Top 10 Worst Comic Book Movies Of All Time

Last Updated on August 3, 2021

For all of the glory we loft at the feet of Marvel Studios and the burgeoning DC films from Warner Bros, there have been countless awful superhero movies over the years. From the first days of Marvel’s film attempts to the spin-offs and independent adaptations that just didn’t work, here is out ranking of the worst of the worst when it comes to comic book films. If your (least) favorite didn’t make our list or you disagree with our choices, let us know in the talk backs below.

#1 – CATWOMAN

Ah, Halle Berry. High off her Oscar win, someone thought it would be a great idea to cast her as Catwoman. In theory, that is a great idea. In execution, they decided to create an original character that shares nothing in common with the DC Comics icon. Director Pitof claims he didn’t want to use the comics as an inspiration which may be the single dumbest comment regarding a comic book movie I have ever heard. The filmmakers had one job with CATWOMAN and managed to screw it up. This film is barely watchable even if you are planning to mock it. Just painfully bad all around.

#2 – STEEL

Aside from the awful idea to cast Shaquille O’Neal in the lead role, who thought that taking a character from the Death of Superman comic event and turning him into a feature film that holds no connections to Superman or DC Comics at large was a good idea? I don’t think there is any self-respecting person who owns a Shaq film or CD that hasn’t thrown it out by now. This movie is laughably bad to the point that it is an embarrassment for all involved.

#3 – BATMAN AND ROBIN

Joel Schumacher killed the Batman franchise for years until Christopher Nolan rebooted it. Thanks to a combination of campy dialogue, horrible set design, cheesy gadgets, and nipples on the Batsuit, BATMAN AND ROBIN doesn’t even qualify as a guilty pleasure. It is just f*cking awful. No one on screen looks to be having any fun. Hell, even George Clooney has disowned this atrocity.

#4 – GHOST RIDER

There are two types of comic book movies: fun and campy or dark and moody. Some films have managed to be fun while also being dark, but others, like GHOST RIDER, are campy and moody. Characters like Ghost Rider should not be cheesy or goofy, but that is what happens in this Nicolas Cage passion project. Mark Steven Johnson, the director of DAREDEVIL, delivers a major misfire that is also plagued by awful CGI and a lack of gravitas to the proceedings. The sequel was a bit better than this atrocity, but not much.

#5 – JONAH HEX

With a stellar cast including Josh Brolin, Megan Fox, John Malkovich, and Michael Fassbender, JONAH HEX should not have been awful. But, when you give the reins to a rookie director whose background is in Pixar animation and a screenplay by the guys who wrote the CRANK films, you probably shouldn’t have been expecting a masterpiece. Still, JONAH HEX is one of the worst films I have ever seen and barely qualifies as a movie thanks to an incomprehensible plot, terrible acting, and direction that looks like it was done by a blind man.

#6 – THE PUNISHER

Dolph Lundgren has appeared in countless guilty pleasure films for those who grew up in the 1980s. Hell, I would rewatch MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE and SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO a million times before subjecting myself to the Marvel-less THE PUNISHER. When your film is so bad that it makes the remake look like a cinematic masterpiece, you know you made a pile of dogshit. With a character as gritty and kickass as Frank Castle, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel by trying to ground him in reality, which is exactly the mistake this movie makes.

#7 – ELEKTRA

For as much of a sense of camp and humor that DAREDEVIL had, ELEKTRA has none. No fault to Jennifer Garner, who was pretty good in the film, but the screenplay for Rob Bowman’s spin-off is too damn serious for the material. If this had been a gritty take on the character, that would be one thing, but ELEKTRA is so ridiculous it makes SPIDER-MAN 3 look like a Best Picture contender.

#8 – BARB WIRE

I love boobs as much as the next red-blooded American man, but this movie is so bad it is inexcusable. Based on the Dark Horse comic book of the same name, BARB WIRE was designed to kick Pamela Anderson’s cinematic career into high gear. Instead, it flopped thanks in large part to Anderson’s complete lack of depth or acting ability. So, if you are a fan of remakes of CASABLANCA with an abundance of tits and ass, this is the movie for you. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

#9 – SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE

As much as I love the campy glory of Cannon Films library of movies, SUPERMAN IV is an utter debacle. Coming from a story developed by star Christopher Reeve and the return of Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, this fourth film suffers from special effects that look ridiculous compared to the previous three films in the franchise. Sure, I can laugh at the stupidity of Nuclear Man in the comfort of my living room, but in contrast to every other film featuring the Man of Steel, this is the absolute worst.

#10 – X-MEN: THE LAST STAND

Two words sum up what is wrong with X-MEN: THE LAST STAND: Brett Ratner. With Bryan Singer gone, the X-Men franchise lost a lot of the depth that made the first two films so good. After the high water mark of X-2: X-MEN UNITED, the third film feels overloaded with characters and makes a mockery of the epic Dark Phoenix storyline. In what was treated as an end to the X-Men trilogy, this film is all gloss with no depth. Thankfully, DAYS OF FUTURE PAST rendered the events of this film obsolete.

Source: JoBlo.com

About the Author

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Alex Maidy has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. A Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and a member of Chicago Indie Critics, Alex has been JoBlo.com's primary TV critic and ran columns including Top Ten and The UnPopular Opinion. When not riling up fans with his hot takes, Alex is an avid reader and aspiring novelist.