Pitting all of the classic superheroes against each other in a real life battle would surely result in chaos. Luckily, we can rate the spandex-clad characters in a less catastrophic manner: based on how well their movies fared with critics.
The average Rotten Tomatoes scores of solo superhero movies — as opposed to teams like the X-Men or the Avengers, whose rankings you can see in a separate list — is one proxy for which superhero ranks highest in moviegoers’ eyes. The list below includes franchises in which the superhero has had at least two solo films, which is why you won’t see Wonder Woman on here just yet — though the critically acclaimed Patty Jenkins film will likely get a sequel in the coming years. And considering that it’s sitting comfortably at a score of 92% fresh, Diana Prince could well come to top this lot.
As we look ahead to new solo superhero adventures — most notably, Spidey’s return in Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 7 — here are Rotten Tomatoes’ average ratings of standalone superhero franchises, from highest to lowest.
Hellboy
2 films, Average score: 83%
Iron Man
3 films, Average score: 81.6%
Spiderman
5 films, Average score: 73.8%
Thor
2 films, Average score: 71.5%
Batman
9 films, Average score: 70%
Wolverine
3 films, Average score: 67.3%
Captain America
4 films, 66.75%
Hulk
2 films, Average score: 64%
Superman
6 films, Average score: 58.5%
The Crow
4 films, Average score: 58%
Punisher
3 films, Average score: 56%
Kick-Ass
2 films, Average score: 53.5%
Dredd
2 films, Average score: 48%
Blade
2 films, Average score: 48%
Ghost Rider
2 films, Average score: 21.5%
