100 Greatest Comic Book Movies Of All Time
52. Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is the best Batman film that absolutely no one saw, and so it should come as no surprise to see it languishing in the middle of the top 100 in relative obscurity, despite its cult status.
A spin-off of the legendary Batman: The Animated Series, Mask of the Phantasm combines past, present and future to create the definitive Batman story, and one of the most underrated animated productions of all time.
Revolving around the titular Phantasm as the Dark Knight is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, Phantasm is everything you could want from a Batman story; it’s gothic, visually stunning and contains the now definitive portrayals of Batman and Joker from Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill.
Factor in the mesmerising work of Shirley Walker, and it truly is a wonder how this film still languishes outside of the mainstream.
[EP]
51. Ant-Man
Like Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Thor: The Dark World, Ant-Man's journey to the big screen was one paved with problematic cobbles and pot-holes, but it managed to throw off the shadow of Edgar Wright's abandoned vision to be one of the most wonderfully charismatic comic book movies of all.
It's a lovely surprise - just as Paul Rudd's Scott Lang is - with Peyton Reed injecting charm and heart to match the impressive set-pieces and the heist plot. Rudd's the best thing about it, but mention has to also go to Michael Pena, Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lily who elevate the story when it threatens to be a little predictable. And boy, is it funny?
[SG]
50. Thor
One of the OG Avengers and certified Point Break lookalike, Thor’s first foray onto the big screen is as weird and wonderful as the God of Thunder himself. Combining a race of aliens that live in the sky on top of a rainbow bridge, giant robots of destruction, and a flying hammer is no small feat; with Kenneth Branagh bringing Asgard to life in perfect tongue-in-cheek action that’s defined Thor’s screen existence ever since.
Whether its an armoured space god getting taken down by a taser, or demanding a cat large enough to ride from a pet shop, Thor is as hilarious as he is a staple of the superhero genre. Considering his character has only ever been built up bigger and better since (if we turn a blind eye to The Dark World at least), it’s easy to forget just how fun his origin story is: but it’s more than worthy of Mjolnir a spot in the top 100.
[AM]