Hollywood has been drawing on superhero stories and comic books for inspiration since the earliest serials in the Golden Age. Since then, everything from one-off movies to expansive franchises have dominated cinema with their interesting depictions of superheroes. With the genre generating billions of dollars for Hollywood, there’s no sign of superhero films stopping any time soon. Now, it has become common for every major superhero to expect at least a trilogy.
Superhero and comic book content is popular across mainstream audiences, and many of the most successful films in history were of the genre. It’s no surprise that so many of them have effortlessly earned sequels, some even making it past trilogies. Many of these sequels have more than surpassed their originals, either because the prior films were just that bad or the sequel took a good idea to great heights.
10 X-Men: Days Of Future Past
X-Men: Days of Future Past was the second entry in the rebooted/prequel X-Men movies that followed the original formation of Xavier’s team. The movie bridged the gap between the original trilogy and the prequels, with Logan being sent back from the future to save the mutants from the Sentinels, robots designed to kill mutants.
Days of Future Past is easily among the three best X-Men movies, and honored one of the best stories from Marvel Comics. First Class was a fine movie, but the higher stakes, link to the past and more interesting character development was better in the second film. Not to mention the nostalgia of seeing the first trilogy’s actors return.
9 Thor: Ragnarok
Thor: Ragnarok followed on from the disappointment of Thor: The Dark World, and brought everything from better villains to improved comedy. The movie followed Thor as he dealt with the arrival of his evil sister, Hela, as she sought to control Asgard.
Thor: Ragnarok also surpassed the first film, thanks in large part to the introduction of new characters like Korg and Valkyrie, who became a key part of Thor’s story. Although the movie’s ending battle was great, the main attraction was the delivery of a fight between Thor and Hulk.
8 X-Men 2
X-Men 2 holds the distinction of being the best in the original X-Men trilogy. Alongside the popular first and much-hated third movie, it followed the X-Men as they fought William Stryker, who led an assault on the mansion and kidnapped some of the mutants.
X-Men 2 gave fans an expanded team of heroes as they carried out their rescue mission against Stryker. The movie benefited from being able to tie up threads from the first movie, while delivering some of the best action sequences in the series, notably Nightcrawler’s White House attack.
7 Spider-Man: Far From Home
Spider-Man: Far From Home picked up the story of the MCU’s Peter Parker in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War. Taking Peter and his friends to Europe for a school trip. There, Peter was introduced to Mysterio, a figure claiming to be a superhero from the future.
Far From Home had Peter and MJ get together as the former realized Mysterio’s intentions were less than noble. The movie culminated in one of the MCU’s most important moments, when Spider-Man’s identity was revealed to the world after an incredible fight with Mysterio.
6 The Suicide Squad
2016’s Suicide Squad movie disappointed so many fans, not just for being a mess of an action movie but wasting some of the best actors in the DCEU. With overly edgy characterizations and a sup-par plot, it was one of the nails in the coffin of the so-called “SnyderVerse.”
In 2021, James Gunn released The Suicide Squad, which hit many of the notes the 2016 movie had missed, such as better humor and more interesting characters. It helped set the new tone for a more light-hearted DCEU going forward, as well as giving fans the spin-off of Peacemaker.
5 Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier
Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier followed up on the story of Steve Rogers after the events of the first Avengers movies. Now with Cap as a full-fledged SHIELD operative, it had him battle his old friend, Bucky Barnes, who resurfaced as the brainwashed assassin, the Winter Soldier.
Captain America 2 combined superhero action with a Cold War-esque thriller that had Cap and Black Widow evading the modern agents of HYDRA. The first Captain Americawas a fantastic film, so the fact The Winter Soldier eclipsed it speaks volumes.
4 The Dark Knight
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is arguably the most consistently strong superhero series, thanks in large part to the acclaim of the second entry. Nolan’s treatment of the Batman mythos delivered a grounded thriller, where villains each represented a unique threat to Gotham and its psyche.
The Dark Knight stands out as the trilogy’s best film, with Batman battling Joker in his mission to destroy the spirit of Gotham. Heath Ledger’s intense performance as what is still the best depiction of Joker coupled with a phenomenal story turned in the best Batman film yet.
3 Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 is still considered to be Spider-Man’s best film – as well as arguably the best Marvel movie – thanks to its emotional, moving nature. The film follows Peter Parker as he continues to balance super heroics with regular life, complicated by the emergence of Doctor Octopus as he sets out to steal money to fund his scientific experiments.
Spider-Man 2 gave fans one of the most compelling super villain arcs in the genre, and pulled on the heartstrings of fans multiple times throughout. It gave fans more of the Peter/MJ story, explored Spider-Man struggling with his powers and gave him his highest-stake story.
2 Logan
Logan serves as the definitive ending to the story of Wolverine. The 17-year journey of the character since his on-screen debut in 2000’s X-Men, Hugh Jackman turned in one of the best performances of his career. The film was the perfect story of a father figure protecting his child from pursuing enemies, a plot that never fails to win over fans.
The movie followed Logan as he took his female clone, Laura, to Canada so she could find refuge from the pursuing Reevers. After the disaster of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the decent showing in 2014’s The Wolverine, Logan is the best X-Men movie of all time and the best of the hero’s solo movies.
1 Superman II
Often referred to as the greatest superhero movie of all time, Richard Donner’s Superman II is the quintessential hero’s journey from start to finish. Showing the trial and subsequent escape of Zod and his fellow traitors, Superman must battle his fellow Kryptonians to prevent their tyranny over Earth. This with the backdrop of Clark Kent becoming human so he could live a normal life with Lois Lane.
The first Superman movie was incredibly popular, but it’s undeniable that the sequel blew everyone away with a much deeper story that showed a vulnerable Clark Kent without his powers. It also showed the Man of Steel use his wits as opposed to depending on muscle.