Superhero movies represent an important part of Nicolas Cage's career, whether they were good, bad, or never made. Considering how big of a comic book fan Nicolas Cage is, to the point Cage was inspired by Luke Cage when picking his stage name and even named his son, Kal-El, after Superman, it is most fitting that Cage’s career involves several superhero movies. Although Ghost Rider is the most memorable superhero Nicolas Cage played in a Marvel or DC movie, Johnny Blaze is not the only comic book character Nicolas Cage has played.
Curiously, there are basically as many superhero roles Nicolas Cage almost played as there are superhero roles he did play. The most famous example is Tim Burton’s canceled Superman Lives, which would have seen Nicolas Cage as Superman. Nicolas Cage was also considered for the role of Scarecrow in the unmade Joel Schumacher Batman Unchained, which would have seen Scarecrow playing with Batman’s memories and fears. Five years prior to Ghost Rider (2007), Nicolas Cage had been considered for another Marvel role – the Green Goblin in Spider-Man. Nicolas Cage also came close to playing John Constantine in the Constantine movie, a role that eventually went to Keanu Reeves. More recently, it was revealed that Nicolas Cage could have played Bizarro in the now-canceled Strange Adventures.
Between Ghost Rider and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Nicolas Cage's superhero movies also involved a Ghost Rider sequel, a Kick-Ass adaptation, and a voicing role in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. Nicolas Cage also had a role in the American version of Astro Boy, which can be seen as a superhero movie considering how the “Mighty Atom” is very much a superhero. Here’s every Nicolas Cage superhero movie ranked from worst to best.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)
Despite being one of the worst Marvel movies from the 2000s, the first Ghost Rider is somewhat rewatchable. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, on the other hand, does not have any redeemable quality. Not only is Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance one of the worst superhero movies ever made, both for Marvel and DC, the Ghost Rider sequel is one of the lowest points in Nicolas Cage's career. Doubling down on Nicolas Cage as Ghost Rider four years after the first movie was a risky move given how Ghost Rider’s reviews had already been pretty harsh. Not only that, but Ghost Rider’s $228.7 million box office on a $110 million budget made a Ghost Rider sequel even riskier. The result was a movie unintentionally silly, way too cheesy for a Ghost Rider story, and with a Nicolas Cage performance that the actor sure was not proud of.
Ghost Rider (2007)
Nicolas Cage as Ghost Rider had never been a popular fancast like Patrick Stewart as Professor X, which made 2007’s Ghost Rider sound at least interesting if not exciting. With good enough visual effects for a 2007 movie that holds up almost as good as the ones in Spirit of Vengeance, Ghost Rider succeeds in translating Johnny Blaze from the comic book pages to the big screen. That said, Ghost Rider falls short when compared to most Marvel Studios movies from the 2000s, with far more story issues and pacing problems than Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer or even Spider-Man 3.
Astro Boy (2009)
Given how Astro Boy has been around since 1951, the 2009 CG-animated American Astro Boy movie is not a particularly special addition to the Astro Boy franchise. Still, for a movie that could have been nothing but a soulless remake of other Astro Boy stories, Astro Boy (2009) surprisingly works. The CG-animated Astro Boy has the heart of the original Astro Boy stories, and it deals with emotional topics in a rather sensible way. Astro Boy features Nicolas Cage as Dr.Tenma, a scientist who loses his young son and creates a robot, Astro, to replace him — an interesting moral dilemma that Cage plays very well.
Kick-Ass (2010)
An exaggeration of the traditional superhero tropes, Mark Millar’s Kick-Ass comic book was eventually adapted into a live-action movie, 2011’s Kick-Ass. Director Matthew Vaughn cleverly picked the elements from the Kick-Ass comics that would work on a live-action movie and expanded on it, resulting in a film that worked both for those who had read the Kick-Ass comics and those who had not. At a time when superhero movies were already starting to become synonymous with blockbusters, the Kick-Ass film managed to be the exaggerated parody of the superhero movie genre that the Kick-Ass comic had been to superhero comic books. Matthew Vaughn's eye for comedy and action both come in handy for Kick-Ass, and the result is an incredibly fun movie all the way through. Nicolas Cage plays Big Daddy in Kick-Ass, the original superhero who serves as an inspiration for Hit-Girl and Kick-Ass.
Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018)
Decades after Tim Burton’s canceled Superman Lives, Nicolas Cage got to play Superman in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. The animated feature took the Teen Titans Go! version of the Teen Titans for the big screen for the first time, in a movie that celebrated the history of the Teen Titans and of the DC universe as a whole. While Teen Titans Go! To the Movies’ tone is not too different from that of the Teen Titans Go! animated series, its pacing works perfectly for a film. With a meta-story about the Teen Titans starring in their own movie, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies offers an entertaining journey that even those who are more nostalgic over the original Teen Titans show will enjoy. Theatrical DC animated movies are not so common, but Teen Titans Go! To the Movies made its big screen release worth it.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man is a concept made real thanks to the multiverse in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Nicolas Cage plays Spider-Man Noir in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, one of the many Spider-Man variants that appear to assist Miles Morales and Peter B. Parker. Beyond the fun Spider-Hero interactions, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a masterclass in origin stories that quickly connects audiences with its main character Miles Morales. With a mixture of different animation techniques, Into The Spider-Verse offers an experience that is unlike any other comic book adaptation. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse ranks as one of the best Spider-Man movies ever made, if not the best, and it collects incredible sequences like Miles Morales’ leap of faith and the final Spider-Man vs. Kingpin fight.
Spider-Man Noir does not get a lot of screen time in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, but Nicolas Cage's character shines every time he’s on-screen. It is rare, not to say impossible, for a comic book adaptation to translate exactly what it feels like to read a comic to the screen, but that did not stop Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse from trying — and succeeding. Of all the superhero movies Nicolas Cage got to be a part of, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is by far the best one.