10 Best Non-Marvel/DC Superhero Movies

Director: Mark A.Z. Dippé

Cast: John Leguizamo, Michael Jai White, Martin Sheen

In 1997, one of the most popular non-Marvel/DC comic book characters of all time finally made his long awaited big-screen debut. Spawn is the story of an elite mercenary named Al Simmons, who is killed, but comes back from Hell as a reluctant soldier of the Devil to lead the forces of the dark realm against Heaven. However, Al’s love for his former fiancée Wanda eventually leads him to the path of heroism, setting the stage for the ultimate battle of good versus evil. This film is hardly without flaws, with its incredibly dated CGI being the most glaring offense, but nevertheless, the story continues to hold up to this day. Spawn is a few missteps away from being considered a “guilty pleasure” film, but it still continues to hold a special place in the hearts of many comic book fans.

Director: James Gunn

Cast: Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Michael Rooker

Four years before bringing Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy to the big screen, director James Gunn tackled the superhero genre with a film aptly titled Super, which tells the story of an ordinary man named Frank Darbo who transforms himself into a crime-fighter called the Crimson Bolt after his wife falls under the influence of a drug dealer. However, with no real heroic abilities, Crimson Bolt’s manner of justice generally involves bashing criminals over the head with a monkey wrench. The film is both a darkly sarcastic tale of personal justice and a horrifically funny look at the every-man who, in this case, believes he is on a divine mission from God. And while Super is very much in the same spirit as Kick-Ass, this brilliant piece of independent cinema definitely packs way more heart than its big-budget counterpart.

Director: Peter Berg

Cast: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman

Hancock is a film that attempts to break the mold of the traditional superhero ideals, presenting Will Smith’s reckless, hard-drinking titular crime-fighter as something more akin to an embittered rock star than an altruistic role model. However, he decides to change for the better when a PR expert he saves from an oncoming train convinces him to try and improve his public image. Unlike many superhero films, which largely focus on the protagonist overcoming the villain, Hancock is about reclaiming one’s greatness; in a sense, Hancock’s biggest villain is himself. It’s a truly original story, and director Peter Berg does a tremendous job balancing the heavier thematic elements with just enough tasteful humor and bombastic action to make Hancock a perfect popcorn flick for superhero fans.

Director: Joe Johnston

Cast: Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin

Considered by many to be an homage to the classic pulp comics and serials of the 1930s and ‘40s, The Rocketeer tells the story of a young pilot named Cliff Secord, who stumbles upon a prototype jetpack and decides to become a high-flying masked hero to take down the Nazis. The film brilliantly captures the ‘30s Hollywood aesthetic, with visual effects whose charm is a refreshing change of pace from the CG-heavy superhero blockbusters of modern cinema. It's a thrilling adventure that takes full advantage of its period setting, and not only has it aged incredibly well, but it’s clear upon watching The Rocketeer that director Joe Johnston was laying the framework he would return to 20 years later when he directed Captain America: The First Avenger. A fun reminder of both the golden age of live-action Disney in the early '90s and the pulpy goodness of old Hollywood, The Rocketeer is certainly deserving of its cult classic status.

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Chloë Grace Moretz, Evan Peters, Christopher Mintz-Plasse

This big-screen adaptation of the gratuitous Mark Millar comic of the same name isn’t for the faint of heart. Kick-Ass is the tale of a far-from-remarkable high school student named Dave Lizewski, who one day decides to become a superhero, despite his complete lack of powers, training, or meaningful reason to put himself in harm’s way. The film combines dark comedy with incredibly graphic, stylized violence, pushing decency to its limits, stabbing it in the gut, and then throwing it right over the edge. While many comic book adaptations seek to bridge the gap between the superhero source material and the audience’s ability to suspend their disbelief, this movie instead fully embraces its roots. It’s shamelessly over-the-top, and that’s where much of the charm in Kick-Ass lies; this is a film that doesn’t pretend to be anything other than the high-adrenaline, twisted thrill ride that it is.

Director: Brad Bird

Cast: Eli Marienthal, Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Aniston

The Iron Giant is a loose adaptation of Ted Hughes’ The Iron Man, but reimagined as a Cold War-era story of friendship and political paranoia, paying homage to none other than Superman in the process.  While it may have been a box-office disappointment at the time, The Iron Giant has since been embraced as one of the best cartoon films of the past few decades thanks to its wondrous animation and gentle tone. Balancing science fiction with believability, the film tells a story for children and adults, alike, about how violence begets violence, and most importantly for an animated film geared towards kids, it respects the audience’s intelligence. On top of that, it’s visually stunning, with a gorgeous blend of computer animation and hand-drawn imagery that draws your eye to the beauty of its color and motion, rather than distracting with overly rendered digital set pieces.

Director: Alex Proyas

Cast: Brandon Lee, Michael Wincott, Rochelle Davis, Ernie Hudson

Inspired by the graphic novel by James O'Barr, this fantasy follows Eric Draven (Brandon Lee), a rock musician who is murdered along with his fiancée Shelly (Sofia Shinas) by a group of thugs. However, Draven is brought back to life by a crow a year after he and his fiancée are murdered, as the crow guides him through the land of the living and leads him to his killers. Brandon Lee delivers his lines in such a manner that they become instantly memorable, even after only seeing the film once. This movie is dark, moody, and seductively overwrought; it's an amazingly pure expression of morbid adolescent romanticism. The Crow is a cult-film that continues to fascinate audiences to this day, and most importantly, you don’t have to be familiar with the comic book to thoroughly enjoy it for what it is.

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Cast: Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, Selma Blair

In Hellboy, Ron Perlman brings the cigar-chomping titular comic book character to life in a film that’s jam-packed with bombastic sci-fi elements, from undead Nazis to a pyro-kinetic love interest in the form of Selma Blair’s Liz Sherman. Hellboy is far from your average hero, but that never stops him from fighting for the side of good, as he battles the evil forces that conjured him during the days of World War II. Hellboy is a fun, supernatural twist on your classic hero versus villain film, and while it isn’t on the top of every comic book fan’s must-watch list, it’s still an entertaining, action-packed adventure that’s well worth your time.

Director: Pete Travis

Cast: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey

Based on the character from the weekly British science fiction anthology comic 2000 AD, Dredd takes place in a futuristic city where the authorities act as judge, jury, and executioner. However, when the use of a reality-altering drug called Slo-Mo becomes an epidemic, the titular hero works with a trainee to take down the gang that’s responsible for dealing it. Whereas the previous Stallone effort, Judge Dredd, chose to sneer at the title character's adventure, here it is fondly embraced, remaining far more true to the source material. Many filmmakers would have flinched at making a movie that incorporates such clear violence and obvious fascism, and tried to soften the blow with sprinkles of humor, but there’s no such dishonesty here. The end result is an extremely violent, often times bleak adaptation of a comic character that was always more violent than his peers, to begin with. Dredd is an absolutely punishing ride; equally violent, beautiful, and horrible, often at the same time.

Director: Brad Bird

Cast: Craig T. Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson, Holly Hunter

If you take the core premise of Captain America: Civil War, combine it with everything the Fantastic Four films should have been and render it all in CG animation, then you’re left with Disney/Pixar’s Academy Award-winning film The Incredibles. The story takes place in a world where collateral damage and public resentment has forced superheroes into retirement, but a top-secret mission soon pulls Bob Parr and his family away from their quiet suburban life and back into the fold of full-time heroics. Writer/director Brad Bird proved five years earlier with the aforementioned Iron Giant that he knew how to transcend the genre and craft a well-rounded, beautifully-scripted superhero story that can appeal to all age brackets, and with The Incredibles, lightning struck twice.

What about you? What are your favorite non-Marvel/DC superhero movies? Let us know in the comments section.