Superhero movies have been gracing the silver screen for nearly 50 years. To say the CGI has improved would be a major understatement. Camera tricks, stunt wiring, and green screen technology helped bring superheroes to life throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s.

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Heading into the 21st-century, computer graphics improve continually, bringing many comic book legends to life. Recent superhero releases have relied on CGI too much, focusing less on improving the story. Thankfully, there have been several successful superhero films that nailed the story and CGI. The audience invested in the plot and believed these larger-than-life characters were real.

10 X-Men: Days Of Future Past Is One Of The Best X-Men Movies For Story & CGI

x-men days of future past

There's no denying the rollercoaster ride the X-Men movie franchise has gone through. From huge hits like X2 and Logan to disappointments such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine and X-Men: Apocalypse. 2014's X-Men: Days Of Future Past did an excellent job of bringing two X-Men timelines into one core story.

Days Of Future Past brought several heroes and villains to the big screen, none more important than the mutant-hunting Sentinels. A lot of characters were returning from past movies, but the Sentinels made their live-action debut. The CGI looked amazing in both the past and present timelines.

9 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Failed At Some Elements But The CGI Was Breathtaking

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The Amazing Spider-Man was a rebooted franchise for everyone's favorite wall-crawler. However, the Spider-Man movies felt overcrowded with too many characters. Andrew Garfield did a spectacular job as Spidey, as did Emma Stone with Gwen Stacy. However, the villains didn't look great and had lackluster backstories.

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Despite The Amazing Spider-Man 2's lack of important storytelling, the CGI for was the best of any Spider-Man movie up to that point. The CGI for Electro's shock blasts and Goblin's glider shots looked straight out of a comic book. Spider-Man's web-slinging and fight scenes looked completely realistic. Fans felt like they were swinging around New York City themselves.

8 2017's Wonder Woman's CGI During The World War 1 Scene Stole The Show

wonder woman 2017

The more recent Wonder Woman 1984 was a huge miss for the DCEU. 2017's Wonder Woman was so entertaining, it's considered one of the greatest DC movies. Gal Gadot was impressive in her solo movie debut as Diana Prince. Gadot brought Wonder Woman into DC's main arsenal of heroes, alongside Batman and Superman.

While the story is what kept fans glued to the screen, there's no denying the impressive CGI and the large-scale battle scenes made Wonder Woman so successful. When Wonder Woman crosses No Man's Land during WW1 to help save innocent lives and give her troops the upper hand, this scene stole the show.

7 Zack Snyder's Justice League Corrected The Mistakes Of The Original & Added Wonderful Visuals

zack snyders justice league

Another big miss for the DCEU was 2017's Justice League directed by Joss Whedon, who took control after Zack Snyder left due to a family tragedy. After years of campaigning from fans and Snyder, Warner Brothers gave the green light to the Man Of Steel director. Zack Snyder's Justice League was released in March 2021 on HBO Max.

While the run time was over 4 hours, the Snyder cut improved the story and CGI. Cementing ZSJL as one of the best DCEU movies was the black suit Superman, Darkseid's involvement, Steppenwolf's updated look, and Cyborg's and Flash's detailed backstories.

6 Captain America: Civil War Brought Multiple Heroes & A Giant-Man To Life

captain america civil war

While some fans think Captain America: Civil War is overrated, there are plenty of Marvel viewers who would argue it's one of the MCU's greatest. Loosely based on the comic book of the same name, Civil War pits Iron Man against his friend and teammate Captain America. The conflict was between members of The Avengers.

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Iron Man and Captain America each form teams to try to overpower each other, leading to a huge hero fight at a European airport. Spider-Man's introduction to the MCU and Ant-Man's transformation into Giant-Man was most notable. The latter looked as real as a giant man could look on screen.

5 The Dark Knight Remains The Greatest Superhero Movie To Date Because Of Story & Special Effects

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Any fan of comic book movies knows that The Dark Knight is, at least, one of the best movies of all time. Coming off the hugely successful Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan returned to Gotham. He introduced comic book villain legends Two-Face and The Joker.

While there was a lot of action, Nolan used practical effects, but some scenes required CGI. Whether it was The Joker blowing up the hospital or Harvey Dent's Burnt Tw0-Face look, the CGI was tremendous. The CGI helped keep The Dark Knight one of the greatest superhero movies to date.

4 Avengers: Infinity War Had To Balance 2 Giant CGI Battles During One Huge Climax

avengers infinity war 2018

The culmination of 10 years of MCU storytelling, Avengers: Infinity War brought several heroes together to save the universe from Thanos. While the MCU has been hit and miss with their CGI in previous outings, Infinity War nailed all aspects of the CGI. The CGI cemented Infinity War as one of the best MCU's movies of the time.

Whether it was the final battle in Wakanda or the simultaneous battle on Titan, all the characters looked real. Thor, Rocket, and Groot showing up on Wakanda remain one of the most epic moments in MCU history, thanks to the iconic score and the realism of the CGI.

avengers endgame 2019

Following the devastation Thanos caused in Infinity War, Endgame reunited all the remaining MCU heroes. They went back in time to save everyone who was dusted by The Mad Titan. The Russo Brothers hit all the right CGI marks in Endgame. Going back in time to other MCU timelines was no challenge for the Russos, who used practical effects and wonderful CGI.

It made fans believe they were back in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Perhaps the greatest CGI scene in the MCU comes at the Endgame, with a giant battle between every Avenger and Thanos' army. Bringing hundreds of characters together in one big scene was a challenge to film and edit. However, the final product looked beautiful and brought the Infinity Saga to a memorable close.

2 Thor: Ragnarok Took The God of Thunder & The Jade Giant All Around The Marvel Universe

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Thor: Ragnorak is of the most unique and bizarrely awesome superhero movies ever made. Ragnarok featured The God of Thunder reuniting with the Hulk on Sakaar. After battling each other in a gladiator match, Hulk and Thor bury the hatchet. They form the Revengers alongside Loki, Korg, and Valkyrie. They agree to return to Asgard to save the people from Hela (the goddess of death).

Taika Waititi brought Asgard and other alien planets to life with big CGI set pieces and lots of colorful characters. The final fight scene on Asgard was beautifully shot. It included the memorable Thor and Hela battle on the rainbow bridge, as well as the giant Surtur reigning destruction on the planet.

1 No Big Team Up Superhero Movies Would Be Possible Without 2012's The Avengers

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There's no denying the success and scale of both Infinity War and Endgame. However, without 2012's The Avengers, superhero team-ups would have been a one-time thing. Likely, team-ups wouldn't have become regular occurrences like they are today.

There are countless scenes that stand out. The S.H.I.E.L.D. Hellicarrier fight and the battle of New York featured the most characters looked impressively authentic. The Hulk finally was done justice with Mark Ruffalo's excellent performance. By using motion-capture animation, a comic book accurate Jade Giant smashed on the big screen.

NEXT: Superhero Movies: The 10 Most Iconic Moments, Ranked