10 Best Superhero Movies That Aren’t Marvel or DC

The superhero subgenre is so storied and jam-packed by this point that it’s fair to call it its own genre. From serials in the ’40s to Richard Donner’s Superman in the late ’70s to the advent of the MCU, DCEU, and DCU, it’s been a long road. And, for the most part, that road has been filled with Marvel and DC movies, even before the crafting of those aforementioned universes. But there have also been superhero flicks based on properties from smaller publishers and, sometimes, just straight from the mind of a director.

In other words, stuff like Spawn, The Shadow, Bloodshot, and The Phantom. That said, Birdman operates more as a character-piece drama than a superhero film, so it wasn’t considered for inclusion. Without further ado, the best non-DC and Marvel movies out there, ranked.

10) The Rocketeer

20 years before director Joe Johnston gave the MCU what is still one of its best installments with Captain America: The First Avenger he directed the similarly fun throwback The Rocketeer. A critical success but a financial flop, The Rocketeer is nonetheless the exact type of movie that develops an audience over time thanks to services like Disney+.

Like the Pacific Comics (then Eclipse Comics, Comico, Dark Horse, and finally IDW) source material, The Rocketeer harkens back to the serials of the ’30s and ’40s. It’s certainly successful in emulating that time period’s entertainment, and while it can be visually dated in some respects, it’s as entertaining now as it was for the ’90s and aughts kids who grew up with it. Not to mention, the cast is great, with Jennifer Connelly, Little Miss Sunshine‘s Alan Arkin, Goodfellas‘ Paul Sorvino, and 007 Timothy Dalton all delivering standout work.

9) The Mask

If any actor had any one great single year in Hollywood, it was Jim Carrey in 1994. The Mask was the second of three movies he fronted that year, all of which were successful. It’s not quite as hysterical as Dumb and Dumber, but it’s a nice stylistic merging of Carrey’s goofball sensibilities and the darker Dark Horse source material.

As notable as The Mask is for its special effects and further cementing Carrey in the public eye, it’s arguably most well-known for serving as the film debut of Cameron Diaz. All the aforementioned elements help keep Chuck Russell’s movie entertaining, but it’s the chemistry between Carrey and Diaz that truly makes the movie a ’90s minor classic.

8) Mystery Men

Like Small Soldiers, Mystery Men is the definition of a late ’90s cult movie. Arguably overproduced but ridiculously entertaining, it’s a star-studded charmer with an interesting tone and a silly sense of humor.

Mystery Men works as a superhero film, but it excels when it’s a superteam film. There are a few comedy cinema heavyweights present, e.g. Ben Stiller (in between There’s Something About Mary and Meet the Parents), Hank Azaria, and Pee-wee Herman himself, Paul Reubens, but there are also a few fairly serious actors like William H. Macy, Wes Studi, and Geoffrey Rush as the villain, Casanova Frankenstein. Impressively enough, everyone seems to be on the same page as to what the final product should look like. And, while audiences didn’t flock to it at the time, it’s only gotten better as the superhero movie market has become more saturated.

7) Unbreakable

Before it was unnecessarily stretched out to a trilogy (though Split is solid), Unbreakable was just M. Night Shyamalan’s mildly disappointing but still compelling follow-up to The Sixth Sense. In some ways, the movie can feel rushed, but with a beautiful blue color tint, devoted lead performances from Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, and a nice twist, the good greatly outweighs the bad.

It’s more a movie about loving comic books than it is a comic book movie itself, and that’s a focus that helps it stand out amongst the crowded subgenre. Again, Split is a worthy surprise follow-up, but the less said about Glass, the better.

6) Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Arguably Dark Horse’s biggest property, Hellboy lucked out in getting an auteur like Guillermo del Toro behind it when Hollywood got interested. And, while del Toro’s first film is fun and well-shot, the sequel, Hellboy II: The Golden Army is even more so, and equipped with a better villain as well as a cast more comfortable in their roles.

Naturally, Ron Perlman is as much an asset to The Golden Army as del Toro, and it’s really just a shame that this 2008 film’s relative underperformance at the box office (the same summer as Iron Man and The Dark Knight) led to the franchise being ended here. The combination of actor and director is what really makes The Golden Army just about as all-around terrific and macro-scale accessible as a Hellboy film could be, as was seen with the regrettable and unpleasant 2019 reboot.

5) Super

Before James Gunn was helming the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and was given the reins to the DC cinematic kingdom, he was directing the much smaller “super” hero flick Super. A very dark black comedy, Super is not for everyone, but those who can get on its wavelength will get much out of it.

It’s been rare that The Office‘s Rainn Wilson has been the lead in a feature film, but he’s a knockout here as short-order cook Frank Darbo, who makes up for his perpetual lack of ambition with a surplus of imagination. But, now that his wife, Sarah (Liv Tyler), has been “kidnapped” (really, she’s left Frank by her own volition) for the drug peddling Jacques (Kevin Bacon), he’s turning that imagination into action. Too bad he’s just flesh and blood, and his actions could very well get him killed.

4) Darkman

In between his start creating the Evil Dead franchise and making Sony hundreds of millions with the Spider-Man trilogy, there was a project that ultimately amounts to a combination of both IPs: Darkman. Starring an up-and-coming Liam Neeson as scientist Peyton Westlake and a pre-Fargo Frances McDormand as his attorney girlfriend, Julie Hastings, it’s also something of a nice timepiece. The narrative follows Westlake as he’s viciously attacked, burned, and left for dead after Hasting begins digging into the business of a mobster.

It’s after that when the film gets interesting and, to this day, stands as fairly unique. Westlake uses his scientifically inclined brain to give himself an experimental treatment that blesses him with increased strength, but a damaged mind. And, to exact revenge on his attackers, Westlake employs the synthetic skin he has yet to perfect. The face-swapping and Westlake’s turning the gang against itself is the highlight of the film, but Neeson, McDormand, and Larry Drake as the evil Durant are the ones who keep Darkman from feeling silly and collapsing in on itself. The former two are sorely missed in the direct-to-video sequels.

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3) The Crow

The 2024 remake may not be quite as awful as it was made out to be, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the beautiful dark power of Alex Proyas’ 1994 masterpiece. The Crow is perpetually elevated by the presence of Brandon Lee, whose accidental death while working on the film gives its grief-fueled narrative some extra oomph.

It’s not just Lee that makes the film work as well as it does, though. There’s plenty of grim style in the vein of the original 1989 Caliber Press series, Ernie Hudson gives a tender performance as Sergeant Albrecht, and Michael Wincott is flat-out iconic as the sinister Top Dollar.

2) Dredd

Judge Dredd fans had been burned before when the Sylvester Stallone-fronted disaster hit theaters in the mid-’90s. Then, nearly 20 years later, Dredd, a modern action classic, hit theaters with an absolute thud. Even with a modest $45 million budget, the Karl Urban vehicle couldn’t even break even (it would be interesting to see if that would be the case now that he has The Boys under his belt).

Stylistic and riddled with bone-crunching violence, Dredd is essentially a trippy variation on Die Hard and The Raid: Redemption. Toss in terrific supporting work from Olivia Thirlby as genetic mutant rookie Judge Cassandra Anderson and a great villain performance from Lena Headey as “Ma-Ma” and the film was one of the biggest surprises of the year for those who were lucky enough to be able to see it on the big screen.

1) Kick-Ass

The 2010s got off to a rough start when it came to comic book movies, at least as far as Marvel and DC were concerned. On the DC side, there was Jonah Hex and on the Marvel side, there was Iron Man 2. That was it for 2010. Suffice it to say, Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass was easily the best superhero movie of the year and ended up being one of the best of its respective decade.

Kick-Ass is a movie loaded with style, dark humor, and a star-making turn from Chloë Grace Moretz. All of it works, including Nicolas Cage’s gonzo performance. It’s not for the faint of heart, but Kick-Ass, well, kicks ass.