The previous decade saw a huge shift in Hollywood, which began to focus more on superhero movies following the blockbuster success of both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC's Extended Universe. This led to a series of similar comic book movies that brought even more superheroes to the big screen.
Or course, the last decade also saw a number of original superhero movies that didn't use the comics as source material. These included M. Night Shyamalan's Glass that continued his own unique take on the superhero genre.
10 Glass Was The Surprise Finale Of A Grounded Superhero Trilogy
Following the success of films like 2000's Unbreakable and 2016's Split that were tied together by a shocking post-credit scene, Samuel L. Jackson's Elijah Price/Mr. Glass returned to bring the hero and the villain from each movie together in a final showdown.
True to form, M. Night Shyamalan's 2019 Glass continued to surprise viewers who were expecting a typical showdown between Bruce Willis' David Dunn/Overseer and Kevin Wendell Crumb/The Horde as it further explored the unique connection between these characters and the comic books.
9 Super Introduced A Diner Cook-Turned-Vigilante Named Crimson Bolt
After his wife left him and fell under the control of a local strip club owner, diner cook Frank Darbo (played by Rainn Wilson) is inspired by a dream encounter with a Christian TV superhero to create his own vigilante identity, fight crime, and free his wife in James Gunn's Super.
Darbo seeks out help from a local comic store employee who eventually becomes his troubled sidekick. Darbo creates the Crimson Bolt identity to take out criminals, which soon makes him a local celebrity due to the levels of extreme violence employed for mundane offenses, like for butting in line.
8 Powers Became Criminals After Forced Registration In Code 8
2019 saw the release of Code 8 from writer/director Jeff Chan. Code 8 takes place in the near future following the discovery of people with abilities known as Powers. Powers are soon forced to register with the government while criminal factions exploit their blood for a new designer drug that leads to a tense and heavily policed society.
Powers are forced to work as unregistered laborers or turn to crime. Electrokinetic Conner Reed is forced to begin working with a group of thieves in order to heal his sick mother while fighting high-tech agents known as Guardians.
7 Griff The Invisible Never Let His Superhero Dreams Die
True Blood's Ryan Kwanten starred in Griff The Invisible as a bullied office worker who embraces his fantasy life as a superhero. He dons a costume, walks the streets at night, and conducts experiments to become invisible.
Griff's life as a superhero is further emboldened after he meets a woman named Melody who exists in his own imaginative world, though his reality is soon called into question. This further threatens their new relationship and his life as an invisible superhero.
6 Megamind Saw The Animated Villain Win & Become The Hero
While Metro Man is the biggest superhero of Metro City, it was actually the titular villain, Megamind, who finds himself becoming the hero in the 2010 animated comedy from Dreamworks. The movie starred Will Ferrel, Tina Fey, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and David Cross.
After Megamind is able to vanquish his foe and take over Metro City, he becomes bored and seeks to create a new hero to face in battle. His creation proved to be an even bigger threat that forced Megamind to search for the hero inside himself to save the day.
5 Heroes Were Forced To Survive Death Traps In All Superheroes Must Die
Jason Trost starred and directed in 2011's All Superheroes Must Die, which follows a former team of superheroes that are kidnapped and brought back together by an old enemy. This enemy strips them off their powers and forces them to survive a series of death traps in order to save other captured civilians.
While All Superheroes Must Die wasn't well-received by fans, it featured an interesting blend of horror and superhero that might appeal to fans of Saw-type films and superheroes alike.
4 El Chicano Was A Cop Who Took On The Mantle Of A Vigilante
Raúl Castillo starred as LAPD officer Diego Hernandez who was inspired by his fallen twin brother to become a legendary vigilante in 2018's El Chicano from director Ben Hernandez Bray and co-written by director Joe Carnahan.
El Chicano saw Diego wear a costume created by his fallen twin in order to take the fight to the gangs that he couldn't stop as a police officer. It leads to a deadly rivalry with a childhood friend who became a gang leader while Hernandez attempted to keep his identity as El Chicano secret from the police.
3 Brightburn Explored A Dark Take On An Iconic Origin Story
2019's Brightburn followed familiar superhero tropes, as a young boy began to discover his origins as an alien being when he begins to develop powerful new abilities, however, the movie soon reveals itself as a dark take on the iconic origin story.
Young Brandon Breyer begins to exhibit super-strength, flight, and other powerful abilities after he makes contact with the hidden alien ship that first brought him to the planet. He is also mentally transformed into a world conqueror who soon uses his powers to become a sadistic killer with potentially dark plans for the planet.
2 Fast Color Followed A Woman with Broken Powers On The Run
Guge-Mbatha Raw starred in 2018's Fast Color from director Julia Hart. The movie follows a woman with broken powers, whose seizures cause dangerous seismic earthquakes that send her on a journey back to her childhood home.
However, she soon discovers that she is being tracked by scientists looking to study her abilities, which she begins to learn more about from her mother and daughter, who each also exhibit their own powerful abilities. Fast Color is a beautifully shot, fast-paced, and original look at generational superheroes in a real-world setting that brings a new perspective to the genre.
1 Three Teens Were Transformed By An Alien Object In Chronicle
Josh Trank directed the found-footage superhero movie Chronicle that followed a troubled teen as he began to film his life, sometimes to the detriment of his less-than-popular social status as the camera begins to make him more of an outcast.
Alongside two other teens, he discovers a crashed alien object that transforms them, granting them the ability to fly, increased strength and durability, and powerful telekinesis. Chronicle was celebrated for its exploration of both high school traumas and the corruption of power that separates heroes from villains.