10 Most Important Comic Book Movies Ever Made

5. Spider-Man

Spider-Man Tobey Magurie crying
Columbia Pictures

If the critical and commercial success of X-Men two years previously had opened the door for the comic book movie to establish itself as Hollywood's newest go-to genre for blockbuster filmmaking, then Sam Raimi's Spider-Man booted it right off of the hinges.

Following decades trapped in development hell and complicated legal battles for the rights to the character, anticipation was at fever pitch as one of the most instantly-recognizable icons in popular culture finally swung into a live-action feature in the summer of 2002, with the web-slinger obliterating countless box office records in the process.

The success of Spider-Man saw comic book movies greenlit on an almost daily basis in an attempt to score a slice of the pie and within just three years properties like Daredevil, Hulk, Hellboy, The Punisher, Catwoman, Batman Begins, and Fantastic Four to name a small few had started to flood the marketplace.

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