Superhero Movies Can't All Be Perfect, But These 10 Should Have Been Way Better

The superhero movies of the MCU, the DCU, and other franchises occasionally see releases that turn out to be nowhere near as good as they should have been. Major franchises, such as the movies of the MCU, have helped to make the superhero genre one of the most dominant in the film industry, earning massive success at the box office and popularity with audiences around the world. This has contributed to a perception that superhero movies are certain to achieve some degree of success simply on the merit of their place in the genre.

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This isn’t always the case, however. Some superhero movies, as with specific movies in the DCEU or those from other franchises, have often proven to be far less impressive than they deserved to have been. In many cases, the finished movie simply doesn’t live up to its potential, whether due to a great cast being let down by a poor script, terrible visuals failing to capture an exciting premise, or some other combination of disappointing errors. With that in mind, here are 10 superhero movies that should have been way better than they ultimately were.

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10

Ghost Rider (2007)

Directed by Mark Steven Johnson

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Though Ghost Rider is perhaps most memorable for being one of those superhero movies to use awful CGI far too much, it’s also one of the last pre-MCU Marvel movies. Serving as an origin story for its eponymous character, Ghost Rider introduced the hero’s backstory into live-action. That alone should have been enough for reasonable success, as the general premise of Ghost Rider’s story makes for an exciting cinematic prospect.

Despite this potential, Ghost Rider was ultimately underwhelming. Even its star-studded cast couldn’t prevent it from its mediocrity, stemming largely from its uninspired script and underwhelming visual effects. Nicolas Cage’s performance was far from his best, too, and the movie simply wasn’t able to live up to its potential. All things considered, Ghost Rider had all the makings of a great superhero movie, but it was ultimately a disappointment.

9

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Directed by Gavin Hood

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Wolverine’s story is undeniably one of the most popular and successful of Fox’s X-Men movie franchise, making Hugh Jackman’s take on the character truly iconic. After being the breakout star of the original trilogy of movies, Wolverine was set to appear in his first solo movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The 2009 film was announced as a prequel that would tell the story of Logan’s forgotten memories of his involvement in the Weapon X project.

On paper, X-Men Origins: Wolverine should have been great, if only for its continuation of Wolverine’s X-Men story. Despite starring the most popular character in the franchise, the movie was not particularly well-received, particularly when it came to its handling of other Marvel characters. Even with the franchise’s most beloved character at the fore, X-Men Origins: Wolverine wasn’t able to find any genuine popularity, leading to the consensus that the movie should have been much better than it was.

8

The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

Directed by Stephen Norrington

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The talents of Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill are legendary in the comic book world, so the announcement of a big-budget adaptation of their comic series, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, was an enticing prospect. Its story, featuring a number of famous literary characters joining forces in Victorian-era London to combat evil, had all the makings of an instant classic, as it was able to benefit from the existing popularity of its heroes.

Unfortunately, the 2003 movie was nowhere near as good as it should have been. Criticized for its multiple glaring plot holes and uninspired script, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen handled its source material poorly, leading to a disappointing end product. The poor reception to the movie also saw Sean Connery retire from acting after starring in it, citing its stressful production as having informed his decision. Considering the cult status of the comic book series, the movie deserved to be far better.

7

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Directed by Marc Webb

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One of the most surprisingly disappointing chapters in Spider-Man’s movie timeline came in 2014 with the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. After the 2012 reboot introduced Andrew Garfield’s iteration of the hero to general success, the sequel it set up seemed to be sure to capitalize on its predecessor’s personality. The announcement that both Electro and the Green Goblin would feature in the sequel only further fueled the widespread excitement about its release.

Sadly, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was nowhere near as good as it should have been. Though it’s far from a terrible movie, it had significant issues with its dialogue, and far too much focus on setting up potential sequels ended up hurting its own story. For all its potential, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 simply couldn’t live up to its hype, and plans to continue the franchise were scrapped as a result.

6

Jonah Hex (2010)

Directed by Jimmy Hayward

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Though Jonah Hex may not be one of DC’s best-known characters, the announcement of a movie adaptation was not an unwelcome one. The scarred features of the bounty hunter lend him an air of the unforgettable, and Jonah Hex’s Western setting helps set his stories apart from many of his contemporaries. The announcement of the 2010 adaptation’s cast only further cemented the movie’s potential, as many impressive names were confirmed for the movie.

Despite the likes of Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender, and Michael Shannon appearing, Jonah Hex was a terrible movie. Its short runtime was criticized and partly blamed for its incoherent plot, and Jonah Hex was panned by critics and disliked by audiences. Even so, considering its interesting premise and incredible cast, it’s a movie that seemingly should have been much better than it was.

5

Hellboy (2019)

Directed by Neil Marshall

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Guillermo del Toro’s two Hellboy movies were massively popular in the ‘00s, with the director employing the gruff talents of Ron Perlman to bring Mike Mignola’s demonic paranormal investigator to life on the big screen. Though plans for a third movie in the franchise fell apart, the announcement of a 2019 reboot starring Stranger Things’ David Harbour seemed a positive development. After all, a clear formula for Hellboy’s blockbuster success had already been established by previous movies.

The 2019 reboot came nowhere close to living up to its predecessors, though. The movie’s dull script and disappointing visual effects made it noticeably inferior to del Toro’s previous movies, and its approach to adapting the characters from the comics left much to be desired. 2019’s Hellboy was a monumental disappointment, which was especially frustrating considering the quality of the adaptations that came before it.

4

Catwoman (2004)

Directed by Pitof

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Catwoman has long been one of the most popular supporting characters in Batman stories, and has earned herself a place as a great character in her own right. After years of being stuck in development hell, a solo Catwoman movie was finally announced for a 2004 release, with Halle Berry cast as the titular anti-hero. Fresh off the back of winning an Academy Award for her role in Monster’s Ball, Berry seemed a perfect choice to inject some serious credibility to the movie.

That perceived potential turned out to be a cruel illusion, however. The movie was abysmal in almost every way imaginable, leading to it being panned by critics and laughed at by audiences. Its poor presentation of an underwhelming and generic story made it a painful watch, and Catwoman went down in history as one of the worst superhero movies ever made, despite once being considered an interesting prospect.

3

Green Lantern (2011)

Directed by Martin Campbell

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As one of DC’s most prominent hero titles and the alias of at least one long-standing member of the Justice League, the Green Lantern mantle has always been a big deal within the DC Universe. In spite of that, the Green Lantern role had never been adapted into live-action ahead of the announcement of a 2011 movie starring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan. Reynolds’ star power combined with Green Lantern’s iconic status made the movie seem destined for success.

The movie was nowhere near as good as it should have been, though. Not only did Reynolds prove an odd choice for the role, but Green Lantern’s excessive use of mediocre CGI made it an unexpected eyesore. These factors contributed to its reputation as a terrible adaptation, and it was swiftly disowned by many of those involved. Though it once may have seemed to be a recipe for a great superhero movie, Green Lantern’s execution was unable to achieve any such success.

2

Daredevil (2003)

Directed by Mark Steven Johnson

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Pre-MCU Marvel movies are often looked down upon since the franchise’s monumental rise, but they were once considered exciting cinematic outings. The 2003 adaptation of Daredevil, for example, took a beloved Marvel hero and promised to deliver a dramatic live-action movie complete with a star-studded cast and impressive action sequences. Though the movie did deliver on that promise in some ways, it was simply nowhere near as good as it should have been.

Ben Affleck’s Daredevil was an unfortunate product of his early-’00s era, donning head-to-toe red leather in a movie that oozed faux-edginess. Despite being presented as a dark and brutal depiction of the hero, Daredevil was surprisingly tame, making much of its story fall completely flat. Disappointing dialogue and a predictable plot only added to its reputation as a painfully average movie, and Daredevil earned the status as another superhero movie that was nowhere near as good as it should have been.

1

Justice League (2017)

Directed by Zack Snyder

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2017’s Justice League served as a major milestone in the DCEU’s movie timeline, because it promised to formally introduce perhaps the most iconic superhero team in pop culture into live-action. With the massive success of the MCU’s The Avengers in 2012, such a team-up movie was met with overwhelming excitement. The potential for fan-service and financial success was clear, and it seemed an inevitability that Justice League would be a monumental moment in the franchise.

The movie’s release saw opinions sour, not least because of the way the various production issues had affected it. The mix of Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon’s contrasting styles was evident, and made the movie seem an unbalanced and inconsistent mess. All things considered, Justice League was a huge disappointment, and it became perhaps the worst example of the superhero movies of the MCU, the DCU, and beyond failing to deliver on their own potential.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
DC Universe

The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.