10 Superhero Movies That Broke All The Rules

10. Logan

Logan is one of the finest superhero movies ever made precisely because it disregards the rules of the genre.

We’ve seen our heroes age before, but usually they’re brought back for one last triumphant run out in the costume before embracing retirement. Logan offers a treatise on the pains of ageing, of dealing with a troubled past and an uncertain future, searching for peace rather than glory. It’s mature and meaningful in a way Christopher Nolan’s films could only hope to be.

It also throws superhero genre conventions out of the window, playing out like more of a western noir. Nearly 20 years into playing the character, Hugh Jackman finds new depths as an ageing Wolverine, the last gunslinger whose peaceful life is disrupted, leading to a Clint Eastwood-esque rampage.

Nothing here is for show - the violence is unsparing but meaningful, given far more purpose than the usual bashing and crashing of costumed blockbusters. Logan is the kind of film you could only make as a response to other, flashier movies, but as an antidote to the occasionally formulaic Marvel movie, this is extraordinary.