10 Greatest Comic Book Movie Endings

Let's get one thing out of the way, the cinematic cut of Superman II is vastly inferior to Richard Donner's director's cut, but its final act is one triumphant high after another.

It all begins when Supes tricks General Zod at the Fortress of Solitude and responds to his "kneel" request by breaking his freaking hand. The hero relinquished his powers earlier in the movie, but from this point onward, it's all about his triumphant return.

All of the loose ends are wrapped up at the pace of a speeding bullet: Lex Luthor ends up back in prison, Lois Lane's mind is conveniently wiped, and Clark Kent even gets his revenge on that diner-dwelling douchebag who beat him up while he was powerless, but the classic scene come after this.

Proceeding to undo the damage Zod and his Kryptonian friends wrought earlier in the film, Supes replaces the flag atop of the White House. That shot of him flying with the Star-Spangled Banner is a little on the nose, but it's iconic nonetheless.

A two-film arc is wrapped up in a neat package, with just enough time for Supes to fly off into space while his famous theme tune kicks in. Of course, they had to make two more films and ruin everything, but that's Hollywood for you.