Comic book films have been dominating the box office for the last decade, no one ever thought we would be where we are now. Now we live in a time where fans can rally behind a single film for 4 years to finally convince a studio to release an original cut of a film with Zack Snyder’s Justice League, that is how powerful the fan base of comic book films has become.
However, it wasn’t always that way and we need to pay tribute to these comic book films that have changed the entire foundation of superheroes in cinema and the significance these movies possess. These are the 10 Most Significant Comic Book Movies ever made.
Iron Man
This entry should really be a no-brainer, of course, this film has had more of an impact than any since it’s the start of what is now the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Because of this movie, every studio in Hollywood has done everything they could to try and create a shared universe, but those can only be created with a solid start like this one did.
If you don’t believe me, just take a look at what Universal tried to do with The Mummy in 2017 as they tried to start a whole monster universe. Not as easy as you might think. Despite being on this list among many other memorable films, this one might be the most significant comic book movie ever made.
Superman: The Movie
The first comic book film to be nominated for Academy Awards and win one for Best Visual Effects. Director Richard Donner and the entire crew behind this film didn’t just bring The Man of Steel to the big screen but were able to prove to Hollywood that there might be something special here with comic book-related movies. Audiences were blown away to see the alien from Krypton save the day by saving Lois Lane and catching a falling helicopter.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
At first, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to include this entry on the list. But this film’s significance doesn’t just belong to comic book films, but animation in general. Winning an academy award for the best-animated feature in 2019, Into the Spider-Verse brought its own style of animation that studios now use as a blueprint for their films.
Don’t believe me? Take a look at Puss in Boots: The Last Wish or the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Now when a new animated action movie comes out, we just hope it looks as good as Spider-Verse.
Wonder Woman
Think of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice as just a test screening for Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, since that’s basically what it was in order for her to get her own solo movie.
Wonder Woman wasn’t the first female-led comic book movie in the industry, but it was the one that set the standard. Until Wonder Woman we had Catwoman, Elektra or Supergirl. But none of them were made the way this one was.
Blade
You might be surprised to know that Blade wasn’t exactly the first theatrical Marvel film, but rather Howard the Duck in 1968. However, what puts the Daywalkers feature film on this list is the proof of profitability for Marvel.
Blade managed to pave the way for Spider-Man and X-Men to be released shortly after and were both big hits for studios. While the quality of Marvel films took a bit of a dip after some time until Iron Man was released in 2008. But Blade was the foundation that intrigued audiences to other comic book films that were not Batman or Superman.
The Avengers
Never have audiences seen a collaboration like this before and everyone was completely blown away when it finally happened. After Nick Fury showed up at the end of Iron Man, not everyone was sure what exactly it meant.
That same year The Incredible Hulk came out and gave us all an answer, but that answer was finally solidified when Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger was released. For the first time, we witnessed a film that brought together these heroes that finally presented ideals only conceived in comics, to the big screen.
The Dark Knight
With 8 Academy Award nominations and 3 wins, this film and Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker set the standard not only for comic book films but villains in a film. Furthermore, no comic book film has managed to be as impactful and iconic until now.
Falling in the same year as Iron Man, both that ended up changing the entire landscape of these types of movies and proving just how great they can be. Nothing else can really be said about this entry, if you don’t already know how important this one is, stop wasting your time.
Deadpool
Since Blade, there hadn’t been very many R-rated comic book films. Deadpool came out at the height of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the idea of making an R-Rated comic book movie seemed crazy. Everyone was taking their kids to see The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy and these movies were making millions.
Losing that demographic would be catastrophic at the box office, it couldn’t be done. But Tim Miller and Ryan Reynolds proved otherwise and Deadpool became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. Without the Merc with the Mouth, we wouldn’t have Logan or The Suicide Squad.
Black Panther
African-American community had yet to have a superhero that represented the best parts of their culture, Ryan Coogler and Chadwick Boseman changed that. Black Panther wasn’t just another comic book film, it was a representation of an entire community and provided insight and appreciation for a culture the rest of the world wasn’t completely aware of.
Since then, Black Panther has become a household name and one of Marvel’s most profitable films on the roster. If that doesn’t impress you, it’s also the first comic book film to be nominated for Best Picture.
Avengers: Endgame
This was it, the film everyone was waiting for. The Avengers have lost to Thanos and now have to do whatever it takes to face the Mad Titan one last time. Avengers: Endgame proved to Hollywood that the audience is here and this is what we want. A competent, exciting, and larger-than-life movie. A culmination of years of hard work, love, and commitment.
No one ever thought it could be done, but they did it and just when we thought the bar was already high, Marvel destroyed it. This is how comic book movies are meant to be done.
Honorable Mention: Batman & Robin
You might think this one might be a joke, but it’s not, we are totally serious. While we agree with you that this isn’t a great movie, it’s still important when it comes to the progression of comic book movies. After the success of Batman (1989), Batman Returns, and Batman Forever, anticipation was high and we were all sorely disappointed.
However, this film showed us what comic book movies should not be like. Originally, the studio was entertaining the idea of allowing a sequel called Batman: Triumphant. But due to the dud this movie was, we got a reboot from Christopher Nolan with Batman Begins. Not the film we deserved, but the film we needed in order for us to receive a real triumph from the World’s Greatest Detective.
What most significant comic book movies did we leave out? Were there any that were more significant? Let us know in the comments!
