2025 Comic Book Movies Ranked
Despite it only being the end of July, The Fantastic Four: First Steps was the last comic book movie of 2025. That means today I’m going to rank all 4 comic book movies we got in 2025, let’s talk about them!
4. Captain America: Brave New World: I know a lot of people really crapped on this film and viewed it as a bottom tier MCU film. It’s in last place on this list, I don’t think it’s great but I don’t think it’s the bottom of the barrel for the MCU. I’ve seen this film two times and I enjoyed it both times I watched it. Right off the bat, Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford are pretty solid in the film. There was a lot of debate as to whether or not Mackie would be able to handle the mantle of Captain America and I’d say he does. He’s a very different character from Steve Rogers but that’s what makes him interesting and learning that he doesn’t have to be Steve Rogers, he just has to be the best Sam Wilson. It’s always fun to see Harrison Ford in a big blockbuster like this, he brings a certain gravitas and weight to the film. For the role that Thunderbolt Ross has in the film, I think Ford fit the role much better then what William Hurt could’ve brought. I also liked the ways the film was able to pull together multiple MCU projects to make the MCU feel like a cohesive universe. It’s obviously a follow-up to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier which is a follow up to Endgame. You also get ingredients from The Incredible Hulk and Eternals sprinkled in there. Even the events of this film are mentioned in Thunderbolts*. There’s also some cool action in the film and because Sam has the wing suit, he’s able to deliver different action from other heroes so the film can be exciting at points. Publicly, the film went through massive reshoots and rewrites because early on in post production they realized the film wasn’t working. They cast Giancarlo Esposito in the film in May of last year and you can tell that his inclusion was reshoots. It feels like the film was setting up a lot of really cool things for the second half of the film, but it never delivers on that. Especially with Isaiah Bradley I thought they were going to have him be more involved with the third act of the film. Also, The Thinker’s plan only works if the screenplay was great and top notch but it’s not. It’s clearly an underdeveloped, undercooked script that was never as good as it could’ve been. Despite the main villain being super smart and intelligent, the script was not able to meet its needs of being smart and intelligent. Overall, I didn’t hate this film. There’s a lot of things in here that I did enjoy but overall I thought the film was an enjoyable MCU film that I was never bored with.
3. The Fantastic Four: First Steps: This is an interesting one because while I’m still positive on the film, I feel like I’m one of the few people that isn’t throwing praise at this film and claiming it to be one of the MCU’s best. There’s a lot of people that are saying that about this film and I’m not there. I gave it a positive review and I’d stand by that. What I loved about this film was Matt Shakman’s world building and making the most stylized MCU film. Whenever we got the first trailers for the film and we saw the vibe and aesthetic it felt like something totally new and different. When you watch the film as a whole it feels so unique. When this is the 37th MCU film and 53 MCU project, having a film that feels distinct is special and it feels like a breath of fresh air. As it is a Fantastic Four film you have to talk about the Fantastic Four themselves and all of them are very good. Vanessa Kirby and Joseph Quinn would be the two standouts for me. Kirby provides the emotion while Quinn provides the comedic relief of the film. They make Sue Storm a more complex character, Jessica Alba was treated as just a pretty face. Both Sue’s powers and her ability to communicate with others is so much of the driving force of the film. Between this film and Thunderbolts* It gave me a better understanding for the future of the MCU, in particular with Doomsday and a better sense of what the film is going to be. With that said, I think the film struggles by being way too short. The film is 1 hour and 55 minutes long and I think you could’ve added another 10-15 minutes. The opening montage feels like they trimmed a lot and summed it up a lot faster. I think they need an action scene earlier with Mole Man to better set him up in the second half + plus showing the Fantastic Four in their daily lives before the Galactus and Silver Surfer adventure started. On Twitter, people have been pointing out that there’s several shots and entire speeches from characters that are in the trailers that aren’t present in the film at all. Given the nature of the film with how it’s structured our heroes are either in the Baxter Building or in space, so some of the classic characteristics of the characters are missing. Johnny doesn’t really get to be the ladies man cocky douchebag because he’s interacting with the Fantastic Four for most of the film. I took some screenwriting classes last year and a lot of screenwriting techniques in this film seem to go against basic screenwriting rules. This is a frustrating film that I wanted to like a lot more than I actually do. It’s a good film but I was hoping it’d be great maybe even fantastic.
2. Thunderbolts*: I know the film’s title got changed to The New Avengers, but I’m not calling it that, this film will always be Thunderbolts*. Regardless of what the title for the film is, I really dug this film and I thought it was one of the MCU’s best in the post-Endgame era. What I love about this film is that it feels like an old school classic MCU. Of all The Multiverse Saga films this film feels the most like it’s from The Infinity Saga, specifically Phase 3. As that’s the MCU in its prime that’s a big compliment. It’s a story with characters you care about, lots of humor, great action, and feels like an important puzzle in the MCU. With where this film ends it gives you a better sense as to what the future of the MCU is going to be more of what the plot for Doomsday is going to be. Something that surprised me about the film is that it’s a MCU film that’s about something. It’s a film that’s about these losers and outcasts realizing they’re not alone and finding a purpose. They explore this idea through our heroes but with our villain and what his backstory and powers are just allows these themes to be explored. With our Valentina exposing the heroes as The New Avengers, whether they like it or not our heroes found a purpose. The ensemble of characters are a lot of fun. All of them are great characters that you enjoy seeing on screen. It’s a fun idea to take a bunch of side characters and put them front and center in a film like this. Florence Pugh continues to establish herself as one of the best actresses working today. She’s able to be dramatic while also being fun and charming. With how Bucky’s used in the film, it has this self-awareness about it. The characters in the film know that Bucky is the most popular and coolest so everybody is super excited when he shows up. They give Bucky a very different character arc since we already know his trauma, he doesn’t need to go and change because he’s done that. In this film, he’s the mentor guiding others who were lost just like him. Like I said, everybody in this film is a lot of fun and everybody is a great character. Another thing that really stands out about this film is that it’s all done practically. If you watch interviews with the directors or behind the scene videos, it’s clear that it’s all practical effects. When you know its action it adds this sense of realism and makes the action more practical. Even in the third act when things get fantastical and trippy, it’s practical with sets being built and the actors on wires doing all of this crazy stuff. This was one of my most anticipated movies of the year and an MCU film that I’ve been excited about since they announced it. This film absolutely lived up to the hype and it made me excited for the future of the MCU.
1. Superman: Speaking of films that were one of my most anticipated of the year, Superman was on the list and at one point probably was my most anticipated film of the year. After Snyder’s take on Superman went in a darker direction with a more realistic take on the character. This film provided a counter balance and delivered a very comic booky film that leaned into the sci-fi and fantastical elements of the character. Right out of the gate, you understand that this is a more hopeful and optimistic take on Superman. This is a faithful take on Superman as he feels like a Boy Scout in blue. Whenever there’s big action happening he’s always looking out for the little guy, he saves a squirrel which is such a Superman thing to do. There’s all of these little moments of Metropolis helping Superman, they value and respect Superman. It makes Metropolis feel like a character in the film and very few comic book movies do that. I love that it leans into the comic booky side of the universe by dropping us into the middle of the action with a world pre-populated with superheroes. People have been describing the film as an episode of Justice League: Unlimited except as a feature length film starring Superman. It was just refreshing to get a comic book film that wasn’t afraid to be a comic book film, it knew it was goofy and went for it. Our cast all around is pretty fantastic, everybody embodies their roles nicely. David Corenswet as our new Superman is great. He’s able to embody Superman with these mannerisms, but he’s also able to be emotional yet the optimistic and hopeful superhero that we know Superman to be. I’m excited to see what James Gunn has planned for him in the future. Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor is another great piece of casting, he’s so evil and hateable and Hoult is able to play that so well. When I first saw the film I had some issues with this plan and how goofy it got. Upon rewatching and thinking about it, the stuff didn’t bother me as much so my opinions on the character of Lex Luthor have gone up. Krypto is adorable and an absolute scene stealer that had my audience laughing whenever he was on screen. Mr. Terrific is the surprise here. I really liked what they did with him, his screen presence and personality fit perfectly into this universe. Most importantly, this film made me excited for the future of the DC universe. I’m excited for Supergirl next year and any other projects they have in the works. James Gunn was able to work his magic with the D-list like Guardians of the Galaxy and able to work his magic equally as good as with the A-list like Superman. This is a film that I love and had such a great time watching it, both times that I’ve seen it. I think it’s one of the best comic book movies of the decade.
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