With Superman smashing through the box office this past weekend (and easily prevailing, as Superman is wont to do), I think it’s official: Superheroes are back.
While the genre rose to acclaim throughout the 2000s and 2010s, it seemed to take a backseat once the 2020s came around, in part because there was just so much content. Superhero fatigue was very real, leaving audiences to ask: Were filmmakers invested in quality, or did they just assume people would buy tickets to watch anything they put out? It seemed that many people no longer wanted to fork out the cash to try to keep up with the plethora of storylines the Marvel and DC universes were peddling.
But things seem to have taken a swift turn with James Gunn’s Superman, which was released in theaters this past Friday and already boasts a growing fanbase. While this film still has the glitz and glam of the superhero stories that we love, it also humanizes Clark Kent, showing his vulnerability (physically and emotionally) and emphasizing his empathy and kindness—something many of us crave in today’s confusing, ever-changing world.
So to celebrate Superman’s success, we looked at Letterboxd to see which superhero movies people are watching right now—and loving.
1. The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight (2008) will always be known for Christian Bale and Heath Ledger’s posthumous performance as the best superhero/supervillain duo of all time: Batman and The Joker. Ledger’s performance specifically won him several Supporting Actor roles, with some calling it the best role of his career.
The Best The Dark Knight Quotes:
1.
Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart): You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
2.
The Chechen (Ritchie Coster): What do you propose?
The Joker (Heath Ledger): It’s simple. We, uh, kill the Batman.
Salvatore Maroni (Eric Roberts): If it’s so simple, why haven’t you done it already?
The Joker: If you’re good at something, never do it for free.
3.
Batman (Christian Bale): You’re garbage who kills for money.
The Joker (Heath Ledger): Don’t talk like one of them. You’re not! Even if you’d like to be. To them, you’re just a freak, like me! They need you right now, but when they don’t, they’ll cast you out, like a leper! You see, their morals, their code, it’s a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They’re only as good as the world allows them to be. I’ll show you. When the chips are down, these… these civilized people, they’ll eat each other. See, I’m not a monster. I’m just ahead of the curve.
2. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
The sequel to Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse was highly anticipated, and clearly for a reason. Like its predecessor, this film experiments with different animation styles as it presents us with new universes and characters, all the while boasting a stacked voice cast with the return of Shammeik Moor, Hailee Steinfeld, and Jake Johnson, as well as introducing Oscar Isaac, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel Kaluuya, Issa Rae, and Greta Lee, among many others.
The Best Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Quotes:
1.
Miles Morales (Shameik Moore): I love chai tea.
Spider-Man India (Karan Soni): What did you just say? Chai tea? Chai means “tea”, bro! You are saying “tea tea”! Would I ask you for a “coffee coffee” with room for “cream cream”?
2.
Miles Morales (Shameik Moore): Everyone keeps telling me how my story is supposed to go. Nah. I’m-a do my own thing.
3.
Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac): Miles, being Spider-man is a sacrifice. You have a choice between saving one person and saving every world.
3. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
That’s right, this film is ranked right after its sequel, which is a pretty impressive feat. It also proves how beloved this duology is and how the Spider-Verse’s experimental and innovative animation style hooked comic book and superhero lovers alike. It’s also one of the first movies that introduced multiple universes, a longtime comic book plot device.
The Best Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Quotes:
1.
Stan (Stan Lee): That person who helps others simply because it should or must be done, and because it is the right thing to do, is indeed, without a doubt, a real superhero.
2.
Spider-Ham (John Mulaney): That’s all, folks.
Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson): Is he allowed to say that? Legally?
3.
Stan (Stan Lee): I’m going to miss him.
Miles Morales (Shameik Moore): Yeah.
Stan: We were friends, you know.
Miles: Can I return it if it doesn’t fit?
Stan: It always fits. Eventually.
4. Logan
Logan (2017) brings back a long-beloved superhero, Wolverine, but it’s clear he isn’t who he used to be. Exhausted and elderly, Logan has grown jaded and prefers to stay under the radar, but all of that changes when a young mutant child named Laura appears in his life. It’s this life-altering connection that truly makes this movie what it is—because Logan may not be completely human, but his sense of love and loyalty is something everyone can relate to.
The Best Logan Quotes:
1.
Logan (Hugh Jackman): Nature made me a freak. Man made me a weapon. And God made it last too long.
2.
Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart): You know, Logan, this is what life looks like. A home, people who love each other. Safe place. You should take a moment and feel it.
3.
Laura (Dafne Keen): You are dying. You want to die.
Logan (Hugh Jackman): How do you know that?
Laura: Charles told me.
Logan: What else did he tell you?
Laura: To not let you.
5. The Incredibles
The Incredibles (2004) is one of the most beloved and iconic Pixar movies —I have no data to back up this claim, but I know in my heart that it simply just is. This animated film centers on a family of superheroes who have settled into mundane suburbia living, leaving their glory days behind to ensure their children live safe, comfortable lives. But all of that changes when a new supervillain appears—and seems to have it out for the family patriarch.
The Best The Incredibles Quotes:
1.
Lucius (Samuel L. Jackson): The public is in danger!
Honey (Kimberly Adair Clark): My evening’s in danger!
Lucius: You tell me where my suit is, woman! We are talking about the greater good!
Honey: ‘Greater good?’ I am your wife! I am the greatest good you are ever gonna get!
2.
Edna (Brad Bird): I didn’t know the baby’s powers, so I covered the basics.
Helen (Holly Hunter): Jack-Jack doesn’t have any powers.
Edna: No? Well, he’ll look fabulous anyway.
3.
Dash (Spencer Fox): We’re dead! We’re dead! We survived, but we’re dead!
6. Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) is the oldest film on this list, but it has staying power for a reason—it is a return to the OG comic world, to Saturday cartoons and everything that made Batman such an iconic hero to begin with. In this non-linear story, Bruce Wayne finds himself facing off with a new mysterious vigilante, Phantasm—and also finds himself implicated in a new string of murders.
The Best Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Quotes:
1.
Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy): It doesn’t mean I don’t care anymore. I don’t want to let you down, honest, but… but it just doesn’t hurt so bad anymore. You can understand that, can’t you? Look, I can give money to the city – they can hire more cops. Let someone else take the risk, but it’s different now! Please! I need it to be different now. I know I made a promise, but I didn’t see this coming. I didn’t count on being happy.
2.
Alfred (Afrem Zimbalist Jr.): Vengeance blackens the soul, Bruce. I’ve always feared that you would become that which you fought against. You walk the edge of that abyss every night, but you haven’t fallen in and I thank heaven for that.
3.
Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy): You think you know everything about me, don’t you?
Alfred (Afrem Zimbalist Jr.): I diapered your bottom; I bloody well out to, sir!
Batman: Well, you’re wrong!
7. Superman
Superman (2025) is one of the most well-known Superheroes of all time, which means that retellings of his story can sometimes come off as stale and overdone. But here, James Gunn revamped our beloved Clark Kent’s story and recontextualized it to fit within our modern lens, reminding us why Superman has always been the people’s superhero—and why he’s not fading back into obscurity anytime soon.
The Best Superman Quotes:
1.
Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan): You think everything and everyone is beautiful.
Superman (David Corenswet): Maybe that’s the real punk rock.
2.
Pa Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince): Your choices, your actions, that’s what makes you who you are.
3.
Superman (David Corenswet): I’m as human as anybody. They’ve always been wrong about me. I love. I get scared. But that is being human. And that’s my greatest strength.
8. Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Infinity War (2018) was the beginning of the end—the first film of a two-part adaptation to close off Marvel’s easily most popular movie phase. Infinity War brought together all the superheroes we loved, weaving together their storylines for a gut-punch of a storyline that finally (finally) upped the stakes. With all of humanity on the line, this film felt epic, tragic, and unlike anything we’d seen in theaters by this point in time.
The Best Avengers: Infinity War Quotes:
1.
Young Gamora (Ariana Greenblatt): Did you do it?
Thanos (Josh Brolin): Yes.
Young Gamora: What did it cost?
Thanos: Everything.
2.
Loki (Tom Hiddleston): I assure you, brother, the sun will shine on us again.
3.
Thanos (Josh Brolin): I know what it’s like to lose. To feel so desperately that you’re right, yet to fail nonetheless. It’s frightening, turns the legs to jelly. I ask you, to what end? Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. And now it’s here.
9. Birdman
While this film is a little different from the others on this list, I still maintain it deserves it’s spot here—we love variety! Birdman (2014) centers on a washed-up actor who can’t seem to let go of of the superhero he’s portrayed for decades—and in trying to revive his career, he starts to lose himself to Birdman.
The Best Birdman Quotes:
1.
Mike Shiner (Edward Norton): Popularity is the sl*tty cousin of prestige.
2.
Sam (Emma Stone): You had a career before the third comic book movie, before people began to forget who was inside the bird costume. You’re doing a play based on a book that was written 60 years ago, for a thousand rich old white people whose only real concern is gonna be where they go to have their cake and coffee when it’s over. And let’s face it, Dad, it’s not for the sake of art. It’s because you want to feel relevant again. Well, there’s a whole world out there where people fight to be relevant every day. And you act like it doesn’t even exist! Things are happening in a place that you willfully ignore, a place that has already forgotten you. I mean, who the f*ck are you? You hate bloggers. You make fun of Twitter. You don’t even have a Facebook page. You’re the one who doesn’t exist. You’re doing this because you’re scared to death, like the rest of us, that you don’t matter. And you know what? You’re right. You don’t. It’s not important. You’re not important. Get used to it.
3.
Riggan (Michael Keaton): People, they love blood. They love action. Not this talky, depressing, philosophical bullsh*t.
10. The Batman
The Batman (2022) introduced our newest iteration of the superhero, played by Robert Pattinson, during his second year fighting crime. As he begins to look into a string of serial killings targeting the politicians of Gotham, he finds that the corruption runs deep—and that it might be tied to his own family.
The Best The Batman Quotes:
1.
Batman (Robert Pattinson): Fear is a tool When that light hits the sky, it’s not just a call. It’s a warning.
2.
The Riddler (Paul Dano): If you are justice, please do not lie. What is the price for your blind eye?
3.
Batman (Robert Pattinson): Our scars can destroy us, even after the physical wounds have healed. But if we survive them, they can transform us. They can give us the power to endure, and the strength to fight.