Live-Action Superman Movies Ranked Worst to Best and Where to Watch Them

James Gunn's hotly-anticipated Superman leaps into multiplexes with a azygous bound this week, bringing america caller versions of Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Jimmy Olsen, and a wide anticipation for humanity.

Side-stepping the root story, and acceptable successful a satellite already populated with superheroes and villains, Superman is the archetypal diagnostic movie successful DC Studios' caller Gods and Monsters slate - which began with animated bid Creature Commandos (and Peacemaker: Season 1 sans Justice League cameo). So with birds and planes and Supermen erstwhile again soaring done the skies, and the DCEU officially successful the rear view, it's clip to look backmost astatine each the Superfilms and prime retired the best.

Let's laic down the guidelines here: We're ranking live-action Superman movies, with Superman successful the title. And adjacent that, we're not getting into the weeds with Superman II: The Donner Cut oregon Superman and the Mole Men (from 1951). But 1950s icon George Reeves, who starred successful Mole Men and the long-running bid Adventures of Superman, is worthy mentioning present arsenic an integral portion to Superman's live-action history.

Also, earlier we're talented with a caller Gods and Monsters-era Supergirl movie, let's telephone retired Helen Slater arsenic Supergirl successful the ill-fated 1984 Supergirl movie, which fell connected its look betwixt 1983's Superman III and 1987's Superman IV. It was an aboriginal effort astatine a connected Super-verse and sadly it didn't cookware out.

Without further ado, it's clip for Truth, Justice, and the Listicle Way with our authoritative ranking of Superman headlining connected the large screen!

7. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

Superman IV placing dormant past should travel arsenic nary surprise. Not lone was 1987 not the close taste epoch for a new, earnest Super-flick but The Quest for Peace was truthful shoddily made that it was hardly recognizable arsenic a Superman movie compared to the ones that came earlier it. With Super-producers the Salkinds retired of the representation for the archetypal clip and Cannon Films severely slashing the budget, Superman IV, which inactive starred Christopher Reeve, felt similar a silly knock-off. It's a shame that this was the past clip Reeve donned the cape arsenic it was a movie truthful disastrous that it unopen down Superman movies for 20 years. In an alternate universe, a movie wherever Kal-el battles a atomic powered villain portion trying to broker bid talks during the Cold War could person been rather good, but everything present falls apart.

6. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Definitely not ineptly made similar Superman IV, the mega-budgeted Batman v Superman conscionable has excessively galore missteps and cluttered incongruous parts to resonate arsenic an intact movie. People inactive liked the thought of Henry Cavill arsenic Superman and, contempt a ton of pre-judgement, fans got connected committee with Bat-fleck. But 2013's Man of Steel had failed to present a worthy, upstanding Superman, alternatively opting for a fledging, grumpy leader whose 3rd enactment collateral harm rivaled a conflict from Invincible. Thus, Dawn of Justice had to marque Superman's monolithic mass-casualty lawsuit the halfway of its story, burying mediocre Clark adjacent further into murky anti-hero horribleness unbeffiting of his character.

Add to this Warner Bros.' hopeless effort to drawback up to the hefty caput commencement the MCU had, trying to replicate that franchise's occurrence successful 2 films alternatively of six, and you get an overcrowded messiness that ALSO, of each things, kills Superman astatine the end. Looks pretty, feels shitty.

5. Man of Steel (2013)

Excitement was done the extortion for Zack Snyder's Nolan-produced Superman movie. There was adjacent lukewarm anticipation for it being a much "serious" instrumentality connected the past lad of Krypton, arsenic a counterpoint to the MCU. And still, to this day, determination are redeemable elements, specified arsenic the Hans Zimmer people and a mates of soaring enactment sequences. But, ultimately, Man of Steel failed to nutrient a Superman who fans, oregon adjacent the satellite wrong the movie itself, could unite behind. No 1 faulted prima Henry Cavill, really, alternatively looking to Snyder's penchant for refusing to marque superheroes "good" people. Character complexity is large and each but erstwhile you make a Superman who is much oregon little ambivalent astir humanity, wherever adjacent his ma says "you don't beryllium this satellite a thing," and you've got a bummer of a blockbuster. On apical of this, the movie gets excessively large and sloppy with its General Zod plot, making Supes' archetypal ngo an overwrought Extinction Level Event.

4. Superman Returns (2006)

Superman Returns -- which delivered unto america a long-awaited (pseudo) sequel to Superman and Superman II -- is decidedly the astir absorbing of the Superman films (while besides being the astir retro-problematic fixed manager Bryan Singer and prima Kevin Spacey). Instead of rebooting the classical hero, the determination was made to proceed the saga with antithetic actors arsenic the aforesaid characters, with a communicative astir Superman returning to Earth aft 5 years successful abstraction aft being tricked into pursuing a Kryptonian awesome faked by Lex Luthor.

Upon his return, Superman discovers that Lois Lane is engaged to idiosyncratic caller and that Luthor is up to his aged evil schemes involving causing cataclysms to reshape continents. Newcomer Brandon Routh (who'd aboriginal play The Atom and past yet reprise his relation arsenic Superman successful the ArrowVerse) was decently received for what whitethorn not beryllium the astir breathtaking Superman movie ever made, but decidedly 1 of the best-looking ones. Ultimately, it whitethorn upwind up being akin successful ways to James Gunn's instrumentality arsenic we're dropped disconnected successful the mediate of an already-established Super-verse, wherever Superman and Luthor person an accepted, entrenched enmity.

3. Superman III (1983)

You mightiness beryllium amazed to spot Superman III this precocious successful the rankings but there's a batch of nostalgic appreciation for this one, making it impervious that adjacent Christopher Reeve's third-best Superman outing is amended than astir different Super movies. This was a treble measure too, arsenic Reeve was paired with legendary comedian and movie prima Richard Pryor for an escapade that not lone leaned heavy into Pryor's comedic stylings but besides the early-80s computer/video crippled boom. It's the 3rd Superman movie successful our rankings to get a Razzie information (after Batman v Superman and Superman IV) but it's besides fondly remembered for its acheronian doppelgänger sequence, successful which synthetic Kryptonite causes Clark to surreally divided into 2 beings. There's a batch of nonsense present but there's besides a playfulness that works much than it doesn't.

2. Superman II (1980)

Filmed backmost to backmost with the 1978 archetypal -- with manager Richard Donner helming 75% of this sequel earlier getting fired by father/son producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind -- Superman II inactive manages to beryllium a glorious, rollicking follow-up that delivers 1 of the archetypal (and astir fun) super-battles of each time. It builds disconnected of what was acceptable up successful Superman and expands the quality successful ways that superhero movies contiguous inactive emulate. Can Superman pb a mean beingness with the pistillate helium loves oregon is helium everlastingly destined to sacrifice happiness for his higher calling? What bash his superpowers mean erstwhile faced with beings conscionable arsenic beardown arsenic helium is? How tin Superman's saga inactive usage Lex Luthor arsenic a perennial thorn successful Supes' side, adjacent erstwhile caller villains get with adjacent deadlier agendas? Reeve was inactive cleanable here, embodying a being you could judge arsenic some the awesome, adept Superman and the bumbling, beefhead Clark. The existent Kryptonian is determination in-between, some almighty and vulnerable.

1. Superman (1978)

It's not hard to conjecture that, yes, the archetypal Superman is inactive the gd best. With the tagline "You'll judge a antheral tin fly," Superman barreled into theaters successful 1978 with locomotive powerfulness and bullet-like speed. Groundbreaking peculiar effects and the implicit cleanable histrion successful Christopher Reeve helped crook the world's astir celebrated comic publication quality into a bonafide movie triumph.

Superman was jaw-dropping, and connected the heels of Star Wars it was further impervious that movies could present present large-scale phantasy epics similar ne'er before. Reeve, who'd been a prima of immoderate TV and a full batch of theater, became a household sanction overnight aft wowing audiences with endearing slapstick arsenic Clark Kent and noble kindness arsenic Superman. And similar its portrayal of Superman and Clark, the movie itself besides struck the cleanable equilibrium betwixt goofy antics and heroic exploits. John Williams' people provided the cleanable backdrop for what inactive remains a one-of-a-kind adventure.

Which Superman movie is your favorite? Let america cognize below...

Matt Fowler is simply a freelance amusement writer/critic, covering TV news, reviews, interviews and features connected IGN for 17+ years.