13 Best Comic Book Movie Deleted Scenes You Need To See

Trawling through the deleted scenes section of a DVD release can be a depressing activity. Viewing these unused snippets almost always serves to confirm that the director was right - the scenes were cut for obvious reasons. 

But sometimes, in amongst all the dross are scenes that are actually pretty damned great. These are sequences that change character motivations in new and interesting ways, that explain important plot points, and that feature truly hilarious moments. In fact, they're scenes that make fans gasp, "Why did that get cut?! That would have made the film so much better!"

One such moment is a sequence excised from the cinematic release of Will Smith's Hancock, in which the scruffy anti-hero picks up a woman in a bar and takes her back to his trailer. One thing leads to another and Hancock, laying on his back on his bed, is about to, ahem, finish up, when he abruptly flings the half naked woman aside. Suddenly, three holes are blown through the roof of his trailer in the "climax" of the scene. Maybe a bit too much for a family-rated movie though

There are so many of these "They shouldn't have cut that!" scenes in superhero films that a list could go on forever, but here are the crème de la crème of the deleted bits from the most loved costumed crime-fighting capers.

2004's Spider-Man 2 was a much better sequel than a certain, more recent outing for the wall-crawler ending with a "2". For a start, Sam Raimi's hugely popular follow-up had J. K. Simmons turning in another tremendous performance as the crusty chief of The Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson, and it's impossible to get too much Jameson.

Since the first modern spider-sequel is over a decade old, it's time for a refresher on the plot: part-way through the film, Peter Parker quits being Spider-Man and abandons his costume in the trash. The discarded spider-suit is promptly found by a garbage-man who sells it to Jameson. Audiences then see Jameson crowing over the costume as it hangs on his office wall. 

But that wasn't all the cigar-chomping newspaper scion did with the costume in a cut scene. No, his original purpose for the outfit provided fans with a truly disturbing glimpse into the mind of J Jonah Jameson. Because he puts it on and then leaps around his office pretending to be Spider-Man. And that, right there, is comedy gold - especially when his employees peek through the blinds and gape incredulously at his ridiculous antics.  

Later, Peter Parker retrieves his costume and resumes his crime-fighting ways, presumably wondering the entire time why his duds are so sweaty. Sssh. No one tell him why.