2015 didn't have a huge amount of superhero movies (especially when you compare it to the next few years), but it's been an incredible 365 days for news thanks to both already released and upcoming comic book adaptations. However, the stories which proved to be the most popular may just surprise you! While 2016 will be my seventh year as part of ComicBookMovie.com - which remains the greatest superhero movie news site on the 'net - it still it never ceases to amaze me when I see the surprising types of stories which take off and prove to be the most popular. Some of these are those and others are a little more predictable, but THANK YOU for continuing to make CBM as huge as it is. Trust me whan I say the best is yet to come over the next few years, folks.
The most recent story listed here, it just goes to show that while the critical reception to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles back in 2014 was mixed, fans couldn't wait to get a first look at the sequel. The addition of Arrow's Stephen Amell no doubt made a difference, as did the fact that this trailer gave us a first look at fan-favourite bad guys Rocksteady and Bepop. This preview actually leaked online a day before it was meant to, a problem which plagued many of the year's biggest releases.
Arrow and The Flash are much more popular here on CBM than you might expect, with spoilers like the Reverse-Flash's idenity and the secrets of Ra's al Ghul performing particularly well in 2015. However, it was the reveal that Matt Nable's Ra's al Ghul was indeed immortal (following an episode featuring the villain confirming that he had been alive for a very long time) which really grabbed your attention. It's just a shame that the show failed to stick the landing with him later on!
If there's one thing we all love, it's a good mystery, and the identity of the woman in the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer had everyone talking. The most popular theory was that she was Wakandan or possibly even Jocasta, but the answer given by Kevin Feige ended up being more than a little underwhelming. He claimed that she was just a random piece of imagery the marketing department liked, but as those cave scenes were so heavily edited, I'm not buying that.
We were trolled so many times in 2015 (remember that cleverly put together "leaked" after credits scene from Avengers: Age of Ultron featuring Spider-Man?), that it was hard to say whether this 30 seconds or so of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice footage which surfaced was real or not. The line above delivered by the Caped Crusader got everyone excited, and while Warner Bros. quickly removed the video from Twitter, they were powerless to stop what happened later that night.
I'm surprised to see that this one ranked so highly, especially as the Easter Egg really wasn't that huge. Or was it? Spotted by Good Morning America, the Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser trailer ended with what they believed was the sound of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber, something which at the time quite possibly confirmed a lot of rumours. As it turns out, Luke's old weapon (which once belonged to his father) did end up playing a key role in the J.J. Abrams helmed movie.
Despite the fact that he was rumoured to be in the running for the role of Bullseye in Daredevil season two, Spy star Jason Statham generated some controversy (inevitably) when he decided to share his thoughts on the CGI heavy action sequences in movies like Avengers: Age of Ultron. Mark "The Hulk" Ruffalo didn't take too kindly to those remarks, and his light hearted response about being able to put down the British tough guy in a fight is something which grabbed your attention!
2015 was a year of big reveals, but none of them were more highly anticipated than our first look at Jared Leto as The Joker. For proof of just how excited fans were, look no further than the fact that a social media post of Jared Leto's HAIR got this much attention. The photo of what appeared to be his slicked back green locks wasn't much, but it was something, and any sort of hint about what the Dallas Buyers Club star was going to look like as the Clown Prince of Crime was appreciated.
If a glimpse of of The Joker got that much attention, it was obviously inevitable that the first official image would receive even more. After months of endless rumours and speculation, we finally had our first look at the version of the character who would be appearing in Suicide Squad, and to call it controversial would be an epic understatement. From the tattoos to teeth and smile, this photo had everyone talking, even if some fans refused to believe it wasn't a fan-made effort!
This year's San Diego Comic Con was plagued by leaks, and while Warner Bros. smartly released the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer immediately after it hit Hall H and there was only a minimal level of interest in X-Men: Apocalypse, the reaction to the Suicide Squad preview hitting this early was understandably massive (and forced the studio to later release an HD version). Throw in the fact that it came with some cool new promo images, and you can see why this was popular.
Sometimes the most unexpected stories grab a massive audience, but it's still easy to see why fans were excited to hear Zack Snyder spill the beans on his plans for the DC Extended Universe. Addressing the rumours which have done the rounds about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the story about his son playing Robin, the filmmaker also revealed his plans for Justice League and the Shakespearean quality of characters like the Man of Steel and Caped Crusader.
What else? Despite the updated title, this article was actually for the full-length leaked Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice teaser trailer, and despite the pretty terrible quality, you still made it one of the biggest stories in CBM history. Proving that the first meeting between thse two heroes may just be the most highly anticipated moment in superhero movie history, the enthusiasm surrounding this first look was massive, and made it the most popular 2016 release on the site.