The Batman/Superman Movies Ranked From Worst To Best

The Batman/Superman Movies Ranked From Worst To Best

Now that I've officially seen Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice here is my updated rankings of all the Batman and Superman movies.

Editorial Opinion
By Hendo96 - Apr 07, 2016 05:04 PM EST
Filed Under: DC Comics
Keep in my mind and like I said in my last rankings this is my opinion.
14. Batman & Robin
Batman & Robin is truly a terrible movie and I hate it as a Batman fan. It's a 2 hour long commercial for toys. It defies logic to such a degree and completely destroys the character. George Clooney is phoning it in the entire time and he doesn't try to put on the different persona's of Bruce Wayne. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze is one of the dumbest casting choices ever and I can't deal with the god awful ice puns. Even his costume looked terrible as well. If you want a good representation of Mr. Freeze, watch Batman: The Animated Series because that show did him right. They completely ruined Bane because in the comics Bane is supposed to be an intelligent and muscle bound badass and they made him a mentally retarded sasquatch on cemo as well as Poison Ivy's henchmen. Thank god Christopher Nolan redeemed the character. Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy is over the top and cartoonish trying too hard to rip off Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman. Chris O'Donnell as Robin is such a whiney little prick that you want to punch in the face. Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl is terrible and they don't even try to stay true to her backstory because in the comics Batgirl is supposed to be Commissioner Gordon's daughter not Alfred's niece and she's supposed to be a redhead not a blonde. They tried to make us care about Alfred dying even though he doesn't even die and you know what they should've killed him because that way he wouldn't be stuck in this garbage for so long. The scenes between Bruce and Alfred are fine I guess but that's because the rest of the movie is completely garbage. Don't even get me started on the bat nipples, bat ass, bat ice skates, bat credit card, the rubber lips, and the motorcycle race with Coolio. I just hate this movie and the only positive is had this movie not failed we wouldn't have gotten Batman Begins.
13. Superman IV: The Quest For Peace
Superman IV: The Quest For Peace is such an abomination against humanity with terrible special effects and villain that is not even in the comics. It's even trying to copy off things that made the first two movies way better. The premise about Superman disarming the world after a terrible child actor writes a letter to Superman asking him to do just that is completey dumb. Poor Christopher Reeve still manages to be the only good thing about this movie and it's sad because this was his last movie as Superman. What makes things even worse is that he wrote parts of this movie. The special effects are terrible especially considering there are moments where you can tell they're on stage and using wires. Jon Cryer as Lex Luthor's nephew was atrocious and unbearable to say the least. Nuclear Man is one of the dumbest characters looking like a drag queen. They don't even try to use actually villains from the comics but rather have Lex Luthor create a non-comic book villain. Also, Superman is not supposed to have telekinesis. There is also a moment where Superman saves a woman in space and she somehow isn't dead from the lack of oxygen I mean don't you think her head would explode for being out in space for so long? I don't know nothing makes sense whatsoever. This is one of the worst superhero movies ever made and one of the worst movies of all time.
12. Superman III
This is pretty much that Batman Forever/Spider-Man 3 of the Superman franchise. Superman III is an atrocious and unfunny comedy with Richard Pryor as a dopey and idiotic computer genius who creates a device that turns Superman evil. Richard Pryor gets even more screentime than the Man of Steel himself. This movie is just so stupid and unbearable. Also, this feature a she-male being turned into a cyborg and Lex Luthor knock off because Gene Hackman didn't want to work with the director ever again and Lois Lane is pushed to the side because she didn't want to work with the director even again now replaced with Lana Lang. The scenes between Lana and Clark are fine I guess, Christopher Reeve still shines in the role, and the junk yard fight with Evil Superman is fine I guess but that's because everything else is complete utter garbage. Also, the one major action set piece Superman fighting a computer/video game....WTF? It's directed by Richard Lester the guy who stole Superman II from Richard Donner and the only reason Superman II was good is because it still had parts of Richard Donner, Superman III has nothing Donner whatsoever.
11. Batman Forever
Batman Forever or as I like to call it the introduction of bat nipples and bat ass. The tone in this movie has changed from the dark tone that Tim Burton created to a weird and campy tone. The music isn't that good in this movie and I can't deal with the neon Gotham and the bright lights. The batmobile is not even the batmobile because neon lights do not scream vengeance of the night. They just wanted to make Batman mainstream even though that's not what Batman is. Val Kilmer as Bruce Wayne/Batman doesn't do a bad job it's just that's he under the direction of Joel Schumacher and the script is so bad. Nicole Kidman is in this movie and she is just there for Batman to drull over and quit being Batman even thought that's not what Batman would do. This movie also features Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face aka The Joker knock off and Jim Carrey as The Riddler aka The Joker knock off. They're both cartoons in this movie and there are better versions of The Riddler and Two-Face in Batman: The Animated Series. I also hate how they made Robin an adult in this movie and how he was shoehorned into the movie because they had to introduce Robin at some point but at least he's not whiney like he is in Batman & Robin. The costumes and make up designs are terrible not just the bat nipples and bat ass but The Riddler and Two-Face's costumes as well. This was the beginning of the end to the franchise.
10. Superman Returns
I've gotta say I have a lot of problems with Superman Returns and one of them is Bryan Singer initially leaving the X-Men franchise to direct this movie and to be honest it didn't seem like a bad thing at first, it wasn't until Superman Returns came out and after what happened to X-Men: The Last Stand when Brett Ratner was brought on to replace Bryan Singer. The film tried being a sequel to the first two and ignore the third and fourth movie. Now Superman Returns is not terrible like III and IV and despite good visual effects and an awesome plane sequence my biggest issue with Superman Returns is that it's so boring and there is almost zero to none action in the movie. The ending climax of the movie is Superman lifting an island into space. There is also Superman being a mopey ass deadbeat dad and a creepy stalker looking outside moping wanting to be with Lois Lane. I did not like the reveal of the kid being Superman's and another thing about it is even though it's supposed to be a sequel to the Donner movies is at the ending of Superman II, in the Donner cut Superman turns back time and makes sure Lois forgets that he was ever Superman and in the theatrical cut Clark kisses Lois and she magically forgets Clark was ever Superman from a power Superman does not have in the comics. At one point why was Lois never like how did you rape me because I do not remember us ever having sex? I don't know it was just dumb and Superman Returns was ridden with plotholes. This movie was not the Superman movie we needed at the time and should've rebooted the franchise rather than playing safe and ripping off Donner.
9. Superman II
Superman II is enjoyable but dated as hell and it baffels me that people complain about the ending of Man of Steel and they don't have a problem with Superman giving up his powers to be with Lois Lane. I did like them letting Lois Lane know Clark is Superman but they cut it short at the end. The fight scene in the city is dated and I'm telling you I'm sure if Donner had better special effects he would've made the fight scenes look better and make it look like what would actually happen if godlike aliens actually fought. I prefer the Richard Donner cut  because it is a much better version but the ending to both versions makes no sense. The endings to both versions are such cop out endings like in the first one by having Lois Lane forget all about Clark Kent ever being Superman especially in the theatrical cut where Superman kisses Lois Lane and she forgets everything from a power that Superman doesn't even have in the comics and in the Donner cut where Superman turns the Earth backwards again. Lex Luthor being shoehorned into the movie god knows why. Zod having telekinesis even though he doesn't have that power. Superman's cloth changing abilities even though that's not one of his powers. Terrence Stamp is good but over the top at times as General Zod. Also, I don't understand why most people complain about Man of Steel where Superman kills Zod when he kills Zod in Superman II as well. I don't care if there was a deleted scene because it never made the final cut.
8. Superman: The Movie
This is the movie that started it all with the superhero movies and even though I do enjoy the movie it doesn't hold up. Now I love the first 48 minutes of the movie because I loved seeing the origin story in the beginning and the serious tone. But my thing is the tone completely shifts once Clark begins working at the Daily Planet into a campy tone. The costume designs are dated and it's bit cheesy after the first 48 minutes. The theme by John Williams obviously great and iconic. Marlon Brando does a good job and he pretty much gets top billing more than the actor that played Superman. Christopher Reeve is great as Clark Kent/Superman and some say he is still the best. I do really like Henry Cavill in the role and I'm excited to see where else he takes the character. I'm personally not the biggest fan of Lex Luthor in this movie because of his campiness and his plans for a Real Estate scheme that has been used in the other movies. The movie was more talking about Superman than showing what Superman can do especially in a poem recited by Lois Lane. Some of the special effects and action scenes are dated it may have been ground breaking back then but it definitely shows how dated it is especially when you compare it to the other comic book movies that having been coming out recently. There is also a cop out ending where Lois Lane dies and Superman turns the Earth back in time to save Lois because they wanted to be too safe. I applaud the effort that was given but it is not a timeless classic like people make it out to be I'm sorry but that's just me.
7. Batman Returns

Now the thing about Batman Returns is even though it's an enjoyable and entertaining movie. It's not true to the comics once single bit. Catwoman does not have nine lives in the comics and The Penguin as I know him in the comics is not this crazy sick little weirdo. Catwoman in the comics is supposed to be a cat burglar not a crazy slut with nine lives. Danny DeVito and Michelle Pfeiffer played their parts well even though they're not the characters they are in the comics. This movie is over the top with not just the villains and The Penguin's circus freaks as well. This was the movie where Tim Burton decided he was going to do Batman his way and it shows that he never read a Batman comic book in his entire life. This movie is just a Tim Burton movie with Batman characters in it and it shows he never read a Batman comic in his entire life. The soundtrack is really great, it has a Christmas/Halloween feeling to it, and it's still enjoyable to listen to this day. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed Batman Returns but I can understand why some people don't like it because it's not true to the comics and if you love the Batman lore it completely butchers the lore. This movie is pretty much the reason why parents around the world were pissed off because of the weird shit in this movie.
6. Batman
I enoyed the 1989 Batman movie and at the time it was the film that kickstarted the comic book movie craze because it was the first serious comic book movie and back then we had the Christopher Reeve Superman movies and the 1960s Adam West Batman TV series which were bith campy to say the least so Batman was the first dark superhero movie at the time. The soundtrack by Danny Elfman is fantastic and you can tell Tim Burton had his prints in this movie. When Michael Keaton was first cast as Batman everyone had no idea what to think. Then after the movie came out he ended up being great and some argue that he is still the best Batman yet. Jack Nicholson as The Joker was great and he was so funny they even stay true to his origin story where he's knocked into a vad of chemicals by Batman. Another thing I give the movie credit for is without this movie we wouldn't have Batman: The Animated Series. As far as complaints I wasn't big on the Prince music being in the movie now as much as I love Prince it shouldn't be in a Batman movie. Another thing is how they didn't tell the origin story and he was just Batman in the beginning of the movie. They also changed the origin story where they made The Joker kill Bruce Wayne's parents when he did not kill them in the comics and I was so mad that they killed The Joker because he has such a life long revival with Batman so I was pissed when they killed him off. Another disappointing thing is Commissioner Gordon because he and Batman are supposed to have this partnership and even though he does get the signal at the end, he and Batman never interact.
5. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Like I said this is my opinion and I like this movie screw it I don't care. The movie is visually breathtaking and the action sequences are mind blowing. Ben Affleck as Batman was amazing and for me he is the best Batman ever put on film. His Batman is essentially an amalgamation of Batman from The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: The Animated Series, and the Arkham games. His fighting style was great and this is by far the most brutal Batman ever put on film. The political and theological themes surrounding Superman were some very powerful stuff and Henry Cavill once again does a great job. The fight between Batman and Superman was great and definitely worth the price of admission. The cameos from the other Justice League members are handled well and there are some cool easter eggs in the movie especially if you're a DC fan. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman was great, her fight with Doomsday in the movie was awesome, and I loved her theme music in the movie as well. The score by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL was phenomenal. Also, almost all of the performances were great in my opinion. As far as complaints I only have two major issues with the movie. First being I thought that Lex Luthor could have been portrayed way better. Now Jesse Eisenberg wasn't bad but he wasn't great and his performance was a bit over the top and didn't fit the tone of the movie. Jesse Eisenberg does have a couple of great scenes and I did like his theme music. Also, I felt the movie was a bit dense but they are coming out with a 3 hour R rated cut of the movie on Blu-Ray so I feel like that will make the movie a bit more cohesive. Despite its flaws I really liked Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, it gives me hope for the future of the DC Cinematic Universe, and I can't wait for Justice League.
4. Man of Steel

Man of Steel for me is a great movie and the best Superman movie because it makes Superman relatable and I think Henry Cavill is great in the role. I love that the movie explored how the world would react to a godlike coming down to Earth as people would be freaked out by that and we saw that continue on in Batman v Superman. I'm glad the movie gave a perspective of life on Krypton before it exploded and it helped set up the conflict with Zod perfectly. I love how they handled the origin story through flashbacks. I also love how they finally let Lois Lane know Clark Kent is Superman because it made the relationship way more believable. I thought Michael Shannon was great as General Zod and I personally thought he had with decent motives. Especially considering I felt bad for him when his plan failed because he was doing what he thought was right. The fight scenes are fantastic and it shows what would actually happen if godlike aliens fought throughout an entire city as buildings would be getting destroyed and people would die. Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe are fantastic as the two fathers. Also, I personally love that he killed Zod to save that family because it showed that Superman will do what is neccesary to save people.
3. Batman Begins
I'm just going to flat out say that I love Batman Begins because was able to bring Batman back from the dead. They really nailed the origin story of Bruce Wayne becoming Batman which was never shown in any live action movie because in the first Tim Burton Batman movie, he was Batman at the very beginning and we never got to see him go through the training. Seeing Bruce Wayne training with Ra's al Ghul was great and I loved seeing his childhood of his parents getting shot through the use of flashbacks. I also love the realistic tone they went with for the trilogy and they made you buy into someone dressing up in a Batsuit doing this stuff. It gave a lot of depth to the character of Bruce Wayne because after he comes back and becomes Batman he has to become a totally different person. The Batman is really who Bruce Wayne is and the billionaire playboy is just a mask that he puts on in front of the public so people don't realize he's Batman and the Bruce Wayne in the Batcave with Alfred is how he really acts. Everyone pretty much plays their roles perfectly especially Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman and the score by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard was fantastic. This was the movie that brought Batman back from the dead and it got even better as it went on.
2. The Dark Knight Rises
Now I personally love The Dark Knight Rises and I don't understand the hate the movie gets. I think it's a fantastic conclusion to the trilogy and it had a great emotional weight to it. Even though The Joker isn't in The Dark Knight Rises you can tell he really messed with everyone's mind and Bane ultimately did what The Joker tried to do in The Dark Knight. Everyone from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight once again is great. Tom Hardy as Bane was great and for me was badass and it was a great redemption to the character from the god awful portrayal of him in Batman & Robin. Bane in The Dark Knight Rises is actually like he is supposed to be in the comics and he was a great formiddable opponent to Batman. It was great to see it going back to Batman Begins' roots and seeing Bruce Wayne trying to become Batman again. Anne Hathaway as Catwoman is great and I personally thought she was better than Michelle Pfeiffer because she was more realistic. For The Dark Knight Rises is a great concluding chapter to the epic trilogy making it The Godfather Trilogy of comic book movies.
1. The Dark Knight
Honestly I don't know if I can say all I need to say because The Dark Knight is just a flat out masterpiece. Not only is Heath Ledger's Joker is fantastic but you can also buy into the fact that someone would paint their face and act like a terrorist. He was just a hurricane of chaos and everything he said was really on point. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman once again are great. Aaron Ekhart as Harvey Dent/Two Face is underrated in my opinion, I thought he was great and he was eons better than Tommey Lee Jones' portrayal of the character, and they used him in the smartest way because realisticly I don't think anyone would live that long with a half burnt face. Maggie Gyllenhaal was a good replacement as Rachel Dawes and she does a much better job than Katie Holmes. It's a great crime drama, it's the best Batman movie of all time, it's the best superhero movie of all time, and it's one of the best movies of all time.

Anyways, that's my ranking of all the Batman/Superman movies so let me know you thoughts. Also, I didn't included Batman: The Movie because it's based off the TV shows and as much as I love Batman: Mask of the Phantasm I didn't put it in because it's an animated movie.

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TheAcuario
TheAcuario - 4/7/2016, 6:13 PM
Liked reading your list man! Good Job
RandalCabbage
RandalCabbage - 4/7/2016, 6:38 PM
wheres super man 2 the richard donner cut ninja?
BarKells
BarKells - 4/7/2016, 7:12 PM
Dark Knight Rises should not be no. 2. I know its directed by Nolan but it's not really a good movie. Weak plot and riddled with plot holes... And worst of all Batman quits. WTF!
DarthMoose
DarthMoose - 4/7/2016, 7:23 PM
Very good read, i'd agree with this list. I also thought batfleck had a little arkham game vibe in his combat. Especially the scene where he throws weapon malfunction devices on all their guns in like 2 seconds, it was badass.
DarthMoose
DarthMoose - 4/7/2016, 7:30 PM
@RickGrimes - Also mos is definitely best superman ever imo especially compared to the dated superman films, so boring, superman returns was pretty dull, just like donners, i'd rather a darker superman anyday. Man of steel was chock full of the superman action i've always wanted to see, and I enjoyed the darker tone but I think still had some heart in it. People still find way to complain. I loved when superman snaped zods neck. I would of done the same thing, frig zod.
Yaf
Yaf - 4/7/2016, 8:30 PM
Say what you will about Batman Returns not staying true to the comics, that last shot when Selina looks up and sees the Bat-Signal. That last shot is tear jerking because you know that even though she wants to be with Bruce, she realizes she made the right choice because from what we've seen in the movie, he will never, ever give up being Batman.
ThunderKat
ThunderKat - 4/7/2016, 9:52 PM
@BarKells

Agreed. "Rises" was terrible.

If you can laugh at "Batman and Robin," it's a little better than "Superman IV."
TheSuperguy
TheSuperguy - 4/7/2016, 10:37 PM
1: Superman: The Movie
2: The Dark Knight
3: Batman Begins
4: Superman II
5: The Dark Knight Rises
6: Batman
7: Man of Steel
8: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
9: Superman Returns
10: Batman Forever
11: Batman Returns
12: Superman IV: The Quest For Peace
13: Superman III
14: Batman & Robin
nibs
nibs - 4/8/2016, 5:18 AM
Sweet list! Thank you for not praising the Reeve movies!

Mine:

1) MoS
2) Batman Begins
3) Dark Knight
4) BvS
5) Dark Knight Rises
6) Batman
7) Batman Returns
8) Superman, Superman 2, Superman 3 & Superman Returns (tie)
9) Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Superman 4 (tie)
10) Batman (1966), Supergirl (1984) (tie)
Forthas
Forthas - 4/8/2016, 6:40 AM
"Ben Affleck as Batman was amazing and for me he is the best Batman ever put on film."

NO!
Hendo96
Hendo96 - 4/8/2016, 1:08 PM
@Forthas - YES!
Forthas
Forthas - 4/8/2016, 6:46 AM
1) The Dark Knight
2) The Dark Knight Rises
3) Batman Begins
4) Man of Steel
5) Superman Returns
6) Superman
7) Superman II
8) Batman Returns
9) Batman
10) Batman v Superman
11) Batman Forever
12) Superman III
13) Superman IV
14) Batman and Robin
DudeOfSteel16
DudeOfSteel16 - 4/8/2016, 7:43 AM
Great read. Here's my personal order:
14. Batman and Robin
13. Superman IV
12. Superman III
11. Batman Forever
10. Superman Returns
9. Batman Returns
8. Superman II
7. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
6. Superman
5. Batman
4. Man of Steel
3. The Dark Knight Rises
2. Batman Begins
1. The Dark Knight
Earthbound
Earthbound - 4/8/2016, 7:49 AM
1) The Dark Knight
2) Batman Begins
3) The Dark Knight Rises
4) Man of Steel
5) Batman (1989)
6) Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
7) Superman II (Richard Donner cut)
8) Batman Forever
9) Batman Returns
10) Superman: The Movie
11) Superman Returns
12) Batman & Robin
13) Superman III
14) Superman IV
DarthMoose
DarthMoose - 4/8/2016, 10:51 AM
@Earthbound - Batman forever before batman returns? I knows it your opinion, but really, you prefer nipples on suits, smh.
Earthbound
Earthbound - 4/8/2016, 10:58 AM
@RickGrimes - lol there's something nostalgic about Batman Forever, I grew up on that movie. I was 5 when it came out. So that was, in reality, the first live-action Batman film I'd seen and I loved Jim Carrey. But I understand your reaction lol but I promise bat-nips had nothing to do with it. lol
DarthMoose
DarthMoose - 4/8/2016, 11:02 AM
@Earthbound - i grew up with it too, I was 9 when it released, loved it then. I Don't hate the film per say just the bat nipples really pisses me off.
Earthbound
Earthbound - 4/8/2016, 11:03 AM
@RickGrimes - lol I never really even noticed it till people started pointing it out on the internet. I was completely ignorant, and it was blissful lol
DarthMoose
DarthMoose - 4/8/2016, 11:04 AM
@Earthbound - Batman returns was my first live action batman, I remember going crazy for the happy meal toys, lol.
Earthbound
Earthbound - 4/8/2016, 11:42 AM
@RickGrimes - I know what you mean. I wanted to collect all the Batman Forever mugs when McDonald's was selling them.
Earthbound
Earthbound - 4/8/2016, 11:43 AM
@RickGrimes - Shoot, I just found the whole set on ebay for $10, I might have to snatch those up now that we're talking about it lol
DarthMoose
DarthMoose - 4/8/2016, 1:01 PM
@Earthbound - oh wow man, i use to have all those!! Forgot about them, loved those mugs!
DarthMoose
DarthMoose - 4/8/2016, 1:03 PM
@Earthbound - really! Id buy those for sure, they would bring back old childhood memories which are priceless, nice find.
BlacktimusPrime
BlacktimusPrime - 4/8/2016, 5:55 PM
My personal order:
1. The Dark Knight Rises
2. Batman Begins
3. The Dark Knight
4. Superman:The Movie
5.Superman 2
6. Batman
7. Bvs
8. MoS
9. Superman Returns
10. Batman Forever
11.Superman 3
12. Batman Returns
13. Superman 4
14. Batman and Robin
tb86
tb86 - 4/17/2016, 7:06 AM
1) The Dark Knight
2) Batman Begins
3) Superman
4) Batman
5) The Dark Knight Rises
6) Superman II
7) Batman Returns
8) Man of Steel
9) Superman Returns
10) Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice
11) Batman Forever
12) Superman III
13) Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
14) Batman & Robin
View Recorder