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Tom Power

The best superhero movies: 28 great comic book films to watch in December 2024

Disney Plus Marvel DC (Organization) Marvel Studios Chris Evans Hugh Jackman Jon Favreau Patrick Stewart Robert Downey Jr Samuel L Jackson
A screenshot of the front cover for the Guardians of the Galaxy 3 DVD.

Ask anyone what the best superhero movies are and you're almost certain to get a wildly different list from most people. Indeed, there are plenty of superhero films to choose from these days, with the likes of Marvel and DC helping to usher in a new era of comic book-inspired flicks for fans to enjoy.

Like everyone else, TechRadar's entertainment team members have their own ideas of what the best superhero films are. To that end, then, my colleagues and I have collated a list of which ones we believe are the greatest of all-time – and you'll find 28 of them in this guide. Those lucky enough to bag a spot in this article must have a Rotten Tomatoes (RT) critical score that's 85% or higher, have made over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, and/or meet both requirements. So, you know they come highly recommended. Here, then, are our top picks for the best superhero movies ever made – and where you can watch them on the world's best streaming services.

Best superhero movies: 28-21

28. The Suicide Squad

The Suicide Squad was the first comic book film that James Gunn made for DC (Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Runtime: 132 minutes
Director: James Gunn
Main cast: Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, David Dalmastchian, Peter Capaldi, and Daniela Melchior among others
Rotten Tomatoes (RT) critics' score: 90%

27. Deadpool and Wolverine

The only Marvel movie of 2024 made over $1 billion at the worldwide box office (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Runtime: 128 minutes
Director: Shawn Levy
Main cast: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, and Matthew Macfayden among others
RT critics' score: 78%

26. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Thor: Ragnarok is easily the best of the God of Thunder's four solo Marvel films (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney)

Runtime: 130 minutes
Director: Taika Waititi
Main cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson, and Jeff Goldblum
RT critics' score: 93%

25. Wonder Woman (2017)

2017's Wonder Woman is a compelling period war drama starring Gal Gadot as the titular Themysciran (Image credit: Warner Bros)

Runtime: 141 minutes
Director: Patty Jenkins
Main cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, and David Thewlis
RT critics' score: 93%

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Guardians of the Galaxy's movie trilogy capper was a highly emotional watch (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Runtime: 150 minutes
Director: James Gunn
Main cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Maria Bakalova, Will Poulter, and Chukwudi Uwuji
RT critics' score: 82%

23. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 (2014)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 introduced the ragtag group of heroes to a wider audience (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Runtime: 121 minutes
Director: James Gunn
Main cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, and Lee Pace
RT critics' score: 92%

22: X-Men: First Class (2011)

X-Men: First Class traveled back to the 1960s to tell Professor X and Magneto's origins story (Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Runtime: 126 minutes
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Main cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, January Jones, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, and Zoe Kravitz
RT critics' score: 86%

21. The Incredibles (2004)

The Incredibles is one of the finest Pixar movies of all-time (Image credit: Disney/Pixar)

Runtime: 115 minutes
Director: Brad Bird
Main cast: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Vowell, Spencer Fox, and Jason Lee
RT critics' score: 97%

Best superhero movies: 20-11

20. Deadpool (2016)

Deadpool might not have existed if its early test screen footage hadn't leaked online (Image credit: Fox Studios)

Runtime: 108 minutes
Director: Tim Miller
Main cast: Ryan Reynolds, Monica Baccarin, Ed Skrein, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapicic, Karan Soni, and Leslie Uggams
RT critics' score: 85%

19: X2: X-Men United (2003)

X2: X-Men United was the best X-Men movie for over a decade (Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Runtime: 134 minutes
Director: Bryan Singer
Main cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, and Brian Cox,
RT critics' score: 85%

18. Superman: The Movie (1978)

Superman: The Movie is still the best Superman film almost 50 years after its debut (Image credit: Columbia Pictures)

Runtime: 143 minutes
Director: Richard Donner
Main cast: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando, and Margot Kidder
RT critics' score: 94%

17. X-Men: Days of Future Part (2014)

X-Men: Days of Future Past brought two generations of X-Men actors together for a thrilling time-travel flick (Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Runtime: 131 minutes
Director: Bryan Singer
Main cast: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicolas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellen
RT critics' score: 90%

16. Iron Man (2008)

The film that kickstarted the MCU, Iron Man is still a great watch over 15 years on from its debut (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Runtime: 126 minutes
Director: Jon Favreau
Main cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard, and Jon Favreau
RT critics' score: 94%

15. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Captain America: Civil War saw the Avengers destroyed from the inside out (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Runtime: 146 minutes
Directors: Joe and Anthony Russo
Main cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Sebastien Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Anthony Mackie, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, and Daniel Bruhl
RT critics' score: 90%

14. Batman Returns (1992)

Batman Returns starred Danny DeVito and Michael Keaton as The Penguin and the Caped Crusader (Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Runtime: 126 minutes
Director: Tim Burton
Main cast: Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito, Christopher Walken, and Michael Gough
RT critics' score: 82%

13. Logan (2017)

Logan was the first R-rated Wolverine-starring X-Men film – and it's as terrific as it is heart-breaking (Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Runtime: 137 minutes
Director: James Mangold
Main cast: Hugh Jackman, Dafne Keen, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, and Richard E. Grant
RT critics' score: 93%

12. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Spider-Man: No Way Home was a multiversal movie that mashed the hero's three live-action adaptations together (Image credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel Entertainment)

Runtime: 148 minutes
Director: Jon Watts
Main cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Benedict Cumberbatch, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Marisa Tomei, Jamie Foxx, Benedict Wong, and Jon Favreau
RT critics' score: 93%

11. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Captain America 2 was one of the first Marvel movies to branch out into a different film genre (Image credit: Marve)

Runtime: 135 minutes
Director: Joe and Anthony Russo
Main cast: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastien Stan, Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, and Robert Redford
RT critics' score: 90%

Best superhero movies: 10-1

10. The Avengers (2012)

The Avengers completely changed the superhero genre game in 2012 (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Runtime: 143 minutes
Director: Joss Whedon
Main cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, and Tom Hiddleston
RT critics' score: 91%

9. Batman Begins (2005)

Batman Begins gave us a much more grounded take on the Dark Knight's 85-year comic book history (Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Runtime: 140 minutes
Director: Christopher Nolan
Main cast: Christian Bale, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, and Michael Caine
RT critics' score: 85%

8. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Spider-Man 2 is still one of the webslinger's best live-action movies (Image credit: Sony Pictures)

Runtime: 122 minutes
Director: Sam Raimi
Main cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco, Rosemary Harris, and J.K. Simmons
RT critics' score: 93%

7. The Batman (2022)

The Batman is another epic big-screen reinvention of the iconic DC superhero (Image credit: Jonathan Olley/Warner Bros.)

Runtime: 176 minutes
Director: Matt Reeves
Main cast: Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Paul Dano, John Tuturro, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, and Jayme Lawson
RT critics' score: 85%

6. Black Panther (2018)

Black Panther was a seminal moment for Black superhero storytelling on the big screen (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Runtime: 134 minutes
Director: Ryan Coogler
Main cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Letitia Wright, Lupita N'yongo, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Martin Freeman, and Andy Serkis
RT critics' score: 96%

5. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is almost the best Spider-Man movie ever made (Image credit: Sony Pictures)

Runtime: 140 minutes
Directors: Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, and Joaquin Dos Santos
Main cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Daniel Kaluuya, Jason Schwartzman, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, and Shea Wigham
RT critics' score: 95%

4. Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Avengers: Endgame is the highest-grossing MCU film of all-time (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Runtime: 181 minutes
Directors: Joe and Anthony Russo
Main cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin, Don Cheadle, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, and Bradley Cooper
RT critics' score: 94%

3. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is one of the most beautifully animated movies ever (Image credit: Sony Pictures)

Runtime: 117 minutes
Director: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
Main cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Zoe Kravitz, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage, Liev Schreiber, and Kathryn Hahn
RT critics' score: 97%

2. The Dark Knight (2008)

The Dark Knight is anchored by stunning performances from the late Heath Ledger and Christian Bale (Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Runtime: 152 minutes
Director: Cristopher Nolan
Main cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, and Michael Caine
RT critics' score: 94%

1. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Avengers: Infinity War is the best superhero movie of all-time, in our view (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Runtime: 149 minutes
Director: Joe and Anthony Russo
Main cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastien Stan, Paul Bettany, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Tom Hiddleston, Bradley Cooper, and Vin Diesel
RT critics' score: 85%

For more superhero movie-based coverage, find out how to watch the Marvel movies in order, how to watch the DC movies in order, how to watch the Batman movies in order, and/or how to watch the Spider-Man movies in order.

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