Across the course of the genre’s history, there have been a wide range of sublime superhero movies that have graced our cinemas and homes – and many of these are imperative for all superhero movie fans to witness. With the superhero genre having grown strikingly in the past few decades, Marvel and DC have cemented their reputation as household names.

With this growth, it can be harder to know which superhero movies are must-see – and which play a key part in the genre’s history, or are integral to note to understand where the genre is at today. As it stands, these ten superhero movies are some of the best examples of both categories.

Logan

As one of the most somber superhero movies in the genre’s history – and a film that brings an ending of sorts to decades of movie history – Logan being a must-watch over its predecessors may seem like an unusual concept to put forward. However, Logan‘s masterful emotional storytelling really demonstrates how much the genre can be capable of on-screen.

Logan leaves much of the tone the genre relies on to work to one side, exchanging it for an ambience that, while bleak, embodies the X-Men’s hopeful message and mission in a truly poignant way, with Wolverine giving it all to honor Professor X, and then giving his life for his adoptive daughter of sorts Laura.

Few movies provide as heartwrenching and fitting an ending as Logan does with Wolverine’s sacrifice to protect his cloned progeny, and the emotion Logan packs into its finale and the steady, devastating build-up to this point means you don’t need to have seen prior X-Men movies for it to hit home – though watching them before certainly doesn’t hurt.

Blade (1998)

The Blade trilogy sits at a fascinating point in history, as many who watched Blade may not have been aware the film was drawing from the comic character of the same name for its blood-soaked vampire-killing story. To some degree, this is a big part of why Blade is well worth any superhero movie fan watching at least once.

The 1998 Blade is not a universally beloved film, but it is one that’s fascinating to consider today, especially with the way the superhero genre has evolved and changed in the years since its release.

Blade was one of the first modern superhero movies, and also notably one of the first R-rated superhero movies – a concept DC and Marvel are only just starting to revisit and realize the potential of now with the likes of ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine and the DCU’s upcoming Clayface movie.

The ways in which Blade was one of the first forays into a lot of today’s superhero movie endeavors makes it well worth watching once, even for those who come out of the experience less than blown away by the supernatural action of the film – especially since the MCU’s Blade appears to be some way off its own release.

Joker

The concept of a movie centering on a supervillain without also featuring their heroic rival is one that’s inherently risky. This has been proven over the years via the complicated results of releases that make said antagonists into antiheroes, like Kraven the Hunter and Catwoman, and also somewhat paradoxically by the divisive reception to Joker‘s sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux.

However, this only makes Joker‘s success all the more noteworthy – and the movie all the more watching, if only to appreciate how different it is to almost all of its cinematic kin.

Given the Joker’s comic backstory is infamously a multiple-choice scenario – with several origin stories suggested for it, and it often left intentionally vague – the concept of a movie exploring this territory also subverts a lot of expectations around superhero origin story movies.

Though the tale of the mistreated Arthur Fleck descending into chaos and reveling in his ability to encourage catastrophe in Gotham is a tragic one, it’s also fascinating for how it provides one of DC’s often most evil villains a nuanced and not unsympathetic story. Given how many major Batman movies center around the antagonist, Joker is increasingly interesting comparatively.

Spider-Man (2002)

Spider-Man is rightfully one of the most famous superheroes of all time, and his film roster has provided an ᴀssortment of demonstrations of exactly why this is the case over the years. While Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is now already the most prolific of these, seeing the first big Spider-Man movie is perhaps more integral.

2002’s Spider-Man features three castings who have very much stood the test of time, with Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man still being in the running for best Spider-Man performance of all time, Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin demonstrating the full range of his immense acting talents, and J.K Simmons’ J Jonah Jameson being so character-defining that he was brought back for the MCU.

However, Spider-Man doesn’t work on casting alone, as the skills of both director Sam Raimi and screenwriter David Koepp are also on full display here. Combined, Spider-Man is one of the superhero genre’s best origin story movies, and a film that balances its heart with some great responsibilities in every sense.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a divisive release, but that in some ways only reinforces why it’s worth watching the film. The 2021 release has garnered perhaps the widest range of drastically different perspectives on it of any superhero movie, making it worth watching to form your own opinion.

With extra scenes and other adjustments that were to better suit director Zack Snyder’s original vision for Justice League before he had to step away from the project, Zack Snyder’s Justice League has unique appeal in terms of answering major questions about what the movie’s intended plot and approach would’ve been, without the behind-the-scenes complications that transformed the 2017 iteration.

The DCEU’s take on the Justice League is currently the only proper live-action film foray into the team, which means it’s worth witnessing for this alone, and to see the potential that bringing the iconic DC team to life on-screen in this manner has – whether you come away from the experience with fond feelings or a more complex reception.

Iron Man

Even without the charm of Robert Downey Jr. or the film’s impressive ability to make a movie largely about someone sitting in dark rooms making superhero suits gripping in every sense, Iron Man is of course crucial in terms of being the film the next seventeen years of Marvel movie history have hinged on and were set into motion by.

Looking back now, it’s clear to see that much of what Iron Man nailed the superhero genre as a whole is still trying to emulate and mirror all this time later, and not without good reason.

While The Avengers was the MCU’s big test in terms of whether it could make interconnected stories work, Iron Man was the first brave step into a new era for Marvel and the genre more broadly speaking. With the blessing of nearly two decades of hindsight, it’s safe to say this step paid off, and the scale on which it did makes Iron Man even more of a must-watch story.

Superman (1978)

The original 1978 Superman: The Movie has retained its reputation as one of the best superhero movies of all time over the years because of the phenomenal job ensuring the main castings and plot of the film are timelessly effective. Indeed, while Superman is getting close to its 50th anniversary, it’s still just as enjoyable to watch today in many ways.

With a charming story that feels right out of the classic comics – and isn’t afraid to show Superman as someone who’s vulnerable and humble almost to a fault, even while also depicting him as staggeringly powerful – Superman perfectly embodies the early charms of the superhero world that would grow it into the cinematic тιтan that we know it as today.

While there are a lot of strong Superman movies out there, the 1978 original is arguably the most valuable to witness, since it clearly influences every Superman film story that came after it, and since the cornerstones of both the DCEU’s Man of Steel and the DCU’s Superman can be seen in its approach to the hero and his world.

Avengers: Endgame

Saying superhero movie fans need to watch Avengers: Endgame at least once is perhaps as obvious as saying grᴀss is green – but it’s still undeniably true all the same. While Endgame does reply on its many predecessors to set the stage for it, its ability to provide unparalleled spectacle can still shine through even without this film backlog.

There’s a reason Endgame is not just the highest-grossing superhero movie to date, but also the second-highest grossing movie of all time. It’s a film that’s able to tie the biggest and most daring live-action superhero story ever scale-wise in with a suitably enormous cast, and give all these characters their own moment in its intense and dazzling spotlight.

The magnitude of Endgame can’t be overstated, and its impact on the superhero genre as a whole is unshakably vital to understanding the landscape of these movies today – for better and for worse, as Avengers: Endgame simultaneously showed how enthralling and sprawling the franchise could really be successfully, and provided an epic finale the MCU is still coming back from.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

There are plenty of reasons Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the movie Screen Rant labeled the best of all the MCU. The Winter Soldier is on one hand an epic spy thriller featuring espionage and superhuman fight scenes, and on another a very human story of two friends defeating the odds thanks to their bond.

The Winter Soldier balances these two contrasting concepts perfectly while also exploring Steve Rogers as a person and a hero, and changing the MCU’s world as we knew it forever thanks to the discovery SHIELD had been infiltrated by HYDRA, the impact of which can still be seen in the franchise over a decade later.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier has something for any kind of superhero fan, and is a prime demonstration of what the MCU is capable of at its best – and the heights it is capable of reaching even with far less setup than the likes of Avengers: Infinity War or Avengers: Endgame.