Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post

1. The Dark Knight - even though I thought the Two-Face ending went too over the top, the moral questions and dilemmas at the core of this film were remarkable.
2. Superman 2 - I am putting it here for nostalgia mostly. The battle between Superman and Zod + his allies on the streets of Manhattan was amazing considering the limitations of computer generated effects at the time. A great twist at the end with Superman counting on Luthor's deception to win the day. So many great moments, my favorite being the "revenge" fight in the diner at the end.
3. Spiderman - This re-launched the Comic Book movie craze and made it clear that dark and serious were perfectly fine for this type of film. The bad guy got killed at the end... literally a stake driven through his heart. That's dark!
4. Avengers - Totally different than the above because it is less serious but also more fun. The best humor of any comic book movie by a mile!
5. X-men 2 - So rare for a sequel to be better than an original, but I just loved some of the mystery and morality at the core of this film. The ending was unflinching with Jean sacrificing herself (have to pretend like you have no idea Phoenix exists).
6. Spiderman 2 - Almost reaches the heights of the original. The train battle is incredible. The concept of the arms controlling Octavious' mind was great.
7. Iron Man - The first half was amazing, probably the best origins story in any comic book movie.
8. Batman - The Timothy Burton version. "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
9. X-men: First Class - I am probably in the minority, but I thought this was a fabulous film and loved the way it integrated historical elements into the story.
10. Batman Begins - Loved most of it, but the final 1/4 really broke down for me when Ra's al Ghul returned.
I have very little to quibble about with Jason's list, but it is incumbent on everyone who views a top 10 list to look at the rules of inclusion and find things to quibble about, so here I go:

I'd move Superman 2 way down and actually put Superman above it. They were both very good movies, although neither movie really rocked my world, even as a kid. Still, they were very good movies, and showed that comic book movies could be done right.

The Tim Burton Batman movies both struck me a little off, and I don't think either aged well. I'd probably move it down the list. Heath Ledger/Chris Nolan's take on the Joker killed the Burton/Nicholson take by comparison.

Here's my best shot at a list.
1. The Dark Knight. Nothing else is particularly close.
2. Spiderman: not quite the work of art that Raimi pulled off in the Evil Dead/Evil Dead 2/Army of Darkness trilogy...but close, since Ash was in it.
3. Spiderman 2: elevated by Ash's appearance as the snooty doorman
4. Batman Begins: agreed with Jason that the ending took away something from the film.
5. Iron Man: This ending left me wanting more. I kinda felt like the budget had run out and they had to stop the fight. Still, Downey owned this movie.
6. Superman: May not have moved me, but obviously a very good superhero movie, and it took a couple decades to surpass it.
7. X-Men 2: Felt like Singer was really able to do what he probably wanted to with X-Men. McKellen's Magneto was awesome in every one of his scenes.
8. X-Men: First Class: The MacAvoy/Fassbender interplay was way above the level of the rest of the movie. But they were very, very good.
9. Superman 2: Again, not a movie that really got me going, but I bow to the understanding that my tastes don't reflect the majority on this.

I'll stop there, leaving a spot for The Avengers, based on my faith in Whedon and overwhelmingly positive early reviews.

I was saddened to have to leave off James Cameron's Aquaman. The special effects were great and Cameron's love of the water showed in the beautiful filmmaking, but the lead actor simply was too skinny to be taken seriously as a superhero, and he couldn't act.

And finally, some words from Ash:

"I got news for you pal, you ain't leading but two things right now, Jack and *&$(. And Jack left town."
"Klaatu, verata...nnnnn"
"Good...bad...I'm the guy with the gun."
"That was just pillow talk, baby."
"Shop smart...shop S-Mart. YOU GOT THAT?"
"Baby, you got reeeeeeal ugly."
"In my own way, I am king. Hail to the king, baby."