Superman 4 is rated as the worst superhero movie of all time because of the overall lack of screenplay. What is worse is Christopher Reeve was not the high-energetic, go-getting superhero, like he was in the past ‘Superman' movies. He was a bit unfit and did not seem to move as fast as he did in the previous "Superman' movies. In addition to Mr. Reeve's painfully slow action-scenes, the overall screenplay was terrible, including the movie showing scenes that were unfinished! The actions scenes were something to laugh at and not what you would expect from a classic superhero franchise, like ‘Superman.' The action thriller, ‘Steel,' (1997) starring Shaquille O'Neal was better than this folly of a superhero action movie. Simply put; if you are a fan of crappy and cheaply made cinema, ‘Superman 4' is for you!

Batman and Robin (1997)

‘Batman and Robin' is rated as the second worst superhero movie of all time because the plot and screenplay was just as bad as ‘Superman 4, ‘you would be amazed to know that the guy that started in this ‘Batman' franchise, is Michael Clayton. Why? Michael Clayton is not good or charming of an actor as Christian Bale, or even Adam West, the original ‘Batman.' Furthermore, what were the makers of the "bat' suit thinking when they put nipples on the chest plate of the suit? Come on! Simply put, this ‘Batman' movie should be inducted into the wall of shame as the worst ‘Batman' movie of all time!

Steel (1997)

Yes, this has to be said, but the movie, ‘Steel,' happens to be the worst non-Batman and non-Superman movies of all time. Not to say that Shaquille O'Neal did not do a good job of acting in this movie, but his character was definitely not on point. O'Neal's character, ‘Steel' is more like from the classic movie, "Citizen Kane' than a genuine superhero movie. Simply put, this spin-off of the ‘Superman' series is far worse than the entire Superman' series, except for "Superman 4: the Quest for Peace," which is slightly worse than ‘Steel' and deserve a one and a half thumbs down!

Captain America (1980)

‘Captain America,' starring Matt Salinger (son of J.D. Salinger), is not entirely terrible superhero movie, but the plot makes funny explanations for the untimely deaths of JFK, MLK, RFK and Elvis Presley. According to the plot, all four men were killed by a mysterious man wearing a red latex mask! If this is not the worst superhero movie of all-time, it is certainly the funniest!

Fantastic Four (2005)

And, finally, we will discuss why ‘Fantastic Four,' is the fifth worst superhero movie of all time. To be fair, this movie did a few good reviews, but that is all. The movie was horrible and the movie's star, Jessica Alba, gave a performance worthy of a low-rated indie movie. What is even funnier and worse about the movie, is that the character, ‘The Thing' looks like a ‘Cheetoh' bag-and he is only 5'7'' tall! If you paid to see this movie, you should be demanding your money back and then some, for this movie, also deserve one and a half thumbs down!

Spiderman 2 (2004)

Yes, Spiderman 2 is considered by many folks to be the best superhero movies of all time. Why? Spiderman 2 was better than the first Spiderman movie in terms of dialogue and screenplay. Spider-man 2 is an emotionally-charged thriller about a character named Peter Parker, who is a freelance journalist by day---Spiderman by night, who has to deal with living as his normal self and living as this alter-ego, Spiderman. This brings about the complexity of Parker having to deal with both alter egos as he fights the notorious ‘Kingpin and his cronies. This movie deserves to go down in history as the best superhero movies of all time!

The Crow (1994)

The Crow is the second best film of all-time because of the realization that the screenplay brought to its audience. ‘The Crow was a whole lot better than the other any ‘Batman' movie that can be found. This is truly a ‘dark' comic movie with all the trimmings of a superhero epic. Brandon Lee gave a grand performance in ‘The Crow' before being accidentally killed during the filming of the movie. This is truly an epic superhero movie.

Superman (1978)

"Superman' is the third best superhero movie of all time because this modern adaptation can be traced back to the ‘Superman' comic series. In short, every subsequent ‘Superman' movie owes its existence to the original ‘Superman' movie-- which spans for a total of 30 years. The original ‘Superman' deserves two thumbs up!

X2: X-Men United (2003)

‘X2: X-Men United' is the fourth best superhero movie because of the emotionally-charged scenes that can be seen in this movie. This second adaptation is a sequel to the first ‘X-Men' movie and is able to capture the essence of what a superhero movie is. Also, the direct or of ‘X-Men,' Barry Singer did a good job of ‘modernizing the comic series in this adaptation of the ‘Spiderman' series. Two thumbs up for this movie!

Unbreakable (2000)

‘Unbreakable is the fifth and final best superhero movies that we will review. To some folks, ‘Unbreakable is one of the best suspense thrillers of all time and can rival all of the Alfred Hitchcock movies. The overall screenplay and scenes for this movie is very good and is what most people expect to see in a suspense thriller such as this one. The movie's director, M Night Shyamalan did a fantastic job of directing the movie and made the scenes are characters believable-- in terms of acting. Although the movie's ending is somewhat disappointing, the movies still deserves one and a half thumbs up!

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The Dark Knight is a must see movie. I tried to watch it online but the media player kept buffering, starting, and stopping. Trying to watch it online, it did not seem like it was going to be a good movie. The movie color was faded and the movie seemed slow and long. All I could see was a bunch of clown masks and men trying to rob a bank. There were too many guys trying to be Batman. I could hardly tell who was who. My father called and told me that someone told him the movie was a great movie. He thought that we should take a chance and go see it.

When we got to the movie theater, it was long and interesting all the way through. There was a surprise in the movie. The character, Harvey, became Two-Face. To me, he was meaner than the Joker, but I will not spoil the surprise by telling you everything.

Batman showed a real angry side this time. He was really beating the Joker up. The Joker was so crazy that he didn't seem to feel it. The public sees Batman as a vigilante and the policemen chases Batman in the end. It was something that had to be done, though Batman had done nothing wrong. I did not care much for his disguised voice, but Christian Bale's performance was great playing Batman.

The Joker was really a crazy guy. His make-up was awful. It looked as if someone just colored his mouth with lipstick over two splits. The Joker made some people laugh in the theater. Heath Ledger has played the Joker wonderfully. I liked Jack Nicholson way of playing the Joker, but Heath Ledger seemed as if he was truly the Joker. The look that was on his painted face is what the character he played.

The actors that played Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), the Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) also played very well in the movie. The street scenes were very exciting. I think the movie deserves 10 ½ stars.

Let me first say this: I am not a superhero comic book fan, so I've never exactly felt affinity with the huge tide of superhero movies this past eight years or so. I took them all as standard popcorn fare as a kid, and as money-making movie studio vehicles as an adolescent. I did not like the Batman franchise either -- watching the TV reruns of the Joel Schumacher and Tim Burton versions, I found them caricature-ish and campy. The stories paralleled, the villains one-dimensioned, the protagonists left wanting. Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer drained along in my slightly amnesiac memory, so my faintest recollection of that early era was that of George Clooney's Batman -- a role the actor himself does not relish.

Coming across 2005, we saw a redefinition of the almost teetering franchise in "Batman Begins", envisioned by Christopher Nolan (of "Memento" and "The Prestige"), and enlivened by Christian Bale (of "American Psycho"). This version of "how it all started" became a tremendous hit, as it captured audiences, fans, and critics alike -- because it depicted Batman as a man of the modern times, just as human as all of us. We got to see the hero stripped down of the myth and followed him as he fought the bad guys while searching within himself in the process. Following "Batman Begins"' success was a sequel, which the world eagerly awaited.

The sequel did not disappoint.

"The Dark Knight" is a carefully constructed action movie -slash- morality play, something you don't see quite often in genres such as this. The films are always some monstrosity caused by the bad guys, the hero tracks them down and saves the day. Here, as much as the hero is flawed as he is redeeming, the villains are multifaceted and just as ordinary as we are. The movie starts, of course, with a bad thing -- a mischievous bank robbery orchestrated by The Joker (Heath Ledger). Where else does he get his funds for ammunition, anyway? The act leads to some knee-trembling within the bad elements of Gotham City, who are becoming increasingly handicapped because of "the triumvirate": Batman (Bale), the police force led by Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and the new district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). The thugs desperately need to restore the "natural order of things", and The Joker comes along and offers them a solution.

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne as Batman's alter ego, lives atop a hotel penthouse (The Wayne Manor burned into ashes in the previous film) and has a makeshift "batcave" below an innocuous cargo trailer, albeit still in good company with loyal butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and technology expert Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman). His relationship with longtime friend, lawyer Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, taking the role left by Katie Holmes) has fallen into a standstill as she is presently Dent's girlfriend and she says to Bruce that they can never be together in "his chance for a normal life".

The Joker loves anarchy. A series of chaos ensue, and the city has turned into a virtual ticking time bomb, unpredictable as to who the next high-profile victim or innocent casualty is. District Attorney Dent, brimming with idealism, vows to prosecute the criminals and rid them of the place. Commissioner Gordon, who has been fighting crime all his life, straddles on the fine line. Batman wonders whether all this recklessness has been the result of his doing, and ponders on giving up the battle.

This particular story is the centerpiece of the film. Beyond the amazing action scenes -- and there are a lot -- the "morality play" I first mentioned is deeply evident in the actions of these three men. How much are you willing to sacrifice for the greater good? How strong is your conviction? That these men, impenetrable as they may seem are fallible too.

To say that "The Dark Knight" is a gloomy film is partially true. Apart from the dark undertones and violence and bleakness, there is still some humor inserted alongside, sometimes in the more unexpected situations. There is one scene with The Joker in a hospital that is particularly hard to forget (and laugh about).

What I love about the movie is the moving pictures themselves. Being the first full-length movie shot entirely in IMAX definition, the shots are very clear and crisp that you don't have to squint to look for clues because everything's visually exciting. Chicago is turned into a 360-degree underworld. When Batman travels halfway around the world to Hong Kong, you can just marvel at the astounding skyscrapers and take a breathtaking view like a virtual bungee-jump as he suspends himself on one.

The cast, main and supporting, gave a very strong, stellar performance. Bale is effective in portraying Batman's vulnerability, and is downright amazing in the action sequences. Gyllenhaal takes one notch higher from Holmes' Dawes and gives it more personality and assertiveness. Eckhart earns major chops for portraying a very impassioned Dent (and then Two-Face), because it makes for a good character study -- is he a villain or simply a hero gone astray? There is certainly no other man to reprise as Gordon than Oldman with his subtlety; and Caine and Freeman makes the most of their screentime as Wayne's dependable counsels, at the expense of wit. The cast also includes Eric Roberts as a mob boss, Nestor Carbonell as the mayor; and if you observed earlier in the film, Cillian Murphy returned in a split second as "Batman Begins" nemesis Scarecrow.

The one character I have evidently missed out is mentioned especially last, because he is the best thing about "The Dark Knight". Heath Ledger gave a terrific, superlative performance as The Joker. When I first heard news that he was cast as the new Batman villain years ago, I felt skeptical about it. He never really played the bad guy in films, and I couldn't imagine himself undertaking such a major role as this. I was dead wrong. Every tic, every enunciation, every line is simply pitch-perfect. He essayed the role of The Joker so well he was unrecognizable. He stole every scene he was part of. I laughed a lot because he played The Joker with delirious delight that it was infectious. To think that this his last movie is saddening indeed, because if he were still making movies, I'm sure that he would've made his succeeding roles as great as this, and showed everyone his full potential.

Overall, "The Dark Knight" is one I'd definitely recommend anyone to watch -- if you're looking for a great story, great action, great scenes, great cast -- I have never seen a better movie in years.

Rating: 5/5

(P.S. I saw the movie three times!)

Now, I guess you have to be a bit of a geek to truly love super heroes. I fall into that category and do so rather proudly. When I was a youngster, I fell in love with super heroes very early on. I blame the children's television show on PBS called “The Electric Company.” They had a segment on that show where Spider-man was featured.

This was not the Spider-man from the comic books. Well, OK, not to confuse things, but it was him, but the stories were not the same. He was not battling the Green Goblin who was busy throwing Peter Parker's girlfriend off of bridges and killing her. No, on the “Electric Company” this Spider-man would go up against an abominable snowman who was stealing ice cream cones. However, Spidey would inevitably be called in and would pin the villain against the wall with his webbing. This Spidey seemed to walk everywhere, without the customary swinging from the rooftops with his webs. When he shot his webs at the bad guys they made very cool sounds that I would imitate when I pretended to be Spider-man.

The thing was, it was live action and everyone in the skits would speak except for Spidey. When he spoke, word balloons would pop up over his head. This was to teach kids how to ready, you see, not to just provide them with a Spider-man interlude. So, I would say I started to learn how to read thanks to super heroes, so right there it's pretty cool to like them

To love super heroes you really have to have spent time as a geek or a nerd. I have friends who were crazily popular, and are still crazily popular, and they just don't seem to get the super hero thing either. For me, I love all of the movies and the television shows. I watch “Smallville” and I loved “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel” too. My friends cannot fathom how I can claim “Buffy” was one of the best written shows on television and keep a straight face. They just don't understand.

I was the kid who started to get fat when he was in the fourth grade. In fact, fourth grade was the time when the universe and fate decided to play most of its practical jokes on my life. Not only did I start gaining weight (for reasons never adequately explained, in my opinion) but I also started becoming near-sighted. So, yes, fourth grade was the first year I had to wear glasses. Yes, life and the universe was telling me, “buckle up for puberty kid, this is gonna be bumpy.”

I turned to comic books toward the end of junior high and then into high school. As you might imagine, as the word “teen” was added to the end of my age, things got worse for me. When you spend the entire day in seventh or eighth grade being punched repeatedly in the arm by kids bigger and stronger and with more knowledge of how to fight than you, you kind of wish you had some kind of super power to fight back. Only then can you appreciate how cool it would be to have claws, unbreakable claws no less, pop out of your hands. Only then can you appreciate how cool it would be to have superhuman strength so that a single push could send your attacker flying across the room. Imagine how cool it would be to get an angry look on your face, have your eyeballs turn greenish and then turn into a giant lumbering, impossibly strong Hulk! No one would mess with you then because no one would “like you when you were angry.”

So, it brings me back to those happier times that I spent between the pages of the comic books I loved now that they are all becoming movies. For a very long time Marvel was way behind in the comic book movie race. DC had Superman and then they started putting out the Batman movies. Finally, after years of financial issues and other wrangling, Marvel started putting out the movies. I have been there for almost all of them.

I even liked “Daredevil!” I still have it in my DVD collection. I was a huge fan of the comic book (if you can read Frank Miller's Elektra storyline and not feel something, you are clinically dead) and I was anxious about the movie. When I saw it, I thought they did a pretty damn good job. I feel that movie fell into some kind of anti-Ben Affleck vortex and that wasn't really fair for the movie.

I loved the first to “Spider-man” movies but agree the third did not work. I loved “Batman Begins” because I think it was done in a way that was different and even attempted to add some kind of shot of realism into a story that, really, when you stop to think about it, is pretty ridiculous. I don't know anyone who can dismiss that movie just because it was the fifth one in the last few decades as mentioned in the Entertainment Weekly article. Anyone who can see the preview of “The Dark Knight” and not get excited about seeing Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker is too dense for real human thought in my opinion. I think it looks like a career-making role and it makes his sudden death all the more sad. No more gay cowboys for this actor after this role. I can't wait.

They have made another Hulk movie. I have to admit, I kind of liked the first one, although I still don't really understand what happened at the end of that movie. This one looks like it's mostly action and the Hulk fighting the Abomination and, you have to admit, that does seem a bit cooler than the angst-ridden, heavily dramatic version Ang Lee (he of the gay cowboy movie mentioned above) came up with.

I loved the “Iron Man” movie and I was not a fan of the comic book character. Robert Downy Jr. was brilliant. The movie had me from the first frame and carried me right through. It made me more of a fan of Iron Man than I was when I collected comics.

I liked the last “Superman” movie. I enjoyed “The Punisher.” The only thing that doesn't work are the comic book comedies. “Mystery Men” and “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” and “Super Hero Movie” juts didn't work. We geeks take our comic book super heroes seriously. Therefore, I am not predicting great things for the Will Smith super hero comedy “Hancock” due out later this year.

For me, these are the characters I loved as a kid. These are the movies I dreamed about back then. These are the movies I have been wanting. You can keep your “Armageddons” and your “Independence Days.” Give me some dude hanging on the side of a building battling some other goofy guy in a costume.

1. Zen Intergalactic Ninja
   

   
   
   Created by Steve Stern and Dan Cote in 1987, Zen is blue-skinned, alien superhero who came from planet Blatoon. He was a product of a genetic experiment which had gone wrong and was supposed to be terminated. However, one of the scientists involved transported him into the space. Then, Masters of Om found baby Zen, who then raised and trained him to become a skillful Ninja, working for the highest bidder. He was then hired to fight Lord Contaminuous and his allies such as Garbageman, Sulfura and Oil Slick among others who had sworn to harm the Planet Earth ecology.

2. Captain Planet and the Planeteers

   
   
   In 1990, Captain Planet was born based on Ted Turner's idea. He has green hair, blue skin, costume which consists of red vest, red gloves and boots, and also a symbol of yellow globe on his chest. He has super human powers and is able to transform himself into the various elements and powers relating to nature. His main objective is to protect planet Earth from destructive human activities as well as to provide help in the aftermath of natural disaster. His weaknesses include smog or polluted air and nuclear radiation. He has sidekicks called the Planeteers comprising five teenagers representing five common elements - Earth, Wind, Fire, Air and Love. The Planeteers assist Captain Planet in protecting Earth from pollution, national disasters and also criminals.

3. Chlorophyll Kid

   
   
   In the 1960s, a group of heroes called the Legion of Substitute Heroes were created to depict the future of the DC Comics Universe. This group consists of five young heroes who were not yet able to prove themselves as superheroes but tried very hard to get a place in the elite group. One of the young heroes is called the Chlorophyll Kid whose original comic name was Ral Benem from Planet Mardru. He has the super power which can accelerate the growth of plants. He obtained the power since he was small after accidentally falling into a container filled with super plant growth formula. He can also communicate with flora and create trees and plants such as cacti to distract enemies.

4. Animal Man

   
   
   In 1965, Dave Wood and Carmine Infantino created Animal Man, a DC Comics superhero. Animal Man aka Buddy Baker acquired the capability to imitate the ability of animals after he encountered a crashed alien spacecraft. He uses this ability to fight crimes. In the 1980s, the Animal Man character was revitalized by a Scottish writer, Grant Morrison, which has seen the Animal Man as an environmentalist, a committed animal rights activist and a vegetarian.

5. Sonic X

   
   
   Sonic X is a character in comic book series published by the Archie Comics, which was originally based on the Japanese anime with similar name. Sonic X is also featured in the SEGA video game with a slightly different title - Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic is a blue, alien hedgehog who lives in another planet. During one of his attack on his angonist, a villain by the name of Dr Eggman, Sonic and his team are caught in an explosion that resulted in them being transported to another dimension; in what appeared to be planet Earth. Sonic was separated from his friends and was saved by a boy named Chris. Chris helped Sonic to locate his friends as well as the “Chaos Emeralds” in order to get back to his dimension. In one of the series, Sonic and his friends fought Dr Eggman's “Green Robots” designed to pursue the most powerful natural energies ever, i.e. Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald. Sonic X and his friends sworn to fight the evil Dr Eggman who planned to launch massive destruction to the Earth environment and conquer it.

6. Aquaman

   
   
   Arthur Joseph Curry aka Aquaman is a DC Comic Superhero, first created in the 1940s by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger. He was said to be the son of a famous oceanobiologist, Dr Phillip Curry. Arthur and his family live in his father's research facility at Avalon Cay under the sea, and his only window to the outside world being television. As his mother died during childbirth and he was born three months premature, his father was forced to use a mutagenic serum on his son to ensure his survival. Arthur learned from his father to draw oxygen from water and live under the ocean. He is able to swim at high speeds, see in total darkness and communicate with oceanic life. He ensures peace in the ocean kingdom and protects the ocean from any harm done against the sea creatures as well as the ecosystem.