12 Films So Bad That They Killed Off Their Franchise

Though they aren't as fondly or relevantly remembered as they should be, the original two Superman films were stone-cold classics. They were perfecting the superhero formula decades before anyone else would even catch on to it, while simultaneously presenting a damn-near perfect representation of the last son of Krypton.

Watching Christopher Reeve play Superman was truly like watching the character step out of the panels of the comics and into our real world, which is precisely why it hurt so much to watch the franchise fail. Superman II was the first indicator there may be trouble in paradise, when Donner was unceremoniously booted from the project mid-production. Lester was brought on board to replace Donner and became responsible for what are, by a large margin, the goofiest and weakest parts of that film.

Thus, Lester's return to the franchise in total control of the third film is a sad but inevitable film. It takes the sillier moments from Superman II and makes a whole film centered around like-minded hijinks.

All of this leaves very little room for, you know, Superman.

While the fourth film was a well-intentioned attempt to get the franchise back on track, it fell into dismay. It was a chopping-edited, poorly written sequel that only served to confirm what we all already knew; the man of steel wasn't invincible after all.