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Top 10 Animated Superhero Movies
by Andrew Dyce
(11 of 10)
It's a good time to be a fan of comic book movies, with Marvel's 'Phase Two' projects either filming or in development, and Man of Steel set to get things rolling for DC and Warner Bros.
But in case that seems like too long a wait - especially since the first Justice League team-up won't arrive until 2015 - we've got you covered. Warner Bros. and DC Comics have been hard at work for years now, turning their best comic book arcs into animated films with the help of their most trusted talent.
For comic book fans, or fans of good super-powered storytelling in general, we've decided on our Top 10 Animated Superhero Movies. See if your favorite made the list.
But in case that seems like too long a wait - especially since the first Justice League team-up won't arrive until 2015 - we've got you covered. Warner Bros. and DC Comics have been hard at work for years now, turning their best comic book arcs into animated films with the help of their most trusted talent.
For comic book fans, or fans of good super-powered storytelling in general, we've decided on our Top 10 Animated Superhero Movies. See if your favorite made the list.
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Is this list exclusively for DC movies? because no animated superhero movie list is complete without the Incredibles. Even if this is strictly DC, I think All Star Superman deserves a spot. But overall, nice list. Its great to see the phenomenal Red Hood and underrated Wonder Woman made the cut.
The Incredibles was hotly debated due to the definition of ‘animation’ and its send-up of the formula. But after consideration, it warrants inclusion simply because of the self-referential and family-dynamic focus.
And because Pixar has ties with Disney, who owns Marvel xD
Great list. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is amazing.
batman: under the red hood is probably my fav on the list – i love it.
Funny, it’s one of my least favorites.
I agree with this list 100%
“Batman: Mask of the Phantasm” just screams Batman like no other film has
@ACW
I agree, going through the list I already had planned a response about how this list only cares about the newer cartoons and would leave out a gem like Mask of the Phantasm, then the last page, BAM, Mask of the Phantasm. Good list guys. I LOVE Mask of the Phantasm. Nothing like the old team, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill…
I liked Sub-Zero too, and the two episodes of Batman Beyond sold as a movie, Return of the Joker, was also very good…
Nice list, will you put out a Marvel one too, or it just not worth it ?
When Marvel crafts a solid film, with compelling animation, and a truly well-written and constructed story line, we’ll absolutely consider it. Honestly, it baffles me that they haven’t gone all out on Civil War, Dark Reign, Spiderman Back in Black, etc.
“Spider-Man: Reign” would be flipping amazing
True. It’s interesting looking at DC’s animated films (some of their most praised arcs put into motion) and Marvel’s, who don’t really seem to know what they’re going for.
Yeah. Really, there is no excuse for it either. I mean, of all the money they rake in from Marvel movies, TV shows, and of course the whole run with Disney, they do have the finances to do a really good animated Marvel film.
But they don’t, and nobody knows why. I think DC has the upper hand because their storylines come off as more intriguing (well, at least with Batman as far as I know), whereas Marvel…does something good every now and then. I mean, you see more DC graphic novels praised more than Marvel’s
Where Marvel lacks in animated films, they exceed in video games.
The Arkham games have been getting more praise than any Marvel game lately. Ultimate Alliance was very good, Ultimate Alliance 2 was okay. To be honest, it seems like Marvel is lacking in video games as years go by. You had the perfect design in “Spider-Man 2″ and then they took a few steps back in later Spider-Man games
Is the video game comment meant seriously?
I would hope not…
I want Marvel to animate a good and gritty Daredevil story ala Return of the Gael or something with the assassin Bullseye.
The first Ultimate Avengers movies was really great and you can see parts of it in the Phase 1 Marvel movies. The dialogue in Justice League: Doom was really bad – see the two Agents Green Lantern talks to before going to rescue the hostages in the tunnel. Doomsday was a horrific version of Superman! He kills hundreds of thousands of people, using Doomsday himself as a weapon no less, by plowing Doomsday into the heart of the city! Why not just throw Doomsday into space (his weakness is that he can’t fly) or the sun, or at least plow him into an unpopulated area?
Planet Hulk was pretty cool, IMO.
Planet Hulk, Ultimate Avengers and Dr. Strange.
All DC Movies? Good list nevertheless lol, I think Hulk Vs. should be up here
Hulk Vs. was easily one of the Marvel ‘compilations’ that got more right than wrong, but as essentially one massive action sequence, it was hard to give it a place among films that did action just as well with story lines far more nuanced and entertaining.
Agreed, but the best scenes where with Deadpool, he stole the show with his hilarious antics and quips.
They should make a Deadpool movie then. YES, ANY DAY NOW!
The script is done, we just gotta wait for Fox to greenlight the project, Ryan’s schedule should be cleared since RIPD is in post production, and the two animation projects Turbo and The Croods are only voice roles. Hopefully Deadpool will come to fruition.
Especially vs Thor! Wolverine, not so much…
I did not like
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009), mostly because their bodies are outrageous, the animations a lot softer(also the eyes), and just some weird things such as the giant robot.
also didnt care for Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010), as theres not much batman even in it and its mostly about supergirl(who turns evil for no reason given…)and also some more weird stuff regarding her, though the final battle on the kent farm is awesome.
We’d still recommend comic book fans read both Public Enemies and Apocalypse first, for sure.
And agree on the Kent Farm fight. Sincerely hope that choreography is used in Man of Steel, or at least the setting.
Dr strange and next avengers were both great. I love mask of the phantasm so much but some controversial talk there mr dyce. I’m not sure how it presents a more relatable Bruce Wayne than TDK trilogy. It’s a great romance though. Andrea’s my fav ever batman love interest
Haha controversial is fair. In terms of story, animation quality, direction and overall faith to the character – that’s a stand we’re willing to make
Nolan took Bruce to a dark, dark, very dark place. A place that it’s almost impossible to see that character ever align with the Justice League, or fight for something other than Gotham, arguably. I’m not mounting an argument against that version at all, but Phantasm seemed to ground that conflict in much more relatable events and sense of duty.
Andrea is killer too, Dana Delaney did a great job making that character believable. Nice counterpoint to Bruce.
Dr. Strange should replace Supes/Bats Public Enemies on this list IMO
Oh, and Planet Hulk was pretty awesome too.
Why are there no Marvel movies listed? Was this suppose to be the Top 10 DC Animated Superhero Movies?
there aren’t too many great marvel movies. but i agree i was surprised there were none on the list
True there aren’t many great ones. But sitting through all of them and finding some stuff to like in each (not every one), the task goes to eliminating one of the others from the list. And if we’re talking advice to people looking for a great animated superhero movie, regardless of publisher or characters, it would be near impossible to recommend a Marvel film OVER the DC ones on our list.
well at least now I know where DC shines…. in the comics and animation but they certainly do not know how to make a feature film with real actors! I sure hope MOS works out! I would likeo show my kids somethng other than marvel movies! they did OK with TDK but THATS IT, I would leto show them a good verion of superman not made before I was 4. Athough iti GREAT (th first superman) but kids nowadasys dont get into 80′s movies so much…. “they are old like me” NOT MY WORDS…theirs
Haha true. It’s odd that scriptwriters come in to discuss characters with DC’s creative minds and writers, then go off and write a script based on that source material and it gets mixed reviews.
…why not just have the creative minds write it? Surely that’s worth a chance at being Plan A?
It really is sad but true that even the best Marvel animated film would have a hard time making the list. Hulk vs really was the most enjoyable even if its arguably not a movie. I also enjoyed Planet Hulk and Next Avengers… but they are not on my top 10 list.
No love for Superman Vs The Elite?
I personally enjoyed The Elite quite a bit, but there are times when watching something when I’m able to say to myself ‘I dig this approach and take, but…would someone who isn’t as deeply familiar and cerebral about it enjoy it too?’
Kofi gave it a positive review overall, and I would too, but the perceived smaller budget behind the animation limits it a bit. Its exclusion should definitely not be seen as a knock against the original story, since I dug Kelly’s writing on the page too.
I am just curious is marvels animation not as good? Not trying to start a war im just unaware.
No worries on a war, and I wouldn’t say Marvel’s animations isn’t as ‘good,’ but DC and Warner Bros. films seem to have a much more unique style and artistic inspiration behind them. From a purely animation standpoint, Marvel’s animation style looks very similar to many other modern cartoons produced overseas.
DC and WB have worked to create two or three styles that almost nobody else imitates. The fact that DC’s best writers and seasoned producers are the ones usually credited in their animated films boosts the quality ten-fold.
Kinda confused as to why there are no Marvel movies here. Is this list exclusively DC, or do Marvel animated movies just suck?
Also, what about The Incredibles, and Batman:Year One?
Marvel has not put out good Animated FEATURE FILMS. “Hulk vs.” are two short films featuring Wolverine and Thor, and ‘The Ultimates’ and Next Avengers are not as good as ANYTHING on this list.
We’ve added ‘The Incredibles’ – even though it is arguably a family drama with superhero elements rather than a straight-up superhero movie.
Ok, fair enough. I honestly haven’t really seen so many animated superhero movies. And I saw that you guys added The Incredibles. Good move. What did it replace? Now I can’t remember what was there before.
And still, what about Year One? Bryan Cranston was awesome, and the whole film was great.
It knocked off GL: Emerald Knights. Tough for fans of GL and Fillion, but certainly one for those already interested or versed in the lore.
Year One was solid, but aside from Cranston, the voice work…left something to be desired.
Ah, that’s right. Forgot about Emerald Knights.
And year one, that’s true. It would have been better, IMO if Conroy could’ve been Bats, but his Batman is more of an older, more experienced Bats and Bruce, but not so much the character from Year One. Jim Caviezel could’ve been great, though. The McKenzie guy who voiced him was pretty solid, IMO.
Thats one thing I will always hold DC over Marvel is animation. I wished Paul Dini and Bruce Timm would reunite and bring back their DC animated universe. Batman: The Animated, Batman Beyond, Justice League. That was the stuff!
Haha was just saying to Ben Kendrick that if WB and DC announced they were going to air one episode of Batman and Superman: The Animated Series back-to-back on CW Sunday nights, I’d be tuning in without fail.
And better yet, if Bruce Timm and co. decided to re-launch a similar animated series aimed at the movie-going audience (18-35), that would make all kinds of sense.
Everyone should read the last page. He explains that Marvel didn’t make as many animated features as DC, and DC has really excelled with the animated features.
I truly agree with #1. Mask of the Phantasm was an amazing film, even if you’re an adult. I recommend it to anyone who loves Batman.
I’m guessing you didn’t like Superman vs The Elite Andrew? I thought that was an excellent film, the ending was eh, but up until then it was pretty good.
Also, what were your thoughts on Justice League: New Frontier?
I gave a lengthier response to The Elite up above; I’d just say its audience is a bit smaller and it isn’t quite as polished here and there. Still solid.
I really enjoy Darwyn Cooke’s writing, and felt the JL: New Frontier comic was solid. I loved that the art style was maintained for the film, but the pacing just felt WAY off for my taste. Not that slow is a bad thing, just…off.
I don’t know, I could be wrong.
New Frontier paled in comparison to the comic. Though that’s true of most of these movies, it was particularly apparent for New Frontier.
what about Green Lantern First Flight that was good imo better than the awful live action movie
Both Green Lantern First Flight and Emerald Knights were 50 times better than the movie on their own. I wished they would have used the same animation and voice acting from those two animated films on the Green Lantern Animated Series becuase that show sucks.
No love for Gotham Knight? It was the animatrix of Batman and provided a lot of insight into the character. I agree with #1 though, good choice.
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is awesome and underappreciated
Thank You. The world needs more Batman Beyond. Very Underrated.
Any Batman show, movie, or game that has KEVIN CONROY voicing the Caped Crusader has my full attention. To me, that voice is the Batman!
not surprised since DC makes way better animated movies than marvel ever could. where as marvel makes better live action movies than DC ever could
doomsday for the most part sucked, from the moment they ‘figure out’ how ot fix the weakness issue, everything sucked, minus the end fight (highlight being bane). it would have been more interesting had their weaknesses been amplified to a greater level, instead we got something a c grade villain could piece together (which they did since most the villains where trash compared to the heroes).
dark knight returns is currently my favourite animated movie, it’s everything nolans batman movies weren’t and more
Gret article! But how about Gotham Knight? I really enjoye that one and kinda surprised it wasn’t listed.
Gotham Knight is an anthology of Batman shorts – it’s not a feature-length animated movie.
Great list! I’ve seen most of these but I’ll have to check out a few I haven’t watched yet
I think Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker should be on here because it’s so good
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker SO should have been there instead of the stupid JLA Crisis on Two Earths! I didn’t hate it, but top 10 greatest animated superhero films, really? I didn’t love JLA: The New Fronteir either, but it was definately better than Crisis on two earths. And sorry people, but I HATED All-Star Superman. It was an OK comic story that was 10 times worse as a movie.
And it is weird that there are no Marvel animated films here. Then again, I can’t recall a Marvel animated film I LOVED.
I’m ok with everything on this list but The Death of Superman. I thought the comic was perfect. If they would have followed the comic they would have had the perfect film. I remember being so excited to watch it.
It didn’t even remotely follow the comic. Saying I was disappointed is an understatement.
There has to be more people out there that were just as disappointed as me when they first watched it!
Sorry—Superman/Doomsday
Agreed
WoW, good list and you could go on and on with those DC Animations….
If anyone cares, here are my DC and Marvel ranks.
DC
#22 Superman: Brainiac Attacks
#21 Batman: Gotham Knight
#20 Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo
#19 Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
#18 Batman vs Dracula
#17 Superman Batman: Apocalypse
#16 Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero
#15 Superman Batman: Public Enemies
#14 Superman: Doomsday
#13 Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
#12 Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
#11 Superman vs. The Elite
#10 Justice League: The New Frontier
#9 Justice League: Doom
#8 Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
#7 Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
#6 Wonder Woman
#5 Green Lantern: First Flight
#4 Batman: Year One
#3 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1
#2 All Star Superman
#1 Batman: Under the Red Hood
MARVEL
#8 Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme
#7 The Invincible Iron Man
#6 Ultimate Avengers 2: The Rise of the Panther
#5 Thor: Tales of Asgard
#4 Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow
#3 Ultimate Avengers
#2 Planet Hulk
#1 Hulk Vs.
So weird that Hulk is the star of the best two Marvel ones, when you would think he would be the least capable of carrying a movie.
Marvel’s the Ultimate Avengers was excellent and should have been included.
Ultimate Avengers part two was also good and gave us an interesting Black Panther storyline. For that alone it deserves at least an honorable mention!
I do agree that DC is generally better at animated films than Marvel.
What about tv show ? wich one are worth it ? I’ve only wath The Batman and X-Men in 90s
Oh man. If you haven’t watched Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series executive produced by Bruce Timm, do so NOW.
Dark Knight Returns, Under the Red Hood, Mask of the Phantasm, Wonder Woman, Incredibles, Crisis on Two Earths are my favorites from that list; some great stuff.