Bam Smack Pow’s best of 2022 awards (voted by fans)

What were the best of the best in the comic book movie and TV show categories? Find out right here.

2022 was a strange year for the comic book movie and TV show industry. People were still returning to theaters after the pandemic, DC Comics has been canceling many of their projects, and Marvel Studios was getting slack for trying to be different. These are only a few of the things that made 2022 a unique year. Nevertheless, with all of the weird stuff that went on, it was still a good year.

Peacemaker came in and was better than anyone could have hoped. Wanda Maximoff showed the world her true power. And, of course, The Boys was as great and diabolical as you’d expect. That said, who were the best characters? What movies, shows, and moments were the best?

This year, we let the fans decide the answer to these questions and more. We asked fans to vote on a series of polls in our Instagram stories, and here are the results.

Welcome to the inaugural fan-voted Bam Smack Pow Awards.

Hero of the year

Nominees: Black Panther, Peacemaker, Doctor Strange, Batman

Winner: Batman with 38% of the votes.

When it comes to Batman, it’s rare that he loses in votes like this. In this case, though, it’s shocking. Black Panther 2 was fresh in the minds of fans, Doctor Strange 2 started the summer blockbuster season, and Peacemaker could be DC Comics’ best show in years. Nevertheless, Batman won with Black Panther coming in second (at 28%). This writer believes that it’s due to how comic book accurate Batman was in The Batman. For the first time in a while, there was a Dark Knight movie where he was actually a detective.

The Boys “OH SNAP!” moment of the year

Nominees: Homelander’s season 3 kill, Termite’s sneeze, Black Noir’s death, Herogasm

Winner: Herogasm with 32%

When Eric Kripke said he figured out how to bring Herogasm to The Boys on Amazon Prime, he wasn’t joking. The creative team managed to bring the comic book’s infamous story to the show without sacrificing too much. The episode may not have been as raunchy and bloody as the comic book, but it still had plenty of “Oh snap!” moments. Among them was Mother’s Milk getting sprayed with…super-crème, tons of nudity, and a plethora of superbeing sex toys. Let’s see if The Boys tops this episode in season 4.

Most Disappointing Cancelation of the year

Nominees: Batgirl, Stargirl, Wonder Woman 3, Batwoman

Winner: Wonder Woman 3 with 39%

DC Comics/Warner Bros has been a mess the last few months. There were a lot of canceled TV shows and movies. Some projects were finished and still didn’t get released. Others remain up in the air. It led fans to lose faith in the company.

According to the fans, Wonder Woman 3 not happening is the most upsetting.

Gal Gadot was never the problem with the Wonder Woman franchise. This just seems like too many cooks in the kitchen. Patty Jenkins has been nothing but professional throughout the situation, so we may never know what happened. Regardless of the reason, not getting a third Wonder Woman is disheartening.

Villain of the year

Nominees: Homelander, Scarlet Witch, Riddler, Namor

Winner: Homelander

When the poll initially went out, the contest was close. When it ended, Homelander and Scarlet Witch were tied. This meant that another poll had to be done. The second one was done and, in a close race of 52% to 48%, Homelander won villain of the year.

Homelander could be the most deplorable character in all of comic books. This year was no different. Seeing him take control of Vought International, and killing an innocent person were only some of his atrocities. There’s no way he won’t be worse next season.

Romance of the year

Nominees: She-Hulk and Daredevil, Thor and Thor, Annie January and Hughie, HarlIvy

Winner: She-Hulk and Daredevil at 33%

She-Hulk and Daredevil winning romance of the year may be surprising for some. It’s not like they’re an official couple (although, Matt did meet Jennifer’s family). They also beat out Harley and Poison Ivy, a fan-favorite couple from arguably an even more popular show. Granted, it was only a 2% victory (HarlIvy had 31%).

If this writer had to guess, it was Jen and Matt’s immediate chemistry that won fans over. Hopefully their romance will continue in Daredevil: Born Again.

Fight of the Year

Nominees: Lucifer vs Morpheus, Strange vs Strange, Black Adam vs The JSA, Homelander vs Soldier Boy

Winner: Homelander vs Soldier Boy with 40%

From V for Vendetta to Sin City, to any Marvel or DC Comics projects, you can count on a memorable fight scene or two. This year, a lot of the projects were more creative than we’re used to seeing. While this writer’s personal favorite was Lucifer vs Morpheus in The Sandman, Soldier Boy vs Homelander from The Boys was the winner.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone.  This battle was well choreographed and told a fantastic story. Just when Homelander was about to lose, he flew away. This showed that Homelander wouldn’t be as good as he is without his powers and perfectly set up the fight in the season finale.

Show of the year

Nominees: The Boys, She-Hulk, Sandman, Peacemaker

Winner: The Boys with 53%

The Boys on Amazon Prime winning show of the year isn’t shocking. It’s the epitome of what fans wanted from a comic book project. More importantly, it kept all of the familiarity. That meant all of the blood, gore, and cursing was still there. While all of the fighting and Herogasm is great, the show told a fantastic story, let the characters evolve, and set up for the next season. That’s why people kept tuning in. Plus, Soldier Boy became one of the best supporting characters of the year and everyone loves Jensen Ackles.

Most disappointing comic book project of the year

Nominees: Paper Girls, Thor: Love and Thunder, Morbius, Naomi

Winner: Morbius 54%

Morbius was never going to be a movie that people rushed to theaters to see. Just because Spider-Man is tied to someone doesn’t automatically mean it will do well. Morbius is not Venom, nor does the character have the potential to be. It also didn’t help that some of the performances were not good. What’s more embarrassing is when it was rereleased in theaters and bombed. It may have made well over its budget of $75 by earning $163 million, but that may not be enough to risk making a sequel.

Best supporting character in a comic book project

Nominees: Emilia Harcourt, Layla El-Faouly, Poison Ivy, Soldier Boy

Winner: Poison Ivy 33%

The show may have been called Harley Quinn, but Poison Ivy is just as important as Harley. The only reason she’s categorized as a supporting character is because the title doesn’t have her name. Realistically, Ivy is as crucial to the show as the star. Without her, Harley wouldn’t be as good. She needs someone to balance out her shenanigans.  However, it’s just as great when Ivy starts being goofy as well. She tries to hide her joy, but she loves it as well.

Marvel Studios “OH SNAP!” moment of the year

Nominees: “What mouth?”, John Krasinski as Reed Richards, Ramonda’s fate, Ms. Marvel is a mutant

Winner: John Krasinski as Reed Richards with 40%

Secrets are difficult to hide in comic book projects. There are always going to be people who sneak things out to the public. That said, it’s amazing that John Krasinski playing Reed Richards wasn’t leaked out before the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Especially since Krasinski is the actor fans wanted to play Reed Richards for years. Seeing him in costume was fantastic (pun intended). Even if fans only see it once, at least we got to witness it. Although, it would have been nice to see more of him.

Best comic book movie of the year

Nominees: Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Black Adam, The Batman

Winner: The Batman with 38%

The best part of The Batman being voted the best comic book movie of the year is the Robert Pattinson casting. People could not believe Edward Cullen would be playing the Dark Knight back when it was announced. However, those people didn’t realize that Pattinson has grown since then. He’s been putting on great performances for years. This writer said he’d be great and he’s happy he was right.

It wasn’t just Pattinson. Zoe Kravitz (Selina Kyle), Paul Dano (Riddler), Colin Farrell (Penguin), Jeffrey Wright (James Gordon), and the rest of the cast were all tens out of ten. Even the new look of the Batmobile was perfect. Not only was this the best movie of the year, its franchise has the brightest future as well.

What do you think, readers? What comic book awards would you like to see next year? Let us know in the comments below.