Hello everybody. Yesterday when I was deep in the process of editing this video, news broke of the death of Terrence Stamp. He was an immensely talented actor and one of his most famous roles was as General Zod in Superman the movie and Superman 2. We will talk about his work in this video. But because he had such an influence on this franchise, I also wanted to take a moment up top to recognize his passing. He was an actor of great stature whose presence on the screen will be missed but whose work will never be forgotten.
Finally to rule. Hello everybody and welcome to another one of my oversized ranking videos. And this one covers a topic that I'm sure will be not controversial to anybody. Today I am ranking 33 different Superman movies from bottom to top. Now Superman, especially recently, has always been a very, let's say, passionate topic of online discussion. And it's always been funny to me, even going back to my screen junkies days, that people have often accused me of being a DC hater because I did or didn't like this DC movie or another one, when the fact of the matter is that growing up, Superman and Batman were by far my two favorite heroes. I mean, when I was a kid, when I go out to play with my friends, I would tape a yellow S to my chest and put on a blue shirt, and I would go out and pretend to be Superman. He really was my first hero in many ways. And so it's always funny to me when people say like, "Well, you don't even really like DC." I do, actually. And it was largely very enjoyable for me to watch all of these movies because there were some that I hadn't seen in a while. There are some that I hadn't seen at all. And before we dive in, it's probably important to share my criteria for what does and does not count on this list.
I only considered feature-length movies, which the Academy defines as 40 minutes or longer. So, no TV series or shorts with one notable exception that we'll talk about. I did not consider the early Superman serials because quite frankly, they're just too long and they're basically early versions of TV seasons. Features could be either live-action or animated and they could be theatrically released or direct-to-video/digital. And a movie with Superman or one of his other names in the title automatically qualified for the list. And because Superman has a history of director's cuts that are significantly different than theatrical versions, I've separately ranked three of those director's cuts. The only one that I didn't rank separately is the extended version of Superman the movie because it doesn't substantially alter the film itself. For Justice League and other non-superman branded movies, I had to make a bit of a subjective decision based on whether Superman was the focus of the story and/or the main driver of the plot. So, some counted and some didn't.
And in addition to ranking the films, I will also be keeping track of three recurring bits of iconography. How many times we see Krypton destroyed, how many times Clark Kent opens his shirt to reveal an S, and for the more modern films, how many times you're invited to see Superman as an allegory for Jesus. So, without further ado, let's get this list going. And we will kick things off with the last place film at number 33. And it probably comes as no surprise that it's Superman 4: The Quest for Peace.
Superman 4 is Christopher Reeve's ill-fated final performance as the man of steel. And while the intentions behind the film are good with a message about world peace and nuclear disarmament, the execution is atrocious. I actually feel bad for Christopher Reeve. He was only enticed to come back so that he could tell a story he believed in. He gets a story credit on the movie, but once production began, he had the rug pulled out completely from underneath him. It was produced by Canon Films, and this movie contributed to their bankruptcy. And Superman 4 was plagued by budget cuts that ultimately undermined everything that it was going for, giving the movie a cheap look and a worse feel. It doesn't help that the movie's villain, Nuclear Man, is laughably ridiculous. But the subplot about a media tycoon buying the Daily Planet and turning it into a trashy tabloid has only gotten better with age.
As bad as it is, though, this movie is not devoid of value. Christopher Reeve is always great as Superman, even in a terrible movie. And I love his physical comedy in the sequence where both Clark Kent and Superman have to be at the same dinner at the same time. But even Christopher Reeve can't overcome the horrible special effects, the cheesy dialogue, the awful comedy, and the general terribleness of Superman 4.
It's a real shame that Christopher Reeve never had a chance to play Superman again, especially now that we're in this modern multiverse era, but I think it's a real testament to just how good he is in the part that even a movie this bad can't tarnish his legacy. Next on the list we have Superman and the Molemen in the 1950s.
The movie comes in at just under an hour long and it was basically a pilot for the Adventures of Superman TV show which would debut in 1952. George Reeves was for a generation the face of Superman and so it's nice to see him in a movie. I just wish that this one was a little better. Superman and the Molemen finds Clark Kent and Phyllis Coate's Lois Lane traveling to a small oil town to cover the world's deepest oil well for the Daily Planet. but when they arrive, they find that it's been shut down and that the drillers have recklessly disturbed the home of a race of subterranean creatures. One thing I do like about this movie is the fact that the creatures themselves aren't evil. It's men who are the antagonists in the movie, including a sequence where they literally try to burn one alive. Even when the Molemen strike back in self-defense, Superman is there to save the day and chide the humans who drove them to such extremes.
It's a good premise, but this is a slow movie, largely consisting of the Molemen walking around and trying to run from the humans. George Reeves is for me by far the highlight of the movie. And I like how he plays a Superman who is unquestionably good, but with a bit of an edge when he believes that humanity is stepping out of line. This movie is a bit of a chore to get through, but I still think it's a must-see for fans of The Man of Steel only because George Reeves is such a huge part of the legacy of Superman.
Up next, we continue the ranking with movies like Superman 3 and Superman Returns showcasing Richard Lester's comedic approach and Bryan Singer's attempt to rediscover the old magic respectively. Eventually, we reach the more modern entries like Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League which have divided audiences but tried to reinvent the character in line with contemporary sensibilities. The discussion includes animated movies and direct-to-video features which have explored various narrative angles and character iterations.
This ranking ultimately highlights the diverse portrayals and storytelling approaches taken with Superman since his inception in cinema. Whether through revered classics or controversial modern takes, the legacy of Superman on film appears enduring, continually evolving with the imagination of filmmakers and the expectations of audiences.