How to Stream Rolling Stone’s 50 Greatest Superhero Movies of All Time
How to Stream Rolling Stone’s 50 Greatest Superhero Movies of All Time
If you want to break box office records these days, you’d better bring a cool costume, superpowers, and a bad guy hellbent on world domination. The last 20 years have been dominated by the superhero genre. It’s become one of our last cultural touchstones in an increasingly fragmented media landscape.
To that end, Rolling Stone compiled a list of the 50 greatest superhero movies of all time. While we may disagree with the order (“The Dark Knight” is only #7?!?), this list includes the true gems of the genre. Take a look, spark the debate, and get streaming!
(Notable omissions include Tim Burton’s “Batman,” and the surprisingly fun “Shazam!” and “Sky High.”)
My Great List
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Zack Snyder's Justice League
March 18, 2021Determined to ensure Superman’s ultimate sacrifice was not in vain, Bruce Wayne aligns forces with Diana Prince with plans to recruit a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions.
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Ghost Rider
January 15, 2007In order to save his dying father, young stunt cyclist Johnny Blaze sells his soul to Mephistopheles and sadly parts from the pure-hearted Roxanne Simpson, the love of his life. Years later, Johnny’s path crosses again with Roxanne, now a go-getting reporter, and also with Mephistopheles, who offers to release Johnny’s soul if Johnny becomes the fabled, fiery ‘Ghost Rider’.
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Megamind
October 28, 2010After Megamind, a highly intelligent alien supervillain, defeats his long-time nemesis Metro Man, Megamind creates a new hero to fight, but must act to save the city when his “creation” becomes an even worse villain than he was.
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The Super Inframan
August 1, 1975The surface of the Earth is under attack, thousands of people are killed in this unprovoked attacked. The cause, Princess Dragonmon and her army of monsters have decided to invade. Princess Dragonmon is an alien whose race has been hiding under us for centuries waiting to attack at the time is right. A doctor has been preparing for something like this and turns his assistant Rayma into the cyborg hero known as Inframan. Now only Inframan stands between the Earth and Princess Dragonmon but when a close friend is captured and brainwashed, can she be stopped with this inside man feeding her info?
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Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
August 12, 2010As bass guitarist for a garage-rock band, Scott Pilgrim has never had trouble getting a girlfriend; usually, the problem is getting rid of them. But when Ramona Flowers skates into his heart, he finds she has the most troublesome baggage of all: an army of ex-boyfriends who will stop at nothing to eliminate him from her list of suitors.
Keep your eyes peeled for cameos from other superhero actors like Chris Evans, Brie Larson, Brandon Routh, and Thomas Jane.
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The Old Guard
July 10, 2020Four undying warriors who’ve secretly protected humanity for centuries become targeted for their mysterious powers just as they discover a new immortal.
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Batman
July 30, 1966The Dynamic Duo faces four super-villains who plan to hold the world for ransom with the help of a secret invention that instantly dehydrates people.
Get your Adam West fix with this campy classic.
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Thor
April 21, 2011Against his father Odin’s will, The Mighty Thor - a powerful but arrogant warrior god - recklessly reignites an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.
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The Lego Batman Movie
February 8, 2017A cooler-than-ever Bruce Wayne must deal with the usual suspects as they plan to rule Gotham City, while discovering that he has accidentally adopted a teenage orphan who wishes to become his sidekick.
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The Avengers
April 25, 2012When an unexpected enemy emerges and threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins!
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The Dark Knight Rises
July 17, 2012Following the death of District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman assumes responsibility for Dent’s crimes to protect the late attorney’s reputation and is subsequently hunted by the Gotham City Police Department. Eight years later, Batman encounters the mysterious Selina Kyle and the villainous Bane, a new terrorist leader who overwhelms Gotham’s finest. The Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.
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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
May 4, 2022Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.
The film also stars Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Karl Mordo), Benedict Wong (Wong), Xochitl Gomez (America Chavez), Michael Stuhlbarg (Nicodemus West), and Rachel McAdams (Christine Palmer).
Director Sam Raimi returns to the superhero genre for the first time since the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man films.
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Captain America: The First Avenger
July 22, 2011During World War II, Steve Rogers is a sickly man from Brooklyn who’s transformed into super-soldier Captain America to aid in the war effort. Rogers must stop the Red Skull – Adolf Hitler’s ruthless head of weaponry, and the leader of an organization that intends to use a mysterious device of untold powers for world domination.
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The Batman
March 1, 2022In his second year of fighting crime, Batman (Robert Pattinson) uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler (Paul Dano).
The cast includes Zoë Kravitz (Selina Kyle/Catwoman), Jeffrey Wright (James Gordon), Colin Farrell (Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot/Penguin), and Andy Serkis (Alfred Pennyworth).
The film was directed and written by Matt Reeves.
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Tank Girl
March 31, 1995After a comet disrupts the rain cycle of Earth, the planet has become a desolate, barren desert by the year 2033. With resources scarce, Kesslee — head of the powerful and evil Water & Power Corporation, the de facto government — has taken control of the water supply. Unwilling to cower under Kesslee’s tyrannical rule, a pair of outlaws known as Tank Girl and Jet Girl rise up, joining the mysterious rebel Rippers to destroy the corrupt system.
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Ant-Man
July 14, 2015Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Doctor Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.
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The Suicide Squad
July 28, 2021Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese.
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Blade II
March 22, 2002A rare mutation has occurred within the vampire community - The Reaper. A vampire so consumed with an insatiable bloodlust that they prey on vampires as well as humans, transforming victims who are unlucky enough to survive into Reapers themselves. Blade is asked by the Vampire Nation for his help in preventing a nightmare plague that would wipe out both humans and vampires.
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Unbreakable
November 22, 2000An ordinary man makes an extraordinary discovery when a train accident leaves his fellow passengers dead — and him unscathed. The answer to this mystery could lie with the mysterious Elijah Price, a man who suffers from a disease that renders his bones as fragile as glass.
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V for Vendetta
February 23, 2006In a world in which Great Britain has become a fascist state, a masked vigilante known only as “V” conducts guerrilla warfare against the oppressive British government. When V rescues a young woman from the secret police, he finds in her an ally with whom he can continue his fight to free the people of Britain.
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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
September 1, 2021Shang-Chi must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.
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The Crow
May 11, 1994Exactly one year after young rock guitarist Eric Draven and his fiancée are brutally killed by a ruthless gang of criminals, Draven—watched over by a hypnotic crow—returns from the grave to exact revenge.
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Batman Begins
June 10, 2005Driven by tragedy, billionaire Bruce Wayne dedicates his life to uncovering and defeating the corruption that plagues his home, Gotham City. Unable to work within the system, he instead creates a new identity, a symbol of fear for the criminal underworld - The Batman.
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Hellboy
April 2, 2004In the final days of World War II, the Nazis attempt to use black magic to aid their dying cause. The Allies raid the camp where the ceremony is taking place, but not before they summon a baby demon who is rescued by Allied forces and dubbed “Hellboy”. Sixty years later, Hellboy serves the cause of good rather than evil as an agent in the Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense, along with Abe Sapien - a merman with psychic powers, and Liz Sherman - a woman with pyrokinesis, protecting America against dark forces.
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Darkman
August 24, 1990Dr. Peyton Westlake is on the verge of realizing a major breakthrough in synthetic skin when his laboratory is destroyed by gangsters. Having been burned beyond recognition and forever altered by an experimental medical procedure, Westlake becomes known as Darkman, assuming alternate identities in his quest for revenge and a new life with a former love.
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The Rocketeer
June 21, 1991A stunt pilot comes across a prototype jetpack that gives him the ability to fly. However, evil forces of the world also want this jetpack at any cost.
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Batman Returns
June 19, 1992Batman must face The Penguin, a sewer-dwelling gangleader intent on being accepted into Gotham society. Meanwhile, another Gotham resident finds herself transformed into Catwoman and is out for revenge…
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Deadpool
February 9, 2016The origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who, after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.
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RoboCop
July 17, 1987In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company’s nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.
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Doctor Strange
October 25, 2016After his career is destroyed, a brilliant but arrogant surgeon gets a new lease on life when a sorcerer takes him under her wing and trains him to defend the world against evil.
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Superman II
December 12, 1980Three escaped criminals from the planet Krypton test the Man of Steel’s mettle. Led by General Zod (Terence Stamp), the Kryptonians take control of the White House and partner with Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) to destroy Superman and rule the world. But Superman (Christopher Reeve), who attempts to make himself human in order to get closer to Lois (Margot Kidder), realizes he has a responsibility to save the planet.
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Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
December 25, 1993Andrea Beaumont leaves her father to return to Gotham, rekindling an old romance with Bruce Wayne. At the same time, a mysterious figure begins to hunt down Gotham’s criminals, wrongly implicating Batman in the murders. Now on the run from the law, Batman must find and stop the culprit, while also navigating his relationship with Andrea.
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier
March 20, 2014After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Steve Rogers, aka Captain America is living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.
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X2
April 27, 2003Professor Charles Xavier and his team of genetically gifted superheroes face a rising tide of anti-mutant sentiment led by Col. William Stryker. Storm, Wolverine and Jean Grey must join their usual nemeses—Magneto and Mystique—to unhinge Stryker’s scheme to exterminate all mutants.
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Avengers: Infinity War
April 25, 2018As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment - the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.
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Guardians of the Galaxy
July 30, 2014Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.
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Spider-Man
May 1, 2002After being bitten by a genetically altered spider at Oscorp, nerdy but endearing high school student Peter Parker is endowed with amazing powers to become the superhero known as Spider-Man.
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X-Men: Days of Future Past
May 15, 2014The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods as they join forces with their younger selves in an epic battle that must change the past – to save our future.
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Spider-Man: Homecoming
July 5, 2017Following the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” Peter Parker (Tom Holland) tries to balance his life as an ordinary high school student in New York City with fighting crime as his superhero alter ego Spider-Man.
Peter gets guidance from his mentor Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), and his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon). He’ll need that help as he faces off against the supervillain The Vulture (Michael Keaton) and the hormones ginned up by his crush, Liz (Laura Harrier). Lurking in the background is a snarky classmate named Michelle (Zendaya).
Jon Watts directs the first of his 3 Spidey films.
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Iron Man
April 30, 2008After being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.
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The Incredibles
October 27, 2004Bob Parr has given up his superhero days to log in time as an insurance adjuster and raise his three children with his formerly heroic wife in suburbia. But when he receives a mysterious assignment, it’s time to get back into costume.
Now we’re into the Top 10. Buckle up for the best.
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Wonder Woman
May 30, 2017An Amazon princess comes to the world of Man in the grips of the First World War to confront the forces of evil and bring an end to human conflict.
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Thor: Ragnarok
October 2, 2017Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok, the destruction of his home-world and the end of Asgardian civilization, at the hands of a powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela.
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The Dark Knight
July 16, 2008Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.
This is better than #7. Come on, Rolling Stone…
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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
December 6, 2018Struggling to find his place in the world while juggling school and family, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales is unexpectedly bitten by a radioactive spider and develops unfathomable powers just like the one and only Spider-Man. While wrestling with the implications of his new abilities, Miles discovers a super collider created by the madman Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk, causing others from across the Spider-Verse to be inadvertently transported to his dimension.
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Superman
December 14, 1978Mild-mannered Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) works as a reporter at the Daily Planet alongside his crush, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). Clark must summon his superhero alter-ego when the nefarious Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) launches a plan to take over the world.
A phenomenal cast is buoyed by an iconic John Williams score in a superhero film that still ranks among the greatest ever.
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Avengers: Endgame
April 24, 2019After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.
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Logan
February 28, 2017In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hideout on the Mexican border. But Logan’s attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are upended when a young mutant arrives, pursued by dark forces.
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Spider-Man 2
June 25, 2004Peter Parker is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock. In the meantime, Parker still can’t act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson, a girl he’s loved since childhood. A certain anger begins to brew in his best friend Harry Osborn as well…
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Black Panther
February 13, 2018King T’Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country’s new leader. However, T’Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne by factions within his own country as well as without. Using powers reserved to Wakandan kings, T’Challa assumes the Black Panther mantle to join with ex-girlfriend Nakia, the queen-mother, his princess-kid sister, members of the Dora Milaje (the Wakandan ‘special forces’) and an American secret agent, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.
This thought-provoking, eye-catching wonder is Rolling Stone’s #1 superhero movie.
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