10 Best Years For Superhero Movies, According To Reddit

Ever since 1978, superhero films have been released with increasing regularity. The Man of Steel owned the ’70s to late ’80s while the Dark Knight took over the conclusion of the ’80s through the late-’90s. But it was with X-Men in 2000 that the subgenre really started to boom.

The friendly neighborhood web-slinger was the one who really opened the door, and since then Hollywood has consistently been trying to recapture its monumental success. This includes the most recent installment of the franchise which, like the 2002 original, was released in one of the best years for superhero cinema.

1978

1978 only saw the release of one superhero film, but it was a doozie. Richard Donner’s Superman is both the grandfather of superhero cinema as well as a remarkably well-held-up piece of blockbuster entertainment. Christopher Reeves could very well be the definitive Superman, and he’s more than ably supported by Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, and Ned Beatty.

AppleTStudio contributed to a Superman (1978) appreciation thread with “I knew it was a classic, but never saw it. I finally decided to give it a shot and the thought I had in my head the whole time was ‘Wow, I can see why this is considered a classic!'”

1989

Superman owned the superhero cinema world from 1978 to 1987, but to extremely varying degrees. There was the 1978 film and its equally well-received 1980 follow-up. However, there was also Superman III (1983), Supergirl (1984), and especially Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

A now-deleted user hopped onto an appreciation thread for the film, writing, “Tim Burton’s Batman is my favorite Batman movie, and while this is due to a large number of reasons, the cinematography certainly helps. The dark lighting and colors set the visual tone of the movie (contrasted with the colorful Joker), and create the atmosphere perfectly.”

2002

2002 saw the release of two excellent Marvel movies, both of which were successes with critics and at the box office. However, Blade II‘s success could never compare to Spider-Man‘s. Just as Superman and Batman were trendsetters and major steps forward in the subgenre, so too was Sam Raimi’s film. Tobey Maguire’s take on the character was so iconic it—and Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin—was reprised in 2021’s phenomenal Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Or, as doc_birdman phrased it, “Spider-Man 2002 is widely regarded as one of the greatest comic book movies of all time.”

2005

Featuring impressive attention to detail and terrific superhero theme music from Hans Zimmer, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins was the definitive superhero movie of 2005. On Marvel’s side, there was Elektra and Fantastic Four, which spawned one sequel.

As it turns out, many Redditors consider it superior to The Dark Knight. Like Prince_Havarti, who wrote that “its the truest to form Batman in the Nolan films. In the Dark Knight, Batman plays second fiddle the whole time. Also, I think Gotham itself should always be a character in the world of Batman, and Begins was the only film in the trilogy where Gotham felt close to that.”

2008

2008 was a massive year for superhero films. In May, the MCU kicked off with a jet blast courtesy of Iron Man, which was both an unexpected hit and a repeat earner. The Incredible Hulk may have been a hiccup, but the Robert Downey Jr. movie was a definitive start to something grandiose. Then, The Dark Knight came out within the same summer and showed definitively that two masterpieces of the subgenre can be very different from one another.

Many still view Iron Man as one of the stronger installments in the entire MCU. For instance, ardouronerous wrote that they “find that it still holds up to this day, the CGI used for the Iron Man armor, the action sequences with Tony vs. Obadiah, still holds up today.”

2011

2011 was the year of Green Lantern, the movie that made Ryan Reynolds an actor who would have to redeem himself in the comic book world. Furthermore, it was also the year of MCU-expanders Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. There was also X-Men: First Class, which successfully rebooted the franchise to the tune of three more sequels: X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, and Dark Phoenix.

A now-deleted Redditor created a thread for First Class, then started the conversation with a first reaction most X-Men fans can associate with: “I just got back from watching X-Men: First Class. I thought it was great, it was a fun movie, very entertaining. It makes me wish that X-Men 3 and Wolverine: Origins were never made.”

2014

Few could have guessed that Guardians of the Galaxy would end up being the highest-grossing superhero movie of 2014. They were a little-known group at the time, especially compared to heroes featured in the year’s other releases: The Amazing Spider-Man 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Amoghrao started a thread with a title they think “says it all.” Or, “Guardians of the Galaxy is the best superhero movie of all time.”

2017

Jon Watts’s beginning to his Spider-Man saga would be enough to warrant 2017’s inclusion in Redditors’ eyes. But then there was the revisionist Western, Logan, the very fun and funny Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2., and Patty Jenkins zeitgeist-capturing Wonder Woman.

IntoTheUnknownWorld started an appreciation thread for Logan with a perfectly descriptive title: “Personally, I feel this is not only the best Wolverine movie but the best superhero movie ever. Just incredible.”

2018

2018 saw the release of successful releases from every corner of superhero cinema. Fox’s Deadpool 2 was a success, Sony had two major hits with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Venom while the DCEU rebounded from 2017’s Justice League with Aquaman. It was also a great year for the MCU, seeing the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp and MCU daddy issue movies Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War.

MrPMS described Black Panther‘s strength as a film well: “Really enjoyed how self-contained this movie was. There was no push to get the ball rolling on the next film, Infinity War, just a tale of a nation on the brink of change and a new king trying to find his place for his people. Wonderful characters and an actual believable villain.”

2021

If 2008 wasn’t the biggest year for superhero movies, 2021 was. It was the year that showed miniseries on streaming services could be comparable to MCU installments on the big screen. WandaVision and Loki, in particular, were excellent “cinematic” additions to the MCU. Then there were the movies, of which there were many. There were some flubs, like Eternals and Black Widow, but then there were the winners like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, The Suicide Squad, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

James Gunn rebooted the Suicide Squad franchise to unfortunately muted box office returns, but it’s also the type of film that substantially develops its audience over time. Ceaguila84 wrote a post after seeing a screener of the film prior to release: “The reviews are right omg. This movie is hilarious, violent, unpredictable, and not a dull moment all the way through.” Then, the Redditor doubles down with “Not only the best DCEU movie but top 5 comic book movies ever.”

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Ben Hathaway
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Ben Hathaway is a Senior Writer (Lists) for Screen Rant. A former Therapeutic Day Treatment counselor, Ben is now a career writer. When not working, he is writing and self-publishing (on Amazon) novels under the name Scott Gray. In his spare time, he’s reading on the porch or watching every film under the sun. Ben can be contacted at [email protected].

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