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50 Best Superhero Movie Performances of the Last 50 Years, From Ben Affleck to Zendaya
By Clayton Davis | Variety
July 19, 2022
From the heroes like Batman and Wolverine to the terrifying villains such as Joker and Thanos, superhero movies have proven to be box office juggernauts, with the likes of Marvel and DC films leading the way. However, the artists who bring them to life, notably the actors who inhabit them, are often unappreciated at award shows. To celebrate the return of the San Diego Comic-Con on July 20, Variety ranks the 50 best superhero performances, in movies, of the last 50 years (post-1972).
While Hollywood royalty staples such as Martin Scorsese have been outspoken and critical of the superhero machine, the industry has been making progress in seeing its actors’ artistic merits and contributions. Joaquin Phoenix won best actor at the Oscars for his turn in “Joker” (2019), which led the nomination tally with 11. Heath Ledger preceded him by winning best supporting actor posthumously for his work in “The Dark Knight” (2008), the film most responsible for the Academy expanding its best picture allotments from five to 10.
Unfortunately, and although this ranking doesn’t focus on perceived “Oscar-worthy,” the list of snubs is far longer, with iconic performances, such as Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman in “Batman Returns” (1992) or Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger in “Black Panther,” (2017) failing to gain recognition.
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50. Michael Peña – Ant-Man (2015)
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Completely agree with Heath Ledger at #1 but have issues with about 15 - 20 of the rankings.
Me too. Michael B Jordan is the third best performance?? Don’t confuse good writing with good acting! Especially his last line as he died. If you’re going to recognize a male lead in that movie, what a travesty to rank Jordan above Chadwick Boseman. Boseman invented his own accent, walked and acted with the regal wisdom of a confident king, had to master stunts aplenty… and I know it doesn’t count, but all while battling cancer. Jordan acted like… Jordan. Chris Evans at #10 as Captain America is another bad choice. He’s probably a better actor than people give him credit for but the people on that top ten ranking better blow me away. If you can’t think of roles that blow you away than give them to the classic actors like Cate Blanchette, Jack Nicholson and Gene Hackman who were all freaking awesome in their villain roles. The only actor with chops, i.e. Oscars, that I thought underperformed as a villain was Tommy Lee Jones in one of those earlier Batman movies.
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