Top 10 Comic Book Movies of the Decade

Top 10 Comic Book Movies of the Decade

Despite the comic book movie genre not being what it once was. There’s still been a lot of great comic book movies released this decade. Here’s my picks for my 10 favorite comic book movies of the 2020s so far! 

10. Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn: This is probably the most underrated and least watched film on this list. But every time I rewatch this film I always really enjoy it and think that it provides something new and different with the genre. It has this early Quentin Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction vibe to it. It’s a chaotic story that’s told out of order with a lot of moving pieces. The other thing about it that makes it pop is that it’s not a big blockbuster that costs $200 million and has world or universe ending stakes. No, this film’s villain is a mob boss who is really just threatening a small portion of a city. The budget for the film was about $90 million and we don’t get a lot of comic book movies made for that cheap. There’s just a number of things about the film and what it’s like that makes it pop more than other comic book movies. From there, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn is fantastic casting. I think she’s the best piece of casting to come out of the DCEU. She’s able to capture the mannerisms, quirks, and charms of Harley so well. You also have Ewan McGregor as Black Mask who doesn’t have a backstory, but he’s a great villain because he’s despicable and threatening while also being very charismatic and charming. This isn’t one of the best or flashiest comic book movies of all time but for what it’s trying to be, it’s really good. 

9. Zack Snyder’s Justice League: Another DC movie and this one only happening because of the fans and people protesting for this film to happen. The jump in quality from the 2017 theatrical film to this film is insane. I’m not a massive Zack Snyder, but I think this is one of his best movies and I like that it feels like a director’s true vision. Whether you love or hate Zack Snyder, this movie 100% feels like Zack Snyder’s baby through the color schemes, the visuals, music, and more. Since this film is 4-hours long it means that everybody is given these massive character arcs. Both Batman and Superman’s character arcs are much more satisfying to what was established in Batman v Superman then the payoff we got the 2017 film. It’s a film where you feel the scope and size of what’s going on. You feel the threat that Steppenwolf and his goons are posing and we know that Darkseid is looming out there waiting to attack when he sees fit. The action set pieces in the film are massive and especially the final battle really does feel like this big battle for Earth where all of our heroes get their moment to shine. I don’t think it’s a fantastic film, I’m not praising it as one of the best of all time. But it’s still really good and delivered a great Justice League experience. 

8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: People are going to hate putting a James Gunn film above a Zack Snyder film (and it’ll happen again). But I found this film to be such an emotionally satisfying conclusion to this trilogy and these characters. Gunn made us fall in love with them back in 2014 and seeing their arcs conclude provides great emotional payoff. This might be the most emotional film in the MCU largely due to the character arcs but also a villain that you want to see defeated. The High Evolutionary is mean and cruel to animals, sometimes he kills them. Whenever you get a villain that’s mean to harmless creatures you want to see them defeated. While it is a very emotional film, it also delivers all of the James Gunn humor and wackiness that you expect. It’s one of the few MCU movies that make you cry and make you laugh all in one. You watch interviews with James Gunn and he described that Rocket was the secret protagonist of this trilogy. Where he ends his character arc and how this film is all about him makes it the perfect conclusion to this trilogy. Him taking this talking raccoon and making him highly relatable has this refreshing quality about it. 

7. Thunderbolts*: Easily my favorite MCU film of the year and much like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, this is an MCU movie that has its own style and flavor to it. It’s a film that’s about mental health and depression, and it explores this through our lead characters being these outcasts trying to find their purpose. Yelena is the main character and this story and these events need to happen in order for her to change. That’s when you have good character arcs when the adventure of the film changes our lead character. Right out of the gate, this was an MCU film that felt different and like they were actually trying to do something and not just make the next chapter in the MCU. But it also feels like an important piece in the MCU. The final scene presents the world and the audience with who the Avengers are. The post-credit scene teases what’s next for the MCU, we get hints for what’s coming in Doomsday. The ensemble of characters are a lot of fun, all of them have something about them that pops and stands out. They took this jerk character, John Walker and turned him into a hero and somebody that you like and care about. This is easily one of the best MCU films of recent memory and it’s a shame that this movie underperformed because it’s finally a great MCU movie that doesn’t rely on multiverse gimmicks. 

6. Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse: One of the best animated movies of the decade so far. What I find so impressive about the Spiderverse films is how beautiful, creative, and inventive they are in terms of the animation style. You watch the films and it shows that other studios (mainly Disney) have a very generic animation style. Since this is a multiverse story with multiple characters and spiderverses it’s incredible that everything has a different look and feel to it. The film is also able to have a large amount of heart and character arcs for both Miles and Gwen. They use the concept of the multiverse to help with their character arcs and this adventure is the story they need to go through to be a different person. They created a villain with Spider-Man 2099 that’s layered and complex but there’s still so much about him that we have yet to learn and I’m sure it’s coming in Beyond the Spiderverse. He’s a villain that you can sympathize with because of what we’ve learned about him. When you put the pieces together this is a great comic book movie, a great animated movie, and a great movie in general. And I think it’s an example of a sequel that surpasses the original. When we get Beyond the Spiderverse, this film could either move up or down on this list. 

5. Superman: My favorite comic book movie of the year and in my opinion, one of the best DC movies of all time. James Gunn made a movie that’s able to capture the spirit of classic Superman while also fitting him into 2025. You get a hard pivot for Henry Cavill’s take on Superman, where we get a traditional Superman that’s hopeful and naive, but he’s in a world filled with politics and media that challenges his world view and provides a character arc in the film. As it’s the introduction to a new DC universe, the film got me excited for the future of the DC universe and all of its potential. The film drops us into a DC universe pre-populated with DC heroes and villains. It feels lived in and filled with tons of stories to be told whether it’s a sequel or prequel to this film. The film feels like an episode of Justice League: Unlimited except in live action and it feels refreshing in a genre that can easily get stale with generic and bland films. All of the characters are a lot of fun, David Corenswet immediately embodies himself as a new Superman. He’s great and captures all of the mannerisms that we want from a tried and true Superman. Krypto steals every scene that he’s in and Mr. Terrific was the big surprise of the film. I’ve seen this film three times in the theater and loved it every single time. 

4. Deadpool & Wolverine: A multiverse film that acts as a love letter and sendoff to Fox X-Men. It’s a Deadpool film so it has all of the crass humor and raunchy jokes you’d expect while also delivering an emotional film that has big themes about purpose and they explore this idea through both Deadpool and Wolverine. They found a way to bring Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine back without diminishing Logan’s ending. Jackman (who’s now my best friend) kills it in this role. He’s giving a dramatic performance in a comedy and that shows how great of an actor he is. His seriousness and emotional weight brings an extra element to the film that wouldn’t be present had he not been in the film. The rapport and dynamic between him and Ryan Reynolds in the film is so much and just as entertaining as fans had hoped it would be when this film was announced. All of the surprises and multiverse fun in the film were very entertaining. What’s fun about these characters is they're people that I didn’t expect to see going into the film. When you watch the film and see what themes the film is exploring, they make sense and they feel earned. There’s been a lot of shade thrown at this film over the past year and I don’t get it. This film delivered everything that I expected from the film and more. 

3. The Suicide Squad: I didn’t realize until I was typing this that there’s a lot of James Gunn films on this list. I promise you that this is the last one. But I think this one of Gunn’s best films as it’s a big wild adventure with fun characters, violence, and heart. All of the characters here are so lively and having so much fun. Harley Quinn and Peacemaker being the two stand outs for me. But everybody in here is so much fun, they all have a quirk about them that makes them stand out and pop. Right out of the gate, the film sets the tone and expectations for the film. We know that nobody is safe and anybody can die at any point in time. While it is a big wacky adventure, there’s so much heart in the film. He’s able to take the wildest of characters from King Shark to Polka-Dot Man and find the humanity in them. It’s a film that perfectly blends those things together that shouldn’t work. But James Gunn works his magic and crafts something really special and different from the comic book movie genre. If you watch behind the scenes videos of the film you know that it was all practical and they were on real locations blowing stuff up. This was my favorite DCEU film and it’s only gotten better for me with the release for Peacemaker. 

2. Spider-Man: No Way Home: The movie that brought everybody out of their homes and back to the theaters after the COVID-19 pandemic. What an event this movie was. Future generations aren’t going to understand the amount of hype and speculation that was surrounding this film. To me, this was one of the best theater experiences of all my entire life, seeing this film opening night was something truly special. If Deadpool & Wolverine was a love letter to Fox X-Men, then No Way Home is a love letter to three generations of Spider-Man. You said they put so much care into getting the fan service right because it left fans satisfied by the end of it. The scenes with all three Spider-Man puts a gigantic smile on my face. They all have great chemistry with each other and you realize just how quirky and weird all of them are. They even do some very unique and clever things with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. This is his third film with him in the lead but they do the classic Spider-Man origin story and he’s told “with great power comes great responsibility…”, and Tobey and Andrew as a way to help with that arc. Even when they have the fun multiverse cameos they feel earned and have a purpose in the film. This is my favorite theatrical experience of the decade and I don’t know if it’ll be topped. 

1. The Batman: The Batman is my favorite comic book movie of the decade and it’s also one of my favorite comic book movies of all time. As a life long Batman fan, this film gave me everything that I wanted and more. It’s telling a Batman story that we haven’t seen done before, a detective story. Matt Reeves told the most detective focused Batman film we’ve gotten. This film does something that I think more comic book movies need to do, they took inspiration from outside sources. This film feels like a David Fincher thriller, most notably Se7en. It just gives the film this fresh new feel and energy where it doesn’t feel like any other comic book movie. I think this is also the best Gotham we’ve gotten in a DC film. It’s a life in Gotham that clearly has a history and a past. Part of the mystery of the film evolves around Gotham’s history. The film has four villains in it with The Riddler, Catwoman, The Penguin, and Falcone but they all make sense for why they’re there, they tie into the story and the exploration of Gotham feeling massive and lived in. Michael Giacchino’s score is one of the best of the genre, it’s awesome and gets me pumped up. I love this film and I’ve seen it so many times and I’m so excited for The Batman: Part II.