Comic book movies: The top 20 hero performances

Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

16. Christopher Reeve as Superman/Clark Kent

Without Christopher Reeve, there may not be comic book movie franchises. He ushered in an era where it was okay to be a superhero. What sets him above some of the rest was his portrayal of the Man of Steel. Not only did he look the part, he made people believe in Superman. Reeve set the tone for what Superman should be in a movie. Everyone has been and will continue to be compared to him since he is the gold standard of comic book to film performances.

15. Karl Urban as Judge Dredd

It was going to take a lot to remove the stench of what Sylvester Stallone did to Judge Dredd in the 1990s. Karl Urban was cast as Judge Dredd and he was amazing. He was the dark, emotionless killing machine we are used to seeing in the comic books. For people like me who know the character, but aren’t completely aware of what he can do, he was intriguing. His performance made me want to seek out and read the Judge Dredd comics. There aren’t a lot of performances so good that it’ll make you go back and do research. Urban took Dredd and not only made him good,but he also made him scary. Even when his lines were cheesy, Urban delivered them with intensity.