Superhero Movies With No Homework
Capes, powers, explosions. No syllabus. No cinematic-universe spreadsheet. No “you need to watch these 14 things first”. You can just press play and enjoy the concept: a person is super, and the movie commits to that. That’s it. That’s the dream.
The Picks
Batman vs Joker, but filmed like a crime epic. It’s the superhero movie people cite when they want to sound serious. Fair enough.
Official synopsis
Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.
The one Marvel movie that works perfectly standalone. A rich guy builds a suit, gets humbled, and becomes weirdly lovable.
Official synopsis
After being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.
A superhero with zero PR skills tries to become a decent person. Messy, funny, and refreshingly not sacred about heroism.
Official synopsis
Hancock is a down-and-out superhero who's forced to employ a PR expert to help repair his image when the public grows weary of all the damage he's inflicted during his lifesaving heroics. The agent's idea of imprisoning the antihero to make the world miss him proves successful, but will Hancock stick to his new sense of purpose or slip back into old habits?
Honorable Mentions
Superhero movie that hates superhero movies and narrates its own chaos. Violent, meta, and somehow heartfelt.
Official synopsis
The origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who, after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.
Parody that exists to bully superhero tropes. Stupid on purpose. Sometimes that’s the point.
Official synopsis
When a wandering mercenary named Hogan rescues a nun called Sister Sara from the unwanted attentions of a band of rogues on the Mexican plains, he has no idea what he has let himself in for. Their chance encounter results in the blowing up of a train and a French garrison, as well as igniting a spark between them that survives a shocking discovery.