As the world prepares to see Batman battle Superman for the first time on screen, we’re counting down the best and worst movies feature the two most popular superheroes in the history of the DC Universe….
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
It’s hard to forget that incredible moment at San Diego Comic Con in 2013 when Henry Lennix took the stage and read a famous line from the comic book “The Dark Knight Returns” that announced the movie that would eventually become Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Now nearly three years later, the movie has finally arrived and it’s the first time in cinematic history when both Batman and Superman will appear in the same movie.
With anticipation already at a fevered pitch for the movie’s opening and record breaking numbers expected at the box office, now seems like the perfect time to talk about the best and worst Batman and Superman films of all time with a countdown to give you the definitive list of must watch movies and forgettable (and regrettable) flops.
Without further ado, here’s our list of the best and worst Batman and Superman movies of all time (live action, not animated).
15. BATMAN & ROBIN (1997)
Undoubtedly the single worst movie to feature either Batman or Superman. George Clooney would probably prefer to talk about the hair he had during the Roseanne days before he’d want to acknowledge being part of this colossal piece of crap. And who can forget Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze. Too bad one of Arnold’s better movies — Total Recall — couldn’t be used to wipe my brain free of ever experiencing this garbage fire of a movie.
14. SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE (1987)
There’s not much to say about this terrible attempt at a fourth Superman movie other than the fact that it likely killed comic book films from being made until Tim Burton came along with Batman two years later. And whoever came up with the idea of “Nuclear Man” as a villain should have their typewriter taken away from them and burned into ashes.
13. SUPERMAN RETURNS (2006)
There were such high hopes for this reinvention of Superman but Brandon Rouse was a no-name actor who had the unenviable task of attempting to replace Christopher Reeve and no matter how good he was (he wasn’t good), there was little chance he was going to hold up to the original. Kevin Spacey was a solid choice as Lex Luthor but the rest of the movie was honestly rather boring with a tedious pace and bad storytelling.
12. BATMAN FOREVER (1995)
Val Kilmer replaced Michael Keaton as Batman in the third movie of the series with Tim Burton also exiting in favor of Joel Schumacher. There’s a lot wrong with this movie but casting really takes the biggest hit with Jim Carrey hamming it up as the Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones somehow taking the reigns as Two-Face. Toss in Batgirl and Robin and you’ve got a mess of a movie by the time it’s all over.
11. SUPERMAN III (1983)
The third film in the original Superman franchise is where the series started to veer off course although I would argue that Richard Pryor’s comic relief still holds up to this day. Unfortunately, the filmmakers opted to go far outside the realm of the comic book universe to give Superman a villain and there’s nothing all that fun about battling a super computer as the big finale.
10. BATMAN: THE MOVIE (1966)
No one will ever accuse the 1966 Batman series of being anything less than campy comedy masquerading as a comic book movie, but this is still a fun movie 50 years later. It’s more about nostalgia than a great cinematic effort, but a cartoon being brought to life is still fun to watch.
9. MAN OF STEEL (2013)
After a failed attempt to bring Superman back to life seven years earlier, Zack Snyder takes a stab at one of the hardest characters to portray in a movie. The origin story scattered throughout the first half of the film feels rehashed and some important beats are missing, but overall this is a good re-introduction to the last son of Krypton.
8. BATMAN RETURNS (1992)
The second in Tim Burton’s Batman films is arguably on par if not slightly superior to the original in overall execution. Batman battles the Penguin and a mentally disturbed Catwoman in another over the top, splash page brought to life on the big screen.
7. BATMAN (1989)
At the time when Tim Burton’s Batman was released, comic book movies had all but fluttered and failed but this resurrected the genre in a big way. This brought Batman back to the big screen really for the first time in over 30 years and while Burton made plenty of mistakes that are easier to see now versus then, this is still an all time classic despite the flaws.
6. BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (2016)
Read our full review for the movie here, but Batman battles Superman in a prequel of sorts that sets up the rest of the DC Universe including the Justice League movie that will be unveiled in 2017.
5. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)
The third and final film in the Nolan Dark Knight trilogy, Batman goes up against Bane while the League of Shadows re-appears for the first time since Batman Begins as they attempt to tear Gotham City down to the ground. There are a few miscues scattered throughout the movie, but the addition of Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway make up for Joseph Gorden Levitt’s completely unnecessary character being wedged into the story.
4. BATMAN BEGINS (2005)
Following a disastrous run of Batman films that finished in 1997, Christopher Nolan re-launched the franchise with this origin story that tells how the Dark Knight got his start in a unique and creative way that’s different than the comic books but still so grounded in reality that you can’t help but love it.
3. SUPERMAN (1978)
The original is still one of the best as we are introduced to Christopher Reeve, who is seemingly the embodiment of the perfect Superman to this day, as he battles Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor in a truly excellent piece of filmmaking that still holds up to this day.
2. SUPERMAN II (1980)
Highly recommend seeing the Richard Donner cut that was released a few years back, but Superman II is definitely the must see feature when it comes to the Man of Steel. Superman faces off with three villains from his home planet of Krypton just after realizing that the only way he can be with the woman he loves is by joining the ranks of the mortals.
1. THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is not only the best of the best when it comes to Batman or Superman, but this might just be the greatest superhero movie of all time. Batman goes up against The Joker with an Academy Award winning performance from Heath Ledger and a flawless script that plays out with perfect execution from start to finish.
