Unconventional Superhero Movies Compendium
by mykolayeriomin | created - 20 Mar 2017 | updated - 29 Sep 2021 | PublicAfter watching superhero movies and comic book adaptations I still find some of the concepts fascinating... but at times, especially with big companies, they tend to become repetitive, devoid of unique style, predictable, and highly dependent on same sets of clichés and tropes. Work in progress.
It should be mentioned that I have quite different standards to what exactly is considered "unconventional" twists on the genre, then many people. For example, a lot of lists like that include movies like Watchmen, Kick-Ass, Hancock, Deadpool or Logan which I personally consider (while being mostly quite good) pretty conventional in their storytelling devices. What I usually find lacking in some of the more conventional movies are subtle tragic overtones and lack of sacrifice which I find a crucial plot element for superhero fiction. TV series will be included at times. Also I must warn you there will be quite a few controversial choices, as I'm also trying to get people view some modern classics as superhero movies of sorts to emphasize genre's influence on narrative fiction. And, of course, not all movies are that good.
I've organized the list chronologically and will use sub-type classification with some descriptions attached to many entries. Sub-types (which at times can crossover) include the following:
Superhero Movie - still a superhero movie, but using unconventional storytelling or style, deconstructed in some way. In other words different enough in my humble opinion. If it is an adaptation of some kind of common superhero media (novel, pulp, comic book, cartoon, etc.) I will specify that (and publisher) in brackets.
Supervillain Movie - while it sounds pretty straightforward, I think I should specify what I mean by that: not supervillain-centric movies (which still can turn pretty conventional like Megamind or Despicable Me) but movies with a exceptionally talented villain, severely lacking in superhero competition for most of the movie (although there might be some close contenders; I'll specify that from time to time). In fact, a lot of slasher movies (another genre I'm fond of) tend to end up close to this territory (and so do some of wider genre horror movies).
Superpower Movie - movie which uses concepts of superpower similarly to superhero movies, but without emphasizing superhero aspect enough.
Vigilante Movie - a lot of superhero movies actually are vigilante movies, but featured are more grounded and traditional... And yet I often feel that they have some superhero elements in them.
Canon Extension - not really (or barely) featuring superhero elements but are somewhat crucial to other movies on the list, which do.
Coming at some point: my personal Top 10's for each sub-type.
If you have time for weird videos (some of which with superhero overtones), here's my YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/PictureProductStudio http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWkcL-G3OwVvVb1B94bH5hQ
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1. Fantômas: In the Shadow of the Guillotine (1913)
Not Rated | 54 min | Crime, Drama
Inspector Juve is tasked to investigate and capture an infamous criminal Fantomas.
Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: René Navarre, Edmund Breon, Georges Melchior, Renée Carl
Votes: 2,488
Supervillain Movie (based on pulp novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre)
2. Fantomas: The Man in Black (1913)
Not Rated | 61 min | Crime, Drama
In Part Two of Louis Feuillade's 5 1/2-hour epic follows Fantômas, the criminal lord of Paris, master of disguise, the creeping assassin in black, as he is pursued by the equally resourceful Inspector Juve.
Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: René Navarre, Edmund Breon, Georges Melchior, Renée Carl
Votes: 1,685
Supervillain Movie (based on pulp novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre)
3. Fantômas: The Dead Man Who Killed (1913)
Not Rated | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
After a body disappears from inside the prison, a series of crimes take place, all seemingly by the dead man. With Juve presumed dead, Fandor must investigate alone. Will Fantomas finally be brought to justice?
Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: René Navarre, Edmund Breon, Georges Melchior, André Luguet
Votes: 1,335
Supervillain Movie (based on pulp novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre)
4. Fantomas: The Mysterious Finger Print (1914)
Not Rated | 59 min | Crime, Drama
The press and the public opinion suggest that Inspector Juve may in fact be Fantômas. As Juve is jailed, the actual Fantômas schemes to keep him behind bars forever.
Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: René Navarre, Georges Melchior, Laurent Morléas, Renée Carl
Votes: 1,431
Supervillain Movie (based on pulp novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre)
5. Fantômas: The False Magistrate (1914)
Not Rated | 70 min | Crime, Drama
Having committed murder in Belgium, Fantomas is sentenced to life imprisonment. Two crimes committed in France suggest to inspector Juve that the Fantomas gang is still at work. He ... See full summary »
Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: René Navarre, Edmund Breon, Georges Melchior, Mesnery
Votes: 1,200
Supervillain Movie (based on pulp novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre)
6. Judex (1916)
Not Rated | 300 min | Adventure, Crime
A twelve-part serial following the adventures of the masked vigilante Judex as he fights against criminals led by the corrupt banker Favrauxom.
Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: René Cresté, Musidora, René Poyen, Édouard Mathé
Votes: 1,128
Superhero Movie/Serial. Quite possibly the first superhero movie, especially with an original superhero.
7. The New Mission of Judex (1917)
374 min | Adventure
Is a continuation of the film series "Judex" the masked fighter for justice.
Director: Louis Feuillade | Stars: René Cresté, Marcel Lévesque, Yvette Andréyor, Édouard Mathé
Votes: 33
Superhero Movie/Serial.
8. The Mark of Zorro (1920)
Passed | 79 min | Adventure, Romance, Western
A seemingly idiotic fop is really the courageous vigilante Zorro, who seeks to protect the oppressed.
Director: Fred Niblo | Stars: Douglas Fairbanks, Marguerite De La Motte, Noah Beery, Charles Hill Mailes
Votes: 2,786
Superhero Movie
9. Fantomas (1920)
Adventure
Fantomas, a master criminal, offers to give up his life of crime if the authorities promise not to prosecute him for his past crimes. He is enraged when they refuse his ultimatum, and ... See full summary »
Director: Edward Sedgwick | Stars: Edward Roseman, Edna Murphy, Johnnie Walker, Lionel Adams
Votes: 31
Supervillain Movie (based on pulp novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre)
10. Krasnye dyavolyata (1923)
130 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Adventures of three Red Army soldiers - Misha, Dunyasha, and Tom Jackson (an African-American boy) - who fight against Ukrainian anarchist Nestor Makhno and his forces during the Russian Civil War.
Director: Ivane Perestiani | Stars: Konstantin Davidovski, Pavel Yesikovsky, Sofia Jozeffi, Kador Ben-Salim
Votes: 132
Superhero Movie or rather a Soviet propaganda variant of such. Worth the nod as the latter adaptations, the "Elusive Avengers" trilogy is outright superhero movies.
11. Don Q Son of Zorro (1925)
Not Rated | 111 min | Adventure, Romance
Don Cesar, son of Zorro, is framed for murder while visiting Spain, and becomes the whip-wielding outlaw Don Q.
Director: Donald Crisp | Stars: Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Astor, Jack McDonald, Donald Crisp
Votes: 569
Superhero Movie
12. Fantômas (1932)
91 min | Crime, Thriller
The Marquise de Langrune invites her friends at her castle in Beaulieu. Among them is Lord Beltham who also came to bring her a significant sum of money. The mysterious Fantômas kills the ... See full summary »
Director: Pál Fejös | Stars: Thomy Bourdelle, Tania Fédor, Jean Worms, Jorge Rigaud
Votes: 155
Supervillain Movie (based on pulp novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre)
13. The Invisible Man (1933)
TV-PG | 71 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.
Director: James Whale | Stars: Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan, Henry Travers
Votes: 39,980
Supervillain Movie, Canon Extension (based on the novel by H.G. Wells).
14. Judex 34 (1934)
95 min | Drama
Director: Maurice Champreux | Stars: René Ferté, Louise Lagrange, Paule Andral, Marcel Vallée
Votes: 13
Superhero Movie
15. The Rawhide Terror (1934)
Approved | 52 min | Western
Twelve renegades dressed as Indians kill the parents of two brothers. The brothers who have similar birth marks then separate. Ten years later a man known as the Rawhide Terror is murdering the renegades who are now town citizens.
Directors: Bruce Mitchell, Jack Nelson | Stars: Art Mix, Edmund Cobb, William Desmond, William Barrymore
Votes: 183
Superhero Movie.
16. The Shadow Strikes (1937)
Approved | 61 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
Lamont Cranston assumes his secret identity as "The Shadow", to break up an attempted robbery at an attorney's office. When the police search the scene, Cranston must assume the identity of the attorney.
Director: Lynn Shores | Stars: Rod La Rocque, Agnes Anderson, James Blakeley, Walter McGrail
Votes: 586
Superhero Movie (based on radio and pulp character from Street and Smith Publications) An unusually grounded take on beloved pulp prototype superhero The Shadow.
17. International Crime (1938)
Passed | 62 min | Drama
Lamont Cranston (Rod La Rocque), amateur criminologist and detective, with a daily radio program, sponsored by the Daily Classic newspaper, has developed a friendly feud that sometimes ... See full summary »
Director: Charles Lamont | Stars: Rod La Rocque, Astrid Allwyn, Thomas E. Jackson, Oscar O'Shea
Votes: 522
Superhero Movie (based on radio and pulp character from Street and Smith Publications) Even more strange and unconventional adaptation then the original movie "The Shadow Strikes", with "The Shadow" being a radio gimmick and plot having interesting crime thriller overtones.
18. The Invisible Man Returns (1940)
Passed | 81 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
The owner of a coal mining operation, falsely imprisoned for fratricide, takes a drug to make him invisible, despite its side effect: gradual madness.
Director: Joe May | Stars: Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey, John Sutton
Votes: 5,298
Superhero Movie (based on the novel by H.G. Wells)
19. Man Made Monster (1941)
Passed | 59 min | Drama, Horror, Romance
A mad scientist turns a man into an electrically-controlled monster to do his bidding.
Director: George Waggner | Stars: Lionel Atwill, Lon Chaney Jr., Anne Nagel, Frank Albertson
Votes: 1,881
Superpower Movie with elements of Superhero Movie.
20. Fantômas (1947)
95 min | Crime, Horror
The invincible bandit faces his daughter, who wants him to end his criminal activities.
Director: Jean Sacha | Stars: Marcel Herrand, Simone Signoret, Alexandre Rignault, Lucienne Le Marchand
Votes: 141
Supervillain Movie (based on pulp novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre)
21. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Not Rated | 83 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
The Wolf Man tries to warn a dimwitted porter that Dracula wants his brain for Frankenstein monster's body.
Directors: Charles Barton, Walter Lantz | Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi
Votes: 19,577 | Gross: $4.80M
Superpower Movie with elements of Superhero Movie.
22. Fantômas contre Fantômas (1949)
95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Everyone in Paris thinks Fantomas is dead. A wave of extortion, blackmail and murder all point to the master criminal. Inspector Juve and his reporter friend Fandor set out to find the truth.
Director: Robert Vernay | Stars: Marcelle Chantal, Aimé Clariond, Alexandre Rignault, Robert Arnoux
Votes: 74
Supervillain Movie (based on pulp novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre)
23. Invisible Avenger (1958)
Not Rated | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Lamont Cranston, aka The Shadow, investigates the murder of a New Orleans bandleader.
Directors: James Wong Howe, Ben Parker, John Sledge | Stars: Richard Derr, Mark Daniels, Helen Westcott, Jack Donner
Votes: 262
Superhero Movie (based on radio and pulp character from Street and Smith Publications) Yet another weird The Shadow adaptation.
24. Dr. No (1962)
PG | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A resourceful British government agent seeks answers in a case involving the disappearance of a colleague and the disruption of the American space program.
Director: Terence Young | Stars: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Bernard Lee, Joseph Wiseman
Votes: 179,497 | Gross: $16.07M
Superhero Movie I found it really interesting that people don't view James Bond as a superhero.
25. Judex (1963)
Not Rated | 98 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Favraux, an unscrupulous banker receives a threatening note signed only "Judex", demanding that he pay back the people he has swindled. He refuses, and seemingly faces his fate.
Director: Georges Franju | Stars: Channing Pollock, Francine Bergé, Edith Scob, Théo Sarapo
Votes: 2,844
Superhero Movie.
26. The Fugitive (1963–1967)
TV-PG | 51 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
A doctor, wrongly convicted for a murder he didn't commit, escapes custody and must stay ahead of the police to find the real killer.
Stars: David Janssen, William Conrad, Barry Morse, Paul Birch
Votes: 4,698
Vigilante TV Series with Superhero elements.
27. Fantomas (1964)
Not Rated | 104 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
The best men of France - a brave journalist and an extremely energetic commissioner - attack the trail of a mysterious criminal mastermind.
Director: André Hunebelle | Stars: Jean Marais, Louis de Funès, Mylène Demongeot, Jacques Dynam
Votes: 12,069
Supervillain Movie (based on pulp novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre)
28. Fantomas Unleashed (1965)
Not Rated | 98 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
When Professor Marchand, a famous scientist, mysteriously disappears, the commissioner, Juve, immediately suspects Fantomas.
Directors: André Hunebelle, Haroun Tazieff | Stars: Jean Marais, Louis de Funès, Mylène Demongeot, Jacques Dynam
Votes: 8,241
Supervillain Movie (based on pulp novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre) although Juve, Fantomas's arch-nemesis is really close to superhero in this one and so are a few other characters.
29. Rat Pfink and Boo Boo (1966)
Not Rated | 72 min | Comedy, Action, Thriller
After stopping three crooks from robbing an innocent woman, two dimwits become crime fighters.
Director: Ray Dennis Steckler | Stars: Carolyn Brandt, Ron Haydock, Titus Moede, George Caldwell
Votes: 969
Superhero Movie
30. T.H.E. Cat (1966–1967)
30 min | Adventure, Drama
A former circus aerialist, and reformed cat burglar, offers his services as a professional bodyguard.
Stars: Robert Loggia, Robert Carricart, R.G. Armstrong, Robert Duvall
Votes: 289
Vigilante TV Series
31. Fantomas vs. Scotland Yard (1967)
PG | 100 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Famous but unlucky pursuers of Fantomas from France go to weird Scotland for a final attempt to bring the impudent criminal to justice.
Director: André Hunebelle | Stars: Jean Marais, Louis de Funès, Mylène Demongeot, Françoise Christophe
Votes: 7,858
Supervillain Movie (based on pulp novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre)
32. Neulovimye mstiteli (1967)
78 min | Action, Adventure, Western
Teenagers take revenge on cruel chieftains during the civil war. Soviet blockbuster in the best traditions of the western
Director: Edmond Keosayan | Stars: Vasiliy Vasilev, Viktor Kosykh, Valentina Kurdyukova, Mikhail Metyolkin
Votes: 1,989
Superhero Movie "Elusive Avengers", a Soviet answer to pulp set during Civil War with four teenage protagonists.
33. Barbarella (1968)
Approved | 98 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
In the 41st century, an astronaut partakes in sexy misadventures while seeking to stop an evil scientist who threatens to bring evil back into the galaxy.
Director: Roger Vadim | Stars: Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, Anita Pallenberg, Milo O'Shea
Votes: 37,745
Superhero Movie (based on comics by Jean-Claude Forest)
34. Novye priklyucheniya neulovimykh (1968)
82 min | Action, Adventure
Young heroes hunt for a secret map behind enemy lines. The second part of the film cycle, filmed at the request of the audience
Director: Edmond Keosayan | Stars: Mikhail Metyolkin, Vasiliy Vasilev, Viktor Kosykh, Valentina Kurdyukova
Votes: 1,193
Superhero Movie A sequel to "Elusive Avengers".
35. Korona Rossiyskoy Imperii, ili Snova Neulovimye (1971)
134 min | Action, Adventure, History
The last part of the trilogy, consists of two series. The civil war is over, but not all enemies have been defeated yet. Grown up and matured guys are fighting bandits of all stripes, bringing the bright future of socialism closer.
Director: Edmond Keosayan | Stars: Mikhail Metyolkin, Viktor Kosykh, Vasiliy Vasilev, Valentina Kurdyukova
Votes: 1,002
Superhero Movie A threequel to "Elusive Avengers".
36. They Might Be Giants (1971)
G | 91 min | Comedy, Mystery, Romance
In a Manhattan psychiatric hospital, a man convinced that he is Sherlock Holmes is treated by a female doctor who happens to be named Watson.
Director: Anthony Harvey | Stars: George C. Scott, Joanne Woodward, Jack Gilford, Lester Rawlins
Votes: 3,326
Superhero Movie. Honestly, Sherlock Holmes plus Don Quixote rolled into one in a modern setting. It got to give that vibe with not one but two proto-superheroes as an inspiration.
37. Baba Yaga (1973)
Unrated | 89 min | Horror
A photographer finds herself falling under the spell of a witch.
Director: Corrado Farina | Stars: Carroll Baker, George Eastman, Isabelle De Funès, Ely Galleani
Votes: 2,244
Supervillain Movie with shades of Superhero Movie (based on Valentina comics by Guido Crepax).
38. Death Wish (1974)
R | 93 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad after his wife is murdered by street punks. In self-defense, the vengeful man kills muggers on the mean streets after dark.
Director: Michael Winner | Stars: Charles Bronson, Hope Lange, Vincent Gardenia, Steven Keats
Votes: 44,072 | Gross: $22.00M
Vigilante Movie although sequels tend to be much more superhero-ish, original movie still has quite a few overtones.
39. Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974)
R | 91 min | Adventure, Horror, Mystery
A master swordsman and former soldier and his hunchbacked assistant hunt vampires.
Director: Brian Clemens | Stars: Horst Janson, John Carson, Shane Briant, Caroline Munro
Votes: 5,696 | Gross: $0.12M
Superhero Movie
40. Taxi Driver (1976)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama
A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks
Votes: 921,484 | Gross: $28.26M
Vigilante Movie
41. Abar (1977)
PG | 102 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Upon moving into a bigoted neighborhood, the scientist father of a persecuted black family gives a superpower elixir to a tough bodyguard, who thus becomes a superpowered crimefighter.
Director: Frank Packard | Stars: J. Walter Smith, Tobar Mayo, Roxie Young, Gladys Lum
Votes: 536
Superhero Movie
42. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1978)
PG | 83 min | Adventure, Comedy, Horror
A group of scientists band together to save the world from mutated killer tomatoes.
Director: John De Bello | Stars: David Miller, George Wilson, Sharon Taylor, J. Stephen Peace
Votes: 14,963
Suggests certain elements of Superhero Movie
43. Mad Max (1979)
R | 88 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley
Votes: 222,649 | Gross: $8.75M
Vigilante Movie and, to some extent, Canon Extension.
44. The Adventures of the Electronic (1979–1980)
215 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
The Adventures of the Elektronic.
Stars: Yuriy Torsuev, Vladimir Torsuev, Vasiliy Skromnyy, Oksana Alekseeva
Votes: 2,243
Superhero TV Series (based on the novel by Evgeniy Veltistov)
45. Samurai (1979 TV Movie)
70 min | Action, Fantasy
Lee Cantrell, a young San Francisco attorney by day, at night becomes a samurai warrior, and battles a crazed multi-millionaire who is planning to destroy the city with an earthquake machine.
Director: Lee H. Katzin | Stars: Joe Penny, Dana Elcar, Beulah Quo, James Shigeta
Votes: 65
Superhero Movie
46. Fantômas (1980)
TV-14 | 356 min | Horror, Thriller, Mystery
Master criminal Fantomas kills an ambassador, is having an affair with the dead man's wife, sneaks into a rich woman's house handing out vanishing-ink business cards, is caught and ... See full summary »
Stars: Helmut Berger, Jacques Dufilho, Pierre Malet, Gayle Hunnicutt
Votes: 242
Supervillain TV Series (based on pulp novels by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre)
47. The Exterminator (1980)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A man's best friend is killed on the streets of New York City. The man (Robert Ginty) then transforms into a violent killer, turning New York City into a great war zone, and Christopher George is the only one to stop him.
Director: James Glickenhaus | Stars: Robert Ginty, Samantha Eggar, Christopher George, Steve James
Votes: 6,567
Vigilante Movie marketed slightly as a Superhero Movie.
48. Hero at Large (1980)
PG | 98 min | Comedy, Romance
A struggling actor buying milk stops a robbery while wearing a superhero uniform, promoting a movie. The unknown hero decides to try again. Can he impress his cute neighbor?
Director: Martin Davidson | Stars: John Ritter, Anne Archer, Bert Convy, Kevin McCarthy
Votes: 1,829 | Gross: $15.93M
Superhero Movie
49. Super Fuzz (1980)
PG | 97 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Red powder from a nuclear explosion gives a police officer super powers as long as he doesn't see anything red. He is eventually framed for murder and is unsuccessfully executed by many different methods.
Director: Sergio Corbucci | Stars: Terence Hill, Ernest Borgnine, Joanne Dru, Marc Lawrence
Votes: 8,197
Superhero Movie
50. Friday the 13th (1980)
R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A group of teenage camp counselors attempt to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past, but they are stalked by a mysterious, relentless killer.
Director: Sean S. Cunningham | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan
Votes: 157,559 | Gross: $39.75M
Canon Extension
51. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
R | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline-rich community escape a horde of bandits.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston, Max Phipps
Votes: 193,920 | Gross: $12.47M
Superhero Movie although rarely seen as one.
52. The Evil Dead (1981)
NC-17 | 85 min | Horror
Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker
Votes: 232,535 | Gross: $2.40M
Canon Extension as sequels tend to feature elements heavily.
53. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
PG | 115 min | Action, Adventure
In 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies
Votes: 1,037,395 | Gross: $248.16M
Superhero Movie Indiana Jones is heavily inspired by pulp prototype superheroes.
54. Escape from New York (1981)
R | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence
Votes: 157,639 | Gross: $25.24M
Superhero Movie Snake Plissken feels A LOT like a superhero. He even has comic book series.
55. Scanners (1981)
R | 103 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called "scanning" to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non scanners.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane
Votes: 61,802 | Gross: $14.23M
Superpower Movie
56. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
R | 87 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Five years after the events of the first film, a summer camp next to the infamous Camp Crystal Lake is preparing to open, but the legend of Jason is weighing heavy on the proceedings.
Director: Steve Miner | Stars: Betsy Palmer, Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King
Votes: 77,815 | Gross: $21.72M
Supervillain Movie
57. Enter the Ninja (1981)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After passing a ninja master test in Japan, Cole visits a war buddy in the Philippines. He helps him fight men, who want his buddy's plantation.
Director: Menahem Golan | Stars: Franco Nero, Susan George, Shô Kosugi, Christopher George
Votes: 5,494
Vigilante Movie with several shades of Superhero Movie
58. Swamp Thing (1982)
PG | 91 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
After a violent incident with a special chemical, a research scientist is turned into a swamp plant monster.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Louis Jourdan, Adrienne Barbeau, Ray Wise, David Hess
Votes: 16,368
Superhero Movie (based on DC Comics)
59. Death Wish II (1982)
R | 89 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Architect Paul Kersey once again becomes a vigilante when he tries to find the five street punks who murdered his daughter and housekeeper, this time on the dark streets of Los Angeles.
Director: Michael Winner | Stars: Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Vincent Gardenia, J.D. Cannon
Votes: 18,158 | Gross: $16.10M
Vigilante Movie
60. Friday the 13th: Part 3 (1982)
R | 95 min | Horror, Thriller
Jason Voorhees stalks a group of friends who have just arrived to spend the weekend at a cabin near Crystal Lake.
Director: Steve Miner | Stars: Dana Kimmell, Tracie Savage, Richard Brooker, Terry Ballard
Votes: 60,451 | Gross: $36.69M
Supervillain Movie
61. Pieces (1982)
Not Rated | 85 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
The co-eds of a Boston college campus are targeted by a mysterious killer who is creating a human jigsaw puzzle from their body parts.
Director: Juan Piquer Simón | Stars: Christopher George, Lynda Day George, Frank Braña, Edmund Purdom
Votes: 12,844 | Gross: $2.03M
Supervillain Movie (loosely inspired by The Shadow in visual style)
62. Manimal (1983)
TV-PG | 60 min | Adventure, Crime, Fantasy
A suave and elegant university professor, who can shape-shift into any animal, fights crime along with a female New York detective and his right-hand man.
Stars: Simon MacCorkindale, Melody Anderson, Reni Santoni, Michael D. Roberts
Votes: 2,192
Superhero TV Series
63. Revenge of the Ninja (1983)
R | 90 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After ninjas killed his family, Cho and his son Kane come to America to start a new life. He opens a doll shop but is unwittingly importing heroin in the dolls. When his friend betrays him, Cho must prepare for the ultimate battle.
Director: Sam Firstenberg | Stars: Shô Kosugi, Keith Vitali, Virgil Frye, Arthur Roberts
Votes: 5,870 | Gross: $10.33M
Superhero Movie
64. The Dead Zone (1983)
R | 103 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability to foresee future events.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom
Votes: 77,376 | Gross: $20.77M
Superpower Movie
65. The Terminator (1984)
R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield
Votes: 924,844 | Gross: $38.40M
Supervillain Movie but Kyle Reese is a very close contender for a superhero in my humble opinion.
66. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
R | 91 min | Horror
Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, John Saxon
Votes: 262,713 | Gross: $25.50M
Supervillain Movie Freddy Krueger is one of the best-known superpowered villains out there.
67. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
PG | 118 min | Action, Adventure
In 1935, Indiana Jones is tasked by Indian villagers with reclaiming a rock stolen from them by a secret cult beneath the catacombs of an ancient palace.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri
Votes: 535,563 | Gross: $179.87M
Superhero Movie
68. Starman (1984)
PG | 115 min | Romance, Sci-Fi
An alien takes the form of a young Wisconsin widow's husband and makes her drive him to his departure point in Arizona. Distrustful government agents, along with a more ambivalent scientist, give pursuit in hopes of intercepting them.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Jaeckel
Votes: 52,259 | Gross: $28.70M
Superpower Movie with shades of Superhero Movie.
69. Ghostbusters (1984)
PG | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Three parapsychologists forced out of their university funding set up shop as a unique ghost removal service in New York City, attracting frightened yet skeptical customers.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
Votes: 450,682 | Gross: $238.63M
Superhero Movie
70. Exterminator 2 (1984)
R | 89 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The flamethrower-wielding vigilante John Eastland returns to rid New York City of a drug lord and his gang.
Director: Mark Buntzman | Stars: Robert Ginty, Mario Van Peebles, Deborah Geffner, Frankie Faison
Votes: 2,793 | Gross: $3.74M
Vigilante Movie with strong elements of Superhero Movie.
71. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
After being announced dead and taken to a morgue, Jason Voorhees spontaneously revives, escapes from the hospital, and stalks a group of friends renting a house in the countryside near Crystal Lake.
Director: Joseph Zito | Stars: Erich Anderson, Judie Aronson, Peter Barton, Kimberly Beck
Votes: 59,214 | Gross: $32.98M
Supervillain Movie
72. The Toxic Avenger (1984)
R | 82 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
Tromaville has a monstrous new hero. The Toxic Avenger is born when meek mop boy Melvin falls into a vat of toxic waste. Now evildoers will have a lot to lose.
Directors: Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman | Stars: Andree Maranda, Mitch Cohen, Jennifer Babtist, Cindy Manion
Votes: 32,197
Superhero Movie
73. Guest from the Future (1984)
PG | 63 min | Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi
A school boy finds a time machine and he helps Alisa, a scientist girl in the future, to save a mind-reading device from space pirates. Chased by the pirates and followed by Alisa he saves the device bringing it back to his own time.
Stars: Natalya Guseva, Aleksei Fomkin, Ilya Naumov, Mikhail Kononov
Votes: 2,732
Superhero TV Series (based on the novel by Kir Bulychyov)
74. Streets of Fire (1984)
PG | 93 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A mercenary is hired to rescue his ex-girlfriend, a singer who has been kidnapped by a motorcycle gang.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, Amy Madigan
Votes: 24,268 | Gross: $8.09M
Superhero Movie.
75. Ninja III: The Domination (1984)
R | 92 min | Action, Fantasy, Thriller
An evil ninja attempts to avenge his death from beyond the grave, by possessing an innocent woman's body.
Director: Sam Firstenberg | Stars: Shô Kosugi, Lucinda Dickey, Jordan Bennett, David Chung
Votes: 5,230 | Gross: $7.61M
Superhero Movie
76. Highway to Heaven (1984–1989)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Fantasy
A probationary angel, sent back to Earth, teams with an ex-cop to help people.
Stars: Michael Landon, Victor French, James Troesh, Margie Impert
Votes: 6,530
Superhero TV Series
77. Dreamscape (1984)
PG-13 | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Horror
A man who can enter and manipulate people's dreams is recruited by a government agency to help cure the President of the United States of his nightmares about nuclear war but stumbles upon an assassination plot.
Director: Joseph Ruben | Stars: Dennis Quaid, Max von Sydow, Christopher Plummer, Eddie Albert
Votes: 18,167 | Gross: $11.48M
Superpower Movie with elements of Superhero Movie.
78. Firestarter (1984)
R | 114 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
A couple who participated in a potent medical experiment gain telepathic ability and then have a child who is pyrokinetic.
Director: Mark L. Lester | Stars: Drew Barrymore, David Keith, Freddie Jones, Heather Locklear
Votes: 36,929 | Gross: $15.10M
79. Death Wish 3 (1985)
R | 90 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey arrives back in New York City and is forcibly recruited by a crooked police chief to fight street crime caused by a large gang terrorizing the neighborhoods.
Director: Michael Winner | Stars: Charles Bronson, Deborah Raffin, Ed Lauter, Martin Balsam
Votes: 17,421 | Gross: $16.12M
Vigilante Movie
80. Opasno dlya zhizni! (1985)
93 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Spartak Molodtsov is a man who can not pass through. Because of this he always gets into trouble.
Director: Leonid Gaidai | Stars: Leonid Kuravlyov, Larisa Udovichenko, Tatyana Kravchenko, Georgiy Vitsin
Votes: 673
Superhero Movie
81. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
After being exiled from the most advanced town in post apocalyptic Australia, a drifter travels with a group of abandoned children to rebel against the town's queen.
Directors: George Miller, George Ogilvie | Stars: Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Bruce Spence, Adam Cockburn
Votes: 147,810 | Gross: $36.20M
Superhero Movie
82. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
R | 92 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Still haunted by his past, Tommy Jarvis, who, as a child, killed Jason Voorhees, is sent to a secluded halfway house in the countryside, where the killing of a young man triggers a brutal series of murders in the area.
Director: Danny Steinmann | Stars: Melanie Kinnaman, John Shepherd, Anthony Barrile, Suzanne Bateman
Votes: 43,947 | Gross: $21.93M
Supervillain Movie
83. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)
R | 87 min | Horror
A teenage boy is haunted in his dreams by deceased child murderer Freddy Krueger, who is out to possess him in order to continue his reign of terror in the real world.
Director: Jack Sholder | Stars: Robert Englund, Mark Patton, Kim Myers, Robert Rusler
Votes: 77,511 | Gross: $30.00M
Supervillain Movie
84. Weird Science (1985)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Two high-school nerds use a computer program to literally create the perfect woman, who promptly turns their lives upside-down.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Kelly LeBrock, Bill Paxton
Votes: 97,483 | Gross: $23.83M
Superpower Movie/Superhero Movie (based on EC Comics)
85. Nine Deaths of the Ninja (1985)
R | 94 min | Action, Thriller
Two anti-terrorist agents are assigned to free a busload of American schoolchildren in the Philippines who are taken hostage by terrorists.
Director: Emmett Alston | Stars: Shô Kosugi, Brent Huff, Emilia Crow, Blackie Dammett
Votes: 1,595
Superhero Movie
86. Re-Animator (1985)
Unrated | 84 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
After an odd new medical student arrives on campus, a dedicated local and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue.
Director: Stuart Gordon | Stars: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale
Votes: 71,540 | Gross: $2.02M
Supervillain Movie
87. The Equalizer (1985–1989)
TV-PG | 48 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A retired Intelligence Agent turned private detective helps various threatened clients to equalize the odds.
Stars: Edward Woodward, Keith Szarabajka, Robert Lansing, Mark Margolis
Votes: 5,929
Vigilante TV Series slowly progressing into Superhero TV Series.
88. American Ninja (1985)
R | 95 min | Action, Adventure, Romance
American soldier, obviously very skilled in martial arts, single-handedly takes on mercenaries in the Philippines.
Director: Sam Firstenberg | Stars: Michael Dudikoff, Steve James, Judie Aronson, Guich Koock
Votes: 16,747 | Gross: $10.50M
Superhero Movie
89. The Wraith (1986)
PG-13 | 93 min | Action, Horror, Romance
In a small town in Arizona, a mysterious man/spirit descends from the sky and manifests in a sports car and targets a local violent road-racing gang of motor heads, headed by a ruthless bully who'll do anything to get what he wants.
Director: Mike Marvin | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Nick Cassavetes, Sherilyn Fenn, Randy Quaid
Votes: 19,264 | Gross: $3.50M
Superhero Movie
90. The Gladiator (1986 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 98 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A road warrior vigilante avenges his brother's death at the hands of a crazy motorist by using his souped-up pickup to apprehend drunken drivers and others who abuse their driving privileges.
Director: Abel Ferrara | Stars: Ken Wahl, Nancy Allen, Robert Culp, Stan Shaw
Votes: 841
Superhero Movie A really interesting example how a story, which was probably supposed to be a pilot for a superhero TV series turned more towards a serious drama under the direction of cult director Abel Ferrara. Absolutely worth the watch and quite clever, with a few entertaining car chases.
91. Highlander (1986)
R | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
An immortal Scottish swordsman must confront the last of his immortal opponents, a murderously brutal barbarian who lusts for the fabled "Prize".
Director: Russell Mulcahy | Stars: Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, Roxanne Hart
Votes: 147,558 | Gross: $5.90M
Superhero Movie
92. The Hitcher (1986)
R | 97 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller
A young man who escapes the clutches of a murderous hitchhiker is subsequently stalked by the hitcher and framed for his crimes.
Director: Robert Harmon | Stars: Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey DeMunn
Votes: 52,586 | Gross: $5.84M
Supervillain Movie
93. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
R | 86 min | Horror, Thriller
Tommy Jarvis exhumes Jason Voorhees to cremate his corpse, but inadvertently brings him back to life instead. The newly revived killer seeks revenge, and Tommy may be the only one who can stop him.
Director: Tom McLoughlin | Stars: Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, David Kagen, Kerry Noonan
Votes: 51,268 | Gross: $19.47M
Supervillain Movie
94. Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey takes on the members of a vicious Los Angeles drug cartel to stop the flow of drugs after his girlfriend's daughter dies from an overdose.
Director: J. Lee Thompson | Stars: Charles Bronson, Kay Lenz, John P. Ryan, Perry Lopez
Votes: 11,135 | Gross: $6.88M
Vigilante Movie
95. Evil Dead II (1987)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Horror
Ash Williams, the lone survivor of an earlier onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits, holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley DePaiva
Votes: 182,031 | Gross: $5.92M
Superhero Movie - while being primary a horror movie, seeing how Ash becomes more and more capable of fighting deadites using homemade gadgets and experience despie crippling injury evokes the feeling of the genre easily.
96. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
R | 96 min | Fantasy, Horror
A psychiatrist familiar with knife-wielding dream demon Freddy Krueger helps teens at a mental hospital battle the killer who is invading their dreams.
Director: Chuck Russell | Stars: Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Craig Wasson, Patricia Arquette
Votes: 90,383 | Gross: $44.79M
Supervillain Movie but is close to Superhero Movie with a group of talented teenagers fighting back with their own dream-based superpowers.
97. Lilac Ball (1988)
77 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Alisa Seleznyova and her father professor Seleznyov are traveling in space. They meet their old friend archaeologist Gromozeka, who's just discovered a planet all inhabitants of which died.... See full summary »
Director: Pavel Arsenov | Stars: Natalya Guseva, Aleksandr Gusev, Vyacheslav Nevinnyy, Boris Shcherbakov
Votes: 406
Superhero Movie (based on the novel by Kir Bulychyov) A sequel to "Guest from the Future".
98. RoboCop (1987)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox
Votes: 283,360 | Gross: $53.42M
Superhero Movie
99. American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (1987)
R | 90 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
On a remote Caribbean island, Army Ranger Joe Armstrong investigates the disappearance of several marines, which leads him to The Lion, a super-criminal who has kidnapped a local scientist and mass-produced an army of mutant Ninja warriors.
Director: Sam Firstenberg | Stars: Michael Dudikoff, Steve James, Larry Poindexter, Gary Conway
Votes: 9,670 | Gross: $4.00M
Superhero Movie
100. Predator (1987)
R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Horror
A team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall, Elpidia Carrillo
Votes: 455,296 | Gross: $59.74M
Supervillain Movie
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