3. It's James Gunn
Gunn may not be an overly prestigious director, having films like Slither (2006) and Scooby Doo (2002) under his belt, but what he does have is the right attitude. He is a decent choice for one reason and one reason alone... Super. When Gunn presented Super to us in 2010 with Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page donning costumes for an all-too-natural look at the psyche of superheroes, people were taken aback. In a black comedy, pop-punk version of Falling Down meets Kick Ass, Frank Darbo becomes The Crimson Bolt after having being pushed around for far too long, with the final straw being the commandeering of his girlfriend Sarah (Liv Tyler, so it's understandably upsetting). Super takes a serious look at the sort of twisted mind who might go out at night, attacking criminals in sporadic, self-righteous acts of violence. Don't get me wrong: Super is a very funny film, but we are laughing at Frank rather than with him, and it times he seems dangerously insane without a funny bone in his body. Mocking the absurdest nature of heroes, hero worship and hypocrisy of violent champions in the name of peace is nothing new. Mark Millar, Alan Moore and Garth Ennis, to name but a few, have been exploring this subject for a long while. But it's also the exact reason why Gunn makes such a good choice for director - he knows to focus on the men behind the mask in order to hit the emotional beats. He knows how to take a step back and allow the bizarre situation to provide its own comedy.