5 Most Important Superhero Movies

3. Batman (1989) For decades, comic books and the characters created for them were thought to be kids€™ stuff. It is not difficult to imagine, then, why executive producer Michael Uslan had so much difficulty getting a dark, serious Batman movie made. Superman: The Movie was a success in 1978 and while it was more than mere child€™s play, it did not change any movie executive minds about what a superhero film could be. It was and is a fantastic representation of Superman, but it did not open the door for cinematic superhero stories that were reflective of the more grownup source material. After having every door in Hollywood slammed in his face for a decade, Michael Uslan finally convinced Warner Bros. to adapt a Batman film that was completely unlike the character€™s live-action television adventures in the 1960s. He was aided by the mainstream popularity of more adult graphic novels like Watchmen and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Executives were finally seeing the potential Uslan had been telling them about all along. Landmines had to be avoided (Bill Murray as Batman, anyone?), but once director Tim Burton and stars Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton were brought on board, a pop culture phenomenon was born. Relative to Christopher Nolan€™s Dark Knight trilogy, even Tim Burton will tell you his Bat-films seem a bit campy, but in 1989, Batman was dark, serious business in the eyes of moviegoers. In turn, audiences spent serious money not only on tickets to see the picture again and again, but also any merchandise featuring the iconic Batman emblem, which debuted on billboards for the film. Fans of all ages, including what should not have been a surprising number of adults, could not wait to show how they had been swept up in Bat-mania. Batman proved that superhero films could be extremely successful when built for adults while remaining accessible to kids. The only problem is no one else picked up the ball and ran with it after that. The 1990s brought failed attempts like Spawn, but no film with the exception of Blade was able to find much success. Still, Batman deserves its place on this list for making much later adaptations, including the aforementioned Dark Knight trilogy, possible.