15 Worst Heroes in a Comic Book Movie

What have been the 15 worst acting performances for a hero in a comic book movie, either DC or Marvel? This is predominately measured by quality of acting performance, though dialogue and bad scripts are contributing factors. Most of the responsibility rests on the actors shoulders, but external factors can add insult to injury.

1) Steel, Shaquille O'Neal

Shaq was like a real life superhero who embodies a new stage of human evolution and evidently some studio executives thought it would be a smart idea to give him the leading role in a DC movie. It could not have gone worse and marked the end of Shaq as a leading man in movies. His future on the big screen was reduced to cameos after this shit show. X-Men Dark Phoenix is a masterpiece by comparison.

2) Jean Grey, Sophie Turner, X-Men Dark Phoenix

Sophie Turner's stock was at an all-time high by the final Game of Thrones season, but it took a hit after this abomination. It turned into Sophie behaving like a petulant spoiled teenager and missed the mark. Some critics tried to argue the bombing wasn't her fault, but her terrible acting was absolutely a contributing factor. Having said that, she did get a little help from her friends, as you can read if you scroll down the list.

3) Daredevil, Ben Affleck

Batman fans responded with collective shock when Affleck landed that role, and the single biggest reason was we all remembered how terrible he was as Matt Murdoch. How could somebody who f**ked up so badly in their first attempt at a late night mysterious costumed hero have scored such an iconic role? While there are people out there who defend Batfleck, there's NOBODY singing the praises of this piece of shit.

4) Mr Fantastic, Miles Teller, Fantastic Four Reboot

The guy delivered a magnificent performance in whiplash, but none of the traits that made him perfect in that role translated to Mr Fantastic, who is supposed to be a natural leader. Fleeing his team and leaving them behind in a military facility was a bad look. He was the only cast member from that train wreck on this list, despite it being among the worst comic book movie ever made. Michael B Jordan is too awesome to be here and Thing was mostly CGI. Kate Mara was narrowly edged out in voting and you can find Dr Doom on our worst villains list.

5) Robin, Chris O'Donnell, Batman and Robin

Chris gets the highest distinction among this all-star cast of genuinely terrible performances. That ensemble is littered all over our worst heroes and villains list. The Batman-Robin-Poison Ivy love triangle was among the worst disasters in the history of comic book movies. This killed the Batman franchise for 8 years until Christopher Nolan revived it.

6) Green Lantern, Ryan Reynolds

After paying money to watch this abomination, I pledged never to spend another penny on a Ryan Reynolds movie. It was that bad, and the reason that I refused to watch Deadpool until it came out on Netflix. That's when Ryan won back my respect and the self-imposed ban was lifted. Deadpool can be found on our best heroes list.

7) Mr Fantastic, Iaon Gruffud, Rise of the Silver Surfer

Iaon had the leading role in 2 Marvel movies that scored 27% and 37% on Rotten Tomatoes respectively. He bears the most responsibility for these atrocities (FYI, we are pro Chris Evans as the Human Torch). No scene captured the ineptitude of his performance more than the bachelor party in rise of the Silver Surfer. Guaranteed everyone at that party left there that night thinking, "man, that Mr Fantastic is one pathetic loser..."

8) Batman, George Clooney, Batman and Robin

If Twitter existed when Clooney landed this role, the response would have likely been overwhelmingly positive. What they got was one of the worst comic book movies ever made, with George in the most critical role. He certainly doesn't look back fondly on the experience, as he strongly encouraged Affleck to turn down the role.

9) Ghost Rider, Nick Cage, Spirit of Vengeance

Terrible as this was, if you want to make the argument that Nick is so bad that it's almost entertaining in a Sharknado type of way, I'll listen. But does that mean he does not belong here? Fuck no. The first Ghost Rider scored 28% on Rotten Tomatoes and still earned a sequel, which sunk even lower to 18%. They probably signed Cage to a 2 picture deal and were locked into the sequel.

10) Spider-Man, Toby MaGuire, Spider-Man 3

This film marked the end of the Toby dynasty, and the shame might have sent Sam Raimi into hiding. We highly recommend listening to the "How did this get made" podcast episode that discusses this movie. Their description of Peter Parker walking down the streets of New York with a Hitler haircut making "finger guns" at the ladies who passed by was hilarious.

11) Batgirl, Alicia Silverstone, Batman and Robin

The mystery to me is that a studio executive watched Clueless and decided that Alicia Silverstone was the perfect choice to become a hero. She landed the gig because she was trending, not because she had any of the characteristics that you'd want in a Batgirl.

12) Cat Woman, Halle Berry

When Halle landed the lead role in a comic book movie, many hoped it would smash the glass ceiling for women in super hero movies, but instead, she set female empowerment back by a decade with this train wreck. Cat Woman scored a whopping 9% on Rotten Tomatoes.

13) Charles Xavier, James McAvoy, X-Men Dark Phoenix

The creative decision to make the Professor a pseudo villain in this movie was a complete failure. Charles got too arrogant about his direct line with the President, and was basking too heavily in the glory of the X-People's success. We were laughing out loud in the theater when Charles made that infamous walk up the stairs.

14) Batman, Ben Affleck, Batman V Superman

Was Batfleck doomed to fail? There's a few pundits in the comic book movie world who defend Batfleck and praise Ben's performance. It confuses me how anyone could watch Batman V Superman and like any part of that debacle. Justice League wasn't much better. Ben's fingerprints were on the murder weapon.

15) Beast, Nick Hoult, X-Men Dark Phoenix

Nick clinched the final spot on this list because of the dinner table scene with Charles after Mystique died. It was like Hoult and McAvoy had a bad acting competition and the fans were the losers. He was under consideration to become the next Batman, and the role he played in this catastrophe could not have helped. I sold all my Nick Hoult stock for 50 cents on the dollar after Dark Phoenix.