The Best Superhero Movie of ALL TIME Tournament! The Final Battle!
Filed under: Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Polls
The Dark Knight demolished Superman! Iron Man beat up Batman Begins!
Well, we made it. Oh sure we had a slight glitch in Round 5 and we've withstood all sorts of angry movie-fan banter in the comments sections ... but overall I'd call our first Cinematical Tournament a big success. Our readers had fun, the Twitter movie freaks were very supportive, and I even learned a little something about tolerance and love along the way. So without further delay (oh, except to say that we'll have a nice handy recap sometime soon) I offer to you the final match-up of The Best Superhero Movie of ALL TIME tournament. (Or at least until another good superhero movie comes out, whichever comes first.)
The Dark Knight (2008) vs. Iron Man (2008)
To track back how and see how we got here, click right here and go brew some coffee. Oh, and let it be known that we're certainly not done hosting tournaments. In fact, we're putting together our next one now, and may even ask for a little input from you first. Stay tuned!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
9-08-2009 @ 10:10PM
Frug said...
Iron Man is certainly an excellent film, but for me the two best films in this tournament met in Round 9 when The Dark Knight took on the Incredibles.
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9-08-2009 @ 10:20PM
jeff said...
I agree. And the better film lost.
9-08-2009 @ 10:11PM
Bubbameister33 said...
I voted for Iron Man for the hell of it. Can't wait for the sequel.
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9-08-2009 @ 10:20PM
Slappy said...
I'm sure this has been said before but, this isn't "All Time" or the criteria are skewed because neither Dark Knight nor Iron Man has been out long enough to be an "All Time" classic.
/End pedantic quibble.
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9-09-2009 @ 5:12AM
LordPaul said...
That doesn't make sense dude.
The only issue you could make is that we haven't reached the end of time, so more/better movies may come afterwords. In which case, it would be "The best Superhero movie of all time up until the end of Summer 2009" which would be a mouthfull
That said, I can't agree that TDK is the best movie anyway, it was just too depressing.
9-08-2009 @ 11:16PM
Tony Montana said...
The Dark Knight is defintely better than Iron Man. Iron Man was pretty good but not exceptional.
The Dark Knight was envisioned by a man who did everything but completely destroy everything we know about Batman. Make him a fugitive, make him vulnerable and make, take away key characters.. I mean damn Nolan made you wonder if there was going to be another movie.
Iron Man was just cookie cutter fodder that was of a good quality but nothing new or different.
Plus for me the real battle was between The Incredibles and The Dark Knight.
They are both sublime movies quite different to any other super hero movie we've seen.
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9-08-2009 @ 11:06PM
L1A said...
Voted Iron Man, because The Dark Knight is ridiculously overrated. C Nolan's, sure it's not "super hero" movie, The Prestige is way superior movie than TDK. TDK way too long, it would have been better movie without Two-Face in it.
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9-08-2009 @ 11:56PM
Master X said...
Dark Knight is overrated because of Ledgers death. I get sick of it.
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9-09-2009 @ 12:04AM
IanP said...
Recently re-watched 'The Dark Knight', and while it is an excellent film, my heart will always count 'Superman The Movie' as the greatest of all time (warts and all).
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9-09-2009 @ 9:38AM
justin said...
i'm with you dude. love Dark Knight, but to me, Superman is the ultimate embodiment of what a comic book film should be.
9-09-2009 @ 12:11AM
mf said...
Let's be honest. How many people who voted for TDK all along the way are 18 and under? The result of this tournament will not stand the test of time. That being said, I had a lot of fun voting every week. Thanks Cinematical!
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9-09-2009 @ 9:26AM
ML said...
I must say I found myself voting for The Dark Knight & (sorry to say) I ain't no spring chicken anymore. But, then, I'm rather fond of Fritz Lang's Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse, and I find parallels between Lang's Mabuse and Nolan's envisioning of the Joker as a criminal whose true motive is anarchy. However, I can't say I'm hugely knowledgeable about comics (I wasn't allowed to read them as a child) & therefore I certainly am not a purist when it comes to adherence to the form. I only understand the feel of the medium, character and story - but I usually find myself agreeing with the fans. After all, it's pretty clear when a film works or not.
9-09-2009 @ 12:22AM
Booby Jones said...
Iron Man was a lot of fun and showed what a great genre movie can be like when it hits all cylinders.
The Dark Knight on the other hand redefined the genre and raised the stakes for everyone else.
After I saw the Dark Knight I kept on thinking about Spiderman and how Sam Raimi always talks about how important the story was for the series and what an emphasis they put on developing the characters and what journey they were going to be in and grow. Remember all that? Well the Dark Knight makes the story for the Spiderman movies look amateurish. After The Dark Knight came out, does anyone talk about how great the story for Spiderman was anymore? When Raimi talks about Spiderman now, I can't take it seriously anymore. They are all just another Hollywood movie after The Dark Knight.
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9-09-2009 @ 1:27AM
David said...
I dont think people have thought this one through. There are many things about Dark Knight that are good but for a Super Hero movie I dont think it was the best. It did the best and did the best joker in history thanks to ledger. I suppose I think Ironman stands out more to me as an extra super person. A super hero. Batman doesnt have that in my mind. I have watched Ironman way more than dark knight. Maybe the energy is nicer, maybe the suit and story or cooler, I havent decided. I just know I can enjoy that story time and time again and ride the experience.
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9-09-2009 @ 2:11AM
Matt said...
Note to all fanboys: You're predictable and you suck at life. TDK will be forgotten within 10 years, count on it.
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9-09-2009 @ 2:25AM
Malfoy Roark said...
I'm sure there were people saying the same thing about M. Keaton's Batman as well. Yet people still talk about it. (Thanks Jack!)
9-09-2009 @ 2:13AM
borden said...
its so sad that the movie that set the template for these two movies to even be made, "batman begins" isnt in the top two. before batman begins the realistic, dramatic, quality, superhero movie didnt exist. the dark knight is simply 2008's titanic, and stands as another revelation of the worlds social conformity.
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9-09-2009 @ 2:28AM
Malfoy Roark said...
If TDK has BB to thank for its existence, who/what does Cameron have to thank for Titanic's existence?
You should have seen this question coming with the comparison you just made.
9-09-2009 @ 4:02AM
Don Michael Corleone said...
The Dark Knight is the modern super - movie with a style and a special mood.
I am not 18 under. What a kind of opinion it was that?
Nowdays in America there are not really directors. This is the reason that quality is an unknown word for most moviegoers
Nolan is a great talent. He is a real director and he made a super - hero movie with quality.
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9-09-2009 @ 6:18AM
sandratycova said...
I put my vote on "The Dark Knight" because It has all the ingredients to be a great movie, I may grudgingly put it on my best-ten-of-the year list. The Joker is categorically brilliant. The late-great actor turned another Batman movie into a riveting film that will be Oscar worthy only because of him. Overall its an amazing movie.
akku
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