Batman vs. Superman: Ranking The Films From Worst To Best

5. Superman II (1980)

With all the introduction out of the way in Superman: The Movie, Superman II was able to go a bit bigger. While it was plagued with production issues due to the replacement of director Richard Donner despite his having filmed much of the picture, the sequel still managed to come out the other end as a wildly enjoyable companion to its predecessor. Much of what makes the first film such a classic, from Reeve's charm to John Williams' score, continues to work here, with the added bonus of Terence Stamp's General Zod. Like Reeve's performance as Superman, Stamp's Zod instantly became a legendary take on the character that people still love and quote today. Superman II has a few more issues than Superman: The Movie in terms of its cohesive tonal identity, bouncing between its own seriousness and its desire to be funny - thanks to the very different directing styles of Donner and his replacement Richard Lester, who would go on to unleash Superman III - and the existence of the Richard Donner Cut of the film leaves some preferring his version and others the original, but its desire to go bigger makes it no less fun. The infamous memory wiping kiss may continue to bother diehards of the Superman mythos, but Superman II is far from the insult that the next two sequels would be to the franchise. When it comes down to it, Superman: The Movie and Superman II are both equally entertaining and its clear to see why fans can love one over the other. For this list, though, Superman II only edges out its predecessor for managing to still be a solid film despite its behind-the-scenes drama, for delivering Superman a physical threat to battle with and for what Stamp brings to the table.