Please note that the list I am making is not at all formed out of my own intentional opinion, rather I hope to capture the opinion of the majority of fans out there. The only criteria needed to be on this list is a vocal fanbase, and that the character was from a comic book movie. So without any further ado, my top five iconic CBM performances without any particular order.
Heath Ledger - Joker
I thought about including Jack Nicholson somewhere on this list for his role as the Joker, but it is seemingly unanimous amongst fans that Heath Ledger both had the better writing and turned in the better performance. This is impressive given the insurmountable expectations by fans who thought he was miscast. He has won an oscar for his performance and inadvertently set a precedent for upcoming Batman newcomer Ben Affleck.
Chloe Grace Moretz - Hit Girl
When I was originally writing this up I first put Chloe Grace Moretz as Hit-Girl, but then I thought, “What about Big Daddy? He is just as renowned as Hit Girl was.” The thing that gives Chloe Grace Moretz the edge is her age. Any actor can turn in a captivating performance, but it is infinitely more rare for child actors to do the same. Even then, nobody thought that she would be the one to steal the show.
Henry Cavill - Superman
Henry Cavill is perhaps the best cast superman of all time. He not only looks the part but he also turned out a good performance. It is only too bad that the movie itself was split amongst critics. But this could also be said of Christopher Reeve, and I have nothing against the man, but Christopher Reeve played a very one note Superman, and you have to admit that with the reboot, that even if the writing wasn’t quite top notch in all areas of the film, Cavill brought something new to the role, whereas Reeve simply acted the role (this is forgiving the part he played in writing the later Superman films).
Arnold Schwarzenegger - Mr. Freeze
Ordinarily when you think of lists you don’t normally think of roles that were bad. And no, Arnold was certainly not good in the role. The thing that propels him to make it on this list is not his acting so much, but instead because he became the symbol of all that was wrong with Batman and Robin.
Robert Downey Junior - Tony Stark
People were going to get pissy if I didn’t put him on this list, which I must say was hesitant to do much preferring V, myself. That said, when word came that there would be a possible recasting of Tony Stark, people flipped out. I would argue that Marvel was ready to get rid of him, but after hearing fan backlash decided against it. This resulting in the postponing of any more Iron Man movies in exchange for his appearance in the Avengers movies.
Honorable Mentions: Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Hugo Weaving as V, Nick Cage as Big Daddy, Michael Keaton as Batman, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman