12 Best Superhero Movie Trailers Of All Time

7. Spider-Man

Considering that Spider-Man has been Marvel’s most famous and instantly recognizable superhero since almost the very beginning of the company, it seems crazy in retrospect that it took 40 years for the wall-crawler to make his way from the pages of comics to our multiplexes. That alone makes this trailer rank high in the pantheon of high pressure superhero movie previews if for no other reason than fans had waited so long to see this character on film.

Luckily, it hits all the right notes immediately, with Tobey Maguire’s narration about the unique situation of Peter Parker juxtaposed with shots of Spider-Man leaping and swinging into action. The set piece that introduced the Green Goblin was perfect, since it mirrored a famous one from the comics, albeit with a different damsel in distress (not to mention a much more tragic result).

Everything else came at the viewer fast: brief glimpses of slow-motion action, Mary Jane showing some love for our hero, and some images that turned out to be famous ones, including Spidey clinging to the side of the flagpole at the top of a building. The trailer ended with what became the most famous kiss in superhero movie history, and then simply ended on that note.

A common theme on this list is that a bunch of these trailers succeeded simply by showing fans that something was possible. In this case, it was proof that technology had progressed to the point where a Spider-Man movie would feel real, and as a proof of concept, it was hard to beat.

Next: 6. Watchmen