Top 25 performances from a comic book movie or TV show

Honorable Mentions

Before we get to our number one pick, here are a few who just barely missed the cut:

• Liam Neeson as Darkman in Darkman
• Dane DeHaan as Andrew Detmer in Chronicle
• Anthony Starr as Homelander in The Boys
• Alfre Woodard as Black Mariah in Luke Cage
• Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home
• Willem Defoe as Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin in Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3
• Tom Hardy as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises
• Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor in Superman, Superman 2, Superman 3 and Superman 4: A Quest For Peace
• Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach in Watchmen (movie)
• Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Doctor Manhattan in Watchmen (HBO series)

1. Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine

Appears in: X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine, Logan

Before the MCU, there were Fox’s X-Men movies, and Hugh Jackman was always the best thing about them. I maintain that 2017’s Logan might be the greatest Marvel movie ever made. If Joaquin Phoenix can win an Oscar for Joker, then Jackman was snubbed for his final performance as Wolverine.

Including cameos, Jackman appeared as the Wolverine in 10 different movies. Since being chosen for the role out of nowhere, he quickly became one of Hollywoods most bankable stars and is just an Oscar away from the coveted EGOT having won Emmys, Grammys, and Tonys all while leading this pioneering superhero franchise.

Jackman brings a gruff, Harrison Ford-like toughness to his portrayal of Wolverine, but also a deep understanding of the character’s pain. He makes canny choices that fill out the character, like how he screams in agony every time he has to pop his claws and fight. He looks like he’s in pain whenever he drives his claws into the waves of thugs sent after him and the X-men.

His care for the team — particularly the younger members — is often the driving force behind these movies. There’s really only one bad X-Men movie with Wolverine in it: 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but even in that one Jackman finds a perfect balance between giving fans the Wolverine they want and bringing his own special spark to the role. Jackman will be a near impossible act for whoever plays Wolverine in the MCU.

There are a ton of great performances left off from this list that I feel bad about. If I did this a second time, I might come up with something completely different! Let me know in the comments who you think should be up here.

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