The Lists: In Contention's Top 10 Performances in Comic Book Movies
With 'The Avengers' on the way, we look at the best portrayals of the subgenre
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In Contention's Top 10 Performances in Comic Book Movies
With "The Avengers" hitting theaters imminently and "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "The Dark Knight Rises" still to come, we look at the top portrayals of film's comic book subgenre. Note the lingo: "comic book." We're not just limiting things to the superhero realm. So from "Road to Perdition" to "Ghost World," "A History of Violence" to "American Splendor," we considered all comers. Click through to see where your favorites ranked and feel free to join the discussion at In Contention.
Photo Credit: Walt Disney Pictures
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupMulderism
May 1, 2012 at 4:05PM EST Reply to CommentInteresting list but I think you've stretched the definition of a 'Comic Book movie' too far. It would be more appropriate to call it 'Comic Book/Graphic Novel' and maybe even separate them into two lists.
But if you can't pick a top 10 from comic book movies alone then I guess it's a moot point.
Mulderism Never mind. I didn't read the intro clearly enough.
May 1, 2012 at 4:06PM ESTComment withdrawn...
amberlita
May 1, 2012 at 4:16PM EST Reply to CommentThis list needed Michael Fassbender as Magneto. Otherwise, well done.
DefRef
May 1, 2012 at 5:19PM EST Reply to CommentJack Nicholson's Joker was a profoundly destructive development in the course of comic movie history because it ushered in an era where "colorful" stunt-cast villains became more important than a compelling hero. (e.g. Who cares who's in the bat suit when we've got Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones dancing around like clowns?) Eventually it became "The Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Bane Movie (with special guest appearance by Batman)."
Kristopher Tapley Hence my note that the performance "changed the landscape of the sub-genre in ways good and bad," but that shouldn't take away from what he did in the film, which was exceptional.
May 1, 2012 at 5:27PM ESTJohn G. Comparable to Robin Williams in Aladdin. Hilarious stuff, but did it ruin voice acting forever?
May 1, 2012 at 6:05PM ESTKeith
May 1, 2012 at 5:37PM EST Reply to CommentYeah, a pretty cool idea for a list, but having Brian Cox as the lone X-Men representative over Michael Fassbender is misguided. I could watch five straight Magneto movies as long as he was in the role. One of the all-time great comic-book casting choices.
Kristopher Tapley "Misguided" doesn't compute. And a great casting choice isn't a great performance. Though I did think he was awesome.
May 1, 2012 at 6:25PM ESTBut feel free to join the conversation over at the blog, where I specifically mention Fassbender...and how I even prefer McAvoy's work to his in the same film.
American Jedi
May 1, 2012 at 6:49PM EST Reply to CommentI'm not sure I see the value of a list that includes American Splendor and Ghost World under the same umbrella as Iron Man and X-Men. The fact that those movies were all based on "comic books" is a pretty superficial connection because they hale from opposite corners of that medium. What is to be gained by comparing Steve Buscemi's performance, or Paul Giamatti's, or William Hurt's, to the performances by Robert Downey, Jr. Or Jack Nicholson? The respective works come not only from different genres but from different sensibilities, so the performances really have no common ground. You may as well write a list called "Top ten performances by actors playing characters named Joe." One could do that, but why? Also, I have one other completely subjective objection: Brian Cox doesn't belong in the top 10 either way.
Kristopher Tapley I think you mean "hail." And what's to be gained by a list comparing anything to anything? It's a conversation starter. (Not that your notion that these share merely a superficial connection isn't entirely arguable, mind.)
May 1, 2012 at 7:40PM ESTAnyway, nice try STOPPING the conversation. Alas, it continues!
Matt T Can we do a "Top ten performances by actors playing characters named Joe?"
May 1, 2012 at 11:34PM ESTKristopher Tapley Tempted...
May 2, 2012 at 1:52AM ESTAmerican Jedi No, not stopping the conversation, or trying to (not that I could). Just throwing in one small contribution the gist of which is, I don't know how one compares Steve Buscemi's performance in Ghost World playing an everyday schlub in the real world to say, Robert Downey as Iron Man or Heath Ledger as the Joker. I mean, the stories are so different, the characters are so different, it's apples and oranges to say the least. But whatever, if you ever do the "Joe" list that I recommended, I nominate Tom Hanks as "Joe Banks" from "Joe Versus the Volcano" for a spot (an underrated movie).
May 2, 2012 at 6:43AM ESTgoodhorse
May 1, 2012 at 6:56PM EST Reply to CommentWhat about Christopher Reeve? Absolutely number one.
Otherwise, I agree with you on Ledger, Cox. Totally disagree on Downey Jr, whose spot-on portrayal of Stark captured the essence of his comic book character and was the catalyst for a slew of great Marvel films capped by The Avengers.
He certainly deserves to be higher than Pfieffer and Nicholson, who were good actors in a role (esp Pfieffer) but didn't get their comic book creations (or seem to particularly care) the way Downey did.
Kristopher Tapley Reeve, mentioned in the blog post at In Contention, was definitely considered. Top 15 for sure.
May 1, 2012 at 7:41PM ESTSean 2nd this. It wasn't even a performance. Christopher Reeve was Superman.
May 1, 2012 at 11:56PM ESTSuperman: The Movie, and Reeve's performance, changed the way we viewed Superman in the cultural landscape forever.
Phil
May 1, 2012 at 8:14PM EST Reply to CommentX2 was certainly the best of the X-Men movies, but best superhero film ever? Hmmm. Well, that's actually pretty tough. I suppose the popular answer would be The Dark Knight, but I'm one of the few who thought that movie was incredibly overrated. You know now that I think it over, I might actually agree with you. I can't really think of any alternatives.
Kristopher Tapley The Dark Knight is a brilliant film with amazing thematic ideas, but it's bloated. X2 is tighter with plenty of thematic virtue as well and is, for me, just the perfect superhero movie.
May 1, 2012 at 8:20PM ESTShaun X2 is good, but it's no TDK, and it's certainly no Batman Begins. As great as TDK is, BB is my favorite superhero movie ever. The first Iron Man and X2 are right up there though.
May 1, 2012 at 10:38PM ESTThen again, all of this may change after I see The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises.
Nick
May 1, 2012 at 8:45PM EST Reply to CommentLOVE that Pfeiffer got a nod here. She so perfectly embodied the character. Just mesmerizing. To me, that sequel remains my favorite interpretation of Batman and even comic book movies in general. Quite dark on the whole, yet sometimes silly and often funny. It put its villains front and center and made them legitimately sympathetic. All told, a perfect mix in my mind.
Shaun Her Catwoman was in no way an embodiment of the Selina Kyle/Catwoman of the comics.
May 1, 2012 at 10:35PM ESTAnd the silliness of the Burton Batman movies is exactly why I didn't like them, and why they've aged terribly. A half-man/half-animal Penguin gnawing on raw fish? An army of marching penguins? Yeesh.
Taste is a relative thing, I know, but the best I can say about those Burton movies is that they aren't as bad as Schumacher's.
Kristopher Tapley Like I said, few things work in Batman Returns. But I think Batman is great when you just consider it an elseworld yarn.
May 1, 2012 at 11:36PM ESTNick Oh, by 'the character', I wasn't referring to the Catwoman of the comics. Simply find Burton's creation FAR more interesting. As absurd as his animalistic Penguin is as well, I also prefer that to the version in the comics.
May 2, 2012 at 12:14AM ESTI can certainly understand the issues other have with Batman Returns. Completely aware I'm in the minority in thinking so highly of it. The 'penguins strapped with rockets' portion of the finale is even too much silliness for me. But the rest I find endearing and brilliantly entertaining. It captures the heightened, surreal nature of comics that I personally remember.
Shaun
May 1, 2012 at 10:26PM EST Reply to CommentWhat a terrible list, except for Ledger, Downey, and perhaps Cox these are terrible picks. No Christian Bale as Batman/Bruce Wayne? No Jeff Bridges as Obidiah Stane? No Fassbender and McKellan both as Magneto?
Where's J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson? How about Michael Caine as Alfred or Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon? Tom Hiddleston as Loki? So many great performances overlooked here.
And, as overrated and badly dated as the old Superman movies are, Christopher Reeve was the one absolutely perfect thing about the Superman flicks. How he didn't make this list is completely baffling.
Nicholson's Joker was entertaining enough, but it was mostly just Jack playing Jack. Big deal. That's a better pick than Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman though... She was awful, and her Catwoman bore no resemblance to the Catwoman of the comics. Better than Halle Berry's Catwoman, yes, but that's not saying much.
Kristopher Tapley "What a terrible list..."
May 1, 2012 at 11:40PM ESTThere's always one.
Anyway, I never thought someone would mention Jeff Bridges in "Iron Man" for such a list. You're the first. Congrats. But thanks for reminding me of J.K. Simmons. If I had this to do over again, he's someone I'd want to consider.
Reeve was mentioned in the accompanying blog post. Definitely a top 15.
Anyway, don't be so exasperated. "Baffled?" Yikes.
Morgan
May 1, 2012 at 10:49PM EST Reply to CommentPfeiffer goes down as an all time great.
Shaun Not even close. She may have been one of the better parts of a bad movie, but hardly an "all time great."
May 1, 2012 at 11:20PM ESTBut... to each their own. If her performance worked for you, so be it. I just thought her origin was goofy, and her suddenly being able to do all this gymnastic stuff just like that was silly.
LL Seriously? Everybody, e.ve.ry.bo.dy, remembers Pfeiffer as Catwoman. She must've done something right.
May 2, 2012 at 2:02AM ESTLars
May 2, 2012 at 1:37AM EST Reply to CommentThank you for putting Buscemi in there! Ghost World is my top 10 favorite movie of all time, and to me, the most undervalued.
Hammerhead
May 2, 2012 at 4:57PM EST Reply to CommentMostly villains...
I actually like this list. I wouldn't have gone with Stryker, Big Boy and Catwoman, but I'm not complaining.
mine's a little bit different.
- Chloe Grace Moretz as HIT-GIRL (Kick Ass)
- Christopher Reeve (Superman)
- Mickey Rourke as MARV (Sin City)
- Jackie Earl Haley as RORSCHACH (Watchmen)
- Brandon Lee (The Crow)
- Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man)
- Jack Nicholson as JOKER (Batman)
- JK Simmons as JJ JAMESON (Spiderman)
- Heath Ledger as JOKER (The Dark Knight)
Geoff
July 29, 2012 at 9:36AM EST Reply to Commentwhere is Alfred Molina's Doc Ock?!?!??!