Any way you look at the last 25 years in film, there’s no denying that superhero movies have been a vital part of 21st-century big screen entertainment. Many refer to the release of “Iron Man” in 2008 as the official kickoff of what would become the moneymaking engine that resulted in a steady stream of blockbusters, sequels, phases and cinematic universes unto themselves. And yet “Iron Man,” and most of its successors, plucked from Marvel and DC Comics alike, are conspicuously absent from The New York Times list of the 100 best films from the 21st century so far, as voted on by influential directors, actors and other notable names in Hollywood.
For some, this may not be at all surprising. Audiences will buy tickets to the next Marvel movie, and perhaps even enjoy it for whatever combination of cinematic spectacle, fan nostalgia and actual solid filmmaking it offers, but many would be more loath to grant it the prestige of a top film.
But it’s also worth considering how years of oversaturation of superhero stories on movies and TV have worn on even the most loyal fans, causing superhero fatigue and casting a shadow over even the acclaimed films that have come out of the genre. It’s difficult to consider the individual merits of films that primarily serve as cogs in the larger wheels of their franchises.
Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” which along with “Black Panther” is one of the two superhero movies that made the list, is acclaimed for bridging the gap between prestige filmmaking and comic book material. It doesn’t hurt, too, that the film looks the part of your typical award-winning drama, with a grim, realistic tone and showcasing well-loved serious actors like Christian Bale and Gary Oldman.
“The Dark Knight” and “Black Panther” are prime examples of the idea that there can be more to superhero movies than camp, spandex and CGI. The two stand out for their nuanced philosophical musings: “The Dark Knight” questions the line between chaos and control, and the significance of the hero as a symbol of justice in a world where justice is not always synonymous with law and order.
And “Black Panther” was not simply the first major Black superhero film of the century, featuring Black leads, Black culture and a beautiful Black utopia, but an examination of how the diaspora created a rift between Black Africans and African Americans. And both films starred now-departed actors giving career-defining performances: Heath Ledger and Chadwick Boseman.
There have been many other critically acclaimed superhero films that wouldn’t have been surprising to see on the list: “Logan,” for the tragic farewell of perhaps the most beloved of the X-Men, played by one of our most beloved actors of the film and stage; “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” for its brilliant cast of voice actors and one-of-a-kind visual storytelling; “Guardians of the Galaxy,” for its impeccable style and soundtrack; “Deadpool,” for its raunchy, meta humor and madcap violence.
But even with the mainstream appeal of comic book movies this century, there’s still a sense that these are good superhero films, but not necessarily great works of overall cinema. They’re still considered lowbrow products — the novelty popcorn buckets of the film world.
In the readers’ top 100 list, however, superhero movies — and fandoms, more generally — have a greater showing. “Spider-Verse” appears, as do all three of the “Lord of the Rings” movies. “Dune” and “Blade Runner 2049” add some genre selections, and Pixar’s “The Incredibles” and “Howl’s Moving Castle,” from Studio Ghibli, join the select few animated picks.
One other Marvel movie made the readers’ list, compiled from more than 200,000 ballots, showing how Times readers recognize the place superhero films had in the zeitgeist. Sneaking in at No. 100 is “Avengers: Endgame,” the 2019 movie that marked an end of an era. A lengthy, star-packed culmination of a decade of nearly two dozen interconnected films, “Endgame” wrapped up a major plotline and provided an emotional conclusion to the arcs of the two heroes who started the whole shebang: Iron Man and Captain America. The cinematic cymbal crash of a film marked the first time since the superhero onslaught that the multiverse necessitated a reset and left fans unclear of where the franchise could go next.
Now, six years post-“Endgame,” we’ve seen the franchise — and the overall popularity of comic book films — fizzle out by comparison. But “Avengers: Endgame,” along with “The Dark Knight,” “Black Panther” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” still mark a moment in time when fandom in film was more than just a given — it reigned.
Maya Phillips is an arts and culture critic for The Times.
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