become its de facto king. 

 

Al finds his plate getting fuller as he grows increasingly alone in his pursuit of justice.

 

 

 

2. Superman III (1983)

 

 

 

The Man of Steel – aka Superman, alias Clark Kent, real name Kal-El, and played on screen by Christopher Reeve – has yet to encounter an enemy he can’t defeat. He has gone up against deadly odds and come out standing. 

 

But Superman soon finds himself dealing with a criminally insane computer program that just might get the better of him. The genial half-witted Gus Gorman (played by Richard Pryor) is credited with coding this frightfully effective software. In his ingenious hands, any keyboard can be turned into a weapon. 

 

One thing leads to another and Clark Kent finds himself attending a reunion at his alma mater, Smallville High. There he runs into his old flame Lana Lang (played by Annette O’Toole).

 

But Superman is also soon affected by a piece of red kryptonite that turns him into his own worst enemy. This whole idea was strategized and executed by Gus Gorman. A self-centered Superman now begins doing petty things like straightening the Leaning Tower of Pisa and blowing out the Olympic torch.

 

Finally, he suffers a nervous breakdown and returns to his old self. The Man of Steel then tries to pick up the pieces and save the world.

 

 

 

3. The New Mutants (2020)

 

 

 

A strange tornado causes Danielle Moonstar (played by Blu Hunt) to have a near-death experience. She wakes up in an abandoned research facility managed by Dr. Cecilia Reyes (played by Alice Braga) who seems to be hiding more than she lets on.

 

Dani finds herself being introduced to other teenage ‘inmates’ in this establishment. These include Sam Guthrie (played by Charlie Heaton), Roberto da Costa (played by Henry Zaga), Illyana Rasputin (played by Anya Taylor-Joy), and Rahne Sinclair (played by Maisie Williams).

 

Each of them can apparently wield extraordinary abilities that Dr. Reyes attempts to study and help them control. The inmates bring their own baggage and traumas to the training table, though.

 

Before long, they start experiencing strange hallucinations and grow gradually aware that the place they are in might not be a facility that treats them as patients, but rather considers them dangerous prisoners that have to be kept locked away.

 

 

4. Mystery Men (1999)

 

 

 

The resident superhero of Champion City is a certain Captain Amazing (played by Greg Kinnear) who aims to increase his endorsement revenue one way or another.

 

His mind made up, he secretly plans and later executes the release of a super-villain named Casanova Frankenstein (played by Geoffrey Rush). The hero thought he’d make short work of this baddie and rake in some monetary rewards.

 

Alas, the hero ends up being captured by the villain. Soon, seven wannabe superheroes rise up from among the citizens. Losers though they are, they attempt to take on Casanova and rescue their beloved Captain Amazing.

 

These super-weirdos include Shoveler (played by William, H. Macy), Bowler (played by Janeane Garofalo), Blue Rajah (played by Hank Azaria), Spleen (played by Paul Reubens), Sphinx (played by Wes Studi), Invisible Boy (played by Kel Mitchell), and Furious (played by Ben Stiller).

 

Even together, they have absolutely no clue how they’re going to beat Casanova and his goons. However, Sphinx’s unconventional team-building technique helps the group improve their combat capabilities.

 

 

5. Super (2010)

 

 

 

A short-order cook named Frank Darbo (played by Rainn Wilson) recalls having just one real happy moment in his life. That was when he married Sarah (played by Liv Tyler), who was a former drug addict.

 

But Frank watches helplessly as he loses her to another drug dealer, who happens to be a strip club owner named Jacques (played by Kevin Bacon).

 

One night, Frank experiences an epiphany that jolts him into finding his courage despite all the lingering depression and anger inside him. Thus arises a determined (though comical) superhero named The Crimson Bolt.

 

This hero wields a large cast-iron spanner-pipe for a weapon and is accompanied by an eager side-kick, the overly zealous Boltie (real name Libby, played by Elliot Page).

 

Frank aims to fight all crime, starting with the smug scourge called Jacques. He goes up against him with the express aim of getting his wife back.

 

Along the way, he and Boltie redefine the words ‘goody two-shoes’ in this rather hilarious superhero film.

 

 

6.  Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

 

 

 

The movie is the second film in the Doctor Strange franchise and the sixth appearance of the character in the MCU. The film was directed by Saam Raimi, and it brought back the main cast, including Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Benedict Wong.

 

In “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, sorcerer Stephen Strange grapples with the mystic aftermath of “Avengers: Endgame”, and “Spider-Man No Way Home.”

 

Teaming up with a young America Chavez, Wong, and Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff, they traverse through parallel dimensions, battling dark forces and alternate versions of themselves in other universes.

 

The film delves into alternate realities, showcasing mind-bending visuals and challenging Strange’s mastery of the mystical arts. As secrets unravel, Strange confronts his own inner demons and confronts the consequences of meddling with reality.

 

The movie expertly balances intense action with character development, exploring themes of power, responsibility, and self-discovery. Its visual spectacle and engaging narrative contribute to its box office triumph, solidifying its place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

 

 

7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Out of the Shadows (2016)

 

 

 

Returning to fight crime and sundry forces of evil, while remaining hidden from the world, are the four mutant turtles and their human best friend April O’Neil (played by Megan Fox).

 

Raphael (voiced by Alan Ritchson), Leonardo (voiced by Pete Ploszek), Michelangelo (voiced by Noel Fisher), and Donatello (voiced by Jeremy Howard) are still recovering from when they took down Shredder (played by Brian Tee) before.

 

The world does not know how instrumental the TMNT was in taking that super-villain down and has instead heaped credit for it on Vernon Fenwick (played by Will Arnett).

 

April, meanwhile, uses her reporter skills to learn that a man named Baxter Stockman (played by Tyler Perry) is on Shredder’s payroll.

 

The man is apparently planning a jailbreak of the dreaded villain while he’s being shifted to a high-security prison.

 

Despite April warning the Turtles about the plan, none of them are on time to stop it from happening.

 

A teleport attempt by Baxter goes wrong, sending Shredder to an alternate dimension where the power-hungry ninja meets Warlord Krang (voiced by Brad Garrett).

 

Shredder receives instructions on the reactivation of a teleportation device Krang already has on Earth.

 

The warlord also gives the ninja a special mutagenic compound that transforms his prison-transport-vehicle cronies Rock Steady (played by Stephen Farrelly) and Bebop (played by Gary Anthony Williams) into forces to reckon with.

 

An undercover April O’Neil witnesses the transformation and steals away with the mutagen, only to be hounded by Shredder’s Foot Clan.

 

Casey Jones (played by Stephen Amell), who was the man transporting Shredder, comes to her rescue.

 

The TMNT soon joins the melee. Before long, the mutagen finds itself in police custody.

 

April entails Vernon’s help in getting it back before Shredder makes an attempt to reclaim it.

 

The steal-back goes wrong, resulting in Casey and her getting arrested. Donatello has the mutagen in his possession, though, and he starts analyzing it, realizing soon that it has the chemical potential to make the Turtles human.

 

He lets Leonardo in on the possibility and is told to stay quiet about the whole matter.

 

A rift gradually forms among the Turtles while the looming threat of Shredder has yet to dissipate.

 

 

8. Ultraviolet (2006)

 

 

 

The year is 2078 and a vampiric virus has caused a global pandemic that resulted in the creation of a disease-modified (!) sub-species of humans.

 

With enhanced stamina, improved strength, and incredible agility, these superbly intelligent vampire-human hybrids, aka Haemophages, have pushed normal people to the brink of extinction.

 

The world experiences small pockets of resistance that generate an atmosphere of civil war. The human government – what’s left of it anyway – is readying to go to war with the ‘Others’.

 

One of the Haemophages is a beautiful woman named Ultraviolet (played by Milla Jovovich) who finds herself taking no sides, though her combat prowess is quite intimidating.

 

She has found purpose in protecting a nine-year-old boy named Six (played by Cameron Bright) whom Ferdinand Daxus (played by Nick Chinlund) and his militants have consigned to death.

 

Ultraviolet in her quest unravels secret dealings of other Haemophases and Daxus. She vows to eliminate the threat and save humanity from potential dangers.

 

 

9.  The Flash (2023)

 

 

 

In “The Flash”, Barry Allen, a young scientist with super-speed abilities, faces a temporal crisis when an experiment gone awry threatens to unravel reality itself.

 

As he navigates through alternate timelines, Barry discovers a malevolent speedster, Thawne, manipulating events to rewrite history.

 

Racing against time, Barry forms an uneasy alliance with counterparts from different dimensions, including Batman and Supergirl. Together, they embark on a high-speed adventure to restore the timeline and thwart Thawne’s apocalyptic plans.

 

Fueled by action-packed sequences and emotional depth, the film explores themes of identity, sacrifice, and the consequences of tampering with time.

 

“The Flash” showcases heroism, camaraderie, and the true potential of a hero’s legacy across the multiverse.

 

 

10. Elektra (2005)

 

 

 

Elektra Natchios’s life changed in 2003’s “Daredevil” movie. Following those fateful events, she gradually remade herself into a deadly assassin for hire.

 

This movie sees her taking on a tricky contract, specifically finding and assassinating single dad Mark Miller (played by Goran Visnjic) and his young daughter Abby Miller (played by Kirsten Zien).

 

But something gets in the way of Elektra completing her mission like she has hundreds before this one.

 

Her doubts lead her to learn more about her targets. What she uncovers turns her into the Millers’ protector.

 

The diabolical criminal organization known simply as ‘The Order of the Hand’ dispatches a team of killers to take out not just the Millers but Elektra as well.

 

She has to rely on her Kimagure martial arts and sheer wit to save the Millers and herself from certain death.

 

 

11. Power Rangers (2017)

 

 

 

A CG-powered remake of the original 1995 movie, this one too takes place in an alternate fictional universe.

 

An origin-story sequence covers events during the Cenozoic era when six interplanetary warriors calling themselves the ‘Power Rangers’ came together to defend Earth and the vaunted Zeo Crystal.

 

The rangers were trained in specialized skills and could call upon unique powers to suit up and counter almost any threat.

 

The six heroes were named after six symbolic colors. The Green Ranger Rita Repulsa (played by Elizabeth Banks) went her separate way and attained the role of an arch-villain after betraying her fellow Rangers in her pursuit of power.

 

Only the Red Ranger Zordon (played/voiced by Bryan Cranston) survived her attack. He promptly hid the Power Amulets of the other Rangers and entrusted his Robo-assistant Alpha 5 to initiate a series of events that would result in a meteor striking Earth (!).

 

This circumstance kills off the dinosaurs but also takes Zordon and Rita with it, sending the latter to a watery grave.

 

Millennia pass and the 21st century comes along. The setting is Angel Grove, and high school football star Jason Scott (played by Dacre Montgomery) is kicked off the team and put in a sort of house arrest because he pulled a prank that was unacceptable.

 

In detention, he encounters fellow students Billy Cranston (played by RJ Cyler) and Kimberly Hart (played by Naomi Scott).

 

After helping Billy with a bullying problem, Jason gains his aid in helping disable his police-affixed ankle monitoring bracelet.

 

But for that to happen, Jason is asked to meet Billy at an old gold mine.

 

While Billy is busy setting explosives to break rocks for a reason only he knows, Jason wanders and encounters Kimberly.

 

Explosions soon resound, attracting their attention, as well as that of two other nearby Angel Grovers Trini (played by Becky G) and Zack (played by Ludi Lin).

 

Billy has discovered the Power Coins of old. One thing leads to another and all five of them pick a coin.

 

The mine’s security guards have heard the blast and are almost upon them, causing the students to scatter.

 

During their escape in a car, they’re hit by a train and lose all consciousness.

 

The following day, the five ordinary students wake up harboring extraordinary powers. Their superhuman skills are source from the ancient capabilities of the original Power Rangers.

 

Around this time, Rita’s fossilized remains are discovered. She survived the meteor’s devastation after sinking to the ocean floor and being buried there.

 

Her powers have kept her alive all these millennia, though in stasis. Rita Repulsa, the sixth Power Ranger, awakens and goes on a rampage as she seeks the five other Power Coins denied her by Zordon.

 

She also raises her winged minion Goldar (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) to aid her in finding the location of the mighty Zeo Crystal.

 

 

12. The Punisher (2004)

 

 

 

Having seen more than his fair share of death, Frank Castle (played by Thomas Jane) is getting ready to retire from law enforcement.

 

His last assignment sees him going undercover, and all seems to be going well. Until the operation takes a turn for the worse, leaving a young Bobby Saint (played by James Carpinello) dead.

 

The Saints (a powerful family) only recently earned legitimacy. With their son now dead they vow blood vengeance against the man they deem responsible.

 

Howard Saint, along with his lieutenants, starts to unleash chaos and havoc at the Castle family reunion.

 

Only Frank survives their collective assault. The man has always upheld the law, but the time soon comes when he is forced to step into the shadows.

 

Frank is well aware that the Saints’ misguided understanding of justice will never be countered in any real way by the current state of law enforcement.

 

Tapping into more than twenty years of hard field experience, Frank Castle dons the secret identity of ‘The Punisher’ and executes a series of plans that will see true justice being served to glorified hoodlums and thugs.

 

This movie belongs on this list for several reasons, the most important being that it involves an ordinary person donning a hidden identity and committing to justice, superpowers, or otherwise.

 

 

13. X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)

 

 

 

After the near-world-ending events that transpired in 2016’s “X-Men: Apocalypse” movie, this film details how Professor Charles Xavier (played by James McAvoy) brought some measure of peace to normal society by way of a pact.

 

Mutants are safe, though not wholly accepted, and tolerated as long as they mean no harm.

 

Charles dispatches his X-Men to carry out various missions for the greater good. A 1992 crisis at NASA sees Jean Grey (played by Sophie Turner) infused with unfathomable cosmic power.

 

She should, to all intents and purposes, be dead. But the energy manifests itself in strange and dark ways within her already-mutant body, causing her to gradually attain the character of Phoenix.

 

The almost all-powerful being is nothing if not destructive and uncontrollable. She becomes a threat to others as well as herself.

 

Her X-Men friends have to pool their ideas and find a way to stabilize her before it is too late.

 

 

14. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

 

 

 

This film put Victorian England in a parallel universe setting. It captured many a classic superhero-movie trope, and some have even said it was an elegant precursor to today’s “Suicide Squad” and “Avengers-style” films.

 

In this story, power-hungry warmonger Fantom works from the shadows and threatens worldwide Armageddon. A team is gradually put together to stunt his perilous rise.

 

Calling themselves the ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’, the group comprises British adventurer Allan Quatermain (played by Sean Connery), legendary marksman Tom Sawyer (played by Shane West), an immortal man of mystery Dorian Gray (played by Stuart Townsend), a man who can turn into a humongous monster Dr. Henry Jekyll and/or Edward Hyde (played by Jason Flemyng), a scientist with Indian roots and renowned for his amazing submarine Captain Nemo (played by Naseeruddin Shah), an invisible man Rodney Skinner (played by Tony Curran), and the only woman among the ‘gentlemen’ who also happens to be a vampire Mina Harker (played by Peta Wilson).

 

Together they simply must do whatever it takes to save the world.

 

 

15. Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

 

 

 

Following their takedown of Dr. Doom in 2005’s “Fantastic Four” film, the ‘heroic quartet’ barely caught a break before their next big challenge appeared.

 

An assortment of global geo-anomalies draws their attention to the arrival of an alien being known simply as the Silver Surfer (voiced by Laurence Fishburne, and performed by Doug Jones).

 

This entity is essentially an intergalactic harbinger of destruction, one who sees Earth as nothing more than a target.

 

The Fantastic Four – Mr. Fantastic (played by Ioan Gruffudd), Invisible Woman (played by Jessica Alba), Human Torch (played by Chris Evans), and The Thing (played by Michael Chiklis) – have no choice but to team up with their own adversary to help stop the Silver Surfer.

 

They soon learn that even this powerful off-world enemy was but a vassal. His master, Galactus, seems to be the real threat, the real ‘devourer of worlds’.

 

The Fantastic Four teams up with Silver Surfer to fight the real enemy and save the planet.

 

 

16. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

 

 

 

As live-action remakes go, this one became a hit addition to the TMNT franchise. Darkness threatens to swallow NYC when the evil Shredder (played by Tohoru Masamune) and his Foot Clan of Ninjas spread their diabolical influence, corrupting key names in law enforcement and politics.

 

Four outcast ’brothers’, turtles with mutant genes, are discovered, raised, and trained by a mutant martial arts guru, a large rat named Master Splinter (voiced by Danny Woodburn).

 

The Turtles were named after Renaissance artists. They are Michelangelo (voiced by Noel Fisher), Raphael (voiced by Alan Ritchson), Leonardo (voiced by Pete Ploszek), and Donatello (voiced by Johnny Knoxville).

 

With significant help from fearless local reporter April O’Neil (played by Megan Fox) and her cameraman Vernon Fenwick (played by Will Arnett), they aim to halt Shredder’s agenda for NYC (and the world) once and for all.

 

 

17. Daredevil (2003)

 

 

 

Following a freak accident, New York City lawyer Matt Murdock (played by Ben Affleck) is left blind.

 

He has grown up most of his life without sight, a circumstance that lent him acute extra-sensory abilities.

 

When the time comes, Matt decides to use his newfound sense-sharpness to defend the weak and innocent.

 

Being a lawyer has taught him that justice often comes slowly if at all, to select people.

 

Matt dons the cowl and suit of a nocturnal superhero known as Daredevil. His martial arts training helps him take down most bad guys.

 

His latest challenge is Kingpin (real name Wilson Fisk, played by Michael Clarke Duncan). A chance encounter sees him crossing paths with another superhero, Elektra (real name Elektra Natchios, played by Jennifer Garner).

 

He joins forces with her to bring down the world’s most dangerous assassin-for-hire Bullseye (played by Colin Farrell).

 

Matt Murdock believes his work is not yet done, in fact, NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen area is still rife with crime and corruption.

 

 

18. Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

 

 

 

This sequel sees new self-made crusaders for justice donning masks and joining sundry ranks of do-gooders, all inspired by Kick-Ass’s (real name Dave Lizewski, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) brave actions in the original film.

 

Led by Colonel Stars and Stripes (played by Jim Carrey), Kick-Ass joins a new patrol team of amateur superheroes.

 

They are being hunted by Red Mist aka MotherF%&*^r (real name Chris D’Amico, played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse).

 

Hit Girl (real name Mindy Macready, played by Chloë Grace Moretz) comes on the scene with her blade-wielding prowess and joins Kick-Ass in taking down Red Mist.

 

The two of them initially worked together (in the first film) to start their own superhero team.

 

Mindy’s real identity was discovered, forcing her to take a break from the superhero business. Around that time, Dave had little choice but to join Justice Forever, a group headed by ex-mobster Colonel Stars and Stripes.

 

As things stand, Red Mist threatens everything the superheroes have been working (and lost) to build.

 

He even becomes the first supervillain to stand against them. He gets together his own league of baddies and paints a target on the backs of Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl.

 

He believes it is retribution for what they did to his father when in truth they had nothing to do with it.

 

But Justice Forever is a team, and they don’t plan to sit on the sidelines when one of their own is threatened.

 

 

19. Green Lantern (2011)

 

 

 

The Green Lantern Corps are an elite and powerful force of defenders who uphold justice and peace throughout the universe, in as much as they can.

 

They’ve been doing it for centuries, finding new recruits and empowering them with special rings that allow them to access the powers of the ‘Green Lantern’.

 

Reckless test pilot Hal Jordan (played by Ryan Reynolds) is far from being eligible for the immensely responsible work of a Green Lantern.

 

But the ring chooses whom it chooses, and one such ring chooses Hal. Following the death of one of the finest Green Lanterns, Abin Sur (played by Temuera Morrison), his ring passes to Hal who gradually learns to get over the shock of receiving such unknowable power.

 

Spurred on by his love for Carol Ferris (played by Blake Lively), Hal pushes himself to excel at his new interplanetary calling.

 

Before long, a worthy test comes his way. A supervillain by the name of Parallax (played by Clancy Brown) is determined to instill fear, mainly because he feeds off it.

 

The Corps grows weak as Parallax uses each Green Lantern’s fear against them, whittling down more and more defenders in his bid to gain power.

 

Hal Jordan soon becomes the last hope for all humanity, not because he lacks fear but because he just might have what it takes to fight in spite of it.

 

 

20. Fantastic Four (2005)

 

 

 

Ingenious physicist Dr. Reed Richards (played by Ioan Gruffudd) is keen to plumb the depths of knowledge concerning giant clouds of cosmic energy prevalent only in Outer Space.

 

He receives significant support from his millionaire classmate Dr. Victor von Doom (played by Julian McMahon).

 

During one of Reed’s routine research and investigation runs, the cosmic rays in his lab affect him.

 

Before long, Reed discovers that he has become elastic in every imaginable way. He is set on the path to becoming the superhero ‘Mr. Fantastic’.

 

His lab colleagues are also ‘super’ affected. Reed’s assistant Sue Storm (played by Jessica Alba) becomes ‘Invisible Girl’.

 

Her younger brother, the hot-blooded Johnny Storm (played by Chris Evans), becomes the ‘Human Torch’.

 

Finally, there’s pilot Ben Grimm (played by Michael Chiklis) who becomes a testy entity of muscle and rocks known as ‘The Thing’.

 

Together they are the ‘Fantastic Four’. Before fully acclimating to their new ‘states’, a dangerous enemy threatens Earth.

 

Their own Dr. Doom has also been affected by the cosmic rays that changed the four of them.

 

Victor seems more interested in taking over the entire planet than helping it along.

 

 

21. Venom (2018)

 

 

 

Reporter Eddie Brock (played by Tom Hardy) is going after the Life Foundation Corporation, specifically its CEO Carlton Drake (played by Riz Ahmed).

 

It takes him several months to learn of Carlton’s illegal running of a supremely dangerous experiment on human beings.

 

To call his work unethical would be, to put it mildly. In Eddie’s attempts to gather hard evidence, he gets ‘infected’ by the ‘Symbiote’ in the secret lab.

 

This thing is essentially a pitch-black, amorphous, alien life-form that fuses with its host, in this case, the human Eddie, and transforms them into something deadly.

 

The interplanetary Symbiote takes its time before revealing itself in various ways to an unsuspecting Eddie Brock.

 

Its full manifestation in and around Brock’s physical body is that of a super-strong carnivorous creature that comes to be called Venom.

 

The voracious parasitic organism attempts to eat almost anything, especially other people. It falls to Eddie to try and keep it under control, sometimes comically so.

 

Meanwhile, megalomaniac Carlton joins hands with a stronger symbiote and they have a sinister plan unknown to Eddie, and Venom.

 

 

22. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

 

 

 

Half siblings as well as mutants, both James Logan (aka Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman) and Victor Creed (aka Sabertooth, played by Liev Schreiber) find themselves on the run.

 

They were made who they were several decades ago, and have seen and suffered wars and devastations during their abnormally prolonged lifetimes.

 

Both of them were bestowed with super-healing and rapid-regeneration capabilities. Where Logan’s entire skeleton was coated with Adamantium, Sabertooth was essentially made into a beast-man who could turn incredibly savage and strong when he needs to be.

 

The man who made them this way, Colonel William Stryker (played by Danny Huston), finds them and extends a chance at redemption.

 

By this time, Logan has experienced a serious personal loss. He soon confronts dark memories from his past.

 

Adding insult to injury, Stryker seems to have been a busy man, misusing yet another human being to create the technologically and martially advanced Wade Wilson (aka Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds).

 

Wolverine and he cross paths, and it becomes uncertain who will leave the victor.

 

 

23. Birdman (2014)

 

 

The original title of this movie is a mouthful: “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”.

 

This is also not technically a superhero movie, but the themes and settings check enough boxes, in this writer’s opinion, to make it so. “Birdman” portrays the life and times of an actor named Riggan Thomson (played by Michael Keaton) who suffers trying to make his mark in the world.

 

He played a popular comic-book superhero called ‘Birdman’ on-screen but walked away from the role (following the release of hit sequels) at the height of its engagement.

 

He didn’t like that his name remained obscure while his character Birdman was only growing in renown.

 

A middle-aged Riggan decides to pursue a career on Broadway, starting by writing, directing, and acting, even co-producing his debut.

 

He finds support for this endeavor – a stage adaptation of the story “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” by Raymond Carver – in his best friend Jake (played by Zach Galifianakis).

 

Riggan’s entire reputation is at stake, not to mention his life savings. He is determined to make his play a successful one, but multiple production issues keep cropping up the closer they get to the preview date.

 

Adding fuel to the fire are Riggan’s own personal insecurities, which take the form of a particular inner voice.

 

Riggan has silently been battling voices from Birdman (!) inside his head, telling him what to believe in and what is the truth.

 

 

24. Thor: The Dark World (2013)

 

 

 

This movie takes viewers back to when the race of Dark Elves originally planned to plunge the universe into darkness using a powerful weapon named Aether.

 

Asgardian warriors attempted to stop them. They succeeded, only to unwittingly send the villainous Elven leader Malekith (played by Christopher Eccleston) into hiding.

 

Since it proved impossible to destroy the Aether, the warriors for good claimed it and took it back to Asgard for safekeeping.

 

Present-day dawns, with Jane Foster (played by Natalie Portman) waiting for Thor (aka the God of Thunder, played by Chris Hemsworth) to return as he promised.

 

It has already been two years and counting, and Jane eagerly awaits their rendezvous. During those couple of years – when Time flowed differently between Earth and Asgard – Thor was working to bring order and safety to the Nine Realms (Midgard, aka Earth, included).

 

Jane finds an anomaly similar to when she first met Thor. Her follow-up investigation yields unforeseen results when she encounters a wormhole and is pulled right into it.

 

Odin (played by Sir Anthony Hopkins) remains stubborn in his decision to keep Thor working for Asgardian interests instead of going to Earth.

 

Heimdall (played by Idris Elba), with his all-seeing capacity, finds himself duty-bound to inform Thor about Jane’s unnaturally sudden disappearance.

 

Thor finds a way to get himself to Earth only to watch Jane appear, surrounded by human police officers.

 

A mysterious energy bounds off her, repulsing the police and keeping them from arresting her.

 

This soon prompts Thor to take her back to Asgard to learn what’s really wrong with Jane, the mortal human with whom he has fallen in love.

 

The strange energy repeat-manifests, and proves that Jane crossed paths with the indestructible Aether weapon sometime during her disappearance.

 

Meanwhile, Malekith makes plans to reclaim the Aether and spark off the same Dark Elf agenda as before, from so many eons ago.

 

He finds Asgard distracted and thus launches an assault on the city. The attack kills several unprepared citizens and warriors, including Thor’s mother Frigga (played by Rene Russo).

 

The Goddess (and wife to Odin) died defending Jane Foster whom she knew was important to her son.

 

Odin later decides to hold on to Jane if only to bring Malekith back, tracing her Aether-brushed vibes.

 

Thor is not on board with his father’s ‘bait’ plan and so convinces his brother Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) to securely take Jane away from Asgard.

 

Loki, however, sees a sly opportunity in all these goings-on and decides to give in to his natural tendencies for ‘mischief’.

 

 

25. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

 

 

 

An uneasy alliance was forged with Magneto (real name Erik Lehnsherr, played by Ian McKellen) in 2003’s “X2” movie.

 

This one sees all the meta-humans facing a dark and dire future, particularly with the coming of a new medical treatment that promises to rid them of their mutant powers for good.

 

The serum – which itself sources from a mutant held in government custody – works by suppressing the meta-gene, rendering the vaccinated human.

 

Several mutants are justifiably divided, including a few of Charles Xavier’s (played by Patrick Stewart) own students.

 

Around this time, Jean Grey (aka Phoenix, played by Famke Janssen) is losing herself to her dark side.

 

She’s gradually attaining an uncontrollable form of her Phoenix powers, which ends up serving Magneto’s interests.

 

Erik is off gathering a mutant resistance that will fight back against the treatment. He is determined to remind the world that mutants are a higher order of human beings and not some infection that should be cured.

 

Hundreds of mutants start choosing sides, and circumstances turn deadly for several parties. The focus is turned on Phoenix as her dark side becomes so difficult to quell or dissipate that only the aggressively healing Wolverine seems capable of getting near enough to her in distance and surviving the ordeal.

 

 

26. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

 

 

 

Metropolis has been destroyed beyond recognition and its citizens are trying to comprehend whether they should forgive Superman (alias Clark Kent, played by Henry Cavill) who was part of the annihilation, or hand him over to the authorities.

 

The latter is easier said than done, considering this is Superman. Batman (real name Bruce Wayne, played by Ben Affleck) decides enough is enough, and that one all-powerful Kryptonian should never be allowed to weaken the entire Human race.

 

Batman takes on himself to fight the Kryptonian and gears up to take this powerful being down.

 

Seeing sense in Batman’s reasoning, Diana Prince (aka Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot) joins him to help stop the ‘lost’ Man of Steel.

 

 

27. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

 

 

 

Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man, played by Andrew Garfield) has taken fully to his role as a superhero endowed with the responsibility of using his powers to protect and aid those around him.

 

This movie follows the trail of events that unfolded in 2012’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” in which Peter went head to head with the deadly villain Lizard (played by Rhys Ifans).

 

Peter in this film is seen upholding the promise he’d made to Gwen Stacy’s (played by Emma Stone) late father.

 

Also being dear friends with Harry Osborne (the Green Goblin’s son, played by Dane DeHaan) does not sit well with him, especially considering the events that went down between the Spider and the Goblin.

 

Harry is prepping to inherit his father’s legacy, namely Oscorp Industries. A dangerous retrovirus project comes under Harry’s purview – his father was working on something related to it before he perished.

 

A freak accident, meanwhile, gives rise to a new super-powered individual, Electro (real name Max Dillon, played by Jamie Foxx), who is essentially a human power plant.

 

Harry Osborne has donned his father’s mantle and a new Green Goblin now stands in the way of peace, order, and justice.

 

This leaves Spider-Man wondering how he’s possibly going to stop such powerful villains on his own.

 

 

28. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

 

 

 

The year is 1984 and Diana Prince (aka Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot) is back to her normal undercover life among mortals.

 

The Amazon Princess of Themyscira strives to stay under the radar, which is why she found work at the Smithsonian Museum as an archaeologist.

 

She may have saved the world in the preceding 2017 movie, but she lost the love of her life – U. S. pilot Captain Steve Trevor (played by Chris Pine) – in the process.

 

Diana soon faces a global conspiracy, one that began with the uncovering of a golden-yellow citrine gemstone rumored to be cursed.

 

Power-crazed entrepreneur Maxwell Lord (played by Pedro Pascal) wants to get his hands on the stone because he learned that it grants the wielder unimaginable influence over the minds of human beings.

 

Steve makes a complex ‘spectral comeback’ to aid Diana in her quest to stop Maxwell.

 

Her co-worker – shy gemologist Barbara Minerva (aka Cheetah, played by Kristen Wiig) – has given in to a dark feline side, fulfilling the role of one of Diana’s greatest arch-villains (in the comics).

 

Cataclysmic events start to unfold all over the world as Maxwell Lord does not go easy on the use of the stone, which grants him great power but removes more and more of his humanity in the process.

 

 

29. X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

 

 

 

This movie catches up with the aftermath of events in 2014’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past”.

 

Humanity and Mutants are still not fully accepting of one another. Around this time, En Sabah Nur (aka Apocalypse, played by Oscar Isaac) awakens.

 

He was the world’s first mutant, living at a time when so-called deities walked among mortals.

 

He wakes up in the 80s and is not taken with how things have changed.

 

He goes about enlisting support from other high-powered mutants like Psylocke (played by Olivia Munn), Ororo Munroe (aka Storm, played by Alexandra Shipp), Angel (played by Ben Hardy), and Erik Lehnsherr (aka Magneto, played by Michael Fassbender).

 

Apocalypse wishes to purge Earth of all humans and create a new world order from the ashes.

 

Much is at stake, to say the least, prompting Professor Charles Xavier (played by James McAvoy) and his loyal team of mutants, in affiliation with Raven (aka Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence), to defend humanity.

 

 

30. Hancock (2008)

 

 

 

Anti-social, ever-drunk and ultra-powerful Hancock (played by Will Smith) is always at odds with the law.

 

He is the only known super-powered human in existence. But he doesn’t quite give a damn about it, thus accumulating over six hundred civil suits to his name and multiple court subpoenas.

 

He routinely earns more ire than awe by causing citywide destruction in his well-meaning attempts to help people.

 

Suffice to say, Hancock has a tendency to ruin more than he saves. Along comes publicist Ray Embrey (played by Jason Bateman) who is indebted to Hancock, and offers to turn the man’s image around.

 

They attempt to do just that, with one good deed leading to another, until a mysterious newcomer comes into Hancock’s life.

 

This is Mary (played by Charlize Theron) and she too happens to have similar superpowers.

 

She slowly guides Hancock toward an understanding of who they are and where they actually come from.

 

 

31. Man of Steel (2013)

 

 

 

A modern-day remake of 1978 original, this film sees Henry Cavill stepping into the vaunted role of the ‘Man of Steel’, aka Superman.

 

Called Kal-El on his Krypton home planet, Superman arrives on Earth as a baby inside an escape pod, dispatched as the sole survivor of his race mere minutes before his planet was annihilated.

 

He grows up as a human named Clark Kent under the care and love of Jonathan and Martha Kent (played by Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, respectively) who adopted him after they found him on their farm.

 

A few Kryptonians did apparently survive the planetary destruction. One of them was General Zod (played by Michael Shannon) who now arrives on Earth and decides to cull all humans so he can use the planet for his own nefarious purposes.

 

Clark has by this time grown into a man and is working at Metropolis’s Daily Planet as a reporter.

 

Star journalist Lois Lane (played by Amy Adams) gradually grows close to Superman over the course of multiple coverages, never quite realizing that her co-worker Clark Kent and the Man of Steel are one and the same person.

 

Superman, now facing Zod’s grave threat of his new home planet and all those he loves, rises to counter him before it is too late.

 

 

32. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

 

 

 

Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) is ill at ease with his place in the world, be it in school or family.

 

The teenager from Brooklyn later decides, and rather reluctantly, to join an elite boarding school in NYC.

 

He finds fresh responsibilities there as well as an entire subway world accessible via an abandoned underground railway tunnel.

 

There he accidentally encounters a radioactive spider hailing from an alternate dimension. With his newfound super-powers, the animation-feature film Miles Morales follows in the rich story tradition set down by the first Spider-Man in the 2002 feature-length-movie.

 

An inter-dimensional conflict is imminent, unbeknownst to Miles. He eventually gets embroiled in the chaos of it all, forcing him to master his spider powers as soon as possible because the fate of the entire universe – harboring their own versions of Spider-Man (!) – hangs by a thread.

 

 

33. Batman & Robin (1997)

 

 

Gotham City is facing another set of troublesome villains, starting with Mr. Freeze (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger).

 

The former doctor now freak once used an experimental drug to lace his blood with cryogenic liquid, giving him a ‘cool’ look but also demanding that he stay in a sub-zero suit.

 

In the hope of reviving his fully frozen wife, Mr. Freeze will do anything including bringing Gotham to a chilling standstill until he gets the cash he needs to find a cure for the enigmatic illness that afflicted his missus.

 

The next baddie to come on the scene is Poison Ivy (played by Uma Thurman), a venomous villainess who uses plant-based chemicals, toxins, and psychotropics to bring men to their knees and obey her every whim.

 

Serving her at this time is Bane (played by Jeep Swenson). Before long, the duo becomes a trio, aligning their goals with that of Mr. Freeze who promised her that she would (once Gotham falls) get her own large space to nurture and maintain a plethora of genetically enhanced flora.

 

Batman (real name Bruce Wayne, played by George Clooney) and Robin (real name Dick Grayson, played by Chris O’Donnell) team up to take the tri-villain squad down only to encounter Poison Ivy’s irresistible chemical touch that ends up dividing the Dark Knight and the Boy Wonder.

 

As time goes on, Alfred Pennyworth (the Wayne family butler) is struck by the same sickness as Mr. Freeze’s wife.

 

Entering the fray to lend a crucial helping Batarang is Batgirl (real name Barbara Gordon, played by Alicia Silverstone) who, being a woman, is immune to Ivy’s chemically induced charms and is thus in a unique position to support Batman and Robin in their goal to stop these new threats to Gotham City.

 

 

34. Black Panther (2018)

 

 

 

This film is dedicated to the story of Prince T’Challa (aka Black Panther, played by the late Chadwick Boseman), and covers events following the ones that featured in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War”.

 

T’Challa finds himself going back to his homeland of Wakanda to attend to the funeral responsibilities of his father King T’Chaka who was recently murdered in a bomb blast at the UN.

 

Being next in line to a throne he never really wanted, T’Challa finds himself conflicted but determined to honor his father’s legacy.

 

Wakanda has always seen trouble with a certain arms dealer by the name of Ulysses Klaue (played by Andy Serkis).

 

The man is privy, and often gains access, to more Wakandan tech secrets than he has a right to be.

 

When Ulysses plans to strike rich, T’Challa and several keynote Wakandans aim to stop him.

 

After all, the world is not yet aware of the super-tech city of Wakanda, which has long been functioning as a country in its own right while remaining shielded behind an ‘invisibility dome’ powered by futuristic tech.

 

Ulysses becomes even more of a threat when he teams up with the power-hungry Erik Killmonger (played by Michael B. Jordan) who believes it is his right to take up the now-empty throne, and that he has served and sacrificed more than T’Challa.

 

But the mantle of Black Panther is not passed down by name alone. It requires more than just blood to honor and uphold certain timeless traditions.

 

 

35. Iron Man (2008)

 

 

 

This is the first movie for the billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and genius Tony Stark (aka Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr.).

 

His father made quite a name for himself as a weapons contractor and inventor. Tony finds himself on an important business trip, one that involves giving a game-changing weapons presentation to Lt. Col. James Rhodes, head of a special-forces Iraqi squad. Tony has to go behind enemy lines, at which point his Humvee attracts unwanted attention and the group comes under attack.

 

Stark survives, but barely, sparking the genius in him to use a car battery to help keep him alive.

 

Tony learns something crucial about battery power mechanics that eventually leads him to design and construct the prototype for his first Iron-Man suit.

 

The primitive device he made to keep him alive also helps get him safely out of the cave in which he took refuge.

 

A while after he lands on American soil, Tony puts the resources of Stark Industries to good use and starts to perfect his ever-developing Iron Man suit.

 

Along comes the unwelcome interventions of Obadiah Stane (played by Jeff Bridges), the man who was put in charge of Stark Industries in Tony’s absence.

 

Obadiah is quite ambitious and wants more control, even if he has to wrest it out of Tony’s hands entirely.

 

 

36. Avengers: Endgame (2019)

 

 

 

This film carries forward the plot that unraveled in 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” in which Thanos succeeded in gathering all Infinity Stones and snapping his gauntleted fingers to end half of all life in the universe.

 

Innocents and Avengers alike faced instant disintegration, and the world was brought to its knees in several regards.

 

There is still a way to reverse the situation, apparently. Those Avengers who still draw breath gradually – with some of them reluctantly – reunite to go find the self-exiled Thanos and set things right.

 

An ultimate showdown is about to take place between Thanos and themselves. Several parties and forces on both sides forge allegiances dark and good as they prepare for the endgame, which promises to be the biggest battle they will ever face.

 

 

37. Superman: The Movie (1978)

 

 

The first Superman movie that started the franchise, this film sees young Kal-El (aka Superman, the older version played by Christopher Reeve) being sent to Earth as a last resort when his home planet Krypton fails to survive a major extinction event.

 

Farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent (played by Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter, respectively) find the boy inside his space pod and decide to raise him (in secret) as their own.

 

The couple soon discovers that the boy harbors incredible superhuman powers. They guide and teach him to keep his skills secret while living among mortals as a normal human being.

 

They call him Clark Kent, and he grows into a man ready to join work in Metropolis.

 

Clark lands the role of a reporter at the Daily Planet where he encounters the beautiful, brave, and talented Lois Lane (played by Margot Kidder).

 

Clark strives to keep his real identity and powers a secret even from Lois, but he can’t help giving in to his real talents when it means others around him can benefit or be saved.

 

Superman thus gains a name for himself among the citizens of Metropolis. When he is not out there saving lives and helping people, the Kryptonian returns to convincingly playing the role of the human Clark Kent.

 

But when criminal genius Lex Luthor (played by Gene Hackman) sets in motion a sinister plan that involves twin missile detonations, Clark finds himself the only being in existence who can possibly stop Lex from realizing his dark agenda.

 

 

38. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

 

 

 

Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man, played by Tobey Maguire) is pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Physics at the University of Columbia.

 

It has been two years since the events that unraveled in the previous film, wherein Norman Osborn (aka Green Goblin, played by Willem Dafoe) perished.

 

Peter and Mary Jane are growing apart and his Aunt May Parker (played by Rosemary Harris) is facing foreclosure.

 

Peter, unable to find balance or peace, often misses classes at college. He is also grappling with his newfound powers and superhero identity.

 

As Spider-Man, Peter finds solace in the act of helping others with their problems. A freak scientific accident soon makes room for a new supervillain, the quite mad scientist Doc Ock (aka Doctor Octopus, played by Alfred Molina).

 

With his four mecha-tentacled appendages and ingenious mind, Doc Ock starts to steal banks to help fund his next insane experiment, one that could wipe out the world if things go wrong.

 

Peter Parker finds himself getting closer to the realization that he has to fully accept his future as Spider-Man if he is to save not just Mary Jane but all whom he loves, and the entire city in fact, from imminent doom.

 

 

39. Wonder Woman (2017)

 

 

 

The mythical Amazons are a race of warrior-women who live and train on the secluded and hidden island of Themyscira.

 

In this movie, they are given significant roles with the plot being squarely centered on Diana, a princess of the Amazon tribe and a powerful warrior in her own right.

 

She has thus far led a peaceful and routine life among her sisters. But when a lost American pilot named Steve Trevor (played by Chris Pine) accidentally discovers the island and encounters Diana, something clicks between them.

 

She also learns through him that the great war, namely World War II, is threatening the future of humanity.

 

Going against everything her sister-Amazons have stood for, Diana ventures out into the world to help Steve and his country fight and win against the fascist threat.

 

Also entering the chaotic fray is the God of War Ares, who threatens Diana’s personal world, starting with her mother.

 

 

40. Incredibles 2 (2018)

 

 

 

The Parr family has fully accepted the fact that they make a great superhero team.

 

However, doing anything ‘heroic’ has been illegal for a while now. When a villain calling himself the Underminer threatens the city, the Parrs get into action only to meet with the long arm of the law.

 

Devtech Deavor siblings Evelyn (voiced by Catherine Keener) and Winston (voiced by Bob Odenkirk) are striving to return dignity to the ‘Supers’ in the world.

 

They pool their resources on Helen Parr (aka Elastigirl, voiced by Holly Hunter) to turn public perceptions back toward superheroism.

 

This leaves Bob Parr (aka Mr. Incredible, voiced by Craig T. Nelson) a stay-at-home dad.

 

He finds the going tough in more ways than one, especially with their third child, the infant Jack-Jack who is yet to discover his powers and is thus superheroically unstable.

 

The baby’s abilities keep manifesting in uncontrollable ways. Screenslaver, another villain, starts threatening the order of things in the world, and Elastigirl is on point to counter him.

 

A great mystery surrounds this new enemy, and it is going to take more than one Parr to stop him.

 

 

41. The Avengers (2012)

 

 

 

The first-ever movie featuring all official Avengers members, this story follows S. H. I. E. L. D. after they successfully locate the enigmatic Tesseract, which purportedly has the power to create a direct portal to the all-powerful realm of the gods of Asgard.

 

Around this time, the Asgardian God of Mischief Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) is on Earth and making plans to conquer the human race.

 

Director Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) of S. H. I. E. L. D. is definitely not pleased, especially when Loki makes away with the Tesseract device.

 

Nick believes the only way to stop the new threat to Earth is to gather a group of diverse superheroes into a team.

 

He makes a move to convince and recruit ‘The Avengers’ who will include Dr. Bruce Banner (aka the Hulk, played by Mark Ruffalo), Steve Rogers (aka Captain America, played by Chris Evans), Tony Stark (aka Iron-Man, played by Robert Downey Jr.), and Thor (aka the Asgardian God of Thunder and step-brother to Loki, played by Chris Hemsworth).

 

Nick also brings together expert assassins Clint Barton (aka Hawkeye, played by Jeremy Renner) and Natasha Romanoff (aka Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson).

 

The newly assembled Avengers must stop Loki before Earth becomes a slave planet to his diabolical whims.

 

 

42. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

 

 

 

This film follows the aftermath of events in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War”. Protégé to Tony Stark, the teenage Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland) is back in his hometown of Queens, New York.

 

He’s doing his best to balance studies and superhero duties. As Spider-Man, Peter certainly has big shoes to fill, and he gets Tony’s help training to fill it.

 

Spidey, after all, desperately wants to become one of the Avengers where he feels he can do the most good.

 

Tony is worried for the boy, whom he considers his own son, and so intentionally keeps him on a short leash for the time being.

 

Around this time winged super-criminal Vulture (real name Adrian Toomes, played by Michael Keaton) comes on the scene.

 

His futuristic Chitauri weapons seem to be more than a match for Spider-Man’s abilities. Peter, on the other hand, sees in Vulture the opportunity to prove his mettle and eligibility to join the Avengers.

 

 

43. Shazam! (2019)

 

 

 

Billy Batson (played by Asher Angel) finds himself abandoned as a young child. He soon becomes a burden to Child Services when he refuses to give up the search for his mother.

 

When he finally lands a place in a foster family, Billy befriends Freddy Freeman (played by Jack Dylan Grazer).

 

Before long, Billy finds himself being ‘chosen’ to become the next ‘Shazam’, a superhero whose wizard powers come from an inter-cosmic plane.

 

The young boy now has the ability to simply utter the name “Shazam!” out loud and become a grown man endowed with superhuman abilities.

 

Freddy and Billy start exploring the latter’s new powers until a dangerous enemy comes calling.

 

Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (played by Mark Strong) is not happy that he was overlooked by the mysterious wizard for receiving the powers of Shazam.

 

He went on to adopt the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ instead and now madly pursues Billy with the express intention of ending him.

 

 

44. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

 

 

 

The first movie featuring these particular heroes, this story takes place three decades after Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord, played by Chris Pratt) experienced a ‘close encounter of the fourth kind’, i.e., alien abduction.

 

He was accidentally taken, raised, and trained in criminal ways by Yondu Udonta (played by Michael Rooker).

 

Peter is now readying to steal a precious artifact known simply as the ‘Orb’. He has to forge strange allegiances with his crew who include Gamora (played by Zoe Saldana), Drax (played by Dave Bautista), Rocket Racoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel).

 

They are tasked with thwarting the plans of Kree warlord Ronan (played by Lee Pace) before he prevents them from getting rich by selling the Orb.

 

At some point, these five unconventional individuals become the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’.

 

 

45. The Suicide Squad (2021)

 

 

 

A recreation – an alternate version, rather – of the 2016 movie with the same name, this one follows familiar characters who are set on a dark mission that goes wrong.

 

Anti-heroes and anti-heroines like Harley Quinn (played by Margot Robbie), Peacemaker (played by John Cena), Bloodsport (played by Idris Elba), Colonel Rick Flag (played by Joel Kinnaman), Savant (played by Michael Rooker), and more become ‘Task Force X’ or ‘The Suicide Squad’ under the aegis of Amanda Waller (played by Viola Davis).

 

After a while, the surviving inmates of Belle Reve make for the capital of Corto Maltese where they end up confronting  Starro the Conqueror – a giant alien starfish creature known to take over worlds by controlling the brains of higher-order life-forms in it, but is otherwise passive if left “…happy…floating, staring at the stars.”

 

 

46. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

 

 

 

The year is 2023 and it is a rather dystopian future. In it, Logan (aka Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman) confronts a looming threat.

 

Dr. Bolivar Trask (played by Peter Dinklage) has dispatched his highly specialized mutant-hunting robots The Sentinels to find and kill any meta-humans.

 

Both mutants and their supporters alike are culled to the point of extinction. Professor Charles Xavier (played by Patrick Stewart) is by this time an aging mutant.

 

He teams up with his one-time friend and long-time enemy Magneto (real name Erik Lehnsherr, played by Ian McKellan) to gather what mutants remain and make a final stand against Bolivar’s agenda.

 

But to even get the right mutants, and in the right timeline, the swift-healing and almost-undying Wolverine is tasked with traveling back in time to convince and recruit their younger selves from the year 1973.

 

It is a life-or-death mission, and Logan does not feel he is up to it.

 

Meanwhile, Mystique (played by Jennifer Lawrence) has her own troubles to solve, one that might determine several varied outcomes.

 

 

47. The Guardians (2017)

 

 

This is the only non-English title we have on this list, and it was simply too irresistible to pass up.

 

Originally titled “Zashchitniki”, this Russian superhero movie really pulled out all the stops. Its events take place during the Cold War.

 

An organization styling itself ‘Patriot’ has created a squad of super-powered human beings. These individuals hail from different Soviet republics and have remained in hiding for several years.

 

The heroes are Arseniy (aka Arsus, played by Anton Pampushnyy) who can transform into a super-strong bear-human hybrid, Temirkhan (aka Khan, played by Sanjar Madi) who has super-speed abilities and is skilled in the use of dual-curved swords, Lernik (aka Ler, played by Sebastien Sisak) who can control the elements of stone and earth, and Kseniya (played by Alina Lanina) who can toggle her invisibility powers on and off at will and can also transform her body into water.

 

Circumstances have turned dark for the Communist nation, and these heroes are called to the fore to serve Mother Russia.

 

 

48. Big Hero 6 (2014)

 

 

 

A devastating situation unfolds in San Fransokyo (sic) pushing robotics nerd Hiro (voiced by Ryan Potter) into serious danger.

 

Hiro turns to inflatable healthcare robot Baymax (voiced by Scott Adsit) and buddies like fan-boy Fred (voiced by T. J. Miller), chemistry whiz kid Honey Lemon (voiced by Genesis Rodriguez), neat-freak Wasabi (voiced by Damon Wayans Jr.), and adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago (voiced by Jamie Chung) to resolve the situation threatening way of life in their hometown.

 

A mystery is just waiting to be uncovered as the high-tech troupe, calling themselves ‘Big Hero 6’, team up to take on a diabolical supervillain who is intent on misusing Hiro’s invention.

 

This Disney animation film won the ‘Best Animated Feature’ Academy Award in 2015.

 

 

49. Batman Forever (1995)

 

 

 

Batman (played by Val Kilmer) finds himself confronting not one but two dastardly criminals: The Riddler (real name Edward Nygma, played by Jim Carrey) and Two-Face (real name Harvey Dent, played by Tommy Lee Jones).

 

Harvey is intent on pinning the blame for his disfigurement on Batman and goes about unleashing terror on Gotham City just so he could draw the Dark Knight to him.

 

Edward, on the other hand, was a former employee of millionaire Bruce Wayne. He served as a computer genius at Wayne Enterprises.

 

Several circumstances later, Edward attains the identity of the Riddler and devises a machine that can drain any and all data from the brains of every citizen in Gotham.

 

Batman’s true name is also threatened with exposition as a result of Edward’s machinations. Bruce harbors deep feelings for Dr. Chase Meridan (played by Nicole Kidman), whose future is also threatened thanks to the villains.

 

Ex-circus acrobat Dick Grayson (aka Robin, played by Chris O’Donnell) becomes Bruce’s ward after his parents are killed by none other than Two-Face.

 

As time goes by, Bruce Wayne mentors the boy and makes him his crime-fighting partner Robin.

 

 

50. Spider-Man (2002)

 

 

 

Being the very first Spider-Man movie, this title features the story of nerdy college student Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire) who lives with his aunt and uncle after having lost his parents at a young age.

 

He is often bullied and harbors a secret crush on a girl called Mary Jane Watson (played by Kirsten Dunst).

 

One fateful day during a scientific excursion, an escaped radioactive spider bites him, thus altering Peter on a genetic level.

 

Before long, he starts showing signs of a ‘superhuman’ nature, what with his newfound enhanced vision, better physique, and the ability to climb any surface in addition to shooting out incredibly strong web strings that enable him to do things no ordinary human being can.

 

Peter dons the ‘secret identity’ of Spider-Man, makes his own suit at home, and learns to do his bit to help solve crime in the city.

 

Around this time, eccentric millionaire Norman Osborn (played by Willem Dafoe) has long been researching a risky performance-enhancement compound.

 

It is ready, apparently, and Norman does not hesitate to inject himself with it. He inadvertently unleashes his alter ego, Green Goblin, and begins to terrorize the city with his maniacal exploits.

 

Peter Parker finds his conscience forcing him to confront the Green Goblin and save the lives threatened by him.

 

 

51. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

 

 

 

It has been eight solid years since the events that transpired in 2008’s “The Dark Knight”.

 

Gotham seems to be in a relative state of calm. Batman (real name Bruce Wayne, played by Christian Bale) has inadvertently taken the fall for the murder of DA Harvey Dent (later re-branded as Two-Face, played by Aaron Eckhart in the previous film).

 

A new evil now threatens Gotham City and his name is Bane (played by Tom Hardy).

 

Bane’s ultimate goal is to take over Gotham and shed light on the truth and corruption that surrounded Harvey Dent’s rise to power.

 

Wayne Manor (in the previous film) was destroyed and is now undergoing major rebuilding and renovation.

 

Bruce Wayne finds himself turning extraordinarily reclusive, staying within his estate at all times and refusing to don the cape and mantle of the Dark Knight.

 

When Bane takes over Gotham by sheer force, Batman is forced to return to the scene and confront the man.

 

Elusive jewel thief Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman, played by Anne Hathaway) teams up with Batman to help bring Bane down.

 

But her allegiance appears as questionable as Bane is unstoppable.

 

 

52. Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018)

 

 

 

It has been two years since Scott Lang (played by Paul Rudd) was placed under house arrest owing to his involvement with the Avengers.

 

His actions apparently went against the Sokovia Accords. Around this time, Dr. Hank Pym (played by Michael Douglas) works closely with his daughter Hope van Dyne (played by Evangeline Lilly) to access the quantum realm to rescue his wife (and Hope’s mother) Janet van Dyne (played by Michelle Pfeiffer).

 

They believe her to be trapped in that realm following a disastrous experiment that took place in Hank’s lab back in 1987.

 

This is not the first time Hank has been to the quantum realm, in fact, his last time there left him ‘quantum entangled’ with his wife, which is how he’s even able to receive and decode a message from her.

 

Days away from earning his freedom, Scott reaches out to Hank about the matter concerning Janet despite the two of them not being on good terms with one another.

 

Janet’s message leaves little room for Hank and Hope to plan a proper rescue. They need to work extremely fast and so they ‘jailbreak’ Scott Lang and leave behind a decoy to keep his FBI guard, Agent Jimmy Woo (played by Randall Park), on low alert.

 

The message from Janet is taken as proof that the woman is still alive and awaiting help.

 

Along with Hank and Hope, Scott builds a stable ‘quantum tunnel’ through which they can move via a vehicle into the quantum realm to bring Janet back.

 

They desperately need a part to complete their device, but that part can only be received via black market dealer Sonny Burch (played by Walton Goggins).

 

Realizing that Hank is involved in what amounts to an extremely lucrative piece of quantum research, Sonny plans a double-cross.

 

Hope is left donning her mother’s quantum suit and identity, namely Wasp, to bring justice to bear on Sonny’s head.

 

But her near-win is ruined by an unknown masked woman’s entry who seems to be almost ‘ghost-like’ in her movements and actions.

 

This mystery woman seems capable of handling quantum technology, and she successfully obstructs Hope. By this time, Hank and his entire laboratory have been quantum-shrunk into the size of a suitcase, and the unknown woman makes good her escape with it, with the good doctor still inside.

 

 

53. X2: X-Men United (2003)

 

 

 

It has been several months since the X-Men successfully defeated Magneto (real name Eric Lensherr, played by Ian McKellen), who is now incarcerated in a metal-free plastic prison designed to be impregnable.

 

Time passes and shocking news comes from the White House concerning a mutant assault on the President.

 

The mutant in question is Nightcrawler (real name Kurt Wagner, played by Alan Cumming) whose infiltration and attempted assassination of the POTUS forces the government’s hand to pass stringent anti-mutant policies into law.

 

In the meantime, Logan (aka Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman) is busy on a mission of self-discovery to learn more about his origins, particularly in regard to a scientist named William Stryker (played by Brian Cox).

 

William, on the other hand, has made stunning progress in tracking down and accessing Professor Charles Xavier’s (played by Patrick Stewart) ‘school for gifted youngsters’ and his vaunted Cerebro machine.

 

Magneto’s former partner Mystique (real name Raven Darkholme, played by Rebecca Romijn) is making progress in breaking her mentor and boss out of his non-metal prison.

 

Circumstances go awry and William Stryker succeeds in assaulting Charles’s school, leaving a handful of mutants alive and going into hiding.

 

These mutants include Logan, Iceman (real name Bobby Drake, played by Shawn Ashmore), Rogue (played by Anna Paquin), and a few others.

 

They eventually find themselves teaming up with a free Magneto to take William down and in the process rescue Professor X from the ‘mental illusion’ that Stryker has subjected him to.

 

All so William can wield Cerebro through the only mutant who can possibly do so, and through Charles discover more mutants to recruit to his dark cause.

 

 

54. Superman II (1980)

 

 

 

The Last Son of Krypton (aka Superman, played by Christopher Reeve) returns in this hit sequel where he gives in to a particular human emotion, namely love.

 

Superman develops feelings for journalist Lois Lane (played by Margot Kidder). Things are more complex than they seem because Superman’s incompatible molecular structure – he is basically an alien being called Kal-El from the planet Krypton – will make it dangerous for Lois to give him children, thus removing any chance of the two of them sharing a full relationship.

 

Superman is determined to make Lois happy, even if he has to sacrifice his Kryptonian superpowers to do so.

 

Pleas from the spirit of his long-lost mother notwithstanding, Kal-El fully attains his human identity Clark Kent.

 

Lois and he starts a life together, which is soon interrupted when three Kryptonian criminals pay Earth a visit after escaping their extra-dimensional prison.

 

They work closely with a very human, and quite ambitious, Lex Luthor (played by Gene Hackman) to achieve conquest.

 

Neither of them realizes that Superman is just a man now, and extremely vulnerable because of it.

 

There is a chance for Kal-El to regain his superpowers, but Clark wonders about the cost of that decision.

 

 

55. Deadpool 2 (2018)

 

 

 

Having lost his normal looks – in the events that transpired in 2016’s “Deadpool” film – and a little bit of his mind with it, the ‘merc with a mouth’ Wade Wilson (aka Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds) returns in this sequel.

 

He teams up, and rather reluctantly, with Professor Charles Xavier and his X-Men. This mission sees Wade seeking redemption for events in his past.

 

He and the others are off to rescue a fire-creating mutant named Russel, aka Firefist (played by Julian Dennison).

 

Meanwhile, time-traveling cyborg Cable (played by Josh Brolin) is also after the boy, but with darker intentions on his mind.

 

Cable wants Firefist dead for reasons only he knows. Thwarting the cybernetic murderer’s plans to end Firefist becomes Deadpool’s mission goal.

 

 

56. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

 

 

 

Now that Hellboy (played by Ron Perlman) has saved the world from the dark exploits of Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin (played in the first movie by Markos Rounthwaite), the fiery-red horned demon has fully accepted his role as the secret protector of humankind.

 

He is often at odds with those he works with at his father’s (the man who ‘adopted him’, played by John Hurt) Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence.

 

The Elven Prince Nuada (played by Luke Goss) is busy retrieving powerful crown fragments that, if reassembled, promise him total control over the ‘Golden Army’.

 

This force is an unstoppable and unbreakable legion of clockwork-mecha warriors. Using them, Nuada aims to annihilate all humankind and start a new world order.

 

Joining Hellboy on this challenging mission to stop Nuada are telekinetic Liz Sherman (played by Selma Blair), aquatic humanoid Abe Sapien (played by Doug Jones), and ectoplasmic entity Johann Krauss (played by John Alexander).

 

 

57. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

 

 

 

Thanos (aka the Mad Titan, played by Josh Brolin) initiates his hunt for the Infinity Stones.

 

He claimed the Space Stone from Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) and killed him soon after.

 

He has also gotten his hands on the Power Stone. Having found the location of the Time Stone, Thanos dispatches his lieutenants Ebony Maw (played by Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) and Cull Obsidian (played by Terry Notary) to wrest it from Doctor Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch).

 

He meanwhile sends out Proxima Midnight (played by Carrie Coon) and Corvus Glaive (played by Michael James Shaw) to bring back the Mind Stone from Vision (played by Paul Bettany).

 

Joining forces to stop Thanos from getting the Time Stone, Tony Stark (aka Iron Man, played by Robert Downey, Jr.) teams up with Bruce Banner (aka The Hulk, played by Mark Ruffalo).

 

They ally with Doctor Strange and his fellow sorcerer Wong (played by Benedict Wong). Soon Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland) joins the gang and they head into Space to stop Thanos.

 

There, they are joined by other prominent Avengers like Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

 

The latter group comprises the likes of Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Star-Lord (played by Chris Pratt), Mantis (played by Pom Klementieff), Drax (played by Dave Bautista), and Rocket Racoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), not to forget Gamora (played by Zoe Saldana) who happens to be Thanos’s estranged (adopted) daughter.

 

She warns Thor and the others about what her ‘father’ is capable of before watching the God of Thunder leave to fulfill an important side-mission along with Groot and Rocket.

 

Meanwhile, the rest of the Guardians team up with Strange, Stark, and Peter to complete another side goal imperative to obstructing Thanos’s search for the Infinity Stones.

 

In the meantime, the situation in Wakanda is similar, with Steve Rogers (aka Captain America, played by Chris Evans) teaming up with Sam Wilson (aka the Falcon, played by Anthony Mackie), and Natasha Romanoff (aka the Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson).

 

He is joined by Bruce Banner, James Rhodes (aka War Machine, played by Don Cheadle), and Wanda Maximoff (aka the Scarlet Witch, played by Elizabeth Olsen) who collectively prepare to protect Vision in whose android forehead is embedded the potent Mind Stone.

 

In high-tech Wakanda, none other than its own King, T’Challa (aka the Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman), supports their cause, lending them every resource available to him if it means stopping Thanos from destroying half the universe in his insane aim at ‘bringing balance’.

 

 

58. Batman Begins (2005)

 

 

 

Young Bruce Wayne is a changed boy after witnessing the murder of his parents by a criminal who gunned them down when the three of them were heading to their car after spending time at a theatre.

 

Over the years, Bruce trains hard and smart in the hopes of someday becoming skilled enough to fight the criminal elements in his city.

 

This story comes before he even became Batman. Older Bruce Wayne (played by Christian Bale) is traveling in central Asia, living and learning among various communities.

 

He encounters an enigmatic figure named Ra’s Al Guhl (played by Ken Watanabe) and joins his League of Shadows.

 

After much time, he returns home to his estate and greets his family butler Alfred Pennyworth (played by Michael Caine).

 

Bruce, the billionaire playboy, is back in Gotham, secretly a changed man. His father’s company, Wayne Enterprises, was run successfully by select board members in his absence.

 

Now that he’s back, Bruce takes over the reins. Before long, he convinces the talented Lucius Fox (played by Morgan Freeman), head of Wayne Enterprise’s Applied Sciences division, to craft his gear and a suit.

 

Thus Bruce gradually dons the mantle of the dreaded Dark Knight, aka Batman, and takes on the growing corruption and crime in Gotham.

 

He starts by attempting to clean up goings-on within the organized crime underworld in his city.

 

Batman soon discovers a new breed of criminal is playing the game. It now falls to him to save his city (and country) before these criminals decide they can rule as they please.

 

 

59. The Phantom (1996)

 

 

 

Four hundred years in the past, a young boy saw firsthand the murder of his own father when the ship they were on came under attack by the heartless Sengh Brotherhood.

 

The ship sunk but the boy survived, washing ashore on Bengalla Island. Soon after he regained his senses, he vowed to save others from being deprived of those they love.

 

He trained hard to fight injustice, piracy, and greed anywhere on the globe. To do this, he took on the identity of ‘The Phantom’, a masked superhero in a purple suit skilled in martial arts.

 

Before long, a legend started to develop around the man, and people near and far started to call him ‘The Ghost Who Walks’.

 

Years passed, and the Phantom’s legacy is passed down to its twenty-first successor. The latest Phantom is Christopher Walker (played by Billy Zane).

 

He travels to NYC to confront power-hungry businessman Xander Drax (played by Treat Williams) who is busy sending out expeditions to find three magic skulls that would bestow upon him the power of immortality.

 

Standing in his way is yet another villain, namely the Great Kabai Sengh (played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa).

 

Christopher also joins forces with Sala (played by Catherine Zeta-Jones) with whom he develops a deeper bond.

 

 

60. X-Men (2000)

 

 

 

In a world known for being fearful, intolerant, and prejudiced, mutants (or meta-humans) try silently co-exist with normal people.

 

The telepathic Professor Charles Xavier (played by Patrick Stewart) runs a school for gifted youngsters.

 

The establishment is a front, using which he finds, trains, and safely accommodates mutants of all ages.

 

He prepares them to use their powers for good, with skilled mutants even being sent out on covert missions to help the United States, and sometimes the world.

 

Charles’s friend and fellow mutant Magneto (played by Ian McKellan) does not appreciate his docile and passive take on what mutants should be and do.

 

He is busy gathering his own recruits in readiness for war. The latest student to join Charles’s school is a girl mutant-nick-named Rogue (played by Anna Paquin).

 

Part of the school is Logan (aka Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman) who helps, however, he can.

 

Personal issues are put aside for a greater cause, namely the ‘X-Men’ working to counter Magneto’s swelling megalomaniacal influence in the vast mutant ‘underground’.

 

 

61. Black Widow (2021)

 

 

 

Natasha Romanoff (aka the Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson) finally gets her own movie, one that explores her dark, and heart-breaking, past.

 

She has always been aware of dangerous conspiracies that threaten to destabilize the world if left unchecked.

 

One such conspiracy is a global spy network that trains ‘Widows’ in a secret above-ground location called the ‘Red Room’.

 

This place is run by the ruthless Dreykov (played by Ray Winstone). Natasha also reconnects with her ‘family’, whom she has long known to be spies like herself, all connected somehow to the goings-on at the Red Room.

 

She now has to team up with her family and take Dreykov down. Along with her ‘sister’ Yelena Belova (played by Florence Pugh), ‘mother’ Melina (played by Rachel Weisz), and ‘father’ Alexei (played by David Harbour), she embarks on a powerful mission to end all missions.

 

The events in this film cover her experiences before her days as one of the Avengers and her eventual noble self-sacrifice.

 

 

62. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

 

 

 

The year is 1942 and America is well into World War II. One of the eager-to-serve soldiers in the U.S. Army is Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans) who is repeatedly rejected for active field duty owing to his unqualified physical stats.

 

Along comes Dr. Abraham Erskine (played by Stanley Tucci) who recruits Steve into ‘Project Rebirth’, a highly controversial scientific endeavor that is intended to take ordinary men and give them extraordinary physical strength.

 

Before long, an intrepid Steve is subjected to a process that could have killed him but instead turned him into a human who has attained their maximum physical potential.

 

Steve is soon dubbed ‘Captain America’ and used more as a propaganda tool than a ready-to-serve soldier.

 

Around this time, Dr. Erskine is assassinated by Nazi agents working for HYDRA. This particular branch of the Third Reich answers to a man called Johann Schmidt (aka the Red Skull, played by Hugo Weaving).

 

Steve soon delves into his new capabilities and finally gets the opportunity to take the war to Johann and serve him a shield-full of justice.

 

 

63. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

 

 

 

Loki’s Sceptre has been found at a Hydra base in Sokovia. The Avengers team up to raid the place, which is under the command of Strucker (played by Thomas Kretschmann).

 

They also learn that the man has been busy experimenting on a pair of orphan twins – the super-speed endowed Pietro Maximoff (aka Quicksilver, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and the chaos-magic capable Wanda Maximoff (aka Scarlet Witch, played by Elizabeth Olsen).

 

Meanwhile, Tony Stark’s (aka Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr.) work on Loki’s Sceptre leads him to a shocking discovery.

 

Inside it is a potent Artificial Intelligence. Tony decides to convince Bruce Banner (aka The Hulk, played by Mark Ruffalo) into helping him transfer the AI into Stark’s Ultron defense system.

 

Before long, the machine is overtaken by the Sceptre’s AI and decides that humanity needs to be wiped out in order for Planet Earth to be safe.

 

Ultron battles the Avengers and soon after flees to Sokovia with the Sceptre. There he constructs his mecha-army and later teams up with Pietro and Wanda Maximoff.

 

Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) finds the recovering Avengers in Clint Barton’s (aka Hawkeye, played by Jeremy Renner) home, and gives them bad news – they’re going to have to find and fight Ultron or the world is doomed.

 

 

64. Superman Returns (2006)

 

 

 

Arch-villains Ursa and Non are taken care of, and with General Zod also out of the picture, Superman (aka Clark Kent, played by Brandon Routh) decides to depart Earth and pay his home planet Krypton a visit.

 

Human astronomers have allegedly discovered the exact location of the planet, and it inspires Superman to help confirm their findings.

 

Alas, all he finds when he arrives is a dead space rock. He returns home to learn that Lois Lane (played by Kate Bosworth) is engaged.

 

He also observes that Lex Luthor (played by Kevin Spacey) has been up to his old tricks.

 

The man’s psychopathic attempts at controlling everything have led to serious repercussions in the past.

 

This time around, Lex is out seeking vengeance against the ‘Man of Steel’. In his possession are enough Kryptonite crystals to help him create a new continent with them at its core.

 

This way, he keeps Superman at bay, because Kryptonite is lethal to him. Lex is uninterested in how many people will die before he can accomplish his ever-swelling need for societal and financial domination.

 

 

65. Batman Returns (1992)

 

 

 

Now that Batman (real name Bruce Wayne, played by Michael Keaton) has successfully stopped the Joker, he sets his sights on the strange and eccentric Oswald Cobblepot, (aka The Penguin, played by Danny DeVito).

 

The film covers this villain’s origin story in a creepy-curious way. Oswald is a shrewd person/creature and his aims include more than just being accepted by Gotham’s citizenry.

 

He works closely with cunning businessman Max Shreck (played by Christopher Walken), who is making a move for the Mayoral office.

 

The two of them are intent on framing Batman in a bad light. Around this time, Max’s secretary is wronged by him at the office.

 

The murder attempt leaves her battling for life, only to miraculously survive. But something has gone seriously wrong with Selina Kyle (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) because she starts to don deadly claws and a special suit, and pounces out the window in search of justice as the enigmatic vigilante known as The Catwoman.

 

 

66. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

 

 

 

High schooler Peter Parker (played by Andrew Garfield) lost his parents very young. His Uncle Ben (played by Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (played by Sally Field) raised him as their own.

 

Peter goes about aspiring to make it big in the scientific sector. As with most teens, Peter harbors a crush on a girl.

 

Her name is Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone). One day, Peter comes across an enigmatic suitcase that, for all intents and purposes, belonged to his father.

 

He soon realizes that there must have been more to his parents’ deaths/disappearances. His quiet investigation leads Peter to Oscorp and his dad’s ex-partner, Dr. Curt Connors (aka The Lizard, played by Rhys Ifans). Around this time, circumstances lead to Peter exploring his newfound powers following a bite from a scientifically modified spider.

 

As Peter gradually dons the mantle of ‘Spider-Man’, dark secrets come to light that forces him to confront Dr. Connors in his villain avatar The Lizard.

 

 

67. Iron Man 2 (2010)

 

 

 

Tony Stark has publicly revealed his identity in connection with being Iron Man. From global weapons contractors to the United States Government, sundry parties want to get their hands on Tony’s ingenious suit technology.

 

Tony’s father Howard Stark had a partner named Anton Vanko whose son, Ivan Vanko (played by Michael Rourke) now enters Tony’s life and makes it clear that he wants to control, create, and misuse his suit tech.

 

It wasn’t helping matters that Howard once succeeded in getting Anton banished to Russia on charges of treason.

 

Around this time, weapons contractor Justin Hammer (played by Sam Rockwell) has met with a humiliating business defeat on the floor of the Senate Armed Forces Committee.

 

Though a clear rival to Ivan, Justin realizes that he has to team up with the man if only to counter Stark Enterprises.

 

They soon hatch a scheme that ends in an attack on the Monaco 500. Tony is ailing at this time, and he is busy searching for a way to get himself back in form.

 

The government does not like Tony (Iron Man, or otherwise) being in control of such powerful technology – they too are after him to close shop.

 

Entering the chaos is Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) who comes bearing an offer Tony Stark cannot refuse.

 

 

68. Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

 

 

 

Definitely the ‘superior’ “Justice League” movie, this outstanding film lent immense credence to Zack Snyder’s directorial excellence.

 

Bruce Wayne (aka Batman, played by Ben Affleck) teams up with Diana (aka Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot) to avenge the death of Clark Kent (aka Superman, played by Henry Cavill).

 

Bruce is determined to get together a team of meta-humans to help shield and possibly save the world from a coming catastrophe that has Darkseid written all over it.

 

The team-building exercise is not as easy as it appears. Bruce slowly but surely gets the job done, finally convincing Arthur Curry (aka Aquaman, played by Jason Momoa), Barry Allen (aka Flash, played by Ezra Miller), and Victor Stone (aka Cyborg, played by Ray Fisher) to be part of the team.

 

Standing against them, and posing a direct threat to Earth and its inhabitants, are DeSaad (voiced by Peter Guinness), Steppenwolf (voiced by Ciarán Hinds), a host of other-worldly creatures, and of course the mastermind behind the invasion, Darkseid (voiced by Ray Porter).

 

 

69. Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2000)

 

 

 

The ‘Tromaville School for the Very Special’ meets with a dangerous experience when the entire place is taken hostage by the sinister Diaper Mafia.

 

Along with his bizarrely chubby sidekick Chester, aka Lardass (played by Joe Fleishaker), the Toxic “Toxie” Avenger (played by David Mattey) attempted to save the day.

 

An explosion results, leading to a complex and unpredictable situation wherein a dimension is torn open connecting Tromaville with its ‘mirror image’ Amortville.

 

In this latter destination lives Toxie’s dark counterpart, namely Noxious “Noxie” Offender (double-acted by David Mattey).

 

While Toxie is trapped in Amortville, Noxie gets busy taking over Tromaville in this superhero comedy flick that contains more than a few laugh-worthy sequences.

 

How will Toxie return everything to normal? Then there’s the case of his wife Sarah (played by Heidi Sjursen) who is pregnant at one time with two children from two different fathers.

 

This crazy movie also features Tito (played by Michael Budinger) who strives and fails, to become a productive citizen.

 

 

70. The Rocketeer (1991)

 

 

 

The year is 1938. Pilot Cliff Secord (played by Billy Campbell) is accidentally shot mid-air when the FBI engages a gang on land in what became a full-blown car chase.

 

A seriously injured Cliff crash-lands. Before long, his dearest friend A. “Peevy” Peabody (played by Alan Arkin) tries to raise money on his behalf by fixing and enrolling a plane in an exhibition.

 

When Cliff crashed, he ended up discovering a special item that the gangsters hid away from the police.

 

The ‘object’ boasted rockets and belts, and Cliff soon surmised that it looked more than capable of helping a person fly once they strap on the device.

 

Around this time, his aspiring actress girlfriend Jenny Blake (played by Jennifer Connelly) lands a career-changing movie role alongside popular actor Neville Sinclair (played by Timothy Dalton).

 

Circumstances progress until Cliff finds himself saving a mechanic named Malcolm (played by Eddie Jones) during a flight exhibition.

 

Cliff dons the rocket device to go to the man’s aid and thereafter is tagged by the public as ‘The Rocketeer’.

 

Having made it to the front pages of major newspaper dailies, Cliff becomes quite a popular man, especially with the FBI who, along with German spies and sundry gang members, are after him and the device he was never supposed to possess.

 

The villains even go so far as to kidnap Jenny if it means drawing Cliff into a trap.

 

 

71. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

 

 

 

World leaders have begun to believe that heroes like Iron Man (real name Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America (real name Steve Rogers, played by Chris Evans) are running fast and loose, with nobody to control them or direct their actions.

 

When talk of ‘regulation’ comes knocking, sentiments are divided. Where Tony believes it is necessary, Steve thinks otherwise.

 

The Avengers thus split into two warring factions. One is pro-regulation to keep the world safe in case anyone among them decides to misuse their powers, and the other is pro-justice in a world that they feel is trying to keep them from doing the most good.

 

Meanwhile, a UN meeting handling the regulation meets with an explosion, which claims multiple lives including that of the King of Wakanda.

 

A follow-up investigation lays blame on The Winter Soldier (real name Bucky Barnes, played by Sebastian Stan).

 

Bucky just so happens to be a former wartime friend of Steve Rogers. Nearly everyone is out to get Bucky, dead or alive, but Steve makes a move to find and reason with the soldier instead.

 

Steve finally encounters Bucky only to learn that his friend was being framed for a crime he did not commit.

 

Their meeting is interrupted by a man in a super-suit who is later revealed to be The Black Panther (real name T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman), who’s the murdered Wakandan King’s son out seeking justice for the death of his father.

 

Bucky Barnes is now in custody, and a psychiatrist is appointed to help evaluate his war-ravaged state of mind.

 

Bucky soon discovers an opportunity to perform a jailbreak, after which Steve Rogers – who helped him escape in the first place – joins forces with the Winter Soldier to find out who was really behind the UN bombing.

 

Tony Stark, not seeing reason in this new alliance nor in Captain America’s unwavering belief that Bucky is innocent, tags them both as wanted fugitives.

 

Tony teams up with War Machine (real name Lieutenant James Rhodes, played by Don Cheadle) and Black Widow (real name Natasha Romanoff, played by Scarlett Johansson) to help him rein in Bucky and Steve. Black Widow makes an acceptable suggestion to bring Black Panther into the deal.

 

Captain America, meanwhile, recruits the aid and support of Falcon (real name Sam Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie), Ant-Man (real name Scott Lang, played by Paul Rudd), Hawkeye (real name Clint Barton, played by Jeremy Renner), and The Scarlet Witch (real name Wanda Maximoff, played by Elizabeth Olsen).

 

Wanda has to be broken out of Tony Stark’s custody, because the man has placed her under the constant supervision of, um, Vision.

 

Her jailbreak makes Vision ally with Tony to help bring her back and stop the superhero ‘civil war’ from escalating any further than it already has.

 

 

72. The Shadow (1994)

 

 

 

This movie is based on a radio drama series and a popular 1930s pulp fiction.

 

Lamont Cranston (played by Alec Baldwin) is the titular Shadow. He goes up against arch-nemesis Shiwan Khan (played by John Lone) who is busy strategizing a way to take over the world.

 

He starts by holding an entire city ransom under the threat of an atomic bomb explosion.

 

The Shadow’s abilities include turning invisible. He also exercises the power to ‘cloud men’s minds’.

 

A blazing city rescue is on the books, and the action heat just gets more and more intense in this rather nostalgic superhero film.

 

 

73. Spider-Man 3 (2007)

 

 

 

Piecing together the parts of his life that were shattered, Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man, played by Tobey Maguire) focuses on keeping his relationship with Mary Jane Watson (played by Kirsten Dunst) going strong.

 

All the while, he’s balancing a secret crime-fighting life as Spider-Man. His old friend Harry Osborn (aka The New Goblin, played by James Franco) makes it clear that he’s after revenge for Spider-Man having killed his father (The Green Goblin, played by Willem Dafoe).

 

Peter, meanwhile, is also working to find his uncle Ben Parker’s (played by Cliff Robertson) killer and bring him to justice.

 

He soon learns that the murderer, Flint Marko (played by Thomas Haden Church), has undergone a dangerous transformation and become The Sandman.

 

Around this time, Peter’s spider suit displays a mind of its own. It turns black from its usual red-white-blue and seems to enhance Peter’s spider abilities.

 

It also starts to magnify Peter’s dark side, dragging him closer to a point of no return.

 

Peter Parker tries to make sense of it all if only to rediscover and safeguard the compassionate hero he has always been.

 

 

74. Deadpool (2016)

 

 

 

On the same day, his girlfriend Vanessa (played by Monica Baccarin) accepts his marriage proposal, Wade Wilson (aka Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds) is diagnosed with terminal cancer.

 

Being a former Special Ops agent, he does not shy from the possibility of finding a cure, especially when one could be had through an offer he receives from a shady organization.

 

Wade keeps his meeting with the psychopathic Ajax (real name Francis Freeman, played by Ed Skrein).

 

He learns that all he has to do to ensure that he goes on living is be subjected to a serum infusion.

 

Ajax promises the serum will cure Wade of his cancer. With help from his assistant Angel Dust (played by Gina Cariano), Ajax puts Wade through a sequence of biochemical phases that are nothing short of torture.

 

As a result, Wade is left burn-scarred from head to toe along with a super-accelerated healing ability.

 

Wade does not forgive Ajax for his deception. Before long, he arms himself with pistols, a katana, and a red mask and suit, re-brands himself as ‘Deadpool’, and makes it his life mission to hunt Ajax down and exact sweet revenge.

 

 

75. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

 

 

 

It has been four years since the Dark Elves were defeated, and two years following the tussle in Sokovia.

 

Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) is now in an entirely different zone in the universe, on a crazy planet called Sakaar.

 

A fresh threat is on the rise back in Asgard, namely the dark and cunning Hela (aka, the Goddess of Death, played by Cate Blanchett) coming to take over what she believes is her rightful throne.

 

She means to start conquering the rest of the universe after that. Thor is stuck on Sakaar, his sole hope for escape being a victory in one of the gladiator matches that are routinely held here.

 

He has to beat the Grandmaster’s (played by Jeff Goldblum) own defending champion if he is to gain any chance of going off-world.

 

The champion in question takes Thor by surprise because it’s his own fellow Avenger Bruce Banner (aka The Incredible Hulk, played by Mark Ruffalo).

 

One thing leads to another and Thor soon allies with The Hulk. He also ropes in Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) who is stuck on Sakaar with him.

 

Thor aims to make haste back to Asgard where his real challenge lies waiting, namely a final showdown with his sister Hela.

 

He has to win there more than anywhere else because Hela is intent on ushering in Ragnarök, the mythical (Nordic) ‘end of the world’.

 

 

76. Ant-Man (2015)

 

 

 

When engineer Scott Lang (played by Paul Rudd) commits a crime he thinks is just and correct, he finds himself staring at prison time.

 

He eventually leaves jail and wants to start afresh if only for the sake of his daughter.

 

His ex-wife, however, refuses to allow Scott the chance to interact with their girl, owing in large part to his criminal record, which has not made finding a normal job easy for Scott.

 

One of his friends soon informs him of an employment opportunity, one that will make full use of Scott’s skills.

 

The man is tasked with breaking into a vault, a project he gladly executes. Inside the vault, Scott finds a strange suit that he dons just for the heck of it, only to realize that it shrinks him to an atomic scale.

 

Bewildered, he attempts to return the suit only to be taken into custody again. A man pays Scott a visit under the pretense of being his state-appointed attorney.

 

Before long, ants (the engineered kind) bring the suit to Scott who is still inside his cell.

 

Taking the hint, Scott uses the suit to escape. Following his jailbreak, he finds and speaks to Dr. Hank Pym (played by Michael Douglas) and learns that he was the man behind the suit’s design.

 

Hank once used to call himself ‘Ant-Man’ to carry out various covert deeds but had to stop when he realized that ill-intentioned people were after his technology.

 

Hank ensured that nobody had access to the information that might allow them to replicate his suit, after which he went off-grid.

 

Now aged and forced out of his company, the good doctor wishes for Scott Lang to pick up where he left off and stop his protégé Darren Cross (played by Corey Stoll) from attempting a replication, which Darren is on the verge of doing.

 

Hank trains and entrusts Scott with a special mission, to infiltrate Darren’s labs and halt any possibility of the atom-suit from being reverse-engineered.

 

 

77. Darkman (1990)

 

 

 

When scientist Peyton Westlake (played by Liam Neeson) works on a project involving the creation of synthetic skin, he soon discovers a major flaw in his work.

 

The skin he crafted fails to remain stable for more than 99 minutes after it is used.

 

Peyton’s girlfriend, lawyer Julie Hastings (played by Frances McDormand), is at this time investigating a developer she believes is embroiled in corrupt dealings.

 

She accidentally leaves behind a few incriminating documents following a visit to Peyton’s home. Peyton Westlake soon experiences a power outage after which he learns that his synthetic suit has survived beyond the 99-minute benchmark.

 

He establishes the reason for this: light causes the skin to grow unstable. Around the time of these discoveries, psychotic criminal Robert G. Durant (played by Larry Drake) comes calling, demanding that Peyton hand over the documents collated by Julie.

 

They beat up the scientist and blow up his laboratory after reclaiming the damning evidence from his residence that might have landed their developer boss behind bars.

 

The explosion is so thorough that everyone is certain that it must have claimed Peyton’s life.

 

Before long, they discover the man, burned beyond recognition and fighting for his life. The government puts him through a radical new medical procedure that removes all sensations of pain from Peyton’s body.

 

Side effects of the procedure include the introduction of super-strength into the subject that causes the man to become inclined to violent outbursts.

 

Peyton Westlake re-styles himself as ‘Darkman’ after perfecting his synthetic skin technology. Using what evidence he has at hand, he starts to hunt down the men who left him for dead.

 

 

78. Thor (2011)

 

 

 

A war is raging between Asgardians and the Frost Giants. Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) is fighting to claim the throne, a right that belongs first to his brother Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth).

 

However, following the battle, All-Father Odin (played by Anthony Hopkins) casts Thor out of Asgard and sends him to Midgard, aka Earth.

 

This is punishment for Thor having disobeyed Odin’s orders during the battle. Upon arriving in Midgard, Thor realizes that he has not only lost the favor of the King of Asgard but also his legendary hammer Mjollnir.

 

He eventually unites with his hammer, pulling it up from the ground, and soon makes himself useful fighting for Earth’s freedom.

 

Around this time, Thor meets and falls in love with scientist Jane Foster (played by Natalie Portman).

 

Loki is not done conquering, in fact, the ‘God of Mischief’ now targets Earth. It is up to Thor to defend his new home and keep the people of the planet including his lover safe from the forces that Loki dispatches to help him take over Midgard.

 

 

79. Megamind (2010)

 

 

 

An alien planet is about to be annihilated, and two alien parents save their kids by sending them off-world inside special pods.

 

The infants arrive on Earth. One of them is a cute wee babe with superpowers who lands on the lawn of an impressive mansion.

 

The other is a not-so-cute blue babe with a humongous head who lands in the yard of a prison.

 

The blue-headed baby was accompanied by his tiny alien companion named Minion. Metro City thus becomes the unwitting destination for two entirely different alien babies to be raised in two markedly different environments.

 

However, they both attend the same school. Here, one of them is selfish but popular while the other is a typical outcast.

 

They both grow up and attain super-powered status, all the while remaining enemies. The popular kid becomes Metro Man (voiced by Brad Pitt) while the big-blue-head outcast becomes the villain known as Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell).

 

They experience countless face-offs against one another, only for Megamind to lose to Metro Man and find himself returning to prison time and again.

 

One day, Megamind engineers a death ray that reduces Metro Man to a skeletal husk. Having won against his ‘brother’ for the first time ever, Megamind celebrates the occasion only to realize that he is growing bored having nobody around to challenge him.

 

Around this time, Megamind is also deep into the dating game with his girlfriend, field reporter Roxanne Ritchie (voiced by Tina Fey), who does not know his real nature.

 

Relying on the pseudo-identity of curator Bernard (voiced by Ben Stiller), Megamind falls in love with Roxanne.

 

As time progresses, Megamind strategizes ways to create a new superhero to play the role of his opponent.

 

By sheer accident, he ends up transforming Roxanne’s field cameraman Hal Stewart (voiced by Jonah Hill) into a superhero called Tighten.

 

What Megamind wanted was a ‘good guy’, but he ends up with an evil supervillain who goes about destroying portions of Metro City.

 

It now falls to Megamind to don the sickening status of a ‘good superhero’ so he can save the city and his love.

 

 

80. The Wolverine (2013)

 

 

 

Haunted by the dark events surrounding his recent past with Jean Grey (aka Phoenix, played by Famke Janssen), Logan (aka Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman) has become something of a hermit, living alone in the woods and succumbing to nightmares on a daily basis.

 

A skilled katana-wielding Japanese girl named Yukio (played by Rila Fukushima) tracks Logan down. She informs him that her grandfather, powerful businessman Yashida (played by Hal Yamanouchi), is on his deathbed and wishes to share a few important truths with Logan before he leaves this world.

 

Logan obliges the request, mainly because Yashida was once a young soldier in World War II whose life Logan had saved during the American assault on Nagasaki.

 

The ever-healing and near-immortal Wolverine finds himself at a curious crossroads when Yashida proposes that he adopt the immortality gene while Logan attains a mortal life.

 

Wolverine promptly refuses the ‘transfer’, not desiring to pass such a painful burden on to another, let alone someone he calls a friend.

 

He stays over at Yashida’s and dreams a strange dream, one that involves the man’s physician, Dr. Viper (played by Svetlana Khodchenkova). His friend passes on, and Logan stays behind to attend the funeral.

 

At this time, the Japanese Yakuza makes a bold move to abduct Mariko (Yashida’s granddaughter, played by Tao Okamoto).

 

The ceremony is disrupted, and Logan soon flees with Mariko to safety. When he gets shot during all the confusion, Logan discovers that he isn’t quite healing the way he used to.

 

 

81. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

 

 

 

The ‘Incredible Hulk’ does not believe the name suits him. In fact, scientist Bruce Banner (played by Edward Norton) wants nothing better than to find a cure for his ‘condition’.

 

He searches the whole world for an antidote, but elect warmongers believe he is of more use to the world as a mindless brute with ultra-human strength.

 

Bruce’s unique situation does not help him pursue a normal romance with the one girl he loves most, Betty Ross (played by Liv Tyler).

 

After searching far and wide for any means of a cure, Bruce Banner returns home only to find himself pursued by an entity known simply as The Abomination.

 

The creature’s strength and power match his own, only this beast runs on pure aggression and does not care for the lives of those around it.

 

Bruce has little choice but to rely on the Hulk within. He summons the ‘green guy’ to help him save New York City from The Abomination.

 

He has a choice to make before the confrontation even happens: choose the cure and just be Bruce, or forget it and live the rest of his days with The Hulk inside him ready to rear to the surface each time he gets angry…really angry.

 

 

82. Aquaman (2018)

 

 

 

Son of the powerful Queen of Atlantis, Atlanna (played by Nicole Kidman), and an ordinary human man, lighthouse-keeper Thomas Curry (played by Temuera Morrison), Arthur Curry (aka Aquaman, played by Jason Momoa) seeks out his past.

 

He gradually learns more about his oceanic roots. Before long, he discovers that his mother has gone missing.

 

At around the same time, Arthur displays clear signs of regaining his inherent Atlantean abilities.

 

He also finds his future at odds with that of his half-brother, the spiteful King Orm (played by Patrick Wilson).

 

Orm is strategizing a war with the ‘surface world’ and its inhabitants. He wishes to crown himself ‘Master of the Ocean’ after uniting all seven under-sea kingdoms under his rule.

 

Along with bold Atlantean Princess Mera (played by Amber Heard), Arthur Curry embarks on a mission fraught with conflict and peril.

 

They use any clues they can find to the whereabouts of the mythical ‘Trident of Atlantis’, a weapon known for its immense magical prowess and one that belonged to Atlantis’s first ruler, King Atlan (played by Graham McTavish).

 

Only with the Trident can Aquaman hope to halt the brewing battle imminent between the under-sea realms and the surface world, and thus prevent billions of people from dying.

 

Though Arthur never quite warms to the idea of playing a leadership role, let alone a royal one, the time is coming when he will have to don a crown in order to wield the Trident and possibly usher in an era of peace between both worlds above and below the water.

 

 

83. The Incredibles (2004)

 

 

 

The citizens of Metroville, and the world, seem to have had enough of superheroes and other masked crime fighters.

 

A bill is passed that practically makes all superheroes illegal. Multiple lawsuits and fifteen years later, former strong-man defender of justice Bob Parr (aka Mr. Incredible, voiced by Craig T. Nelson) lives a simple suburban life with his wife and fellow crime-fighter Helen Parr (aka Elastigirl, voiced by Holly Hunter).

 

They live quiet lives as everyday citizens, despite the fact that their three children all harbor superpowers of their own.

 

A mystery invite soon comes Bob’s way, leading the man down a familiar path, only this time his attempts at reliving the ‘glory days’ without his wife Helen coming to know about it soon backfires.

 

But Earth is still in very real danger, a situation that just might call for yesteryear heroes like the Incredibles to once again don their suits and do what they do best: save the world.

 

 

84. The Dark Knight (2008)

 

 

 

Gotham has a new District Attorney (Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, played by Aaron Eckhart). Harvey brings with him a radical set of ideas that will practically, and permanently, dismantle Gotham’s organized crime networks.

 

Around this time, the so-called ‘rogue vigilante’ Batman (real name Bruce Wayne, played by Christian Bale) is making a name for himself fighting crime outside the control of the Law.

 

Not only do Batman’s activities spell trouble for Harvey Dent’s new legal agenda, but he also has to deal with the crime spree of a mad mastermind known simply as The Joker (played by Heath Ledger).

 

When the Joker executes a cunning bank heist that empties the Gotham mob’s coffers by a large amount, and when he uses his newfound fortune to plan and pull off strategic attacks on Gotham City and its people, DA Dent is forced to take his game up several notches.

 

The Joker’s attacks are designed specifically to thwart Batman as well as Harvey, but it also leaves the entire city in a state of panic and fear.

 

Relying on Wayne Enterprises’ dealings with a shadowy Chinese banker, Bruce Wayne (aka Batman) gains a lead that may potentially help him stop the Joker once and for all.

 

Accompanied by his loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth (played by Michael Caine), Bruce makes his way to Hong Kong.

 

The Joker, meanwhile, believes he’s getting closer to making Batman break his own most sacred rule: not to kill those whom he plans to bring to justice.

 

By this time, Harvey Dent has met with a serious chemical-related accident that has left one-half of his face scarred beyond recognition and repair.

 

Before he officially rebrands himself as ‘Two Face’, Harvey gets busy attempting to bring both Batman and Joker to justice.

 

 

85. Logan (2017)

 

 

 

The year is 2029 and there are little to no mutants left in society. Genetically modified flora designed specifically to mitigate, even eliminate, mutant powers have held sway.

 

The X-Men – once a powerful and prominent force for good – has disbanded. Logan (aka Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman), with his incredible self-healing prowess, finds himself isolated and alone.

 

It doesn’t help matters that his healing abilities are gradually on the decline, leaving the man resorting to alcohol to drown his woes.

 

Logan makes a few bucks on the side as a chauffeur while also taking care of an ailing Charles (aka Professor X, played by Patrick Stewart) who has remained in hiding for a long time now.

 

A strange woman approaches Logan one day with a favor. She wants him to drive a young girl by the name of Laura (played by Dafne Keen) to the Canadian border.

 

Though Logan refuses, Charles soon convinces him otherwise – the Professor has, strangely, been awaiting Laura’s coming.

 

Sharing several mutant traits with Wolverine, Laura grows into quite the enigma. More so when she shows off her impressively deadly combat abilities.

 

Sinister people working for a dark corporation are after her, and it soon comes as no surprise why.

 

These very people made Laura using Logan’s own DNA, veritably creating another ‘Wolverine’, of sorts.

 

Logan is conflicted about his place in the girl’s life. He also grapples with his own declining skills and mutant powers of healing, and wonders if anything he does will be of use in a future where mutants will possibly be extinct.

 

 

86. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

 

 

 

Following the events that transpired in “Avengers: Endgame” (2019), Peter Parker (aka Spiderman, played by Tom Holland) is a young man now thoroughly conflicted about his future.

 

He seeks normalcy in a world that has experienced the deadly ‘Blip’, courtesy of Thanos. In desperate need of a vacation, he joins his classmates at the Mid-town School of Science and Technology on a two-week field trip that takes them to Europe for the summer.

 

During this time, Peter is eager to ask his friend and crush MJ (played by Zendaya) out on a date.

 

Avengers Founder Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson), however, has important plans for the teenage Peter Parker that includes him donning the Spidey suit again to face off against The Elementals.

 

The inter-dimensional entities have begun to manifest on Earth and they do not come in peace.

 

Only one man has thus far stood up against these creatures and lived to tell the tale.

 

This man is known simply as Mysterio (real name Quentin Beck, played by Jake Gyllenhaal), and he is something of a hero in his own right.

 

Venice has come under the Elementals’ scope, and they make waves to wipe it out.

 

Spiderman decides to team up with Mysterio because that seems the best possible way to eliminate the new threat to Earth.

 

However, a dire mistake is made, one that threatens Parker’s hopes, especially those placed on him by his former mentor now deceased, Tony Stark.

 

 

87. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

 

 

 

After decades spent ‘sleeping’ in suspended animation, Steve Rogers (aka Captain American, played by Chris Evans) is awakened only to experience a unique culture shock.

 

It is a whole new world out there, and with it has come a new breed of villainy and immorality.

 

When an enigmatic assassin known simply as the Winter Soldier (real name Bucky Barnes, played by Sebastian Stan) kills S. H. I. E. L. D. Director Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson), Steve is at his wits’ end how to go about resolving the fallout.

 

His confusion mainly stems from the fact that Nick Fury had warned him, before his death, about spies within S. H. I. E. L. D. who are not looking out for the organization’s welfare. Steve Rogers relies on Nick’s advice not to trust a soul in his so-called circles.

 

As a result, Steve is branded a traitor to S. H. I. E. L. D. and forced to become a fugitive.

 

Before long, the good Captain joins forces with The Falcon (real name Sam Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie) and the Black Widow (real name Natasha Romanoff, played by Scarlett Johansson) to help bring dark mysteries to light.

 

But fighting for freedom and truth is easier said than done. Steve Rogers’s mission exposes him to dangerous revelations, including the real (and rather familiar) identity of the man known as the Winter Soldier.

 

 

88. Doctor Strange (2016)

 

 

 

A skilled neurosurgeon with a huge ego Dr. Stephen Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) lives and works in New York.

 

When he experiences a car accident that damages his fingers beyond healing, the man watches himself losing everything he’d built to ensure a successful medical career.

 

Fellow surgeon Christine Palmer (the love of Strange’s life, played by Rachel McAdams) does her best to help him get through this dark phase.

 

Dr. Strange, meanwhile, takes all his savings and puts them into experimental treatments that might just help him recover the use of his fingers.

 

He is inspired by what some such treatments did to make paraplegic Jonathan Pangborn (played by Benjamin Bratt) walk again.

 

When Strange finally meets Jonathan, he learns that the latter found healing in Kamar-Taj, a mystical destination in Kathmandu (Nepal).

 

Dr. Strange flies over and eventually crosses paths with a sorcerer named Mordo (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) who then takes him to meet a person known simply as The Ancient One (played by Tilda Swinton).

 

After a while, the Ancient One exposes Strange to a world of possibilities, one rife with alternate dimensions and astral plane travels.

 

She educates him about Earth being protected by three ‘Sanctums’ – one each in London, Hong Kong, and New York.

 

Around this time, the Ancient One’s former protégé Kaecilius (played by Mads Mikkelsen) has got in touch with a dangerous demon named Dormammu.

 

The latter resides in the Dark Dimension where time is non-existent and immortality is the norm.

 

This evil entity is bent on annihilating (with help from its minions) the three Sanctums, because only then can it gain control over Earth.

 

Dr. Strange is fast learning a new way of life, one filled with great magical potential.

 

 

89. X-Men: First Class (2011)

 

 

 

The year is 1944, and Poland is witnessing Nazi abuse on an unforgivable scale. Erik Lehnsherr (young version played by Bill Milner, and an older version played by Michael Fassbender), who will later become Magneto, applies his fledgling powers almost as a reflex when he watches soldiers rip his mother away from him with the intention of taking her to one of the concentration camps.

 

Dr. Sebastian Shaw (played by Kevin Bacon) hears of the boy’s powers and summons him.

 

He murders Erik’s mother in cold blood purely so he can stoke the boy’s anger and observe the range of his magnetic powers.

 

Years later, in New York, Charles Xavier (a young version played by Laurence Belcher, and an older version played by James McAvoy), who will later become Professor X, is becoming acquainted with a mutant named Raven (played by Jennifer Lawrence), who will later be known as Mystique.

 

He invites her to come to live and learn with others like her in his mansion, which he runs as a ‘school for gifted youngsters’.

 

In the year 1962, CIA agent Moira MacTaggert (played by Rose Byrne) confirms that mutants are working with Dr. Sebastian for nefarious purposes.

 

She calls on Prof. Charles to help the United States Government by gathering his own set of mutants and training them for when the day comes when they’ll be forced to defend their country against foreign super-powered individuals.

 

The Nazi Shaw has plans to use nuclear weapons to gain geopolitical power and bring the ongoing Cold War to an end.

 

Erik has by this time met and allied with Charles, and the two have become good friends.

 

It will be several years before they part ways and become enemies but for now Lehnsherr – who considers Shaw his arch-nemesis – and Xavier team up to counter the rising Nazi threat.

 

 

90. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

 

 

 

The Sovereign, an alien race led by Ayesha (played by Elizabeth Debicki), hires the services of a group known throughout the universe as the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’.

 

Specialized batteries crucial to Sovereign society come under threat, and the Guardians – Peter Quill (played by Chris Pratt), Gamora (played by Zoe Saldana), Drax (played by Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), and Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) – are called upon to safeguard the power-cells by defeating the very monster that’s threatening them.

 

They succeed in their mission, only to encounter Gamora’s estranged sister Nebula (played by Karen Gillan).

 

Before long, the group realizes that one of their own, namely Rocket Raccoon, has stolen a couple of batteries from the Sovereign.

 

The powerful race thus pursues the Guardians with their fleet only to abruptly be annihilated by an enigmatic spaceship, causing the lot of them to crash-land on a nearby planet.

 

The ship that apparently came to the Guardians’ rescue belongs to Ego, who says he is Peter’s father.

 

Quill is consequently invited to the man’s planetary home, to which he goes accompanied by Drax and Gamora.

 

Rocket stays behind to fix their spacecraft while Baby Groot stays because he is too small to be of any real help to the rest of the team on where they’re going.

 

Nebula is left cuffed to some debris to keep her from escaping justice, which Gamora and the team have postponed for later given Ego’s sudden entry into their lives.

 

On the new planet they visit, Drax befriends a humanoid called Mantis (played by Pom Klementieff).

 

During this time, Peter learns from his ‘dad’ that he may have superhuman powers. Ayesha, meanwhile, survived the crash and soon hires the mercenary Ravager Yondu Udonta (played by Michael Rooker) to hunt down the Guardians for their thievery.

 

Yondu, on the other hand, has his own plans – the man practically raised Peter Quill like one of his own.

 

 

91. The Crow (1994)

 

 

 

Detroit is known for its ‘dark underbelly’. On the eve of Halloween, cruel henchmen working for ruthless crime kingpin Top Dollar (played by Michael Wincott) end up murdering rising rockstar Eric Draven (played by Brandon Lee) and his fiancée Shelly Webster (played by Sofia Shinas).

 

They were about to be married the next day, but their romance died with them in Detroit.

 

Eric’s soul is not at peace with the cards life has dealt him. In what appears to be the afterlife, a merciful crow ferries his soul back to the land of the living so he can exact vengeance.

 

The mysterious crow (or perhaps a raven) becomes Eric’s primary link between life and death.

 

His ghost-pale body rises from the grave and prepares to mete justice onto those who so heartlessly stole his happiness and the love of his life.

 

The supernatural avenger is granted permission to carry out his revenge only a year later on the same day and within a select time frame.

 

 

92. Hellboy (2004)

 

 

 

World War II is dwindling to a close, but Nazi occultists like Karl Ruprecht Kroenen (played by Ladislav Beran) and Ilsa Haupstein (played by Biddy Hodson) are hell-bent on accessing supernatural realms if it means helping their Fuhrer Hitler win the war, even in this eleventh hour.

 

They initiate a dark experiment under the aegis of Russian dark mystic Rasputin (played by Karel Roden).

 

Their efforts on a certain Scottish island yield deadly results when an allied commando unit with academic guidance from Professor Trevor “Broom” Bruttenholm (young version played by Kevin Trainor, and older counterpart performed by John Hurt) interrupts the ritual.

 

They find and safeguard a creature that has apparently slipped through the ritual portal. Calling him ‘Hellboy’, they take him back with them to America and raise him in secret under classified government frameworks.

 

Prof. Trevor rises up the ranks to head the ‘Bureau of Paranormal Research’, a covert (fictional) CIA-affiliated branch of the U.S. Government.

 

Through this agency, Trevor studies pursues, and often resolves various occult situations that unravel on Earth.

 

Along with a fully-grown Hellboy (played by Ron Perlman), whom he treats like his own son, an aquatic-bionic being called Abe Sapien (played by Doug Jones), and newcomer Agent John Myers (played by Rupert Evans), the Professor goes about his work.

 

In the meantime, one of the ‘freaks’ is Liz Sherman (played by Selma Blair) who currently resides in an asylum where she attempts to keep her pyro-telekinetic powers in check before it hurts and kills another person she loves.

 

Hellboy harbors a soft spot in his heart for Liz, but he sticks to his duty.

 

Hellboy is known for being brash and over-confident, traits that sometimes work to get the job done but not always.

 

A new beast is in town, and its name is Sammael. It replicates as fast as Hellboy and the company can kill it.

 

Before long, the creature outnumbers them and poses a serious threat to the mission’s success.

 

Around this time, familiar Nazis and even Rasputin are making an occult comeback. They fully intend to finish the ritual they started all those years ago, one that will summon an ‘Old God’ that does not look like it plans to take any human’s side.

 

 

93. Captain Marvel (2019)

 

 

 

Skilled aircraft pilot Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel, played by Brie Larson) soon meets with circumstances that make her one of the most powerful heroes in the world, nay the universe.

 

A galactic war unfolds between two alien races, and Earth seems set to become a casualty in their field of war.

 

During this time, Carol crash-lands in what appears to be an experimental aircraft only to be discovered by a Kree alien and taken to be trained as a member of their elite Starforce Military.

 

She learns and trains under the mentorship of Yon-Rogg (played by Jude Law). The Skrulls are after her, and any Krell they come across.

 

Six years later, after Carol returns to Earth in the role of the effervescent Captain Marvel, she finds her past won’t let her move on so easily into her future.

 

Much truth is waiting to be uncovered, and Carol is ready to do so with the support of S. H. I. E. L. D. agent Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson).

 

 

94. Iron Man 3 (2013)

 

 

 

Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) is a changed man following Loki’s attack on New York City.

 

Not only does he have to grapple with PTSD, but Tony also has severe insomnia. He uses those sleepless hours designing and crafting new Iron Man prototypes.

 

Circumstances soon see Tony re-entering the iconic suit. LA’s Chinese Theater has come under attack from a villain known simply as The Mandarin (played by Ben Kingsley).

 

He’s gunning for Tony Stark. But the billionaire feels far from ready to meet him head-on, despite wanting to do just that.

 

Tony’s lack of response leads Mandarin right to his doorstep. His mansion in Malibu becomes the villain’s next target.

 

Everything is destroyed, including most of Tony’s Iron Man prototypes, all except for the one tagged MK42.

 

The blast even claims the life of his beloved Pepper Potts (played by Gwyneth Paltrow).

 

Lost with next to nothing in the middle of Tennessee, Tony draws keen connections between both attacks while also attempting to get the MK42 functioning.

 

Dark and sinister forces are in play, some worse than The Mandarin himself, as Tony observes the past returning to haunt him in the present.

 

 

95. Birds of Prey (2020)

 

 

 

A dark and comically twisted story told by none other than the insane, unhinged, and quite volatile Harley Quinn (played by Margot Robbie) herself, this movie lends empowerment value to the woman who long-assisted The Joker on his many nefarious crime sprees.

 

She has now broken up with the ‘Clown Prince of Crime’, a decision that lands a target on her back from sundry sources.

 

The film captures her experiences with the cruel and narcissistic Roman Sionis (aka The Black Mask, played by Ewan McGregor) and his overly zealous right-hand man and top assassin Victor Zsasz (played by Chris Messina).

 

The men’s most recent caper includes the capture of a young pickpocket and street hustler named Cassandra “Cass” Cain (played by Ella Jay Basco) who has stolen a precious diamond from them.

 

Multiple criminal elements want to get their hands on the girl. Before long, Harley finds good reason to join forces with Detective Renee Montoya (played by Rosie Perez), Black Canary (real name Dinah Lance, played by Jurnee Smollett), and Huntress (real name Helena Bertinelli, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead) to bring Roman down for good by getting to the girl and the diamond first.

 

Together, they become the ‘Birds of Prey’.

 

 

96. Kick-Ass (2010)

 

 

 

Practically invisible high schooler Dave Lizewski (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is also a huge fan of comic books.

 

He wakes up one day and abruptly decides that he wants to become a superhero, despite the fact that he has absolutely no powers, let alone adequate training.

 

Having only a handful of friends and living alone with his father, Dave seems to be just another ordinary person living in the world, with average personal problems that are familiar and relatable.

 

How will he take the incredible, nay impossible, leap to realize his superhero dreams when he has little to nothing working in his favor regarding anything super-powered?

 

 

97. Sky High (2005)

 

 

 

Being the son of two ultra-famous superheroes is not an enviable legacy. Will Stronghold (played by Michael Angarano) realizes as much.

 

He is Steve and Josie’s (played by Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston, respectively) son who are known the world over as the invincible Commander and the swift-flying Jetstream, respectively.

 

Will is completely in the dark about his own superpowers, and that’s if he has any.

 

Anxiety keeps him from telling his parents this. Along with his best friend Layla (played by Danielle Panabaker), he realizes that he’s soon going to have to join a superhero school in the clouds, quite literally.

 

Called ‘Sky High’, this academic institution is geared at training and educating high schoolers who possess superpowers.

 

Will is worried that his lack of powers coupled with his superhero lineage will only get him the role of a glorified sidekick.

 

Before long, however, the boy starts to discover his strengths, especially the fact that cooperation and loyalty often make for a great hero.

 

 

98. Batman (1989)

 

 

 

One of the best installments in the Bat-verse, the 1989 “Batman” movie saw Michael Keaton donning the cape of the Dark Knight and playing the titular role.

 

His villain was The Joker himself, played masterfully by the insanely talented Jack Nicholson. This film features Crime boss Carl Grissom (played by Jack Palance) whose right-hand man Jack Napier experiences situations that lead to Jack becoming the Joker.

 

A falling out between the two men results in criminal after-shocks that eventually lead to Jack falling into a vat of chemicals – the iconic moment practically conceived the ‘Clown Prince of Crime’.

 

The Joker soon unleashes a wave of terror on Gotham City only to be countered by none other than Batman himself.

 

Around this time, a prominent journalist and reporter Vicki Vale (played by Kim Basinger) is busy prepping a piece on the Bat.

 

Little does she suspect that billionaire Bruce Wayne, with whom she’s currently nurturing a relationship, has a secret, one intimately and intricately connected to Batman in her upcoming news article.

 

 

99. Unbreakable (2000)

 

 

 

When David Dunn (played by Bruce Willis) hops on a train home to Philadelphia from New York City following a job interview gone bad, he meets with a train-derailment accident that leaves him the sole survivor.

 

Meanwhile, around 131 passengers who were on board perished. Oddly enough, David seems unscathed to the point that anyone will have found it difficult to believe he was in any sort of accident, let alone a major train crash.

 

The man is left feeling confusion and ‘survivor’s guilt’. Before long, David’s path crosses with that of Elijah Prince (played by Samuel L. Jackson) who reveals to him the true nature of things of which most people are blithely unaware.

 

Elijah educates David on the actual existence of superheroes living among mortal humans, with many a hero being unaware of their own true nature.

 

Elijah calls such super-powered individuals ‘Unbreakable’ owing in large part to how impossibly they can endure and survive situations and scenarios that normal people cannot.

 

Such unassuming superheroes, according to Elijah, also have a penchant for sensing terrible premonitions. Some of them even have an inclination for criminally dangerous behavior.

 

 

100. Watchmen (2009)

 

 

 

Adapted from the hit graphic novels and set in an alternate America of 1985, the film features costumed superheroes living quietly in society.

 

The ‘Doomsday Clock’ story element highlights the tension between the then United States and the Soviet Union.

 

This clock has its time permanently positioned at five minutes to midnight. When ‘masked vigilante’ Rorschach (played by Jackie Earle Haley) learns that one of his former colleagues has been killed, he is hell-bent on uncovering the truth behind the murder.

 

He soon realizes that there’s a covert scheme in effect that is aimed at discrediting and dishonoring superheroes, past and present included.

 

He gets in touch with his previous crime-battling legion, who are essentially a ragtag troupe of ‘supes’ now retired.

 

Only one among them has anything that can be called a ‘true superpower’. Conspiracies rise to the fore the more Rorschach delves into his self-appointed mission.

 

He finds links to the shared past involving not just himself but also his friends and colleagues comprising ‘The Watchmen’.

 

This group has always espoused the need to ensure a safe future for Humanity, especially in regards to superheroes.

 

But something is amiss, and Rorschach aims to get to the bottom of it before it is too late.