Comics and music have a long, proud history of working well together. As early as the 1940s, radio shows and adventure serials were matching music to the adventures of Superman, Batman and Shazam. Popular tastes have changed a lot since then, but comics, and superheroes in particular, still tend to inspire a lot of thoughtful and uplifting melodies, and a few somber ones, too. For this list, no genre of music was off limits. Youll see a sizable contingent from film and TV, of course, mostly instrumental, but there are also lyrical songs in hip-hop, pop, classic and alternative rock and even synthpunk. Even 50 songs means excluding a lot, but some of the losses arent too regrettable. Remember Princes Batdance? Its okay if you dont. In fact, it may be preferable. Assembling a list like this is treacherous work. It's easy to overlook great contributions from the indie scene, and hard to decide exactly where to rank a lot of comics-inspired tunes. Sometimes its like comparing apples to Uzis: where to rank Paul McCartney against Danny Elfman? Still, if youre a comics fan, drop these tunes into your playlist when you get the chance. Chances are pretty good theyll help you get through the day.