Superhero Films and Television

Masked vigilantes, cosmic champions, flawed icons and screen worlds built around power, identity and responsibility.

This archive follows superhero film and television from early serials through television adaptations, blockbuster comic-book cinema and modern shared universes. Marvel and DC dominate much of the collection, but independent, international and stranger superhero films remain part of the same screen history.

Start Here

• Batman: The Movie — colourful television-era superhero spectacle brought to the cinema.
• Superman — the film that established the modern big-budget superhero template.
• Watchmen — superhero mythology examined through politics, violence and disillusionment.
• The Dark Knight — crime drama and superhero cinema pushed into the same frame.
• Captain America: Civil War — shared-universe conflict built around loyalty and accountability.
• Wonder Woman — myth, war and heroic identity within modern DC cinema.
• Black Panther — kingship, technology, culture and superhero politics.

Browse the Chronological Archive

Films and television remain organised by decade, with series separated from feature films wherever the archive already supports both.

1930s Superhero Serials

• 1939 — Mandrake the Magician

1940s Superhero Serials and Films

• 1944 — Captain America (Marvel serial)

1960s Superhero Films

• 1966 – Batman: The Movie
• 1966 – Rat Pfink a Boo Boo
• 1966 – The Wild World of Batwoman
• 1967 – Argoman the Fantastic Superman

1960s Superhero Television

• 1966 -1968, Batman

1970s Superhero Films

1970s Superhero Television

• 1975-1977 The Secrets of Isis
• 1975 -1979 Wonder Woman (TV series)
• 1977 – 1979 The Amazing Spider-Man (TV series)
• 1977 – 1982 The Incredible Hulk (1978 TV series)

1990s Superhero Films

1990s Superhero Television

1993 – 1997 Lois and Clark ( The new Adventures of Superman)

2000s Superhero Films

• 2000 –Marvel – X-Men
• 2002 – Marvel – Blade II
• 2002 – Marvel –  Spider-Man
• 2003 – The League of Extraordinary Gentleman
• 2003 – Marvel – Daredevil
• 2003 – Marvel – Hulk
• 2003 – Marvel – X2 
• 2004 – DC Comics – Catwoman  
• 2004 – Hellboy 
• 2004 – The Punisher
• 2004 – Spider-Man 2
• 2004 – Blade: Trinity
• 2005 – Marvel – Fantastic Four 
• 2005 – Constantine
• 2005 – Batman Begins
• 2005 –  V for Vendetta
• 2005 – Elektra
• 2006 – DC Comics – Superman Returns
• 2006 – X-Men: The Last Stand
• 2007 – Ghost Rider
• 2007  – Spider-Man 3
• 2007 – Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
• 2008 – DC Comics – The Dark Knight
• 2008 – Iron Man
• 2008 The Incredible Hulk
• 2008 Punisher: War Zone
• 2009 – Watchmen
• 2009 – X-Men Origins: Wolverine

2000s Superhero Television

• 2000 – 2002 Dark Angel
• 2001 – 2011 Smallville
• 2006 – Blade (TV series)

2010s Superhero Films

• 2010 – Marvel – Iron Man 2
• 2010 Jonah Hex
• 2011 – DC Comics – Green Lantern
• 2011 – Marvel– Thor
• 2011 – Marvel – X-Men: First Class
• 2011 – Marvel – Captain America: The First Avenger
• 2011 – Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
• 2012 – DC Comics – The Dark Knight Rises
• 2012 – Marvel– The Avengers
• 2012 – Marvel – The Amazing Spider-Man
• 2013 – Man of Steel
• 2013 – Marvel – Iron Man 3
• 2013 – Marvel – The Wolverine
• 2013 – Marvel – Thor: The Dark World
• 2014 – Marvel – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• 2014 – Marvel – The Amazing Spider-Man 2
• 2014 – Marvel – X-Men: Days of Future Past
• 2014 – Guardians of the Galaxy
• 2015 – Marvel – Avengers: Age of Ultron
• 2015 – Marvel – Ant-Man
• 2015 – Fantastic Four
• 2016 – DC Comics – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
• 2016 – DC Comics – Suicide Squad
• 2016 – Marvel – Deadpool
• 2016 – Marvel – Captain America: Civil War
• 2016 – Marvel – X-Men: Apocalypse
• 2016 – Doctor Strange
• 2017 – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
• 2017 – Marvel – Logan
• 2017 – Marvel – Spider-Man: Homecoming
• 2017 – Marvel – Thor: Ragnarok
• 2017 – DC Comics – Wonder Woman
• 2017 – DC Comics –Justice League
• 2018 – DC Comics – Aquaman
• 2018 – Black Panther
• 2018  – Avengers: Infinity War
• 2018 – Deadpool 2
• 2018  – Ant-Man and the Wasp
• 2018  – Venom
• 2019 – Avengers: Endgame
• 2019 – Shazam!
• 2019 – Captain Marvel
• 2019 – DC Comics –Joker

2010s Superhero Television

• 2015 – 2018 Marvel – Daredevil (TV series)
• 2017 – 2019 Marvel – The Punisher (TV series)
• 2019 – The Boys 

2020s Superhero Films

• 2020 – DC Comics – Birds of Prey
• 2020 – Marvel – The New Mutants
• 2020 – The Old Guard
• 2020 – DC Comics – Wonder Woman 1984
• 2021 – Marvel – Black Widow
• 2021 – Marvel – Eternals
• 2021 – Marvel – Venom: Let There Be Carnage
• 2021 – DC Comics – Zack Snyder’s Justice League
• 2021 – DC Comics – The Suicide Squad
• 2022 – DC Comics – The Batman
• 2022 – Marvel – Morbius

2020s Superhero Television

• 2021 — Hawkeye

Major Screen Universes and Traditions

• Marvel — heroes, teams and adaptations spanning multiple film and television continuities.
• DC Comics — Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and a long history of screen reinvention.
• X-Men — mutation, prejudice, competing philosophies and ensemble superhero storytelling.
• Watchmen — a darker examination of power, celebrity and political consequence.

Related Screen Collections

• Film & Television — return to the main screen archive.
• Action & Adventure Films — pursuit, combat and physical spectacle.
• Science Fiction Films — technology, altered humanity and cosmic scale.
• Fantasy Films — myth, magic and heroic worlds.
• Books, Comics & Graphic Novels — follow screen heroes back to their source traditions.

Using Superhero Stories as Inspiration

Superhero stories are strongest as inspiration for identity, reputation, responsibility, rival ideals and the consequences of exceptional power. Those ideas can inform NPCs and factions without importing an entire comic-book universe into the campaign.