by Elton Gahr

Created on: February 23, 2009   Last Updated: March 10, 2009

There is something in the human psyche that needs heroes, from the Iliad and the Odyssey people have looked to stories to tell them about bigger than life heroes and throughout the history of stories nearly every one could in some way be considered a superhero. Hercules, Thor, Achilles, and many others are different from modern superheroes only because the myths about them were considered real. Yet even as we stopped believing in heroes the need for them grew stronger and they were replace with people like Superman, Spiderman and Batman.

The best of these stories inspire us to become more than we are and give us hope that there really are good people who help us while struggling against the evil and seeming randomness of everyday life.

5. X-Men and X-men 2

There are flaws in these movies but after watching X-men 3 I have difficult seeing them any more. There are a few actors in this movie which seem out of place and a few rough moments, but in many ways this is the most ambitious super hero movie of all time. Not only are there many characters with many different abilities here, but there are a large group of popular characters, which leaves the director with roughly two hours in a real balancing act. I personally feel that that balancing act tipped a little to far towards Wolverine, but he is a good character.

4. V for Vendetta

This movie is different from most comic book movies in many ways. This is a character which is in England, not the USA, he's not really super powered and most notably his name wasn't in the mainstream consciousness. Oh and he's basically a terrorist. I suspect that without the Wachowski brothers producing it would have never gotten made.

3. Spider Man

I still hate that he takes off his mask in every other scene, but when you pay for Toby McGuire you want to see Toby McGuire. Still, this was the movie I was the most worried about when I first heard it was getting a new adaption. Partially because I had seen the old TV series, but mostly because he just feels like a character that belongs on a comic book page. Written well he moves in ways no one can, reacts faster than they can and does it all with witty banter. They haven't got that perfect, but they have got Bruce Cambell in every movie so that gives them some room for missing the occasional witty line.

2. The Dark Knight

This is a fantastic movie with fantastic acting, great action and a extremely interesting story. The only reason it's not number one is because, in the end, I don't want to watch it all that often. This is a dark movie that, while being great, isn't always fun. Chris Nolan is willing to challenge his abidance and while that makes for a great movie, it doesn't always make for a fun movie.

1. Iron Man

I wasn't a large Iron Man fan, but this movie convinced me. Much of that is absolutely perfect casting. Robert Downy Jr. as the rich playboy doesn't really require much acting on his part, but mostly I like it better than the others because it is fun while still focusing in on really important issues and at the end they did something that I love, they pulled off the mask. Revealing that Tony Stark is Iron Man to the world excites me for the next movie, when they can show a character who is doing all of the things a superhero is doing and not hiding who he is.

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