Over the years, the superhero genre has evolved to include all genres within them. At first, superhero films took themselves quite seriously and did not feature a lot of humor. Over time, some superhero films began to inject more and more humor to the point of them being comedies themselves.
Some heroes are not generally suited for humorous adventures, but across the MCU, DCEU, and X-Men films, there has been a spot for humor somewhere. Whether it involves characters speaking directly to the audience, parodying darker superhero films, or seeing characters interact with one another, the superhero genre has come a long way in terms of comedy.
10 The Suicide Squad Is The Funniest Of The DCEU
The Suicide Squad was directed by James Gunn and was a soft reboot of sorts to the DCEU's Suicide Squad that was released five years prior. Amanda Waller builds Task Force X to undergo a dangerous mission in Corto Maltese. Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, and Jai Courtney all return from Suicide Squad, while there are a ton of new members of the cast.
The film relied on James Gunn's signature humor, something he brought to the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, and features several hilarious moments. One of the biggest is the beginning of the mission, where most of the team is killed off in brutal, ridiculous ways. The Suicide Squad also introduced John Cena's Peacemaker, one of the funniest characters in the film who eventually got his own HBO Max series.
9 Birds Of Prey Gave Margot Robbie Time To Fully Shine
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) puts Harley Quinn front and center as she deals with her recent breakup with the Joker. She joins forces with a group of women, including Helena Bertinelli, Dinah Lance, and Renee Montoya, to form the Birds of Prey to go up against crime lord Roman Sionis in Gotham City.
A good chunk of the humor comes from Margot Robbie's brilliant performance as Harley Quinn. She is established as a fast-paced, overly excited narrator that goes off on many tangents. She has great chemistry with the rest of the cast and gets a couple of great zingers against the supposedly intimidating Sionis.
8 Ant-Man Had A Number Of Running Gags
Ant-Man joined the MCU in 2015 with his own origin film. Scott Lang is released from prison, he takes up the mantle of Ant-Man with the help of scientist Hank Pym. Scott, Hank, and Hope van Dyne battle the villain Yellowjacket as he tries to replicate Pym's microscopic suits for nefarious reasons.
Ant-Man was one of the lighter MCU entries. A lot of the gags involved things/ants being shrunk or enlarged, Scott's difficulty in finding a job out of prison, and the chemistry between Scott and Hope. Paul Rudd has been held in high regard for his performance as Scott, and it has been a joy to see him expand within the MCU.
7 Thor: Love And Thunder Relied Heavily On Jokes
Thor: Love and Thunder was the most recent MCU film entry earlier this year. After 1,500 years, Thor goes on what he calls a "classic Thor adventure" in order to find himself and his place in the universe. He teams up with King Valkyrie and his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, now the Mighty Thor, to take on Gorr the God Butcher as he seeks to end all gods.
With director Taika Waititi returning from Thor: Ragnarok, the film seemed like Ragnarok on steroids. There were tons of jokes and bits including Stormbreaker's jealousy of Mjolnir, Thor's goats, Jane's inability to get a catchphrase, and more. However, the film was criticized for being too jokey and not giving more serious moments time to breathe.
6 Deadpool 2's Biggest Joke Paid Off From A Marketing Ploy
Deadpool 2 finds Wade Wilson coming into conflict with Cable, played by Josh Brolin, as Wade tries to protect a young mutant, Russell Collins. In order to protect Russell from Cable, he forms the X-Force, a team of mutants. However, this leads to disastrous results.
A big portion of the film's marketing was devoted to the X-Force. When they finally appear in the film and parachute in for the mission, they are all spectacularly killed in comedic fashion. It also turns out that Vanisher was played by Brad Pitt in a blink-or-you'll-miss-it cameo. It was a stroke of comedic genius for the film's marketing to mislead audiences and the joke landed great in the theater.
5 Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Had Several Spider-Beings Crossing Paths
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse serves as the origin story of Miles Morales, an NYC teenager who is bitten by a radioactive spider just like Peter Parker. After Spider-Man is killed, Miles takes up the mantle with the help of several Spider-beings from other universes, such as Peter B. Parker, Spider-Man Noir, and Spider-Woman.
The film received universal acclaim and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Fans loved seeing different versions of the Spider-Man character interact with one another, usually leading to some humorous moments. The film also parodies other Spider-Man films, such as the upside-down kiss with MJ as part of this Spider-Man's origin story.
4 Guardians Of The Galaxy's Success Is Found In The Cast's Chemistry
Guardians of the Galaxy follows a rag-tag team of extraterrestrials that form a group to save the galaxy from Ronan the Accuser, who exacts revenge on the Xandardians with the help of an infinity stone. Led by Peter Quill, or Star-Lord, the group includes Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot.
The film was considered a risky move at the time, but the success of the film went way beyond expectations. The chemistry of the cast and strong direction from James Gunn were the highlights of the film. It spawned a new franchise within the MCU that includes two sequels, a holiday special, and roles in two Avengers movies.
3 The Lego Batman Movie Hilariously Parodies Batman And His Past Films
The Lego Batman Movie is a spin-off of The Lego Movie, where Batman was a popular breakout character. Batman fights crime in Gotham City, inadvertently adopts Dick Grayson to be his ward, and trains him to be Robin, all while looking to stop Joker from taking over Gotham.
Batman is not meant to be a humorous character. The Lego Batman Movie changed this and flipped the status quo of Batman on its head. Not only did the film parody the Batman character, but it also parodied all the Batman films ever made to a hilarious result.
2 Thor: Ragnarok Reinvented Thor And Stands As The MCU's Funniest Film
Thor: Ragnarok finds the God of Thunder battling his sister Hela after she lays claim to the throne of Asgard and seeks to destroy it. She exiles him to Sakkar, where he is imprisoned and forced to fight as a gladiator. To his surprise, his friend and fellow Avenger Bruce Banner/Hulk is there as well.
The film was the first to be directed by Taika Waititi and fundamentally changed the character of Thor in the MCU. His first two solo outings were seen as rather dull and boring, but Waititi's style and Chris Hemsworth's comedic chops made the film one of the best in the MCU and definitely the funniest.
1 Deadpool's Signature Humor Was A Breath Of Fresh Air To The Genre
Deadpool hit screens in 2016 as a result of the test footage being leaked a year prior. Starring Ryan Reynolds, the film follows Wade Wilson's origin story as he becomes the violent, hilarious anti-hero who gets revenge on those that created him. Deadpool recruits Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Colossus to take on Ajax or "Francis."
The film was a smashing success, grossing $782 million at the box office, and was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards: Best Comedy or Musical and Best Actor-Musical or Comedy for Reynolds. Deadpool was a breath of fresh air in the superhero genre and changed the game moving forward for R-rated superhero films. Fans were thrilled to see the character done properly after the much-maligned version in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.