Comic book movies have been around for over four decades and have been dominating Hollywood for nearly half that time. Most of these movies have proven to be popular with fans and critics. However, there are outliers to this claim. There was also a time before the golden age of comic book movies, where they were seen as B-movies— and not necessarily in that fun, campy way, either.

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When comic book movies flop they seem to flop hard. Many of these movies have been considered the worst in the entire action genre, some lacking any redeeming qualities whatsoever. On the other hand, some have elements of brilliance in them that show what could've been with a little more work, or helped to lay the groundwork for future (better) comic book movies.

10 Green Lantern: The Character's Complicated Lore Is Covered Surprisingly Well

Ryan Reynold's as green lantern

Green Lantern movie is frequently mocked for its quality. Fans, critics, and other filmmakers have poked fun at the 2011 movie, and there are scenes in Teen Titans Go! To The Movies and Deadpool 2 which are a prime examples of this. None mock it more than the star of the movie, Ryan Reynolds. Despite this, Reynolds recently defended the movie on social media after finally watching it for the first time.

Reynolds's defense is well deserved as this movie is too often harshly bashed and not given the justice it warrants. While there are parts that can be picked apart, the key Green Lantern elements in the movie, that being Reynolds as Hal Jordan, Oa, The Oath, and the supporting characters that make up the GL Corps— most notably Mark Strong as Sinestro— are outstanding, especially considering the complexity of the lore of the comic series.

9 Spider-Man 3: Classic Sam Raimi Dialogue & An Underappreciated Portrayal Of Flint Marko

Spider-Man Symbiote in Spider-Man 3

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy was a trendsetter that kickstarted the superhero movie boom of the 21st century. The first two movies are still considered as two of the greatest in the genre. However, the final installment is generally considered to have ended the series on a down note. This is due to a combination of things, mostly studio interference and the pressure of matching the previous two movies.

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Spider-Man 3 demonstrates great moments reminiscent of the first two Raimi movies. Examples of this are the meaningful and memorable dialogue, as well as the portrayal of Sandman. Similar to Green Goblin and Doc Ock, the other villains in this franchise, Flint Marko is a complex character with a compelling story that is briefly explored in the movie. Unfortunately, he has to share this movie with Venom, who the studio forced into the movie. The result saw an overcrowded movie with a muddled plot where both villain's stories suffered.

8 Batman & Robin: Ahead Of Its Time In Re-Embracing Batman's Fun, Campy Side

George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell as Batman and Robin, who look surprised

Joel Schumacher's pair of Batman movies were a major shift from Tim Burton's preceding two entries. Despite being grouped together as a single franchise, they could not be further apart in terms of tone. Burton went for a gritty version of DC's iconic vigilante, whereas Schumacher embraced the campy side of the character. Because of this, Schumacher's two movies are often heavily criticized, none more so than Batman & Robin which stopped the hugely successful live-action Batman movie franchise cold for eight years.

A lot of the criticisms for Schumacher's movies are arguably misguided as they are based on comparisons to Tim Burton's take, which is not the vibe they were aiming for. Instead, when analyzing Batman & Robin as a fun, campy comic book movie, opinions lighten a bit. It becomes clear that this is an homage to the pre-1970s vibe of Batman that culminated in Adam West's 1960s TV series, an era which has since been reappraised in a positive light and was even revisited in the acclaimed 2010s comic series Batman '66.

7 X-Men Origins - Wolverine: Great Depiction Of Wolverine & Sabretooth's Rivalry Plus The Introduction Of Ryan Reynolds As Deadpool

X-Men Origins Wolverine

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was the first attempt at a Wolverine solo movie starring Hugh Jackman. Origins and its follow-up, The Wolverine, were movies that showed great potential. Sadly, both fell short and pale in comparison to Logan, the last and best attempt. There was some questionable casting choice made for this movie, but Ryan Reynolds as (a version of) Deadpool and Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth were inspired choices.

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Sabretooth and Wolverine's rivalry was incredibly displayed in this movie through an epic montage of battles between the two across different periods and wars. Reynolds's Wilson was a great interpretation of The Merc With The Mouth up until they sewed his mouth shut. Reynolds would redeem Deadpool with a franchise dedicated to the character, and his playful off-screen rivalry with Hugh Jackman has become a hilarious source of great humor for audiences— and it all stems from this movie.

6 Suicide Squad: Introduction To & Showcase For Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn

Suicide Squad No R-Rated Movies

Suicide Squad was a hot mess of a production. Studio interference caused rewrites and re-shoots which explained the budget and managed to remove any resemblance of a story or plot. There are clearly key moments in the movie that have been removed, as situations and jokes are set up and then left unresolved or without a punchline.

A silver lining from the 2016 movie is Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. The movie provides the perfect spotlight for the character to make her live-action movie debut and take pop culture by storm. Before the movie, Quinn was already considered one of the most popular characters in comics. Her popularity has soared to new heights with her introduction to the DCEU. This spike has since seen her lead her own movie and TV show.

5 Fantastic Four - Rise Of The Silver Surfer: Chris Evans & Michael Chiklis Shine And Silver Surfer Was Incredibly Well Done

Fantastic Four Rise of the silver surfer

The Fantastic Four have not had a great time when it comes to live-action movies. Any one of the live-action attempts could have made this list as all have been considered the worst of the worst in the comic book movie genre. Rise Of The Silver Surfer gets the nod over the other attempts as it is the only one that comes closest to getting things right.

Fox's first attempt to bring Marvel's first family to the big screen garnered two movies, both of which managed to convey the family dynamic of the team, as well as the individuality of half of the team. The motives and personalities of Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm are well fleshed out in both these movies, especially the sequel. Johnny has a leading role in this movie against the Silver Surfer, one of Marvel's most iconic characters. Surfer looked and sounded incredible, thanks to voicework by Laurence Fishburne and the legendary Doug Jones in the actual costume. However, the story left fans wanting more for the character.

4 Superman IV - The Quest For Peace: Addresses Legitimate (And Still Relevant) Issues Like Nuclear War & Skepticism Of The Media

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The influence and importance of the original series of Superman movies can not be understated. The franchise set the path for other movies in the genre to follow. It all started with 1978's Superman which made audiences believe a man could fly. Although the quality began quickly dropping in the Superman movies after the departure of Richard Donner, there are still some positive traits within the lesser installments.

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Superman IV: The Quest For Peace has been branded the worst of the worst with most audiences and critics. It was clear that the budget was significantly slashed compared to its counterparts, and the movie does suffer for that, with lazy effects being a prime example. Despite this, the movie is not all bad. Christopher Reeves is still phenomenal as Clark Kent/Superman, demonstrating why he and the character are so synonymous with one another to this day. Superman IV also has important messages about nuclear war and the reliability of journalism, both of which are just as relevant, if not more, today as they were in 1987.

3 Ghost Rider: Letting Nicolas Cage Go Full Nicolas Cage Was A Good Fit For Johnny Blaze

Nicholas Cage as Ghost Rider

Before the MCU there was a mixed bag of movies based on Marvel properties in terms of quality and success. An example of the lower end, at least in terms of quality, being the Ghost Rider movie series starring Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze. This franchise had two movies, neither of which was well-received by audiences or critics. However, they were financially successful as box office hits.

Although the quality is nowhere near the standard Marvel movie these days, there were still some solid moments in the Ghost Rider movies. These include the soundtrack of the first, the effects (for the time), the supporting cast, and most notably, Cage as Blaze. The actor is the perfect choice to convey the unhinged nature of the character and the movie overall.

2 Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle: First Comic Book Movie With A Female Lead

Sheena Queen of the Jungle Tanya Roberts

The present day has been treated to great female-led comic book movies with more to come in the near and distant future. This representation has not always been at the forefront of the genre. The first female-led comic book movie came in 1984, six years after the original Superman film. Since then, women have not to be given the same treatment as males in terms of headlining (good) comic book movies until Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel in 2017 and 2019, respectively.

Wonder Woman 1984's title is a nice nod to the history of female-led comic book movies. Two significant movies were released this year: Supergirl and Sheena: Queen Of The Jungle, the latter of which was released first by three months. Neither had the quality audiences expect now from a female-led comic book movie. However, they did inspire more of their kind, which would eventually lead to the boom period we have now for those movies.

1 Spawn: First Comic Book Movie With A Black Lead

Michael Jai White as Al Simmons/Spawn in 1997's Spawn film adaptation.

1997 was not a great year for comic book movies in terms of quality. However, the year was good for Black representation in the genre. In August, two movies based on comic book movies with a black lead were released: Spawn and Steel. The one based on Todd McFarlane's iconic '90s antihero became the first by beating the very loosely Superman-based Steel by a few weeks. Blade would come the following year.

Neither Spawn nor Steel reached the heights Black Panther would in 2018, or even that Blade would in 1998. Instead, they were referred to as B-Movies by critics due to their low budgets, though Spawn did an admirable job with effects given its budget at a time when computer effects in movies were still relatively rare and prohibitively expensive. Although Blade is still considered the first Black comic book movie that was actually good, and it wouldn't be until Black Panther that one was truly great, the importance of Spawn cannot be denied as it was the first.

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