Top 25 performances from a comic book movie or TV show

From Wolverine to Batman to Wanda Maximoff, we comb through some of the many great comic book movie performances in a search for the very best.

Ever since Christopher Reeve donned his red-and-blue rights for 1978’s Superman, comic book characters have dominated the box office. The superhero film is a staple of American cinema and the genre has launched the careers of many talented actors. Especially in recent years, we’ve seen a huge number of comic book characters make the leap to the big (or small) screen. Along the way, we’ve gotten some great superhero performances.

It takes more than a muscular physique and colorful suit to play a good superhero or villain; it’s all about the relatable human being underneath the mask. An actor has to add something special if they’re going to stand out, particularly when there’s so much competition. Today, we honor those actors who have gone above and beyond and given us super-performances worth remembering.

Now, before we get started, a few disclaimers: for this list, I’ve mostly excluded “sidekick” characters. For example, while Christian Bale’s Batman may get on, Michael Caine’s Alfred won’t, because he’s not playing a superhero, strictly speaking.

Also, there are always new superhero movies and TV shows coming out, with Marvel and DC in particular racing to see who can produce the most. I’m sure this list will need updating. Even without that, there are some significant performances left off of this list. When deciding who to include, I considered quality of performance, but also factors like awards recognition and box office revenue, and influence as well as personal opinion and preference.

So without further adieu, let’s get into the 25 greatest performances of a comic book character.

25. Vincent D’onofrio as Kingpin

Appears in: Daredevil, The Defenders

Netflix cancelled its suite of Marvel television series a while back, including Daredevil. It’s possible that it’s been scrubbed from the MCU canon completely, but that doesn’t change the fact that Vincent D’onofrio gives a hell of a performance as Kingpin. The decorated actor brought a level of prestige and humanity to this iconic villain that made him something other than the cariature he’s often reduced to in other adaptations. Don’t get me wrong: I LOVED the silly version of Kingpin in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse, but D’onofrio gives a fully realized performance that stands above pretty much every other take.

D’onofrio portrays a sensitive man who truly believes that what he’s doing if for the greater good, and sees nothing wrong with committing heinous acts of violence to achieve his goals. He brings a ton of presence to the screen; every time he’s in a scene I find myself gripping my chair for dear life, waiting to see what he’s going to do next.