12 Best Superhero Movie Trailers Of All Time

For fans of comic book superheroes, the second decade of the 21st century is a great time to be alive.

Not only is it unquestionably the Golden Age of superhero movies, it’s even a period where we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to superhero movie trailers. Studios are better than ever at taking the juiciest bits of upcoming superhero flicks and editing them together to have us all foaming at the mouth in fanboy or fangirl anticipation.

You only have to look at a two-week period on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show to know that’s the truth. In quick succession, Kimmel got to debut trailers for both Captain America: Civil War and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and whether you think those movies are shaping up to be incredible or not, those previews unquestionably ratcheted up the excitement level and discussion around both films.

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What makes for a great superhero movie trailer? Action, humor (where applicable) and amazing visuals all help. You also want to see something you didn’t see before — like in the case of Batman v Superman, where Gal Godat’s Wonder Woman was shown off for the first time — and maybe a few plot hints without giving anything too important away.

In some cases, the trailers end up becoming more beloved than the movies themselves. A few hit the level where they become truly iconic, becoming permanently etched into the pop culture centers of our brains.

It’s too soon to say if the recent wave of trailers will rise to that lofty perch, but we were inspired enough by them to go back over the history of the genre to pick out the 12 best superhero movie trailers of all time. Some (especially the first one) soared beyond the quality of the movies they trumpeted, but all of them made us anxious to see what awaited us in theaters a few months later.

Next: 12. Green Lantern