While comic book movies are a collaborative effort, a huge component of any film is the music. Whether it’s a character’s introduction, or an epic final battle, or a tender moment between characters. Without music in a movie in general there would be no soul.
So today I’m ranking the Top 10 Songs In A Comic Book Movie. These are not exclusive to a character’s theme, or the main theme of a film. If it’s a song in a comic book movie, it’s included. This is also nut exclusive to orchestral tracks, vocals are totally cool.
I’m judging these songs based on the intended effect, the emotion it wants you to feel, and whether that works. While this isn’t the only criteria, it’s the primary one. So without further ado!
10. ‘Manners Maketh Man’ by Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson (Feat. In Kingsman The Secret Service)
This track and ‘First Class’ which was also performed by Henry Jackman sound both so similar in many regards but ‘Manners Maketh Man’ has a bit more of a dynamic structure to it. There’s vibrancy and energy to it, much more so than the main theme to
X-Men: First Class. This theme works well in so many parts of
Kingsman that it is sort of the all-in-one theme for this espionage spy thriller.
9. ‘The Fire Rises’ by Hans Zimmer (Feat. In The Dark Knight Rises)
Considering that
The Dark Knight Rises is essentially a tale of the War for Gotham between the citizens and Bane’s forces, it’s fitting that the film feature a bombastic theme. While I liked the tracks found in
The Dark Knight and
Batman Begins, I think The Fire Rises is my favourite. It’s a simple but effective track that lets you know that Gotham and so much more is at stake.
8. ‘Deadpool Rap (Film Mix)’ by Teamheadkick (Feat. In Deadpool)
While utterly ridiculous, this track was originally in response to the Deadpool video game but when the movie was coming out, Teamheadkick was approached to re-record the original song to better suit the film – and it’s perfect. It’s a little bit Lonely Island, a little but LMFAO, and yes even a little bit of Vanilla Ice’s “Ninja Rap”.
Deadpool didn’t take itself very seriously, and neither does this track. That’s why it’s just so perfect.
7. ‘We Are Sex Bob-Omb’ by Sex Bob-Omb (Feat. In Scott Pilgrim vs. the World)
When your titular character is in a band, it’s a must that said band have an epic track and for the fictional Scott Pilgrim and Sex Bob-Omb they create a not so fictional song that not only adds a great amount of energy to an already energetic and fun film; but it’s also plays so much into the plot itself that it makes it more than just being a regular track on a soundtrack.
6. ‘Ending Song’ by Hans Zimmer (Feat. In The Dark Knight)
If you’ve known Batman as simply Batman your entire life,
The Dark Knight does a great job of illustrating the burden felt by Batman and this track is brilliant for not only showing the power of Batman’s courage and commitment to keeping Gotham safe, but he does so at great personal sacrifice. This song wasn’t included on the soundtrack and I have to wonder why, since it hits the emotional beats of why Batman is who he is and does what he does.
5. ‘Iron Man 3’ by Brian Tyler (Feat In Iron Man 3)
In my opinion, a great score or theme elaborates on past films, stays true to the character, and almost tells a story in and of itself. While it’s easy to take shots at
Iron Man 3 for the Mandarin twist, it’s ultimately a story of Tony fighting back. This song works on many levels to illustrate Tony’s ascension to the top once more; it has a very nice rise to the climax, it’s simple and yet epic, and features the hammer hitting iron on a few times which is a great nod to the character and his origin. Using subtle yet substantial hints to a character is what makes a great track in many regards.
4. ‘Is She With You?’ by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL (Feat. In Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice)
While there’s a lot I didn’t like about the film itself, one of my favorite things to come out of Batman v Superman was in fact the great Wonder Woman theme. It’s energetic, it’s intense, it’s ferocious. While these don’t always make a great theme, it works to set the stage for Wonder Woman’s arrival and subsuquant fight scene.
Also, dat guitar riff.
3. ‘Main Theme’ by Christophe Beck (Feat. In Ant Man)
Ant Man as a film was a fun and energetic heist film, and this theme carries hints of that in how Beck builds to the normally epic beats found in a song from a CBM. All the while this theme carries the emotional core well enough that even in the film it was re-arranged differently to suit different scenes. A very versatile and entertaining track.
2. ‘Black Tears’ by Tyler Bates (Feat. In Guardians Of The Galaxy)
There’s many things that Black Tears and the scene it’s featured in can stand for, but ultimately it’s about Peter moving on and accepting his mother’s death. While the scene features Peter and the rest of the Guardians trying to contain the power of the Infinity Stone, it’s more so about Peter finding the strength to move on; and while the track is intense and epic in it’s own right, it also works in a bit of emotional brevity which makes it a well balanced song and one of my favourites in any comic book movie.
Honorable Mentions:
Dishonorable Mentions:
1. ‘The Avengers’ by Alan Silvestri (Feat. In The Avengers)
How could #1 be any other track? I mean you’re seeing The Avengers finally assemble and these visuals are complimented by this track which suitably contains the energy and excitement of seeing a team like no other come together. I think many people (myself included) heard this track and felt chills run through our spines because there’s no other track that works this well.
While we’ve seen variations on the theme, there’s no way you can beat the original.