It’s hard to believe that it’s been three years since Avengers: Endgame, with the pandemic leaving us tons of time to rewatch it over and over again. 2019 feels like just yesterday, but I guess it’s true what they say: time flies when you’re enjoying something really good, like one of the best comics-to-movies adaptations ever made.
Comic book movies are all around us, and they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. They’re like comfort food, but with explosions and fights and people flying through the air. If you grew up reading comic books, it’s easy to get sucked into these movies. After the success of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man in 2002 and Bryan Singer’s X2 in 2003, studios realized that audiences would flock to theaters to see their favorite comic heroes on the big screen. In fact, the genre is getting bigger and better with each passing year and has been a staple of American cinema for decades. With the rise of geek culture and an ever-increasing number of comic book movies being made, it’s no surprise that The Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most successful franchises in history. And even though DC Comics hasn’t been able to match it yet, there’s still plenty of room for other comic book adaptations to succeed!
But comic movies have gotten so popular that it’s hard to know where to start. Are all superhero movies worth watching? Are any of them unmissable gems? It can be hard to separate the good from the bad when there are so many options out there. Here’s a complete list of fans’ favorite comic book movies that you should definitely watch!
#1 Avengers: Infinity War
2018 | 2h 29m | Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Set after the events of The Avengers and Avengers: Age Of Ultron, we find Thanos, a despot and conqueror from space, attempting to collect all six Infinity Stones. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes must come together once again to stop him. With so many characters, you’d think this superhero movie would be a mess, but oh, how wrong you would be! It’s pure cinematic magic. The film is a beautiful love letter to the Marvel Cinematic Universe fans and its heroes. Each character gets their moment(s) to shine, and they do so with the usual badassery.
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#2 The Dark Knight
2008 | 2h 32m | Directed by Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins was a breath of fresh air in 2005, the first in a spate of superhero origin stories that rethought and redefined what made a good comic book movie. But it’s 2008’s The Dark Knight that stands out as Nolan’s best for several reasons. What makes it so great is how Nolan takes the Batman mythos, which is so well known by millions of fans worldwide, and makes it fresh and original. He takes an incredibly popular character and makes fans’ love for him grow even more. He gives us a new take on the character while at the same time making him true to his comic book origins. Bale and Oldman are superb, but the late Heath Ledger gives an award-winning performance as the Joker.
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#3 Thor: Ragnarok
2017 | 2h 10m | Directed by Taika Waititi
The third Thor title from Marvel Studios found director Taika Waititi injecting some much-needed humor into the franchise, resulting in a film with everything from quirky visual gags to laugh-out-loud scenes. The film also brought together a host of the studio’s heroes for an epic intergalactic adventure that saw Thor teaming up with Hulk and Loki for one of the most entertaining Marvel films ever.
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#4 Guardians Of The Galaxy
2014 | 2h 1m | Directed by James Gunn
Guardians Of The Galaxy is undoubtedly one of the funniest sci-fi movies ever produced by Marvel, which is saying a lot. The film’s sense of humor is partially fueled by its “‘80s-ness.” This allows it to poke fun at itself as often as it can. The film introduces us to Peter Quill, a half-human and half-alien abducted from Earth in 1988 and raised by a group of intergalactic thieves and smugglers called the Ravagers.
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#5 Iron Man
2008 | 2h 6m | Directed by Jon Favreau
The one that started it all, and for a good reason. Marvel’s first foray into the MCU was a considerable risk, as Iron Man wasn’t exactly a household name at the time. But thanks to Robert Downey Jr.’s incredible charisma and swagger, Tony Stark was finally brought to life in a way that could truly rival Batman on the big screen. The movie managed to balance character development, humor, and action while setting up the larger story that would come to define the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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#6 Captain America: Civil War
2016 | 2h 27m | Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Captain America: Civil War gifted us with something pretty new; a clash between heroes on opposing sides, following the government’s decision to pass on a law that would regulate and limit the Avengers’ activities. It’s a far cry from the relatively simple “Good vs. Evil” conflicts we’re used to seeing in MCU movies, and it allowed for some unexpected alliances and more nuanced characters.
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#7 Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2014 | 2h 16m | Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
In between all the trademark gallows humor and winking references to other Marvel products, Captain America: The Winter Soldier tackles themes like government surveillance and political intrigue with a surprisingly deft touch. But on top of all that, it’s also just a damn good action movie, with some of the greatest fight scenes to date. It also fed us one of Marvel’s best villains so far in The Winter Soldier himself, aka Cap’s old best friend, Bucky Barnes.
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#8 Deadpool
2016 | 1h 48m | Directed by Tim Miller
Forget everything you knew about superheroes. Deadpool showed us that a great comic book movie doesn’t have to be PG-13 or stick 100% to the original source to become a fan favorite. But this is exactly what happened when Marvel let such a great character take over and lead their own movie. Deadpool has no qualms about breaking the fourth wall and killing off characters as soon as they’re introduced – something unheard of in many mainstream superhero movies.
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#9 Avengers: Endgame
2019 | 3h 1m | Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Eleven years of buildup. Eleven years of Avengers movies. And it’s all led to Avengers: Endgame. We’re not gonna spoil this one, in the remote case you didn’t watch it yet; just know that the movie is so good that it’s been breaking records left and right, from being the highest-grossing film of 2019 to being the top global box office performer of the 21st century. This movie is a seriously satisfying conclusion to an epic eleven-year run by Marvel Studios and still left fans waiting for more new adventures with their all-time favorite superheroes.
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#10 Logan
2017 | 2h 17m | Directed by James Mangold
Logan is a cinematic masterpiece, taking place in 2029 when Wolverine and an aging Charles Xavier are the last mutants around. It’s a dark film that showcases Hugh Jackman’s acting abilities, and it’s definitely not appropriate for kids. It has a serious tone and isn’t your typical “happy-go-lucky” hero flick, very much in the same vein as Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises.
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#11 The Avengers
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#12 Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
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#13 Batman Begins
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#14 Doctor Strange
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#15 The Dark Knight Rises
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#16 Spider-Man 2
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#17 Spider-Man: Homecoming
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#18 Spider-Man
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#19 Wonder Woman
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#20 Batman (1989)
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#21 Joker
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#22 Spider-Man: No Way Home
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#23 Ant-Man
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#24 Iron Man 3
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#25 Blade
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#26 Men In Black
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#27 Edge Of Tomorrow
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#28 X-Men
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#29 300
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#30 Ant-Man And The Wasp
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#31 Iron Man 2
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#32 Spider-Man: Far From Home
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#33 Captain America: The First Avenger
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#34 Deadpool 2
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#35 Avengers: Age Of Ultron
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#36 Watchmen
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#37 Thor
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#38 X-Men: First Class
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#39 Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
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#40 Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
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#41 X-Men: Days Of Future Past
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#42 Venom
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#43 Blade II
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#44 The Amazing Spider-Man
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#45 Thor: The Dark World
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#46 V For Vendetta
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#47 X-Men 2
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#48 The Wolverine
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#49 The Rocketeer
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#50 X-Men: Apocalypse
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