Summary

• Ranking subjective art like movies is challenging, but Rotten Tomatoes’ top 300 list offers insight into the superhero genre.
• Marvel and DC deliver iconic films, elevating the superhero genre, showcasing a wide array of projects for fans to enjoy.
• Superhero movies like The Avengers, Thor: Ragnarok, and Guardians of the Galaxy are celebrated for their unique storytelling and impact on the genre.

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has released an updated version of their Best Movies of All Time article, and several superhero movies from Marvel and DC made the cut. Ranking something as subjective art – including movies – is incredibly challenging, but there can still be value in trying. Given the incredible amount of superhero movies that have been released over the past several decades, Rotten Tomatoes’ new top 300 movies list provides an interesting look into the genre.

While Marvel and DC are sometimes incorrectly treated as opposing rivals by fans of the brands, seeing a wide array of projects paints an interesting picture of the best comic book movies of all time. Both Marvel and DC have delivered iconic films, elevating the superhero genre as a whole. While the specific rankings are sure to cause disagreement, it’s impossible to argue that the 10 movies below don’t offer a wonderful representation of superheroes for their fans.

10 Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) Is Ranked #286

The Movie Holds A 91% Critics Score

Though it may seem difficult to imagine now, The Avengers was a huge risk for the MCU. While Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America had all gotten well-received solo-movies, a superhero team-up of this nature had never been done on the big screen. There were doubts that the script could balance six heroes in relatively equal measure and provide a compelling threat for them to deal will.

Fortunately, The Avengers proved any doubts wrong and was better than most imagined it could be. If they weren’t already, the Avengers became household names, and the movie changed the blockbuster movie concept medium-wide. There has hitherto failed to be an equally successful shared cinematic universe, and The Avengers is what really kicked it off in earnest.

9 Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Is Ranked # 274

The Movie Holds A 93% Critics Score

Though Thor was a popular character in the early years of the MCU, his solo movies lagged a bit behind his contemporaries. Thor: The Dark World, in particular, largely failed to impress. It’s fortunate, then, that Thor: Ragnarok‘s bold reinvention of the character paid off so well.

Taika Waititi’s signature humor proved to be a perfect fit for the God of Thunder, and Hemsworth’s natural comedic talents shone. Cate Blanchett’s Hela is also the perfect mix of genuine menace and comic-book camp, anchoring a colorful, hilarious, and epic story worthy of Thor. Though the movie’s follow-up, Thor: Love and Thunder, failed to capture the same magic, Ragnarok remains endlessly rewatchable.

8 Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Is Ranked #254

The Movie Holds A 92% Critics Score

Early in the MCU, Marvel proved it could make stars out of characters not previously household names, but the Guardians of the Galaxy were a group no non-comic readers were very aware of. Consisting of a green space assassin, a snarky human, a humorless green bruiser, and a talking tree/raccoon duo, the MCU’s Guardians were anything but a guaranteed success. However, wonderful casting anchors one of the MCU’s best movies to date.

Writer/director James Gunn has now proven several times over that he understands the superhero genre well, and his script deftly mixes high-octane action with moving character moments to make it easy to connect with the Guardians. The earworm-filled soundtracks also became iconically tied to the franchise, and the trilogy as a whole remains remarkably strong throughout. It’s unclear what the future holds for the Guardians, but the bar is certainly high for their eventual return.

7 Logan (2017) Is Ranked #228

The Movie Holds A 93% Critics Score

As is the case for many of the best superhero movies, Logan was a massive risk. While Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine was an instant icon after his debut in X-Men (2000), Logan stands wildly apart from every other movie in the long-running X-Men movie franchise. Jumping into the future and showing an aged and struggling Logan brought with it a more contemplative and visceral narrative.

The aged, mentally declining Professor X, who had accidentally killed the X-Men after losing control of his full mental faculties, is also a much darker story beat than is present in most superhero movies. Beautiful cinematography brings the experience together into something remarkable. While this seemed like the end for Jackman’s Wolverine, the actor will reprise a variant of the character in Deadpool & Wolverine.

6 Black Panther (2018) Is Ranked #225

The Movie Holds A 96% Critics Score

Though many movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have become incredibly popular, very few have become cultural milestones. Such is the case for Black Panther. The movie beautifully brings to life the fictional Wakanda in striking detail, and the entire cast absolutely nails the film’s heroes, villains, and everything in between.

Also of note is the complex nature of the film’s villain, Killmonoger. While undeniably on the wrong side of the moral line, he brings up interesting and pointed criticisms of race inequality and the debate between action and inaction. Passed through the lense of a fairly classic superhero story, a clear deeper layer of thought adds weight to the story.

5 Avengers: Endgame (2019) Is Ranked #142

The Movie Holds A 94% Critics Score

It’s no easy task to bookend over a decade of interconnected Marvel movies, but Avengers: Endgame does it with style. While Avengers: Infinity War was very much Thanos’ story as he completes his collection of the powerful Infinity Stones, Endgame moves the focus fully back to the titular Avengers. The result is equal parts epic and moving.

Of note is, of course, the deaths of notable Avengers Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff, and the passing of the Captain America mantle from Steve Rogers to Sam Wilson. While the MCU clearly marches on, Endgame also gets credit for delivering reasonable closure for most of Marvel’s earlier MCU heroes. Plus, the final battle, in which Steve finally wields Mjolnir and heroes unite from all over the galaxy for a final showdown, remains absolutely spine-tingling.

4 Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) Is Ranked #128

The Movie Holds A 93% Critics Score

Though Spider-Man may often be a friendly neighborhood hero, Spider-Man: No Way Home proves that the character is perfectly at home with a bigger narrative. While the inclusion Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man variants joining the movie rightfully earned a lot of attention and praise, there’s a great story underneath it all to boot.

Peter’s determination to help his villains instead of hurt them perfectly encapsulates who Spider-Man is as a hero.

Bringing together villains from across several different Spider-Man movies and universes delivers a great twist on the Sinister Six concept, but Peter’s determination to help them instead of hurt them perfectly encapsulates who Spider-Man is as a hero. Dafoe, Molina, and the rest of the returning villains slip seamlessly back into their characters, as do Maguire and Garfield. Not every Spider-Man movie should be a huge, multiverse-spanning romp, but it certainly worked well here.

3 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) Is Ranked #81

The Movies Holds A 95% Critics Score

There appears to be a theme that Spider-Man may work best on a larger scale than he’s usually shown. While Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is arguably the more complete film, Across the Spider-Verse is absolutely massive in scope. Yet, it somehow never loses its grounded, personal character moments and conflict.

Across the Spider-Verse has Miles dealing with a sort of meta-problem: why does Spider-Man always have to go through the same tragedies across his different stories? It raises interesting questions about the philosophy of destiny and free will, and it looks visually stunning while it does it. Moreover, the incredible number of cameos in Across the Spider-Verse is unprecedented, acting as a love letter to the character’s history in comics, TV, and film.

2 The Dark Knight (2008) Is Ranked #51

The Movie Holds A 94% Critics Score

The Dark Knight isn’t the only great Batman movie, but it’s hard to argue that it isn’t the most influential. After Burton/Keaton’s Batman franchise changed hands and devolved into poorer products, the Caped Crusader took some time off on the big screen. Batman Begins brought the hero back with style, and The Dark Knight perfected Nolan’s grounded take on the hero and world.

However, it’s Heath Ledger’s incredible take on the Joker that elevates the movies. Perhaps the greatest comic book movie villain of all time, Ledger’s Joker manages to stand up (and likely surpass) the iconic Jack Nicholson from Batman (1989) and remains the bar for the villain even 16 years later. Add in expectedly great performances from Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne), Gary Oldman (James Gordon), Michael Caine (Alfred) and more, and it’s easy to see why The Dark Knight is as iconic as it is.

1 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) Is Ranked #21

The Movie Holds A 97% Critics Score

Though Spider-Man has plenty of experience with the multiverse and spider-verse in Marvel Comics, his movies had been grounded and relatively small-scale before Spider-Man: Intro the Spider-Verse. Moreover, they’d all been centered on Peter Parker. Given that, a movie featuring a different Spider-Man (well-established in the comics but not so much outside of them) and a multiverse-level threat was a bit of a shock. Many knew it could be good, but few expected it to be truly great.

Into the Spider-Verse deals with the powerful legacy of superheroes and the role they can play in inspiring those around them. Shifting away from Peter Parker (though featuring him in a secondary role) allows the movie to explore familiar trappings with a new lense, and it does so with undeniable charm and flourish. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a landmark animated film and among the best to ever come from either Marvel or DC.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes