Superman Movies: Ranking the Top 5

This Looks Like a Flick For Superman!

DC’s first movie universe failed. It was built on a shoddy foundation that misunderstood heroes and glorified villains. Blue Beetle started the second universe, but the DCU needs something bigger to get fans back to theaters. It needs Superman.

Superman (2025) follows a lengthy film legacy. The Man of Steel has survived atrocious movies like Superman 4: The Quest for Peace and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, but for every bad movie, there have been several good ones. So what Superman movies are the best? Let’s find out.

Honorable Mention: The Iron Giant

Starring: Vin Diesel, Eli Marienthal, Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., 

Inspiration has always been Superman’s greatest power. He’s meant to be the hero who can solve any problem, but is strong enough to be gentle. That makes him a paragon for others to aspire to, even if they aren’t superheroes. Superman doesn’t appear in this movie, but it may be the best Superman movie ever made.

Synopsis: A giant alien robot crash lands on Earth during the Cold War. The giant is discovered by young Hogarth Hughes, who saves it from electric wires and befriends the child-like robot. But when sleazy government agent Kent Mansley finds evidence of the giant, can Hogarth keep him safe? Or is the giant the one everyone must be kept safe from?

Why This Movie: Superman’s presence looms over another story about a strange visitor from a distant planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond that of mortal man. Hogarth bonds with the giant over comics, using Superman as an example of people who responsibly use their powers. The giant becomes a fan of the other Man of Steel and puts an “S” on his chest just like his hero.

The giant learns about humanity and nature while exploring with Hogarth, but discovers a flaw. Whenever he sees a threat, a mindless combat mode automatically activates and destroys whatever scares it. The Iron Giant spends the movie overcoming his programming as a weapon before earning his S-shield in the finale.

#5 Superman II

Cast: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Terrence Stamp, Margot Kidder, Sarah Douglas

Superman movies are lacking in the villain department. Lex Luthor’s guaranteed to show up and you might also get Darkseid, Doomsday, or Braniac, but it’s an exclusive club. This sequel popularized a trio who are always willing to throw down with the Last Son of Krypton.

Plot Synopsis: Superman foils an attempted nuclear bombing by throwing the bomb into space, unintentionally freeing three Kryptonian criminals from the Phantom Zone. They land on Earth and begin a reign of terror. Superman is unavailable to fight them because Lois Lane has caught onto his double act.

Why This Movie?: Superman II was the first movie to give Superman equally powerful foes. The Kryptonian criminals’ whims become disasters as they steadily conquer the planet. Superman has to fight smart, using experience with his powers and cunning strategies against their brute strength.

Lois and Clark’s romance is given a lot more screentime. She catches onto his secret identity through deductive reasoning and ultimately catches him in the act. The revelation leads to many heartwarming scenes, though the subplot is undercut by Clark making self-centered, unilateral decisions about their relationship.

Unfortunately, Superman II is slapdash. Many elements don’t work, including tone-deaf comedy, the Kryptonians pulling new powers out of their butts, plot contrivances keeping everyone separated, and a cop-out ending where Clark gives Lois a memory-erasing kiss. Real good job getting her consent for that, Supercreep.

#4 Superman vs. The Elite

Voice Actors: George Newbern, Robert Atkin Downes, Pauley Perrette, Catero Colbert

Superman is an easy target for cynics. The Big Blue Boy Scout is frequently parodied as a villain or completely ineffectual. This Superman movie adapts a comic that challenged that idea, asking What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?

Plot Synopsis: A team of anti-heroes called The Elite begin fighting crime. Superman welcomes the help until he discovers that they kill criminals. As public opinion swings to The Elite’s brutal, but effective, style Superman grapples with the idea that he’s outdated. But when they challenge him to a final showdown, can he hold to his ideals or will he embrace theirs?

Why This Movie: Superman vs The Elite is more timely than when it first came out. Superman takes a stand for morals and rule of law while The Elite favor a “might makes right” platform with themselves on top. I don’t need to make comparisons, you’ve already done it. On a smaller scale, it reflects how Superman fans can’t agree if he’s better as a paragon or a darker, allegedly realistic take like the Snyderverse version.

Manchester Black is disgustingly delightful. The snarky British psychic gives speeches about The Elite’s beliefs and why they are better than every other authority. In many ways, Manchester Black is a rough draft for The Boys’ Billy Butcher with superpowers. Lois Lane gets a movie-original subplot investigating his background with help from Black’s sister.

Conflicting ideologies come to a head in the final battle, where Superman stops holding back with the perfect rebuttal to Manchester Black’s beliefs: if might makes right, then who is stronger than Superman? But has the Man of Tomorrow really turned away from truth and justice?

#3 All-Star Superman

Voice Actors: James Denton, Christina Hendricks, Anthony LaPaglia, Linda Cardelleni, Ed Asner

All good things must come to an end. Even Superman can find himself on the wrong end of kryptonite or a fatal fight with Doomsday. But the trouble with death is how you live knowing that it’s inevitable. This movie covers Superman’s final days while adapting his best comic.

Plot Synopsis: Lex Luthor tricks Superman into flying too close to the sun, overloading his body with energy and developing a cancer-like illness. Clark is dying. He begins begins wrapping up his life, performing his final acts of heroism and saying his last goodbyes. But when Luthor and other villains run rampant, Superman must face evil one last time.

Why This Movie?: All-Star Superman is a fitting finale for Superman’s story. He’s stronger than he’s ever been, and it’s killing him. Clark reveals his secret identity to Lois Lane, solves an unsolvable riddle to protect her, and rehabilitates a pair of mad Kryptonian heroes among other final deeds.

Lex Luthor is in rare form, giving grandiloquent speeches to Clark Kent, shouting down other villains, and spitting hateful rants at Superman. His final battle with Superman inverts their dynamic, pitting a weakened but clever Kryptonian against the god-like mad scientist.

All-Star Superman compressed a lot into 70 minutes, but had to cut many storylines, including Jimmy Olsen becoming Doomsday and Clark completing the prophesied 12 Labors of Superman. The worst loss is an iconic moment where he hears a suicidal woman preparing to jump and talks her down from the ledge. All-Star Superman missed an opportunity to adapt the best Superman scene in any medium.

#2 Superman Movie: The Mechanical Monsters

Voice Actors: Bud Collyer, Joan Alexander, Jackson Beck

It’s weird to realize that we’re coming up on a century of Superman. Action Comics #1 came out in 1938. He’ll enter the public domain in 2034. It’s been a long career filled with many Superman movies. Soldiers on leave during WWII could watch this one in the theaters.

Synopsis: A mad scientist has created a horde of giant robots to steal jewelry. Clark Kent and Lois Lane are caught in a robbery while investigating. Lois sneaks into the robot’s collection, spurring Superman to give chase. Can he save Lois Lane and stop the mad scientist?

Why This Movie?: This 84-year old short still thrills audiences today. In ten minutes, The Mechanical Monsters introduces the titular robots, Superman, Lois Lane, and builds tension admirably despite Superman’s overwhelming strength.

The main plot is thin compared to modern blockbusters, but the characters are written perfectly. Superman is the valiant hero, Lois has all of her fearless spunk, and the mad scientist wouldn’t be out of place sipping coffee with Snidely Whiplash as they wait for a train to run over their damsels.

The animators deserve a raise. The Mechanical Monsters was phenomenal for its time and still looks great today. There are occasional stilted moments or scenes with odd proportions, but the initial rampage and final battle can stand proudly alongside All-Star Superman and Superman vs. The Elite.

Fun Fact: The Mechanical Monsters marks the very first time that Clark Kent ducked into a telephone booth to become Superman. He was calling his boss when he noticed Lois was in danger and jumped back inside to change.

#1 Superman: The Movie

Cast: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando, Ned Beatty

Show of hands, who didn’t think this was going to be number one? Warner Bros promised we’d believe a man could fly and damn if their all-star Superman cast didn’t pull it off. Before you go see the new Superman movie, why not fly back in time 47 years and watch the gold standard?

Plot Synopsis: An alien planet called Krypton is about to self-destruct. Brilliant scientist Jor-El sends his son, Kal-El, to Earth, where he is adopted by the kindly Kent family. Developing superhuman powers from yellow sunlight, Kal-El becomes a hero called Superman. But will all his vaunted strength be enough to defeat Lex Luthor: the greatest criminal mind of the time?

Why This Movie?: Christopher Reeve is Superman. He was able to perfectly portray the alien hero and mild-mannered bumbler Clark Kent, without any hint that the two were the same person. Margot Kidder was right at home as Lois Lane and Gene Hackman single-handedly cemented the idea of Luthor as a corrupt CEO who is also a mad scientist.

John Williams was firing on all cylinders with the score, which made our first list of the best superhero soundtracks. From otherworldly “The Planet Krypton” to the more intimate “Lois and Clark”, music elevates every scene. The prelude and main title theme are so iconic that the new movie uses updated versions for the trailers.

Superman: The Movie isn’t perfect. The first half is slow, Luthor’s evil scheme is one of the stupidest I’ve ever seen, the climax hinges on a deus ex machina, and the movie as a whole will seem generic to modern viewers because it has been copied so many times. But that last flaw shows why it’s number one. If you’re going to steal, do so from the best.

What are your favorite Superman movies? Did any of ours make your top 5? Tell us in the comments.

Image courtesy of DC.

Jared Bounacos

Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.