Why the World Still Needs Superman (and Which Movies Absolutely Didn’t)
From Gunn's squirrel-saving reboot to Reeve's golden boy, Superman keeps reinventing himself —and reminding us why we need him
There’s a scene in Superman Returns (2006) where Lois Lane has won a Pulitzer for an op-ed titled “Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman.” But by the end of that very film, it’s clear that the headline was wrong. Because the world doesn’t just need Superman — we keep reinventing him precisely because we can’t imagine a world without him.
Every generation has had its own version of the Man of Steel — from the idealistic golden boy of the Christopher Reeve era to Zack Snyder’s stoic alien messiah, to, now, James Gunn’s bright-eyed millennial with a golden retriever and a moral compass. We tweak his cape, soften his jawline, add CGI muscles or political allegory, but the essence — decency, hope, kindness — endures. Superman doesn’t age out because what he represents is timeless. Sure, he wears his underwear on the outside and hasn’t aged a day since 1938, but somehow, Superman remains the blueprint. We keep going back to him. We reboot him.
James Gunn’s 2025 reboot may not be the most polished Superman film ever made, but it’s easily the most now. His Superman saves squirrels, gets detained by the government, and shrugs off misinformation campaigns engineered by a tech-bro Lex Luthor who feels algorithmically pulled from a Twitter thread about late-stage capitalism. It’s not subtle, but neither is the idea of a flying man in spandex who punches monsters. The point is: he still works. And that’s why we keep going back to him.
Now, to the rankings. From soaring classics to cringeworthy misfires, here’s every live-action Superman film, ranked from best to worst.
Superman (1978)
This is it. The one. Richard Donner’s Superman wasn’t just the first real superhero blockbuster — it was cinema’s first sincere attempt at myth-making in a cape. Christopher Reeve made us believe that someone who says “golly” could actually bench press a bus. His Superman also remains the gold standard: hopeful, principled, and somehow both godlike and human. Marlon Brando phoned it in from a white jumpsuit on Krypton, reading lines off a baby’s nappy, and still walked away with $3.7 million. Iconic. The John Williams score alone deserves a special mention. Every Superman since has been chasing its cape.
Superman II (1980)
Let’s just call this what it is: a rare sequel that slaps. Superman gives up his powers for love (relatable), just as three intergalactic fascists show up to wreck Earth (typical). Terence Stamp’s General Zod is a campy, scene-stealing menace, and the Metropolis showdown is still better than most modern CGI slugfests. Yes, it’s a Frankenstein of Donner’s vision and Richard Lester’s reshoots, but somehow it works. “Kneel before Zod” still hits.
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Superman (2025)
The ones who just let out a “what!” because this superceded Man of Steel on this list – this is my list, okay?
Is it overstuffed? Sure. But, James Gunn’s reboot is warm, weird, and wears its heart like a badge. Is Krypto the superdog a little too much? Also yes. But it’s the first Superman in decades that feels like he actually likes Earth. Corenswet is a perfect modern Superman: kind, charming, and just awkward enough to feel human. Lex Luthor is part tech bro, part propaganda machine, and Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane might be the sharpest since Kidder. It’s not perfect — but it feels right. And these days, that’s super enough.
Superman Returns (2006)
Unfairly forgotten and criminally underrated, Bryan Singer’s moody semi-sequel dared to go quiet. Brandon Routh gave us a lonely, brooding Superman who just wanted to reconnect with his ex and her surprise child. It didn’t blow up any cities, but it had soul. It also had Kevin Spacey as a preposterously evil Lex Luthor and Kate Bosworth as a slightly confused Lois. Still, there’s a sadness to this one that lingers in a good way. A Superman who doesn’t know if the world still wants him? Now that’s relatable.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
Look, it’s four hours long and has more slow-mo than a shampoo commercial, but Snyder’s do-over is strangely operatic. Cavill spends half the film dead and the other half brooding in a black suit — but at least here, he smiles. A little. There’s heart amid the CGI rubble. It’s not a Superman film, per se, but this is Snyder’s most coherent attempt at understanding the character, which admittedly isn’t saying much.
Man of Steel (2013)
Ah yes, the Superman movie that thought it was The Tree of Life but directed by Michael Bay. Snyder’s vision of the Man of Tomorrow is grim, heavy-handed, and allergic to joy. Cavill glowers. Pa Kent dies in a tornado while Superman… watches. Zod wants to terraform Earth, and Superman responds by turning Metropolis into a pile of smouldering concrete. Also, he kills a guy. Neck-snappingly so. For a film trying to reinvent Superman for the modern age, it forgot to bring along the optimism.
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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
You know that meme about two guys fighting and a third yelling, “You’re both wrong”? That’s this movie. Cavill’s Superman is joyless, Affleck’s Batman is borderline fascist, and the whole plot hinges on… their mothers having the same name. Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor, meanwhile, is doing an experimental TED Talk on chaos. There’s potential buried somewhere beneath the rubble, but Snyder just keeps blowing things up before it can emerge.
Superman III (1983)
Richard Pryor is in this. That’s not a compliment. The tone shift from mythic grandeur to slapstick comedy is so jarring it might give you whiplash. Superman gets turned evil by synthetic kryptonite and picks a fight with himself in a junkyard — arguably the film’s only good scene. Otherwise, it’s a mess of weird computer hacking, bad wigs, and a villain who wants to corner the coffee market. Yes, really.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
If Superman III was a stumble, this was a faceplant. Christopher Reeve deserved better. The story (co-written by Reeve) had noble intentions — nuclear disarmament — but was executed with the budget of a high school play. Nuclear Man is a dollar-store He-Man knockoff, the flying effects look like Windows 95 screensavers, and the whole film feels like it was edited on a microwave. This one didn’t just kill the franchise. It buried it.