2023 was been kind to the superhero films. The DCEU ended with Jason Momoa’s ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom‘ ahead of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU reboot. While MCU is refocusing after critical flops and the legal troubles of Jonathan Majors, leading to the scrapping of ‘Avengers: Kang Dynasty‘.
With superhero fatigue kicking in among the fans, many superhero films tanked at the box office. Here are all the 2023 comic book films ranked from worst to best.
Related: Where Did Marvel And DC Go Wrong With Their Superhero Films In 2022 And 2023?
The Flash
Despite being one of the most popular DC characters and a founding member of the Justice League. ‘The Flash‘ was credited for the return of Michael Keaton’s Batman along with the cameo appearance of George Clooney. However, the performance of Ezra Miller was widely criticized along with his off-camera legal controversies. Also, the CGI of ‘The Flash’ was laughed at.
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania
After a cameo appearance in ‘Loki‘, Kang was properly introduced in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’. ‘Quantumania’s ending appears to be a compilation of just last-minute reshoots, steering away from what seems set up to be a much darker ending. However, the fans were disappointed with the portrayal of Kang, especially after knowing the power the multiversal baddie holds.
The Marvels
‘The Marvels‘ broke all sorts of records. Primarily setting a record for the lowest-rated Marvel film, underperforming at the box office as well. The ‘Captain Marvel‘ sequel had a difficult time following up on its predecessor. Although the cast was praised for their performances, the script was nothing but inconsistent.
Blue Beetle
‘Blue Beetle‘ was the second last film before James Gunn took over DCU, marking the debut of Xolo Maridueña. The action scenes and special effects were appreciated but failed to impress at the box office. However, Gunn has confirmed that the superhero character will return in rebooted DCEU, meaning that the character has more to the story and will return with an upgrade.
In case you missed: “Blue Beetle Is First DCU Character But Not First DCU Film”: James Gunn Confuses Fans With His Latest Comment On Chronology Of DC Universe Reboot
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
The first ‘Aquaman’ pulled over $1 billion at the global box office, unfortunately, ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ failed to capture the elements of its predecessor. The film received generally negative reviews from critics and grossed $434 million worldwide against a production budget of $205–215 million. Also, the Amber Heard vs Johnny Depp defamation case attracted negative publicity towards the film. In December 2023, Jason Momoa said that this would be his final performance as Aquaman, believing that there is a lot of potential in the charter, but wants to focus more on other characters such as Arthur Jr. Aquaman’s son.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
‘Shazam: Fury of the Gods’ is a story about the fear of growing up and losing family. However, the film was a surprise hit for the DCEU, as it delivered an origin story anchored by Zachary Levi‘s memorable performance as the titular character stuck in an adult superhero’s body. Unfortunately, ‘Shazam: Fury of the Gods’ mixed reviews, and did not live up to the hype of the fan’s expectations.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ is one of the most visually stunning superhero movies ever made. However the cliffhanger infuriated the fans, but bringing to life the sketched characters was a phenomenal miracle. If ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’ can maintain its franchise’s quality, the trilogy will be one of the best in the superhero genre. Sony’s latest animated Spider-Man adventure was near perfect, from the characters and story to the animation and soundtrack.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘ is the last movie of the team and James Gunn’s direction before he moved on with DC. The entire trequel revolved around Rocket Racoon’s story with him leading a new team after Peter Quill returned to Earth. The High Evolutionary is one of the MCU’s most hateful villains and Rocket’s abusive backstory tears up the audience.
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