The 1990s could be one of the greatest decades of movies of all time— however, superhero movies were few and far between. The '70s brought Christopher Reeve's Superman and the birth of the superhero film. The '80s brought Michael Keaton's Batman and a darker side of the comic book movie. The '90s brought vampires, sequels, cartoons, and a TV series to the big screen.
The decade was filled with monumental achievements of cinema, including Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, and Jurassic Park. Superhero movies wouldn't receive the same recognition they did in previous decades or future decades for that matter, but they were still there. A lot of them were unconventional comic book movies, but there are still a few that stood head and shoulders above the rest.
10 Batman And Robin (1997): A Failed Action Movie But An Amazing Comedy
Batman and Robin meant to be an action-packed thriller that would have lead to more movies in the original Batman movie franchise. However, the movie became a parody of itself and the studio was only interested in making toys and merchandise off the film.
The great Arnold Schwarzenegger starred as Mr. Freeze but came off less intimidating and more comedic, dropping classic one-liners and running a gang of angry hockey players. George Clooney took over the Bat mantle and did a fine job, but the writing was too outlandish and his Batman was never taken seriously. While it was supposed to be in the same universe as Tim Burton's Batman, Batman and Robin ended up like Adam West's campy, fun Batman.
9 Spawn (1997): Todd McFarlane's Creation Comes To Life In An Average But Mildly Successful Film
Spawn is not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, but there are many positive things that came out of the 1997 film. Michael Jai White starred as the leader of Hell's army and played the role to near perfection. White was an intimidating force and looked great in the costume, plus it was one of the first films that had an African-American actor portraying a major superhero on screen.
It was filled with a lot of violent action and had amazing visual effects for the time. Although it wasn't critically praised and only made a little money at the box office, Spawn is a fun film that didn't take itself too seriously and remains a source of mindless entertainment for fans of the character.
8 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II - Secret Of The Ooze (1991): Vanilla Ice Mixes It Up With The Turtles
After the success of the first film, the Turtles came back a year later ready to kick butt and dance up a storm with Vanilla Ice. The Secret of the Ooze is an easy-going movie filled with lots of laughs, dancing, and classic Ninja Turtle action. The Shredder returned, after his ride in a trash truck, to gather the Foot clan again and get retribution on the Turtles.
Although it was disappointing that cartoon and comic favorites, BeBop and Rocksteady, were replaced by Tokka and Rahzar, the story was simple and fun. The movie received mixed reviews but was financially successful, making close to $80 million in North America and generated huge numbers in video rentals. Also, any movie with WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash as Super Shredder is bound to be entertaining.
7 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - The Movie (1995): A Goofy But Fun Feature Film Based On The Hit TV Show
Debuting in 1993 on the Fox Kids Network, the Power Rangers became so popular that their toys sold out everywhere and a movie was made in 1995. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie brought the fan-favorite team from television to the silver screen, where it made a good amount of money and received mixed reviews from critics and fans.
No iteration of the Power Rangers will ever win an Oscar, but the colorful action and fun characters made the TV show and Movie a must-watch for kids everywhere. Rita Repulsa, the main villain from the TV series, returned but had help from Oscar Isaac's Apocalypse— whoops, actually it was Ivan Ooze. It's not a "comic book movie" per se as it's primarily based on a TV series, but Power Rangers would go on to be a well-received comic book with multiple iterations over many years, so it's kind of a comic book movie retroactively.
6 Batman Forever (1995): Val Kilmer Dons The Cape & Cowl In A Campy, Fun Action Movie
Batman Forever is unjustly connected to Batman and Robin, due to having the same director and a different actor suiting up as The Dark Knight. Val Kilmer took up the cape and cowl and a criminally underrated. He played the vulnerable Bruce Wayne perfectly and had a nice mix of seriousness and fun as Batman. The whole cast had fun with their roles, especially the multitalented Jim Carrey as The Riddler.
The campy fun wasn't overbearing and was a breath of fresh air after the darker Burton Batman movies. While the movie received mixed reviews, it also grossed over $336 million at the box office and was one of the most financially successful movies of 1995.
5 Blade (1998): Wesley Snipes Slays It As The Vampire Hunter
Wesley Snipes played the titular character in the 1998 movie and did an excellent job as the vampire hunter. Often referred to as a superhero movie way ahead of its time, Blade was a dark, R-rated action film that was filled with horror and action.
The film was a commercial success, making over $70 million in the United States and over $131 million worldwide. It also had mostly positive reviews and is touted as Wesley Snipes' greatest performance. Blade's success spawned two sequels and was the starting point for all future Marvel movies.
4 The Mask (1994): Jim Carrey's Charisma Shines Through In A Unique Comic Book Film
Many people never realized that the 1994 Jim Carrey movie, The Mask, was based on a comic book. Dark Horse Comics created the Mask character in 1987, but the spelling was Masque and later would be called Big Head. The movie had a budget of $18 million and would go on to make over $350 million at the box office, making it the second most successful comic book movie at the time.
Jim Carrey's star was on the rise after Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, but it was cemented with Dumb & Dumber and The Mask. His performance as The Mask is amazingly funny and he brings a lot of heart as Stanley Ipkiss, the insecure bank clerk who finds the magical mask.
3 Batman Returns (1992): An Action-Packed, Darker Sequel For Burton & Keaton
1989's Batman brought a true Dark Knight to the screen and featured amazing performances from Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. Director Tim Burton created a dark and dreary Gotham City, which matched perfectly with the comic books at the time. Burton returned in 1992 with Batman Returns, somehow managing to tell an even darker story than the 1989 movie.
Yet, despite the darker tone, Batman Returns is filled with action-packed fun and features unique takes on Catwoman and The Penguin. Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny DeVito were amazing, as was Christopher Walken's evil Max Shreck. Although all the villains stood out, it was Michael Keaton's second outing as The Dark Knight that makes Batman Returns one of the best movies of the 1990s.
2 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990): The Turtles Make Their Debut In Live-Action
Comic book creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird came up with the wild idea of having giant turtles learn karate, eat pizza, and help keep the city of New York safe. Only 6 years after hitting the pages of comic books, the cartoon and toys were so popular that a movie was put into production.
Hitting theaters in 1990, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became the most financially successful independent film of all time. It received mixed reviews from critics, but fans seemed to enjoy the action and funny one-liners. It may not hold up as well today as it once did, but TMNT has a nice mixture of silliness and seriousness, a perfect combination for the whole family.
1 Batman - Mask Of The Phantasm (1993): The Greatest Animated Series Leads To An Amazing Animated Film
Batman: The Animated Series still holds up today as the king of animated superhero shows. The series became so big that TV screens weren't big enough to hold the action, leading to a feature film in 1993, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. The voice acting and animation were top-notch, which makes sense because everyone involved in the animated series worked on Mask of the Phantasm.
The movie featured an original story and was meant to be a direct-to-video release, but was given a theatrical run at the last minute. Due to the lack of promotion, the movie failed at the box office but was critically praised and loved by fans everywhere. Mask of the Phantasm was the only animated Batman movie to make it into theaters, until The Killing Joke in 2016.