10 Underappreciated Comic Book Movies That Deserve A Second Chance

Released after Batman & Robin torpedoed superhero movies but before X-Men revived the genre, Mystery Men remains (along with Super and The Incredibles) one of the most entertaining blends of homage and send up, but what makes it absolutely unmissable is a cameo from Michael Bay.

Cast because of his friendship with director Kinka Usher, the filmmaker fleetingly appears as a henchman hired by Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush) to destroy Champion City after its resident superhero, the corporate-sponsored Captain Amazing, is inadvertently killed by the eponymous heroes. Far from being super, the group’s spurious powers include throwing spoons, turning invisible when nobody’s looking and the ability to look badass while wielding a shovel.

Mystery Men’s indifferent reception was due more to poor timing than anything else. It sounds hard to believe now, but in 1999 it was the only comic book movie that played in multiplexes.