8 Awesome Scenes From Awful Superhero Movies

Even the most hardcore comic book movie fans have to admit that there have been some terrible entries into the genre. This year has already delivered a couple that have really divided people, with a large number declaring them “awful” – namely Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and X-Men: Apocalypse. That said, the jury is still out on whether they will join the sorry bunch that are unanimously labelled the worst superheroes films of all-time – like Batman & Robin, Fantastic Four (either one really) and Green Lantern. Yet, even these movies, which otherwise do their best to sully the good names of the superheroes they star, offer up something worthwhile that hints at the brilliant films they could have been. To use one of the above examples, Apocalypse made up for its lack of character focus in the rest of the film with one powerful scene where Magneto suffers a terrible personal tragedy. Likewise, the following list showcases eight amazing scenes from otherwise awful superhero movies. As always, feel free to drop a comment below and let us know if you agree with our picks or not. 8) Enter Wonder Woman – Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice Yes, we did just say that it is too soon to call BvS one of the worst superhero movies ever, but it certainly did disappoint a great number of people, which earns it a dishonourable mention here. The main crime the movie commits is that it's far too gloomy for a film that's meant to start the pants-wettingly exciting prospect of the Justice League being realized on the big screen. One ray of sunshine comes during the final fight against Doomsday, though. When things don’t look to be going well for Bats and Supes, Diana Prince (introduced earlier in the film) finally turns up in full Wonder Woman armour to give them some much needed back-up. To see the debut of a character who has been waiting 75 long years for a cinematic outing should bring a smile to just about any comic book fan’s face. Even composers Hanz Zimmer and Junkie XL knew how great this scene was and adorned it with the best piece of music in the whole movie. 7) Opening Montage – X-Men Origins: Wolverine A spinoff film from the then-defunct main X-Men franchise starring its biggest star, X-Men Origins: Wolverine must have felt like a surefire hit for 20th Century Fox back in the day. Clearly, their certainty that it was going to print money meant they didn’t put a lot of effort into the movie and it ended up being a hot mess. One part that stood out, however, is the very impressive sequence which accompanies the opening titles. In the movie, we find out that Logan (or rather James Howlett) is a lot older than we thought he was, and this scene fills us in on his long life by showing his service in various wars across American history – the American Civil War, both World Wars and Vietnam. It's such a great scene that unfortunately, the rest of the film never lives up to it. 6) Alfred’s Pep Talk - Batman & Robin We’re sure you don’t need us to tell you of why Batman & Robin is so bad that it's gone down as the most infamous superhero film in history. A far cry from the gothic stylings of 1989’s Batman or the gritty realism of the following Batman Begins, B&R clearly only existed to sell toys - hence the lame, pun-filled script. Some actual drama did manage to make its way through the mincer, however, in a small scene between Bruce and Alfred. It sees a downhearted Bruce talk to Alfred about the futility of his actions as Batman, and why he became the character in the first place. In this scene alone, George Clooney is actually a very good Bruce Wayne and Michael Gough, a rock throughout the four original Batman films, gets something to work with as Alfred for a change. Honestly, we’ve still got no idea how this touching, sombre scene exists in such a gaudy, OTT movie. 5) The Sandman Cometh - Spider-Man 3 After the heights of Spider-Man 2, still regarded as one of the very best of superhero movies ever, anticipation was through the roof for Spider-Man 3 back in 2007. Sadly, what made the previous one work so well was lost amidst excessively goofy humour and underwhelming villains. One sequence that is undeniably brilliant, though, is the creation of Sandman. The schmaltz might be overplayed with the character elsewhere, but Flint Marko is a truly tragic figure here. Being made of sand might seem like a handy ability to have to rob banks with, but it would be a crummy way to live, as shown by Flint’s body collapsing into dust as he tries to reform himself. With some breathtaking CGI which still holds up today plus a terrific score by Christopher Young, the scene is so good that it's almost enough to redeem the whole film. And then you remember the ‘dancing in the street’ scene, and it suddenly isn’t anymore. 4) Frightening Four – Fantastic Four As previously mentioned, 2015’s Fantastic Four was a colossal failure. Fans were excited to see a reboot of Marvel’s First Family after the campy mid-00s films, but the grim tone was a poor fit for the characters and the film’s issues behind the scenes were very apparent in the final cut. Occasionally, though, there are glimpses of the fascinating new take on the characters that director Josh Trank was going for. Very much inspired by the body horror movies of David Cronenberg, the sequences that demonstrate the mutation of the Four's bodies actually have the intention of making you disgusted. Unlike the unintentional disgust you feel for the rest of the film. Though they are generally presented as pretty light-hearted heroes, if you think about it, it would be terrifying if you suddenly turned invisible or burst into flames or, worst of all, transformed into a rock monster with, um, certain anatomical features lacking. These sequences get that across with aplomb. 3) Human Torch Vs. Silver Surfer – Fantastic Four 2: Rise Of The Silver Surfer There were quite a few things wrong with 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, but the look of the titular and iconic shiny hero wasn't one of them. The look itself isn't hard to pull off (especially with CGI), but I give director Tim Story credit for not trying to ground the character in some sort of reality or resort to any half measures in adapting Silver Surfer. The big issue with the earlier Fantastic Four movie is that it didn’t really have a defining vision, be it revolutionary or otherwise, which means it ended up being pretty forgettable, generic family-friendly superhero fare. In retrospect, it is better than the reboot, but that isn’t saying much. The sequel was more or less the same, but at least it had the addition of one of the coolest characters in the Fantastic Four mythos, the Silver Surfer. The CGI rendition of the character (physically played by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne) is actually pretty good, and he does feature in the film’s standout sequence - an exciting chase scene between the Surfer and the Human Torch. If only the planned Silver Surfer spinoff movie had actually been made. By the way, does anyone know what happened to that guy who played Torch? He was pretty good. So good in fact that he should turn up in another Marvel movie someday…. 2) Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane? – Superman Returns While reboots are a pretty cheap way of restarting a franchise, they do exist for a reason - so that things can start afresh without worrying about carrying over any baggage. It is peculiar, then, that the Man of Steel’s long-awaited return to cinema screens in 2006, after nearly twenty years away, basically picked up where it left off. Pair that with a ponderous, talky style and you had a film that ensured a proper reboot came a few years later. Despite the general lack of action, there is one fantastic set piece in the movie, where Supes does his classic trick of saving a plane-load of people. Here, however, there is an attempt to give the whole thing some extra tension and realism as the plane crumples beneath its grip - before he lands in the middle of a football stadium. It’s a thrilling sequence that just sums up what Superman films should always aspire to show – that the hero will do anything to save civilians and will overcome incredible odds to do so. 1) Death Of Gwen Stacy – The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Another franchise that failed to reignite is The Amazing Spider-Man series. After a so-so, if pointless, retelling of the origins story, TASM-2 could have been a breath of fresh air that ensured the future of Sony’s Spider-Man movies. Instead, they got so carried away with setting up future installments that they forget to make it work on its own. The best thing about the Amazing films is definitely the terrific two leads, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, and their great chemistry. It isn’t surprising, then, that the film’s standout scene is a heart-wrenching movie version of the classic comics moment of Gwen Stacy’s death. Despite the annoying relocation to a random clock tower instead of the George Washington Bridge, the scene is just as emotional as you would expect. A nice touch is Spidey’s webbing resembling a hand, just out of Gwen's reach. Just imagine, if the rest of the film was this good, we would be watching The Amazing Spider-Man 3 right now instead of Tom Holland’s version in Captain America: Civil War.