When this new decade kicked off in 2020, little did any of us know we'd soon be facing the wrath of a global pandemic. A strange couple of years followed and we ended up with fewer superhero movies than expected.
Things have returned to normal over the past eighteen months or so but talk of superhero fatigue has begun plaguing a genre which could once do no wrong. Whether it's Marvel Studios' quantity over quality issues or the decline of the DCEU, it's clear our favourite characters need help to get back on the right track.
The past few years have seen the release of some very good superhero movies...and a handful of pretty awful ones. In this feature, we've selected those we think were the worst and taken a deep dive into why they've left us concerned for the future of comic book adaptations.
You can find out what we've singled out by clicking on the "Next" button below!
5. Bloodshot
We had concerns about Bloodshot from the start, but for Valiant Comics fans, it was exciting to finally see some of that company's characters finally brought to the big screen.
This one was meant to usher in a slate of new projects, and with a cast made up of names like Vin Diesel, Eiza González, Sam Heughan, Toby Kebbell, and Guy Pearce, it had plenty of potential to succeed. Instead, it was a generic mess with crummy VFX and shockingly bad performances from its cast.
A sequel was announced in 2020 but we've yet to hear anything about that or what once appeared to be ambitious plans for a new shared cinematic universe. The message to most studios after this movie bombed was that if it's not based on Marvel or DC, don't bother making it (and that's a real shame).
4. Wonder Woman 1984
Wonder Woman 1984 really isn't as bad as some would have you believe, but it's definitely deeply flawed. By attempting to deliver a film set in the 1980s as if it were made during that period, filmmaker Patty Jenkins sacrificed much of what made the 2017 movie so great.
Cheesy and forgettable with a CG villain proving Warner Bros. has a major VFX problem, the sequel bombed at a time - the height of the pandemic - when the odds were already heavily against it succeeding.
Now, DC Studios has scrapped Jenkins' Wonder Woman 3 and, based on recent reports, given Gal Gadot her marching orders. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised after this movie but it now means we're getting a Themiscyira-set series rather than the threequel everyone actually wants.
3. Morbius
Sony Pictures' decision to team up with Marvel Studios has been massively beneficial to Spider-Man. However, it also means sharing the profits, hence why the studio has forged ahead with its own slate of Marvel projects based on the wall-crawler's rogues gallery.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage was actually an improvement over its predecessor (even if Carnage deserved a slightly stronger story) but Morbius had few redeeming qualities. You shouldn't need us to list everything wrong with this disaster but the post-credits scene is what's left us fretting.
In that, The Vulture recruited the Living Vampire to what sounded like a heroic Sinister Six. Awkward, confusing, and downright cringe-worthy, everything about it proved Sony still doesn't know how best to handle these characters.
2. The Flash
"The greatest superhero movie ever." That was the statement made by James Gunn months before The Flash raced into theaters, and we still can't quite figure out if he meant it or was simply looking to make his new employer, Warner Bros. Discovery, happy.
The movie sucks. Outside of what we see from Michael Keaton (Batman) and Sasha Calle (Supergirl), the special effects are abysmal, the story tiresome, and the dual performances from Ezra Miller are never anything less than an absolute chore to watch.
Not only did The Flash leave us wondering whether Gunn should take charge of DC Studios, but we've already pretty much written off The Brave and the Bold after Andy Muschietti was hired to take the helm.
1. Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania
Of all the movies listed here, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is actually by far the best one. Jonathan Majors was phenomenal as Kang the Conqueror and, for the most part, the story being told worked. However, an overreliance on The Volume was concerning for both the MCU and Hollywood as a whole.
The threequel felt oddly soulless and that was because 90% of it was shot in front of a giant screen. It's worked for The Mandalorian, but after being used to such a large extent here, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania came out feeling lifeless.
Many fans walked away convinced writer Jeff Loveness should not be allowed to pen Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. There's an argument to be made for that because we didn't walk away overly enthused about the Multiverse Saga. Overall, we just hope The Volume is used sparingly by Marvel Studios moving forward.
Do you agree with the superhero movies we've singled out as being among the decade's worst? As always, share your thoughts in the comments section below.