100 Greatest Comic Book Movies Of All Time

8. Spider-Man 2

Spider-Man 2 Train Scene
Sony

There are a number of milestones from the pre-MCU, pre-Dark Knight comic book movie renaissance of the early 00s, including the all-important X-Men, X2, and Spider-Man (and a shoutout to the 1997's ahead-of-its-time Blade, too). But none of them were Spider-Man 2.

This is the movie that really showed what a superhero movie could and indeed should be. Sam Raimi did a good job on the first one, but his work here - and that of everyone around him - is on a completely new level.

The action scenes, whether it's Spidey swinging around New York, the train sequence, or anything involving Doc Ock (given a multi-faceted spin by Alfred Molina that elevates him to the upper echelons of superhero movie bad guys), are masterfully done. The colours pop in a way that feels reminiscent of what a Marvel Comics movie should look like, without trading on the emotion of the film. It finds a perfect balance in the tug-of-war between the lives of Peter Parker and Spider-Man, crafting a superhero story that feels completely human. And it has the greatest face anyone has pulled in the genre's storied history (pictured above).

14 years, four movies, and two more Spider-Man later, this is still the best the web slinger's ever been on the big screen.

[JH]

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WhatCulture's former COO, veteran writer and editor.

Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.

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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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NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.

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Horror film junkie, burrito connoisseur, and serial cat stroker. WhatCulture's least favourite ginger.