The world's love for superheroes has waxed and waned over the decades since Superman first came onto the scene in 1939. The current surge of respect for comic characters started at the end of the 20th century, but it was the 2010s that pushed the heroes of the four-paneled page to new heights as they conquered not just comics and cartoons, but live-action TV and movies as well.

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But for all the superheroes who pushed the genre to new heights, some were far more important than others. These are the ones that helped reshape the landscape of superheroes either in comics or on screens. Some did it for the better, some may have caused some problems, but each of them was an important part of what happened over the course of a decade.

10 Batman Signaled The End Of The Standalone DC Movie Era With The Dark Knight Rises

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Batman was one of the few superheroes who had been able to break through to the mainstream during the 20th century, thanks to a campy hit TV series in the 1960s and a darker movie in 1989. The Dark Knight and some of his villains, most notably Joker, were household names well before Christopher Nolan began his trilogy of films in 2005.

But it is 2012's The Dark Knight Rises that makes Batman so important to the 2010s. The movie, a billion-dollar moneymaker, is— at this point— the last DC movie to have been created as a standalone universe. With 2013's Man of Steel, the DC Cinematic Universe was born, and with news that every DC movie is now in the DC Cinematic Multiverse, Dark Knight Rises was the end of an era.

9 The Flash (Barry Allen)'s Actions In Flashpoint Set The Stage For The New 52

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Having given his life to save the multiverse during 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths, Barry Allen— the second Flash— had become the patron saint of superheroes, but that all changed in 2009 when Barry Allen raced back to life. Not long after his return, Barry learned that his past had been changed when his greatest foe, the Reverse-Flash, went back in time and killed his mother.

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In 2011's Flashpoint, Barry Allen traveled to the past to save his mother, creating a horrific alternate universe. While Barry was able to fix his mistake and change the universe back, the moment was used by Doctor Manhattan to recreate the DCU, giving birth to the New 52.

8 Flash (Wally West) Brought Hope Back To The DC Universe & Ushered In The DC Rebirth Era

Death Metal Wally West

The New 52 was a complete restart for DC Comics, seeing every character rebuilt from the ground up. The universe that replaced what had come before was darker and meaner. It was missing something, but no one was sure what it was.

The answer finally came when Wally West, the third Flash, who had been wiped out of existence after Flashpoint, reappeared. With Wally West came a renewed sense of hope as the heroes of the New 52 universe began to remember the lives they lived before. With the DC Rebirth, a new age of heroes began, and Wally West led the way.

7 Daredevil Showed A Grittier Side To The MCU

While the Marvel Comics Cinematic Universe kicked off in 2008, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was the first TV series set in that universe, it was 2015's Daredevil that gave viewers a different and more "adult" look at the MCU. The series, created for Netfllix, was the first of six series that would be created for the streaming network, setting a tone still not seen in the movies.

Sadly, Daredevil and the other Netflix shows came to a sudden end shortly after Disney announced their own streaming service, Disney+. While calls for Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Punisher to return have been loud, they have so far fallen on deaf ears.

6 Green Arrow Kicked Off The Expansive & Ever-Growing Arrowverse

For a show that started off doing everything it could to call its hero anything but Green Arrow, Arrow became one of the most important pieces of the growth of DC's heroes over the 2010s. Premiering on the CW Network in 2012, Arrow— which was clearly influenced by Nolan's Batman films— started as a stand-alone series about Oliver Queen as he battled evil in his hometown of Starling City.

This "realistic" approach to a superhero quickly gave way to the Arrowverse, a series of seven TV series and counting. While Arrow came to an end in 2020, the legacy it created will continue to live on for years to come.

5 Spider-Man Returned To Cinematic Glory And Finally Forced Sony Pictures & Marvel Studios To Work Together

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2002's Spider-Man was the first (non-sequel) superhero movie since 1989's Batman to become a huge hit at the box office, leading to a trilogy of films that came to an end in 2007. Just five years later, the Friendly Neighborhood Wallcrawler starred in a new series of films, Amazing Spider-Man. These two films were not as well-loved as the first trilogy, but they led the way to Sony Pictures allowing Disney and Marvel to use Spider-Man in the MCU, where the hero once again became a fan favorite.

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From 2012 to 2019, Spider-Man appeared in eight movies, including the Academy Award-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Spidey was the busiest hero of the decade.

4 Wonder Woman Was A Trailblazer For Female-Led Comic Book Movies

There was a foolish belief that female superheroes wouldn't do well at the box office. The only time a female hero got the chance to have her own movie, 1984's Supergirl, did not go well. Even as Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and the X-Men were running all over movie theaters, studios were hesitant to try a woman-led superhero film.

That all ended with 2017's Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot. Spinning out of Batman v Superman, Wonder Woman became the third DCEU film and the first to be well received by critics. Making it even better for the studio, Wonder Woman grossed over $800 million worldwide.

3 Deadpool Ushered In A New Era Of R-Rated Comic Adaptations

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Superheroes are, for the most part, a family-friendly affair. And while some more adult comics had been made into R-rated films— like Watchmen, The Punisher, and Blade— the general thought was that a superhero movie had to be PG-13 to be successful. But then the Merc with the Mouth showed up and changed everything.

2016's Deadpool, brought to life by the sheer force of will of star Ryan Reynolds, was a hard R movie filled with violence, crude humor, and sex. And it went on to gross nearly $800 million worldwide. Deadpool's success led the way for 2017's Logan, 2019's Joker, and 2020's Birds of Prey.

2 Aquaman Reinvents Himself For A New Generation & Finally Brings The DCEU Over The Billion-Dollar Mark

Jason Momoa as Aquaman

By 2018, a superhero movie making a billion dollars at the box office wasn't that strange. Multiple Marvel movies had pulled it off, and two of the Christopher Nolan Batman films had done it too. But the DCEU was struggling to get there. Man of Steel ended up with $668 million, Batman v Superman came in just under $900 million, and Wonder Woman came in over $800 million. All of these were great box office showings, but Warner Brothers wanted more.

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They got it from the least likely source, Aquaman. The James Wan directed film starring Jason Momoa and Amber Heard surprised everyone when it grossed $1.1 billion dollars, becoming the highest-grossing DC Comics movie of all time.

1 Iron Man Kicked Off The MCU And Made Comic Book Characters More Mainstream (& Profitable) Than Ever Before

Iron Man Death Scene in Avengers Endgame

2008's Iron Man shocked the world when it became a surprise hit at the box office and kicked off the Marvel Comics Cinematic Universe. While Marvel released 21 movies between 2010 and 2019, Iron Man, played perfectly by Robert Downey Jr., continued to be the biggest name they had.

Along with his own films and the Avengers movies, Iron Man was a major player in Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming. And while he gave birth to the MCCU, Iron Man closed out his time in the movies by giving his life to save the galaxy in 2019's Avengers: Endgame having changed the face of movies forever.

NEXT: 10 Superhero Movies Forgotten By Time