The last of 2025's comic book adaptations wrapped up in October with the Peacemaker Season 2 finale. Fortunately, there's plenty to look forward to in 2026, including Supergirl, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, and a plethora of TV shows like Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, Wonder Man, and Lanterns.
This year has been another challenging one for the genre. While three of the four movies released received glowing reviews, they've all struggled at the box office, and none will come close to reaching $1 billion...even $600 million seems optimistic for the highest-grossing movie on this list.
On the TV side, it's been similarly hit-or-miss, even with only three live-action series to choose from.
As you've likely figured out by now, this feature ranks 2025's superhero movies and TV shows—Captain America: Brave New World, Daredevil: Born Again, Thunderbolts*, Ironheart, Superman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Peracemaker Season 2—from worst to best. This is only one person's opinion, though, and we're sure you'll have your own.
Check out our ranking by clicking on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
7. Peacemaker Season 2
John Cena delivered a stellar performance in Peacemaker Season 2, and there were some undeniably interesting ideas to be found in the series. Salvation is one of them, as was Earth-X, though it feels like James Gunn decided to prioritise gags and live performances of his favourite bands over exploring anything in much depth.
Chris Smith and Emilia Harcourt's relationship was the main focus of Season 2, and we can't fault Gunn's handling of that. However, when everything else was so surface-level, the filmmaker fell back on viewers being invested in Chris and Emilia as he appears to be.
For hardcore Peacemaker fans, that was likely enough. However, this was the DC Studios' first truly disappointing project and not quite what we were hoping for from this character's official DCU debut. Here's hoping things improve when we see Peacemaker in Man of Tomorrow.
6. Ironheart
Ironheart was no masterpiece, but the three-year wait from the end of production to its release ensured that the VFX were top-notch. That made a huge difference, even with a story that couldn't quite match the effects.
Riri Williams' story hit many familiar beats and rarely broke new ground. Still, The Hood was a compelling villain, and the long-awaited introduction of Mephisto should be a game-changer for the MCU (Sacha Baron Cohen's casting was also pitch-perfect).
Like Echo, Marvel dumped this series on Disney+ and quickly moved on. With Armor Wars scrapped, we don't know when or where Ironheart's characters will return, but we definitely want to see (most of) them again.
5. Captain America: Brave New World
Marvel Studios did a great job with the trailers for Captain America: Brave New World. It's a shame then that the movie itself didn't live up to them. Extensive reshoots attempted to rescue a project that clearly wasn't working at the script level, with the decision made to pivot to a tone more like Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
In the end, the movie might have been better off embracing the campiness of The Leader and Serpent Society, because the versions of those characters we ended up with fell flat.
On the plus side, Anthony Mackie was on top form, as was Harrison Ford. The Red Hulk battle, while brief, was an undeniable highlight, even if it was capped off with the Multiverse Saga's worst post-credits scene. This isn't a terrible movie, but it was a disappointing one. The MCU's new Captain America deserved better.
4. Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again was an excellent revival that finally put the spotlight on the MCU's Man Without Fear. Brutal, unforgiving, and a gripping character study for Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, this was Marvel Television at its absolute best.
Stopping it from placing higher on this list are those telltale signs of the previous creative team. New showrunner Dario Scardapane did his best with what they gave him to work with, but the premiere and final two episodes were leaps and bounds ahead of everything else.
Even so, this made for an excellent watch and was just as good, if not better, than Netflix's Daredevil (a controversial statement, but we're sticking with it). And honestly, it was worth it for Daredevil's team-up with The Punisher alone.
3. Superman
This might be controversial, but Superman ending up in third place doesn't diminish from what a great movie it is. The first DC Studios blockbuster sets the tone for the new DCU, delivering a joyous take on the Man of Steel that feels most welcome at a time when the world appears endlessly divided on, well, everything.
The movie didn't benefit from including so many characters, though it didn't hurt too much either. Superman isn't Gunn's best film, and that's evident from generic ideas like Ultraman being a Superman clone and characters like the Kaiju and Baby Joey. Then, there's the controversy surrounding why Jor-El sent his son to Earth in the first place.
Overall, though, Superman was a successful start for the DCU and ended the year as its highest-grossing superhero movie. We'd have liked to see Gunn play it less safe (losing the day-of-the-week formula was a shame), but this movie was a win overall. And what a star-making turn for David Corenswet.
2. Thunderbolts*
Thunderbolts* flopped at the box office, and the reasons for that have already been covered in great depth (including by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige). While *The New Avengers weren't a draw in terms of ticket sales, what Jake Schreier achieved here makes it very easy to see why he's set to helm the upcoming X-Men reboot.
Packed full of practical stunts and effects, Thunderbolts* told a compelling story about depression and loneliness. It also explored characters like The Sentry and Yelena Belova in touching, meaningful ways that felt more akin to the A24 movies this was likened to than your typical superhero fare.
Emotionally moving and a showcase for its stars, Thunderbolts* deserved a bigger audience and will hopefully find one in the years ahead. Florence Pugh stole the show, and the sooner we see this team in action again in next December's Avengers: Doomsday, the better.
1. The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a little rough around the edges at times, and some big edits were clearly made (that's evident from John Malkovich's absence as Red Ghost) to get this movie under two hours. Still, the result is a pitch-perfect take on Marvel's First Family that takes its cues from one of the greatest storytellers of all time: Jack Kirby.
Filmmaker Matt Shakman knocked this reboot out of the park. There's always room for improvement due to fan preference—Shakman could have gotten a little more adventurous with Mister Fantastic's abilities—but this was ultimately the version of this team fans have spent decades waiting to see on screen.
The cast excelled in their respective roles, while the sight of Galactus stomping through New York is not one we'll soon forget. It's a great shame to think The Fantastic Four: First Steps' box office performance could relegate the team to supporting players in the MCU, because this is one family we'd love to spend more time with.
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