Top 10 Favorite Superhero Film Scores
Over the past 44 years, the superhero movie genre has been dominating at the box office. And one of the more iconic things about the movies are the scores. So here are my 10 favorite superhero film scores.
10. Captain America the First Avenger (Alan Silvestri): Another MCU movie with an incredible film score. And this one just captures the magic and energy of the 1940s inside of the MCU. You get plenty of heroic moments in the score that tie into who this old fashion sense of victory and America. So it’s not super big and flashy like the other scores on this list. But for what Joe Johnston, Kevin Feige, and Alan Silvestri were aiming to do they did a great job at it. So all in all, this is one of the scores that I’ve listened to the most. It’s iconic and a score that I don’t think gets talked about enough.
9. The Batman (Michael Giacchino): Spoiler alert…but as of now, The Batman is my favorite movie of 2022. What Matt Reeves and the rest of the crew were able to develier was something truly special for the character of Batman. And in almost all of the Batman movies, they had a great score to go along with the movie. And this is another example of that, this is one of my favorite scores by Michael Giacchino, it’s iconic and gets stuck in your head. So The Batman as a whole was a movie that I loved a lot of things about, the score was easily one of the things that stood out the most.
8. Spider-Man (Danny Elfman): Now I know this score is iconic, and several people will make the point that this score should be even higher on this list. And I don’t blame, this score is fantastic. What works so well about this score, is that it didn’t have to avoid copying anything prior. Since Danny Elfman was the first, he could make the score that he wanted to make it. And when you think of the character of Spider-Man, this score is what comes to mind for so many people. And this score is iconic, and just shows how iconic and legendary Danny Elfman really is.
7. The Amazing Spider-Man (James Horner): Now you saw my Spider-Man movie ranking back in December, you know that I think The Amazing Spider-Man is a top tier Spider-Man, and super underrated. And I think the score for this movie is one of the best parts about the movie. Now Horner had the hard task of following up Danny Elfman’s iconic score of Sam Raimi’s trilogy. And here Horner gives us a score that feels like Spider-Man, but in no way copies what Elfman did before. And the theme that plays over the credits in this movie, is great and fits the tone and vibe of this movie very well.
6. The Incredibles (Michael Giacchino): When I made the first draft of this list, I actually forgot to include this one. But after looking at other lists, I felt stupid I didn’t orignally put this one on. Because this feels like James Bond mixed with Mission Impossible and that is meant as a positive. It’s not copying any one of those scores, but it’s taking inspiration from both of them. It also just gets me weirdly excited and makes me feel like a superhero, and that’s not something that I get from really any of these other scores. Except for one other one higher up on this list. But this is fantastic, and the best score in any animated movie.
5. The Dark Knight Trilogy (Hans Zimmer): Batman is my favorite superhero of all time, I love so many of his movies. And this trilogy of movies might just be the greatest film trilogy of all time. I love all three of them, yes even The Dark Knight Rises. And there are so many pieces of music connected to these movies that I just love. It fits the tone and the vibe of what Christopher Nolan was going for with this set of movies, he delivered some truly epic and awesome pieces of music that elevate certains scenes in all three of these movies. So easily, he’s in the top 5.
4. Man of Steel (Hans Zimmer): More so than James Horner having to follow up Danny Elfman. I would say that Hans Zimmer had the harder task of following up John Williams’ iconic score for Superman the Movie. And Zimmer did a fantastic job of pulling that off, he created a score that is so epic and large in scale. That it helps get me amped up when I’m going on a walk or whatever, I really feel something whenever I hear this score. And it very much feels like a 21st century Superman score, and I think that’s a good thing. The big stand out of this score is Superman’s first flight, it’s a cool piece of music.
3. Batman (Danny Elfman): For me, this is the best Batman score of all time. And my favorite score by Danny Elfman. Where he was just able to craft and create a score that fits so well into Tim Burton’s more gothic version of Gotham and Batman. And this score has been used for 33 years in Batman video games, movies, tv shows, etc. This is the definitive Batman score, and it always will be. Whenever I think of a great Batman score, this is the one that comes to mind. This is the one that makes me feel Batman the most, and what Batman is as a character. So this is a fantastic score in my mind. And easily, Elfman’s best.
2. Avengers Endgame (Alan Silverstri): This a rare moment where Avengers Endgame isn’t number 1 on a top 10 list. But it is the runner up so it’s not all that bad. And this is one that baffles me that Alan Silvestri didn’t even receive an Oscar nomination for this movie. But all through-out the movie you get these great pieces of music that just elevate the movie, and the scenes that they play in. And of course, “The Portals” theme in the finale is one of the best pieces of music of all time. Whenever I hear that theme I get a big giant smile on my face, it makes me feel happy. I remember back in April 2019 and watching this movie for the first time, and the score was playing. It’s incredible, and easily my favorite inside of the MCU.
1. Superman the Movie (John Williams): When I was making this list, I felt like I had to go with the original, the classic, the legendary superhero film score of all time. The first big major superhero movie has the best score for a superhero movie. Where that Superman theme is one of those themes that gets me amped up and makes me feel like I can do anything. And John Williams perfectly captured that magic of Superman and this sense of nobility so well in his score. That 44 years later, it’s still iconic and you get this feeling of superheroes and Superman, something that no other score can make you feel. So I think that what John Williams was able to do with this score, is truly iconic and legendary.
There you have it, my 10 favorite superhero film scores of all time. What is your favorite score in a superhero movie? Thanks for reading!
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