BeforeI begin this list let me preface by saying that this list is my personal opinions, and that if you are personally offended or insulted by my choices and/or views, then I extend my apologies. You don't need to read the list. But please don't waste comment-space going on an endless tirade of "What's wrong with you? That movie was great!" Or "Why isn't this movie here! I thought it sucked!" I say again, these are my own personal views. If you agree with my choices, then great. If not, well then I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.
With all that out of the way, I present to you what are in my opinion the 60 worst superhero movies ever in descending order. May include some honorable mentions and a few spots that are ties between two equally bad films. To make my life easier, I am only counting live action movies (though honestly, I think most animated superhero movies have been decent to great).
And that should really be all the justification you need right there. In what should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody, the infamous fourth entry in the original Batman film franchise earns the number 1 spot. Honestly, I don't think I even need to say why this film belongs here, as I'm probably far from the first person to have put it at the top of a "Worst Superhero Movies ever" list. Apologies for being predictable, but come on. We all knew only this film could be number 1.
Easily the worst Marvel Comics movie of all time and one that I am still baffled ever got made. I mean at least with other turds they were starring characters who could in theory carry a good movie. But Howard the Duck? I mean come on. Who on Earth thought that character deserved a movie before Captain America and the Fantastic Four? Totally, completely unnecessary and Marvel's biggest embarrassment.
It was a tough call between this film, Howard the Duck, and Batman and Robin for the number 1 spot. Catwoman is my favorite female comic book character (usually anyway), and it's sad to see her so badly butchered. Much as I love Halle Barry she and Selina Kyle clearly ended up going as well together as fire and gasoline. To say nothing for the awful redesign of her much better comic book black costume, and having no mention of Batman whatsoever (or even Catwoman's alter-ego for that matter).
Another total bomb starring a botched take on a good, strong female character. A case could be made that Red Sonja shouldn't be here because she's not really a superhero. But if we're counting Jonah Hex as a superhero, I don't see why we can't count Red Sonja as one.
As to the movie itself, Schwarzenegger himself considers it the worst movie he was ever in. Even worse than Batman and Robin. That alone should tell you something. He even uses this film to punish his kids, allegedly. Oh, and it's been accused of homophobia and has won Razzies, in addition. What more do you need to know?
Hat trick! Now, I will admit that the premise of the movie actually ain't bad (Elektra choosing to protect an innocent man she can't bring herself to assassinate), but the execution is just...how do I put it? Beyond awful. I also suspect that this and Catwoman above are part of the reason why Hollywood has since shied away from having superhero movies with a female lead. News flash: the films didn't suck because the lead characters were women, they sucked because they weren't done well.
Another turd involving a member of Superman's supporting cast that I also happen to like in the comics. Honestly I consider this one and Supergirl to be interchangeable for the number 8 and 9 spots. Much like with Catwoman and Elektra, it's rather silly to make a movie about a character who's a member of another character's supporting cast...and then never once mention that character. It's especially ridiculous with Steel when you remember that the whole point of the character is that he was inspired to become a superhero in the first place BY SUPERMAN.
Rounding out the Top 10, we have a Punisher movie...without the skull logo. That alone earns it a spot in the top 10, to say nothing for everything else the movie got wrong. It is by far the worst of the three Punisher movies, and that's saying quite a bit.
I'm not sure how it was possible, but this god awful turd and butchering of the Robocop series managed to get a 3% on Rotten Tomatoes. Seriously. 3%. It's hard to get much worse than that. Really, I should probably have this one in the Top 10...
This one is especially heartbreaking because of how much of a Captain America fan I am. But really, one look at the abysmal redesign of the costume (and shield) should tell you everything you need to know about this stinker. To say nothing for the flagrant disregard for the source material. Really just one of many examples of how when it came to live action stuff, Marvel in the 70s and 80s really weren't trying.
And incredibly we got a sequel to the first turd. While they did at least improve the costume (not that that was hard to do), the film's story is really nothing special. How they got Christopher Lee for this is beyond me. A nice paycheck perhaps?
And here's ANOTHER bad Captain America movie! Much like the Fantastic Four movie that came out at around the same time, this Captain America movie simply doesn't measure up in comparison to among others it's 2011 remake, and especially when it's got an Italian Red Skull of all things. But more to the point, it's obsolete, and honestly even on it's own merits it's not the best superhero movie. Again, Italian Red Skull. And a fairly weak rendition of Cap's costume, that too.
Yeesh, Superman and his supporting cast sure have had a lot of bad films haven't they? Concerning the Man of Steel specifically this is definitely the worst of his many movies by far, and that's saying quite a bit. Honestly the rather corny sub-title says it all.
More earnest then the second modern FF film and also the 2015 turd, but ultimately still much too outdated and just not able to measure up to any of Marvel's better films. They also tried to cram just a bit too much into one movie, to say nothing for how low-budget it was. They did get Doctor Doom's outfit done right though, which is more than can be said of the modern FF films. Ultimately though, the fact that this movie wasn't even released in theaters should tell you something.
That above exchange, and also the fact that this film could at least be called "laughably terrible" keeps it from reaching the top 10 or 15 when most would argue it absolutely deserves to be there. But for me the above films were even worse.
Remember this one? No? Yeah, I don't think too many of us do, especially given how low-budget it was. And much like Howard the Duck you really find yourself wondering: why on Earth did this character warrant his own movie? And before Iron Man and a good Cap or Hulk movie no less?
First Man-Thing, and now his DC counterpart. Granted, the first Swamp Thing movie had kind of a corny charm depending on who you ask, but this sequel is just plain bad (and kind of unnecessary too). Not helped by how the lovely lead actress of the first film didn't return for the sequel (though who can blame her?)
Where to begin with this one? The fact that it's the fourth FF film to be a miserable failure? The fact that it's gotten the second lowest score on the Tomatometer out of any Marvel movie Rotten Tomatoes has ever reviewed? The fact that it was hyped so much and thus proved an especially biting disappointment? Well, certainly all of those things are egregious, but I think I'd also like to take the time to mention that the awesome trailer scene of the Thing dive-bombing onto a terrorist camp was completely cut from the film. Lame.
Most people consider this film to be a bit better than the first Fantastic Four film. I respectfully disagree. Butchering Silver Surfer by making it so that he became helpless just by getting knocked off his board, butchering Galactus by turning him into a giant cosmic cloud, and breaking their promise concerning Doctor Doom (assuring us he'd be better in the sequel when in if anything he was even worse) leads to one of the worst Marvel movies ever in my opinion. Tied with the 2015 FF film as far as I'm concerned.
If you were to tell me that a movie had demons, dragons, were jaguars, Arthurian Legend, AND a superhero punching out Nazis all in one movie, I would be interested. But unfortunately, this is one movie with all those ingredients that fails to make anything remotely appetizing out of them.
As my uncle so eloquently put it, this was two hours of his life he's not gonna get back. Too long, boasting a convoluted plot, no good villain, a Hulk Dog Poodle, and featuring a version of the Hulk who looks like Shrek and/or like he was made of silly putty, this is a very, very bad movie. Granted, Hulk did get in some good action scenes and also got to kill a poodle, but I'm afraid that that by itself is just not enough to save this film from being one of the absolute worst of all Marvel movies, and just comic book movies in general.
Say what you will about the short-lived NBC series, but at least it actually did Constantine's character right. This film on the other hand has our British blonde anti-hero as...Keanu Reeves in Los Angeles. Sigh.
Can't believe I missed this one the first time around. Miscasting Judge Dredd, showing us his face way too often, incredibly corny villains, and again casting Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd all combine to make this film a stinker. Do yourself a favor and see the Karl Urban film instead.
Considering this is the film that first put nipples on the bat suit can you really be surprised? To say nothing for it's butchering Robin, Two-Face, and to a lesser extent, Riddler. Granted, it's better than it's sequel, but that's also not saying a whole lot. It's a tough call deciding which is worse between this one and Superman III.
Honestly the poster for the movie kind of says it all. Barring one surprisingly good scene where Superman "confronts" his evil self, this film is a turd that marked the beginning of many, many bad movies starring either Superman or a (misrepresented) member of his supporting cast.
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