We all know films like Endgame and The Dark Knight, but what about the superhero films that not many people watched? Because you might be surprised just how many indie vigilante and superhero movies exist.
From the dark and morbid to the completely indie and unknown films, superheroes are everywhere! Here’s our picks for the 10 best lesser known superhero movies!
Kick-Ass
Directed by action master Matthew Vaughn, Kick-Ass is one hell of a ride through the eyes of wannabe superheroes.
When a young man, obsessed with comics, decides to become a vigilante, it goes pretty poorly. He finds himself in increasingly bad odds and making increasingly bad decisions. Along the way he meets other like minded people, including a crazy Nicholas Cage.
This movie is just good fun from start to finish.
Super
Rainn Wilson and James Gunn gave fans something that they’ve never really seen in the superhero genre. When a man’s wife falls under the seductive influence of a drug lord, he becomes a superhero. Except, he kinda sucks at it.
Boasting equal amounts of hilarious one liners, witty timing and brutal action. It’s James Gunn at his best with a perfect pairing of Wilson and Ellen Page.
Defendor
If Super has you interested in a superhero film that takes dark humor and a stark look at humanity, try this one next. Starring Woody Harrelson as the titular character, he must hunt down Captain Industry.
Sounds pretty on the nose right? Yeah, when your film is directed by Peter Stebbings who gave fans Crossbones, that’s what you should expect.
Doubtlessly there is subtext to the film, but the biggest reason to watch is the dark humor and the great writing.
Watchmen
From the visionary director Zack Snyder, Watchmen is a semi-faithful adaptation of the classic graphic novel. When superheroes become outlaws and have to give up their masks, the world becomes a bleak place.
After a former member of the Watchmen is murdered, it kicks the plot into gear. When more of the story unravels, Snyder subjects viewers to humanity at their very worst. This isn’t a feel good movie, up until the very end it’ll make you sad. Nonetheless, it’s a masterpiece of filmmaking.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Guillmero Del Toro gave fans a glimpse at his weird dystopian genius with the first Hellboy movie. Everything that made that first movie fun and enjoyable was doubled down on in the sequel.
Featuring far better action, witty dialogue and a stronger sense of cohesion and drama. Del Toro showed that he was the man for the job and Ron Perlman became immortalized as the titular Hellboy character. Too bad this was the last time we’d see them work on these movies.
Hancock
Ever wanted to see the world’s worst Superman? Well, then you need to give Hancock a watch.
Will Smith stars as the title character, a lowdown alcoholic douchebag who becomes a superhero. Instead of realizing how great a gift he’s given, he continues being an alcoholic disgruntled douchebag.
Reasons for watching this movie are simple; it’s different, it’s hilarious and Will Smith is phenomenal.
Brightburn
In our humble opinion, Brightburn deserved much more treatment and views than it got. Concept wise, the film is about as standard as you’d expect. Quite literally just an evil retelling of Superman’s origin story.
What if Clark Kent chose to fight back? Suppose that maybe he ends up hating his parents instead of loving them? Or maybe he just doesn’t respond well to being bullied.
Full of violence, horror and terrifying imagery, Brightburn may not be original, but it is a good watch.
Unbreakable
M. Knight Shymalan and Bruce Willis team up to tell a different kind of superhero story. A man who believes he’s a superhero tries to rid a world of crime, but nobody really believes in him.
Despite accomplishing great feats, he finds himself an increasing target from an unseen force. Eventually meeting the villainous Glass played by Samuel L. Jackson. Unbreakable has tons of iconic scenes, and a signature twist at the end.
V for Vendetta
Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving bring a tale of totalitarian intrigue and violence with gritty stylized realism.
Daring to challenge a system that tracks everyone’s whereabouts, a man tries to rally the people of London. Calling on them to take up their chains and fight back against the government that is trying to control them.
Full of amazing lines and stellar acting, V for Vendetta is often forgotten when talking superhero movies.
Dredd
Karl Urban is one of our favorite underrated actors here at Geekhash. While he’s mostly been known for his roles in Lord of the Rings, Star Trek and The Boys, he’s been around before.
Nowhere has he proven his action chops more than in 2012’s near perfect re imagining of Dredd. Judge Dredd had been used in movies before, when Sylvester Stallone was the title lead. But, those movies are not remembered fondly.
Unlike this film which has found its way into fans hearts ever since. With incredible action sequences, tight editing and pitch perfect design. Dredd is one of the, if not the, best underrated superhero movies!
There’s our list folks! These are our favorite superhero movies that we don’t see a whole lot of people talking about nowadays. Probably the only one on this list that we see get thrown around is Watchmen. Most likely because of Zack Snyder’s trending right now, and because it aged like a fine wine.
Nonetheless, there are some phenomenal superhero movies out there that noone really seems to known about. Hopefully this list made you see some new movies and maybe you found a new favorite! Let us know what YOUR favorite movies are in the comments below!