15 Best Heroes in a Comic Book Movie

What are the 15 best acting performances for a hero in a comic book movie? A hero may appear twice if portrayed by different actors, but actors won't appear twice for same role in different movies. We list the film where that hero and actor were at their best.

1) Wolverine, Hugh Jackman, Logan:  

While we also got fantastic acting performances from Hugh in the original X-Men movie and Days of Future Past, we chose Logan as the crown jewel of his arsenal, the peak of his acting prowess. He won our Best Actor of the decade award for this movie. We'll blame the X-Men Origins Wolverine debacle on Ryan Reynolds...

2) Ironman, Robert Downey Jr, Avengers Endgame: 

Ranking Ironman #2 might be the most controversial thing about this list. Had we ranked these by the sum of all their performances, RDJ would likely have taken the #1 position. The original Ironman movie launched the MCU as we know it. Hopefully we haven't seen the last of him in this role.

3) Captain America, Chris Evans, Winter Soldier: 

Before we get started, does anyone want to get out? We might rank Civil War as a better movie due to the strength of the whole cast, but Winter Soldier represents the peak of Evans acting. The Captain's Orders speech is still one of my all-time favorite Marvel movie scenes.

4) Thor, Chris Hemsworth, Thor Ragnarok: 

If you go back and watch his early performances as Thor, Hemsworth's personal evolution in this role has been astounding. He hit back-to-back-to-back home runs with Ragnarok, Infinity War, and Endgame. He's the #1 star in the MCU going forward, unless Downey decides to return.

5) Spider-man, Tobey MaGuire, Spider-Man 2: 

Spider-Man 2 was unquestionably the apex of Tobey's journey in this character that came to a disappointing end in the third film. We still rank this as the best Spider-Man movie ever made, thanks in large part to Tobey, who is also nominated for our Worst Hero acting performances list (which is still under construction) for Spider-Man 3. 

6) Batman, Michael Keaton, Batman:

There has never been a better Batman than Michael Keaton, but second place isn't far behind. His first appearance as the Caped Crusader was his best, elevated perhaps by a classic Jack Nicholson performance. It's too bad we never got to see him in a Justice League type ensemble film.

7) Batman, Christian Bale, Dark Knight:

Bale was the lead hero in arguably the best comic book movie ever made.  He may have been riding Heath Ledger's momentum, but also delivered a great "young Bruce Wayne" performance in Batman Begins. The third film in his trilogy was not nearly as good, but his apex in Dark Knight was outstanding.

8) Charles Xavier, Patrick Stewart, Logan: 

Stewart won our 2017 Best Supporting Actor award for this role. The Professor was certainly a more powerful hero in the original X-Men trilogy, but if you're looking for the best Patrick Stewart acting performance, it's Logan. The downside is, it's incredibly depressing to see the Professor's cognitive decline.

9) Spider-man, Tom Holland, Spider-Man Homecoming:

Some might argue that Tom Holland's best performance was delivered in Civil War, where he played a minor role. It's worth pointing out that 7 of 8 heroes ahead of Holland have retired their roles, making Tommy our 2nd favorite active hero. He's crucial to the MCU at this critical change of phase.

10) Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman, Black Panther:

Wakanda Forever! He hit the ground running with a fantastic debut in Civil War, and followed that up with a movie so good that the Oscars almost invented a new category. Chadwick should have been nominated for best actor. He lost our 2018 Best Actor Award to Michael B Jordan.

11) Star Lord, Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy: 

The "dance contest to save the galaxy" should have been a stupid idea that never worked, but somehow Pratt's charm turned it into an iconic scene. The first Guardians movie was an all-time classic, but the second fell short. There was substantial outrage in social media at this character after Infinity War, as fans blamed him for foiling the Dr Strange plan.

12) Black Widow, Scarlet Johansen, Captain America Civil War: 

There has been a lack of gender diversity in hero casting over the previous 2 decades, but Scarlet has been pivotal in the struggle to smash the glass ceiling. It's difficult to chose which film represents her best performance because she's awesome in every single movie she's done.

13) Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool: 

All hail the king of R-rated comic book comedy. Deadpool cracked the top 15 on the strength of his humour, and would have lost most of its appeal had the attempted to make this a more serious movie. We'd love to see him cast in the next X-Men movie, whenever Disney decides to revive that franchise after the Dark Phoenix debacle.

14) Doctor Strange, Benedict Cumberbach, Infinity War: 

Hopefully the best Doctor Strange performance is still ahead of us as we wait for the Multiverse of Madness to launch the next phase of Marvel. It's debatable if Infinity War was his best performance, but he was such an asshole for the first half of that Doctor Strange movie that we bumped it down the list.

15) Superman, Henry Cavill, Man of Steel: 

There seems to be some debate whether or not Henry Cavill is still Superman following a disappointing Justice League, but Man of Steel holds up as a great hero movie. Granted, it is the only good movie that Cavill has appeared in as this character, so it is legitimate to question his continued involvement in the DCU.