10 Marvel And DC Superhero Fight Scenes That FAILED To Do The Comics Justice

There have been a lot of incredible fight scenes brought to life on screen by Marvel and DC over the years, but these disappointing efforts failed to do the comics justice and simply cannot be forgiven!

By HamiltonParker - Jul 31, 2022 08:07 AM EST

Filed Under: Captain America: Civil War

Superhero movie fight scenes are a vital part of the genre, and while you might think it’s hard to mess up the recreation of such a frequent occurrence from the source material, it happens far too often.

Sadly, not every movie gets them right, and while things have improved a lot since the mid to late 2000s, there are still a couple of recent offenders that have landed a well-deserved place on this list. Some failed to deliver the exciting sort of visuals fans have come to expect, while others were just poorly put together or plain silly and disappointing. Ultimately, they all failed to do the comics justice, and for fans, that's unforgivable.

Oh, and this isn't because they didn't adapt what we saw on the page shot for shot; it's down to how poorly they were realized in live-action.

We have no doubt that you're going to have some strong opinions about the fight scenes here, but once you have a read through our thoughts, we're confident you'll agree: they sucked!

10. Wonder Woman v Cheetah (Wonder Woman 1984)

Wonder Woman 1984 didn't resonate with many fans, and a big part of that has to be because it was such a drop in quality from 2017's vastly superior Wonder Woman.

That film was criticised for its CGI-heavy final battle with Diana Prince and Ares, but at least it didn't disappoint us the same way this sequel did when Wonder Woman finally squared off with Cheetah. Rather than the action-packed brawl we expected and hoped for, we got a poor man's Cirque du Soleil show.

Throw in Cheetah's goofy look, and what should have been an epic battle became an utter embarrassment.

Patty Jenkins has proved that she has a good grip on action - which is part of the reason we're so excited for Rogue Squadron (if it actually happens) - but what went wrong in this film's final act is impossible to say.

9. X-Men v Magneto (X-Men)

In terms of action, X-Men director Bryan Singer only really started finding his footing by the time Days of Future Past and Apocalypse rolled around. There had been some good fight scenes before then, but not in this film way back in 2000.

There, the climactic battle between the X-Men and Magneto was nowhere near as grand in scale or as memorable as it should have been, and technological limitations aren't solely to blame.

To begin with, we never really got to see the team of mutants working as, well, a team! This scene was lacking the sort of excitement found in the X-Men comic books whenever they clashed with the Master of Magnetism, and Singer's vision for these characters was simply too small in scale.

There was lots to like about this film, but this fight wasn't one of those things.

8. Daredevil v Bullseye (Daredevil)

It was tempting to include Daredevil and Elektra’s faux battle in the park from this movie here, but the Man Without Fear’s fight with the assassin Bullseye was far worse overall.

Taking place inside a church, it kicked off with a horrid CGI sequence that saw the two rivals battling their way up a ridiculously huge organ before Matt Murdock basically tried (and, as it’s later revealed, failed) to murder the villain by kicking him through a window.

In contrast, Bullseye’s battle with Elektra was great, recreating an iconic moment from the comic books, even lifting Frank Miller’s dialogue for a film that was mostly awful.

Ben Affleck got another shot at playing a superhero in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and as painful as it was to watch him kill Gotham's crooks, his fight with the Man of Steel didn't disappoint.

7. Batman v Ra's al Ghul (Batman Begins)

As fantastic as The Dark Knight Trilogy may have been, most fans agree that Christopher Nolan was very much finding his feet in terms of directing action in Batman Begins.

While the final battle between the Caped Crusader and Ra’s Al Ghul was fine for the most part, the ending has left fans with a bad taste in their mouths right to this very day.

Though he refuses to kill his former mentor, Bruce Wayne’s decision to not save Ra’s life is basically the same thing. It’s out of character for the Dark Knight, and while the movie is a superb addition to the franchise, it’s a shame that the final battle ended in such a disappointing and somewhat controversial manner.

It was a fight scene that could and should have been much better, similar to the final appearance of the Scarecrow (who was easily dispatched by a taser to the face). On a more positive note, at least this Batman wasn't a cold-blooded killer the entire time unlike the aforementioned version!

6. Spider-Man v Green Goblin II (Spider-Man 3)

When Harry Osborn discovered his father’s cache of Goblin weapons in the final moments of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, fans were left eagerly anticipating the prospect of Peter Parker’s former best friend picking up the mantle in the next movie.

What they were left with was a silly costume and a borderline slapstick battle which saw Peter miraculously keep track of an engagement ring in mid-air before it abruptly ended because Harry couldn’t see a web line right in front of his face.

Infuriatingly, that led to a silly subplot about amnesia, and what should have been a violent battle which reflected the superb final fight between Spider-Man and Norman Osborn in the first movie was instead just filler in a packed out threequel that was desperately trying to balance too many subplots.

This should have been great but was nowhere near amazing or spectacular.

5. Kitty Pryde v Juggernaut

Yes, "I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!" really is a line of dialogue from Vinnie Jones’ (horribly miscast) take on the iconic villain in Brett Ratner’s X-Men: The Last Stand. That came when he confronted Elliot Page's Kitty Pryde, and what followed was one thoroughly silly sequence.

It starts with him pursuing the young mutant through a series of walls, before being tricked by her and left stuck in the floor. What an awful waste of an iconic villain.

It would have been far more satisfying to see an extended fight sequence between Juggernaut and a similarly strong character like Colossus (thank God for Deadpool 2), but that’s the problem when you throw in too many mutants…not every character is gonna get the sort of attention they deserve.

It still feels like we're waiting for the definitive version of both these characters, unfortunately.

4. Green Lantern v Parallax

So much potential wasted. In the comics, Parallax is a terrifying manifestation of fear and appears in the forms of a demonic-looking monster.

In Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern, he looked like a big cloud of...sh*t. Can we say sh*t? We're going with sh*t. It was a baffling redesign similar to that of cloud Galactus in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and this battle made for unsatisfying viewing, as a result.

After a lengthy fight on Earth which was dull both visually and in terms of action, this one only really found its footing when they took the action into outer space.

Of course, that was spoiled somewhat by the fact that the rest of the Green Lantern Corps conveniently arrived after Ryan Reynolds’ Hal Jordan had saved the day, making this an unsatisfying final battle to conclude a disappointing big screen debut for a fan-favorite DC Comics character.

3. #TeamCap v #TeamIronMan (Captain America: Civil War)

Look, there's lots to love about this part of Captain America: Civil War, from Spider-Man's MCU debut right down to all the different heroes who came to blows for the first time ever on screen.

However, if we're talking about fight scenes that failed to do the comics justice, this has to be near the top of this list...and is!

Every clash between Captain America and Iron Man's teams in the Civil War series from Mark Millar and Steve McNiven was epic in terms of scale, and vastly more exciting to look at than...an empty airport. The heroes being split up for individual battles also made this feel too small, and it's a shame the Russos weren't as confident here as they were in Infinity War and Endgame.

This was fun to watch, but not as good as it could and should have been, that's for sure.

2. Spider-Man v Electro (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 didn't hold back on flashy special effects for the final battle between Spider-Man and Electro, but just as their early clash in Times Square was spoiled by horrendous dialogue ("It’s my birthday...time to light the candles!"), the final showdown was also let down by a series of peculiar creative decisions.

The biggest of those is, of course, the fact that as he’s beating Spidey up, Electro does so to the tune of "Itsy Bitsy Spider," a ridiculously cheesy moment which wouldn’t have been out of place in, say, Batman and Robin.

Throw in the fact that Gwen Stacy was only involved to explain how magnets work (because moviegoers are just that dumb, apparently) to the supposedly intelligent Peter Parker and this was a messy conclusion to a mess of a sequel.

Both Andrew Garfield and Jamie Foxx reprised their respective roles in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and while they didn't do a tonne of fighting, we'd say both actors managed to set things right when they crossed paths again.

1. Wolverine v Deadpool (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)

The battle itself between Wolverine and "Deadpool" was adequate (that's as nice as we're gonna get), but still mostly forgettable and generic.

This should have been a memorable fight between two of Marvel’s most popular characters, with the earlier confrontation between Logan and Sabretooth vastly better and only serving to make this an even bigger disappointment.

What Fox was thinking when they turned Deadpool into the personality-free monstrosity above is hard to figure out, and after Ryan Reynolds’ take on the young Wade Wilson was so well received during the earlier part of the prequel, a faithful take on the character would have been far more enjoyable.

This was our one chance to see these characters share the screen with Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds playing them, so it can never be made right now.

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144 Comments

1 2 3 4

DrReedRichards - 7/31/2022, 8:28 AM

Hate to state the obvious omission, buuuuut...

Actually that's a lie.

I love to state the obvious.

Especially when it is necessary.

Moriakum - 7/31/2022, 8:32 AM

@DrReedRichards - The airport scene is in the list, but every fight scene in BvS isn't.

DrReedRichards - 7/31/2022, 8:33 AM

@Moriakum -

Obvious flamebait is obvious.

Drewwright816 - 7/31/2022, 9:37 AM

@Moriakum - I know I’m in the minority when it comes to loving BVS and trust me I know it has a lot of flaws but the fight scenes are definitely not one of them

Gizmoduck - 7/31/2022, 10:11 AM

@DrReedRichards - This article was either stolen, written a long while ago and only now posted, or reposted. #2 says

"Surprisingly, both Andrew Garfield and Jamie Foxx are expected to reprise their respective roles in Spider-Man: No Way Home"

Clearly this has already happened and i wouldnt doubt its a repost - but i wouldnt doubt he stole this list. This is a bait list if ive seen one.

DrReedRichards - 7/31/2022, 10:15 AM

@Gizmoduck -

Yeah, mate. It's just so blatant.

I only skimmed through the mentioned fights and commented on the lack of BvS, but a couple of other users have also mentioned that quote you brought up. It's just so shameless, you know? Total amateur stuff.

Moriakum - 7/31/2022, 8:29 AM

3. #TeamCap v #TeamIronMan (Captain America: Civil War)

Origame - 7/31/2022, 8:45 AM

@Moriakum - also, Spiderman vs Harry Osborn. Say what you will about how they adapted the second goblin suit and the amnesia subplot, that battle was amazing.

Moriakum - 7/31/2022, 10:19 AM

@Origame - I agree.

IronSpider101 - 7/31/2022, 11:40 AM

@Origame - I was thinking the same! The suit leaves something to be desired and say what you will about about the rest of the movie. But both fights between the two characters are spectacular. The second fight is a great character based one on a smaller scale and the first one still holds up as one of the best Spidey action sequences in the movies to date.

theprophet - 7/31/2022, 8:33 AM

Dear Josh

Winston19 - 7/31/2022, 8:35 AM

“Surprisingly, both Andrew Garfield and Jamie Foxx are expected to reprise their respective roles in Spider-Man: No Way Home”. Expected to reprise? Helps to read old articles that you steal before you post them.

Gizmoduck - 7/31/2022, 11:01 AM

@Winston19 - @natebest you cool with this type of work on your site?

NateBest - 7/31/2022, 1:50 PM

@Gizmoduck - Where was the content stolen from? It's much more useful to provide links to sources if you're going to make an accusation like that.

@Winston19 - Most users seem to miss the fact that *all* of my sites are built upon user-generated content... This means that anyone and everyone that registers for an account has the ability to post. It might help to think of it like YouTube, but for articles rather than videos...

Most also don't pay attention to the link and "This post was submitted by a user.." text that's at the bottom of every post...

Fogs - 7/31/2022, 3:54 PM

@Winston19 - Not stolen. He probably reused an old article of his, as other users have shown it happened in the past.

CookieHound - 7/31/2022, 8:37 AM

“…and simply cannot be forgiven.”

Dramatic much?

OrgasmicPotatoe - 7/31/2022, 8:42 AM

"Surprisingly, both Andrew Garfield and Jamie Foxx are expected to reprise their respective roles in Spider-Man: No Way Home"

Yikes.

DrReedRichards - 7/31/2022, 8:45 AM

@OrgasmicPotatoe -

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Jesus Christ, the utter lack of shame! Thank you for actually reading through this shlock and pointing this out, mate. Shit like that ought to be called out.

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