100 Greatest Comic Book Movies Of All Time

64. Men In Black III

Men In Black 3
Sony

While most people will throw their weight behind the first Men In Black movie as the best in the franchise, true film fans will know unequivocally that it's actually the third that is best. It takes the fundamental ideas and charm of the original, adds time travel that doesn't quite mess everything up and introduces great new characters to increase the entertainment factor exponentially.

And this is no mere comedy sci-fi with good effects and solid laughs either: the finale packs in an emotional punch that will genuinely ruin your entire day. This is how you do escalation without compromising the heart and story of a franchise and you need to get on board with it as the true lord of the MIB series.

[SG]

63. Man Of Steel

Man of Steel Zod
Warner Bros.

Look, there’s a lot in Man of Steel to poke fun at. Yeah, it’s way too on the nose with its religious symbolism. Yeah, the Pa Kent sacrifice is ultimately pointless. Yeah, Superman snapping the villain’s neck at the end and destroying half the city isn’t very heroic.

But there’s also a lot in Zack Snyder’s film to really enjoy as well. Michael Shannon may have since distanced himself from the role, but his version of General Zod is cranked up to 11 at all times, while the fall of Krypton is grander and more tragic than it’s ever been onscreen.

Also, while it’s easy to hate his flashy directing style, Snyder still knows how to stage an impressive action sequence, and Man of Steel is full of some of this decade’s most blistering superhero punch-ups.

[JB]

62. Weird Science

Weird Science Kelly Le Brock
Universal Pictures

While there are a couple entries on this list that you might not have realised were comic-book adaptations, Weird Science is perhaps the most surprising. In a way though, that’s a testament to just how good it is, as despite the source material, the '80s cult-classic feels like a John Hughes movie through and through.

About two dorks who set out to create the perfect woman through the power of science and get more than they bargained for (cue wacky hijinks), Weird Science is one of the more juvenile, less-refined movies in Hughes’ canon, but it’s still full of the director’s signature charm.

[JB]

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.

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