10 Offbeat Superhero Films You MUST See

"Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's a psychopath!"

When Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman this is definitely not what they had in mind. 

The superhero model is well established in comics and film but both reached a point where the straight laced hero was boring and the straight forward battle against the forces of evil felt false. In answer to that periodical feeling of unease and complacency, a strange rash of alternative takes on the genre tend to pop up.

Evolving from a need of subversion or coming from a time before the conventions were fully established, these heroes are far from conventional. Edgy attitudes and questionable morality make for a much cooler and more sophisticated story but they are are also more challenging, engaging that critical part of your brain you haven't quite been able to shut off. 

This all sounds lofty and cerebral but it actually gives license to insane violence, bloodshed, sex and chaos. Even films aimed for younger audiences have sometimes found a way to secretly speak to the parents in the room and entertain on their level. 

This is a list of consequences, moral ambiguity, adult themes and self deprecation. Though they are deviant cousins, these films are offbeat love letters to the superhero genre and reinvigorated our love for it. Tool up, the black capes are coming. 

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"

A love letter to the pulp noir and radio plays that bore it, The Shadow is a deceptively mature film that highlights the less than heroic origins and motivations of its characters.

In post WW1 Tibet, an American named Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin) runs an opium ring as the warlord and gangster, Ying-Ko (Dark Eagle). He is abducted by Tulku, a local mystic on the side of good who knows his real identity and offers him a chance of redemption.

After seven years of training, Cranston returns home to New York city with some kick-a** new moves and the ability to hypnotise and alter people's perception to prevent him from being seen. All except from his shadow. He's Batman's spooky dad basically. Batman's spooky, morally questionable dad. Who doesn't mind capping some fools.

Going up against another pupil of his old teacher, The Shadow must stop the last descendant of Genghis Khan from taking over the world. An over the top villain and a world under threat are all fairly standard superhero tropes but this hero actually uses intimidation to bring people under his influence as pawns for his crusade.

Less about feats of derring-do and more about bending the weak and evil sides of our nature to the will of good, the trope-filled story has a more pragmatic and less idealistic take on heroism, and is a refreshing throwback and a fun movie that doesn't get the recognition it deserves.