Top 25 performances from a comic book movie or TV show

5. Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther

Appears in: Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame

It’s difficult to put into words how important Chadwick Boseman’s performance as King T’Challa has been for comic book movies. Seeing him in a lead role helped expand the idea of what a big screen comic book protagonist could look like. A lot of eyes were on him and much depended on him acquitting himself well. Luckily, he did.

Boseman brought his own sense of creativity to this role. T’Challa’s accent was Boseman’s idea, for instance. Whether he’s playing an action scene or an intimate conversation with a supporting character, Boseman makes lots of subtle choices that give his character a life that lingers after the movie is over.

T’Challa deals with dilemmas that are in direct conversation with real-world events. His Black Panther is regal, yes, but also very human and relatable.

4. Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Appears in: Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3

I suspect some fans will disagree with this pick. Tom Holland is the perfect Peter Parker on paper, but I stand firm that Maguire gave the most realistic and human performance as the web-slinger. More than in any other version of the story, Maguire’s Peter Parker is an awkward nerd through and through. I think that what a lot of people don’t like about his performance is actually what makes it so good. As Peter, he has moments of full-on cringe. Then he puts on the Spider-Man costume and he’s confident, cool and capable. That’s the essence of Spider-Man, and exactly what Stan Lee was going for.

The original Spider-Man trilogy also put Peter Parker through the ringer when it came to his personal dramas and relationships. Maguire is perfect as the tortured soul who keeps losing those closest to him and finds himself betrayed by people he trusted time and time again. He carries great guilt over the people he’s failed, and feels even more responsibility for every single person in the city because of it. Sure, he ugly cries. But it’s real emotion. Maguire sells what would really happen if a dorky high school graduate was given unbelievable abilities and thrust into extreme circumstances on the daily.