The 2018 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Actor

2018 is nearing its end, causing everyone in the pop culture world to look back at the entertaining content that made the year memorable. The team at ComicBook.com came together to nominate our favorites in the world of television, movies, comics, games, and anime of 2018.

The ComicBook.com Golden Issue award for Best Actor is going out to the performer who delivered the most memorable or significant performance, and going by that criteria, there were some strong contenders in 2018. This was a great year for performances in movies, but it was the villains and antiheroes that really stood out among the rest.

And the winner of Best Actor is…

Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger in Black Panther!

Michael B. Jordan’s stint as Killmonger was so powerful, it had some fans taking the character’s side against the film’s protagonist, Black Panther/T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman).

Despite the fact that he murdered his own girlfriend, killed Zuri (Forest Whitaker), and almost killed T’Challa, audiences couldn’t help but sympathize with the character, who was abandoned by his family after the death of his father. Killmonger’s harsh upbringing and the deadly path that followed only makes him more compelling.

However, the richness of the character would never have shone through so perfectly if it wasn’t for Michael B. Jordan. The actor has proved his talent time and time again, receiving critical acclaim for his performances in Creed and Fruitvale Station, which were both directed by Black Panther‘s Ryan Coogler.

There’s a charm and swagger to Jordan’s Killmonger, which is what earned him this win over Josh Brolin, who came very close to winning for his performance as Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. While Brolin did an amazing job as the Mad Titan, not many people left the theatre understanding his point of view the same way they left Black Panther.

Jordan put so much energy into his performance that he ended up going to therapy when he was finished with the role.

“Once I got finished wrapping the movie, it took me some time to talk through how I was feeling and why I was feeling so sad and like a little bit depressed,” he shared with The Bill Simmons Podcast. Thankfully, Jordan sought professional help, and after sorting through his emotions, he began to feel like himself again.

While it would take some doing, hopefully we’ll get to see Michael B. Jordan back in action for Black Panther 2.

List of Nominees:

• Henry Cavill as August Walker – Mission: Impossible – Fallout
• Josh Brolin as Thanos – Avengers: Infinity War
• Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger – Black Panther
• Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool – Deadpool
• Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock/Venom – Venom