The 2021 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Comic Book Movie

December 31, 2021, 9:00pm

After a year marked by release delays and theater closures due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, 2021 marked a return to the movies and within that, a return to the blockbuster entertainment that are comic book movies. For both Marvel and DC fans alike, that meant a number of movies to take us out of the challenges of our everyday lives and into the world of heroes and villains, even if for just a few hours. In 2021, we got to see a beloved heroine’s origin story finally be told, a new hero introduce us to new legends, a team of criminals conscripted into duty take on a giant alien starfish, a filmmaker’s vision finally brought to fruition, and even saw the multiverse open up in a way we never expected.

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As we do every year, the ComicBook.com team comes together to honor the best of the entertainment landscape for the year and this year, that includes the best in comic book movies. While each of the nominated films, whether they debuted exclusively in theaters or were available for those at home as well, were outstanding, there was just one film that overwhelmingly won us over as the best.

And the winner of the 2021 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Comic Book Movie is…

Spider-Man: No Way Home!

One of the most highly anticipated films of 2021, Spider-Man: No Way Home was destined to be a hit as fans eagerly waited to see what was next for Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) after his identity was exposed to the world at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home. But instead of simply delivering a classic comic book adventure, director Jon Watts delivered a powerhouse of a journey that not only saw Holland’s Peter learn important lessons about what it really means to be a hero, but did it with emotional stakes and a respect for not only Peter’s predicament, but the humanity of the very villains he found himself faced with.

The film also honored the Spider-Man franchises that came before Holland’s by bringing both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield back as the web slinging hero, offering fans closure to those stories without ever losing sight of the larger tale it was telling. Every single performance in the film was top tier as the film delivered audiences everything from laughter to tears to heartfelt honesty — and set the stage for the next big movie in the MCU as well.

Spider-Man: No Way Home made us laugh, cry, cheer, and even reflect — to the point that it’s no exaggeration to say that walking out after the film changed us, like all good stories should. It’s for that reason and so many more that Spider-Man: No Way Home is the winner of the 2021 ComicBook.com Golden Issue for Best Comic Book Movie.

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Spider-Man: No Way Home on their Golden Issue Awards win!

The nominees for Best Comic Book Movie are: