Which Superhero had the best theme music?

Which Superhero had the best theme music?

EDITORIAL-What makes a Superhero movie is not only the action or the actors, but the theme music as well. Music from movies has always been able to capture the hearts and minds of people over the years and in this article, choose your favorite!

Editorial Opinion
By sonofsamadams - Jun 27, 2011 11:06 AM EST
Filed Under: Other

So who is it? Which superhero movie (or franchise I should say) had the best music? I really don't wanna list all the music from every CBM, but infact the more memorable ones. These are the main titles, not the entire soundtrack So if you want to list more, let me know.

John Williams, Superman

In my opinion, the best Composer in Hollywood, John Williams has always been there to conduct famous soundtracks including the unforgettable Superman Theme.

Elliot Goldenthal, Batman Forever/Batman and Robin

Yeah the movies were weak, but you gotta admit, The Dark Knight Detective's theme music was pretty epic.

Danny Elfman, Batman/Batman Returns

No doubt that Tim Burton's Batman is a classic. But also Danny Elfman's score is beautiful and memorable nonetheless.

Ramin Djawdi, Iron Man

Iron Man is a one of the best CBMs around. While it might not have the best score, I still adored it. Ramin brought a new style to the table and it blended in perfectly o the mix of RDJ's brilliant superhero. And its one of the many theme songs where if you listen to it while doing work, your time will go by a lot quicker :)

Hanz Zimmer, Nolan's Batman

Dark, mysterious, and thrilling, Hanz Zimmer's soundtrack of Batman is just as good-if not better-than Eflman or Goldenthal's attempts.

John Ottoman, X-men

This music supports the word, 'Heroic'. Even though he did not do the score to Nightcrawler's unforgettable White House rampage, Ottoman still did awesome. Its a shame Ottoman had to do Superman Returns.

Danny Elfman, Spider-man

First a great score of Batman, and a marvelous one of Spidey. This music makes you wanna climb buildings, don't it?

James Newton Howard, Green Lantern

Don't get me wrong, there is a LOT of people that enjoyed the Green Lantern score. It may not messure up to Newton's other brilliant themes, but this is much better than Thor's. Thor's was an awesome movie, but its Soundtrack could have been better. We won't look back at the movie and go, 'Oh god, the score was fantastic! Best ive ever heard!' GL's is much better. (in my opinion)

Now I haven't heard Alan Silvestri's score to Captain America yet, but I can almost bet you that it will be epic. Have your doubts?

From his famous predator main title, Silvestri brings a heroic, commanding, and thrilling theme to his score.

In the end, John Williams' Score is my favorite. But the choice is yours.



Thoughts?
Comments?
Let me know!

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superbatspiderman
superbatspiderman - 6/27/2011, 12:19 PM
The Tim Burton Batman movies have some of the greatest soundtracks ever in movies. i love the music at the end of batman when he is on top of the building looking at the Bat signal.
Moron
Moron - 6/27/2011, 12:25 PM
No Magneto theme, for shame, though the Superman theme can't be beat.
SmokinIndo
SmokinIndo - 6/27/2011, 12:27 PM
Are you deaf? I'm sorry, but Thor's soundtrack was 1000x better than Green Lantern's. Thor's soundtrack was grand and majestic. Every scene accompanied with Patrick Doyle's awesome score reminded me that this was a film about GODS!








Green Lantern had some of the most bland and unrecognizable scores of any superhero movie.


Hellsing
Hellsing - 6/27/2011, 12:49 PM
Henry Jackman should be on the list the score for X-Men first class was amazing not surprising you forgot to mention that but put a pretty bland and generic sountrack like GL up there and I gotta disagree with your on the Thor sound track
LP4
LP4 - 6/27/2011, 1:26 PM
Danny Elfman Batman theme FTW!!!!

Simply BEAUTIFUL



Ethic
Ethic - 6/27/2011, 1:46 PM
Well seeing as the poll is about which COMPOSER should win, i give it to Elfman!
The Batman theme is probably the greatest out of the list, and he also did a phenomenal job for Spiderman!

They are character defining compositions.
Berger45
Berger45 - 6/27/2011, 2:13 PM
JNH needs to update the GL soundtrack to the sequel but I really like the Prologue of GL. John Williams cannot be touched in this category. And Batman & Robin theme is actually pretty decent. A dirty asshole of a movie but decent song!
SHHH
SHHH - 6/27/2011, 2:40 PM
Great List! Here r Some others... Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard Don't make music for movies people make movies for them1








jjmeylar
jjmeylar - 6/27/2011, 2:45 PM
While I really enjoyed Djawdi's music for "Iron Man", and also EVERYTHING that I've ever heard Hans Zimmer do.....Elfman is the best for Super Hero films. I know that he kind of seems somewhat repetitive with some parts of themes, but even so. Here are some more awesome themes that he's done. ((Two are for TV shows))







BigK1337
BigK1337 - 6/27/2011, 2:52 PM
@jjmeylar
The Flash's theme is my favorite of all the super hero themes.

That is without of doubt the best.
BIGBMH
BIGBMH - 6/27/2011, 3:33 PM
It's so close between Williams and Elfman for me, but I think overall, Williams body of work is stronger, but Elfman's contributions to CBMs are more significant. Batman's theme is just about as iconic as Superman's and spider-man is pretty darn good too. The fact that an altered version of his Batman theme was used for the animated series makes it even more significant.
Ethic
Ethic - 6/27/2011, 3:35 PM
@TheGODDAMNSUPERGUY
Wow.
Epic fail on my part lol
I started the article under the Superman vid so thought it was composers lol
I still pick Elfman :P

EDIT: Wait, the poll is "Which composer for the Superhero movie genre did the best job?" so mwaha! :P
superbatspiderman
superbatspiderman - 6/27/2011, 4:46 PM
@SHHH- The Punisher music is very good. That should be on this list. I am surprised i didn't think of that.
marvel72
marvel72 - 6/27/2011, 4:54 PM
1st batman (1989)

2nd x-men

3rd superman the movie
golden123
golden123 - 6/27/2011, 5:32 PM
Can't choose between Danny Elfman (because of his Batman music) and John williams. I won't vote because I don't want to favor one over the other. The pieces they composed for Superman and Batman perfectly fit the character/movie. I don't know if Elfman's Batman theme would have worked as well if it was placed in Nolan's movies. It may of worked for Batman begins but I don't know about TDK.
ComicsCommando
ComicsCommando - 6/27/2011, 6:12 PM
Elfman because of the Spider-Man 1-2 themes and especially the Spidey Suite. Carlo Siliotto as well because of the Punisher theme!
imnotahero
imnotahero - 6/27/2011, 6:15 PM
I'll just bring this to the discussion cuz its one of my fav's:



Also I can't wait to hear Cap's theme.
sonofsamadams
sonofsamadams - 6/27/2011, 8:08 PM
Road to perdition is a CBM?
Orphix
Orphix - 6/28/2011, 5:24 AM
@Justsomeawesomeguy

Yep - based on a graphic novel.

But you did mention 'superhero' movie in your title so on that score RTP might not fit the label.
sonofsamadams
sonofsamadams - 6/28/2011, 8:45 AM
Huh. Learn new stuff every day.
Excellent movie
soundwave129
soundwave129 - 6/28/2011, 4:43 PM
Three way tie between: John Williams for Superman (Most iconic theme on this list, and for good reason), Danny Elfman for Spider-Man (An amazing theme, plus it gets stuck in my head for weeks, so I never forget it!), and Henry Jackman for X-Men First Class (Even though he's not on here, it's an extremely epic soundtrack to my favorite CBM ever.).
superwolverine
superwolverine - 6/29/2011, 10:50 AM
i like the batman, batman returns, batman begins, and the dark knight scores and inception.
ThunderCougarFalconBird
ThunderCougarFalconBird - 7/1/2011, 11:28 AM
Great list and great additional suggestions! The two on this list that stand out is Danny Elfman's Batman and John Williams Superman theme. That Batman theme has been used as a foundation for so many versions of Batman; live action movies, animated series, games. It is a part of Batman and although it's not used in Nolan's movies, you can almost hear it in the background. The John Williams theme sends shivers down your spine! I remember sitting in the cinema for Superman Returns and the feeling I got when the theme came on was almost indescribable! The others on the list are merely "good" if not "excellent" themes, but not iconic.


One theme that should be on the list is TERMINATOR! Yes, it's a graphic novel too. It's the only other theme that gets close to the goosebumps of Superman!
SixSigma1978
SixSigma1978 - 9/10/2011, 8:19 PM
X-Men First class. HAS to be added to the iconic score.
I agree with most posters above. Green Lantern was absolute balderdash. So are Batman Forever and Ironman!!!

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