Today marks the 28th anniversary of Batman and Robin, not just one of the most infamous superhero/comic books movies ever made but one of the most infamous movies ever made period. This move has been hated and ripped apart by everyone and their mother, considered to be the absolute blackhole of superhero/comic book movies. The one movie that nearly killed the entire sub-genre for an extended period of time and has its rightful place on the Hollywood Hall of Shame. Batman fans hate it, moviegoers hate it, and even the people behind making the movie hate it.
However, while Batman and Robin is no doubt a very bad and even plain terrible movie, I would not call it the worst superhero movie ever made. Heck, I won’t even put it in my top 10 or even top 20 on my list of worst superhero movies. I know some of you all are rushing into the comments and my mentions on Twitter to tell me how crazy I am but hear me out.
While Batman and Robin is no doubt the exact textbook definition of a bad movie, it’s at least a movie you can watch and have a good time with BECAUSE it’s so bad! It has such an over-the-top camp value to it that you just can’t help but laugh at it. Not laughing WITH it mind you but AT it! There’s a difference!
That is a big reason as to why I can’t call it the worst or even my least favorite superhero movie ever made. It’s just too much fun to watch the pure awfulness that is this disaster!
To celebrate the 25th birthday of this beautiful disasterpiece, I’ve decided to name 25 superhero movies that I believe to be worse than Batman and Robin.
Before I start the list, here’s a couple of disclaimers.
1.) I’m only going to be counting movies that are strictly an adaption of a superhero or comic book of some sorts.
2.) I’m only going to be referring to live-action superhero movies, so animated superhero movies like say Batman: The Killing Joke doesn’t count.
3.) These movies will not be ranked in any particular order and is only going to be in the order of the release dates.
4.) This is strictly my opinions. If you somehow happen to like any of these movies, and/or still think that Batman and Robin is the worst thing to ever exist, then more power to you!
Here we go!
Howard the Duck (1986)
Believe it or not, there was actually a time where George Lucas was involved in a Marvel movie of some sort. Ok, he was actually just an executive producer but still. While this has (shockingly) gained a cult following, I can’t for the life for me stand this film. This is almost like the Marvel version of Cats, the kind of a movie that makes you wonder why anyone behind the production didn’t think just because you CAN doesn’t mean you SHOULD. It’s incredibly unfunny, the acting is terrible, it can’t make up it’s mind if it wants to be overly funny or serious, and Howard the Duck himself is just an absolute abomination of a thing that is hard to look at. Thank god for James Gunn and Guardians of the Galaxy for being able to redeem the character in just a simple post credit scene.
Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987)
If you thought Batman and Robin was a hard rock bottom for the character, then you should check out Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Not only is this easily one of the worst superhero movies ever made, it’s by far one of the worst main big budget movies ever made. Even at the time of it’s release, it’s looks and feels incredibly cheap with obvious green screens, lazy editing, and awful transaction. Throw in an absurdly stupid script, laughable dialogue, no logic, sense, or flow to anything happening, and incredibly phoned-in performances and you get the big shitty picture. It can be argued that this also can be qualified as a “so bad it’s good” kind of movie but Batman & Robin looks like a passion project from Stanley Kubrick himself in comparison. With Quest for Peace, it’s very clear that no one cared about the movie and Christopher Reeve especially was just over with. What a crappy end to easily the best Superman ever!
Captain America (1990)
It’s hard to believe there was a time that DC was much better at making movies than Marvel. Just a year after DC came out with their smash hit that was Tim Burton’s Batman, Marvel’s answer to that was with this piece of crap that is Captain America (1990). This doesn’t feel like a Hollywood feature but more like a fan film. Hell, even most fan films out there are better than whatever this is. It lacks pretty much anything a superhero movie or just plain movie in general needs to be worthwhile. It lacks a required budget, actual directing, a cohesive plot, or even any form of entertainment value of it. Seeing Captain America steal a car is kinda funny, I guess. Other than that, Marvel sure did have a rough early 90s.
Steel (1997)
Coming out in 1997, the same year that Batman and Robin came out, Steel was yet another failed attempt to make a big sports athlete into a Hollywood star and man does it all fall flat on it’s face. As if that Shaq Fu game wasn’t terribly enough, we had to suffer seeing Shaq in a movie as well. It’s sloppily made, terribly acted, and Steel himself is one of the lamest superheroes ever in any form of fiction. Shaquille O’Neill may be one hell of a basketball player but someone must’ve took too many basketballs to the head to make this movie a reality. Not only does this movie help support the fact that Batman and Robin isn’t the worst superhero movie made, it wasn’t even the worst superhero movie released in that same yea. That honor gladly goes towards Steel. I’ll take Arnold’s cheesy puns any day over anything in this abomination!
Catwoman (2004)
If you thought things couldn’t get bad enough with DC with Steel, then oh boy Catwoman surely would love to have word with you! What is there to say about this movie that hasn’t already been said? It’s a complete trainwreck from top to bottom! The direction is wrong, the writing is atrocious, the dialogue is a joke, the CGI is painfully unfinished, the costume design is some of the worst ever put to film, the pacing is so slow that it makes it 104 minute long runtime feel like 104 hours and it doesn’t even come close to capturing the spirit of it’s title character or her source material. Poor Halle Berry tries to make it all work but everything else lets her down badly. It really sucks that for a long while, this was really the best that Hollywood could come up with in making female-led superhero movies.
At least it gave us this glorious Razzie acceptance speech from Halle Berry herself!
Blade: Trinity (2004)
Before X-Men: The Last Stand and Spider-Man 3, folks got their first glance at a disappointing three-quel from Marvel with Blade: Trinity. Like a number of Part Threes, Trinity biggest problem ranges from trying to be bigger and grander than the other two Blade movies and it ends up just being louder, messier, and more obnoxious. Not to mention, it tries to be the campiest of the Blade movies that somehow mangers to be more awkward and unfitting than even what Joel Schumacher and WB did with B&R. This ended up being the first of the failed superhero movies that somehow managed to star Ryan Reynolds. Boy, was he in for a rough one!
Elektra (2005)
Marvel’s equivalent to Catwoman! Taking a spin-off for an iconic strong female character that had been in development hell forever, finally gets released after several years too late, wastes the talents of it’s lead actress, and has no idea why it’s title character was appealing in the first place or just why they even bother to make a movie in general. While you can least argue that Batman and Robin and even Catwoman was at least bizarre in it’s badness, Elektra manages to be just plain boring in it’s badness. I might not have hated the Daredevil movie as much as most people (which is why that is not on this list) but this was just an absolute chore to get through. Thank goodness for Marvel Netflix to revive Elektra themselves (At least until……they didn’t!)!
Ghost Rider (2007)
While I didn’t believe Mark Steven Johnson’s Daredevil deserved all the flame it got (at least the director’s cut anyway), his take on Ghost Rider most CERTAINLY did! I could go on about how this film doesn’t do it’s titled character justice, the way it butchers the source material, the toning down on the Johnny Blaze character himself, and just how lifeless the direction and approach feels. However, what makes this film utterly the most baffling is how you can have a film with Nicholas Cage and have it be ungodly BORING! How in the world can ANYONE commit such a crime on film?! Also, don’t get me started on Wes Bentley as Blackheart?! Just……..UGH!!!!!
The Spirit (2008)
If you ever look the definition of “tryhard” in the dictionary, I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to find a picture of this movie. I can’t think of much movies out there that feels as contrived and forced as this one does. From every single creative decision made to every single line of dialogue to every single performance in the movie, there is nothing about it that feels natural, organic, and in any way coherent. Frank Miller’s adaption of the comic strip of the same name shows that writing a script for a comic book is not entirely the same as writing a script for a movie. It showcases Miller’s flaws as a story writer on full display, right from the glorious oversexualization of women, too focus on being broody than depth and shock value for the shake of shock value. There’s nothing fun, entertaining, or even anything to laugh at here like with B&R! It’s nothing but torture! There’s not many movies out there that I can say that is as legit painful to watch as The Spirit. Even if you take the comic book or superhero movie aspect out of it, it’s just…….torture!
X-Men: Origins Wolverine (2009)
Among the worst the X-Men franchise has gotten in Origins: Wolverine shows what happens when a comic book movie tries to do too much with such little effort. This glorified attempt at making an compelling origin story for it’s main character falls flat in every single way. With too many characters, overloaded subplots, endless retcons and contrivances, and insulting logic, this was about as rock bottom as it could come with this series! Not even the pitch perfect casting of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Huge Jackman’s always reliably compelling performance as Wolverine could save this trainwreck! And don’t get me started with what they did with Deadpool! It makes me sick to my stomach! As much as there are folks see this film in a “so bad it’s good” way like Batman & Robin, this to me is way too much of an incoherent slog for me to enjoy even in a guilty pleasure way. It just plain sucks!
Jonah Hex (2010)
Before Josh Brolin took on the role of the Thanos and Cable, he started off superhero/comic book movies with this abortion. The best thing you can say about Jonah Hex is that unlike with a number amount of movies on this list, it has the decency to be just under a hour and 21 minutes long, including credits. That’s about where the praises end. This is one of those movies which you can tell was rushed during the whole production to get it done exactly on time for release slate in 2010. Everything feels chaotic, rushed, and forced that it’s impossible to get into it because the movie itself never allows the audience too. But hey, its got Megan Fox in it, at least!
Green Lantern (2011)
If you wanna talk about superhero movies that were an absolute disappointments, it’s hard to think of many as disappointing as Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern. How in the world did this movie turn out the way it did will all this talent on and off the camera?! This could not have been a more bad and painfully generic superhero movie if it tried. The writing is incredibly cliche, the CGI is lackluster, the themes and messages are complete BS and constantly contradict themselves, and the constant sequel bait gets tiresome from the first moment on. And the fact that this was suppose to help kick off a cinematic universe for DC and show prove they could do superhero movies other than Batman is the real nail on the coffin. Thankfully, Ryan Reynolds went on to eventually find a superhero role that worked for him five years later with a certain murk with a mouth!
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Whenever people complain about unnecessary reboots and superhero fatigue, The Amazing Spider-Man is exactly the kind of movie they are referring to. This is the kind of movie where it’s difficult to separate the business side of things with the artistic side of things because it’s bluntly obvious on the screen that this movie’s existence was more important to fit the criteria of the former than the latter. Being pitched as a darker reboot with more focus on high school drama and romance, The Amazing Spider-Man lacks the energy and excitement that made Sam Raimi’s trilogy (Yes, including the third one!) a success along with just being a dull slog in it’s own right. Too many plot beats are stolen straight from the 2002 film, plot points are constantly brought up, drop completely, and never mentioned again, Peter Parker is much more unbearable than ever here, the Lizard is a complete waste of a villain, and there is so many coincidences that is pushing the story forward that it’s downright insulting to the human brain. Yes, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are cute together and the score by James Horner is good stuff, but The Amazing Spider-Man is a movie that falls apart when you so much as breathe on it. Despite the film claiming to be about identity, it never finds an identity for it’s own main character.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
Anyone remember when Michael Bay produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? While he might have technically not been the director of this monstrosity, his fingers prints are certainly all over it. These fun and goofy turtles don’t mesh well in a world whatsoever that’s tries it’s damndest to be as bleak and grim as possible. The title characters themselves are hideous to look at, the script is poorly written and somehow manages to come across as an even worse version of The Amazing Spider-Man, there’s way too much focus on April O’Neil herself, and just about every single change made to the traditional established lore feels like a complete spit in the face to the turtles themselves. There’s a couple of fun moments here and there (most notably the elevator scene) and (surprisingly) Megan Fox is not that bad as April O’Neil but this was an absolute turd that should have stayed firmly in it’s shell. At least the turtles themselves weren’t actually aliens like they were suppose to be! No, really!
Fant4stic (2015)
Yes, I’m referring to it as Fant4stic because that is what it was referred to in the marketing! This is one of those movies that is not just terrible in every way but it’s just flat out embarrassing! It’s embarrassing that a movie that is clearly unfinished and hacked to the bones can actually be released into actual movie theaters! It’s embarrassing that the people involved with it tried to make something completely dark and edgy onto completely kid friendly material! It’s embarrassing that they got this hugely talented cast and gives them nothing to work with! It’s embarrassing that Doctor Doom was able to happen at all! It’s embarrassing that the ending was allowed to happen the way it did! This movie is just a flat out embarrassment! Fant4stic is not only a black hole for superhero movies but filmmaking in general. This is one of those movies that when watching it, you can’t help but ask, “How did this actually get released in theaters?” That is a question that I still have yet to get a full answer to.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
I’m still in awe how you take a crossover like Batman and Superman and make it so long, dull, and joyless. The plot is an absolute convoluted mess no matter which version you watch and the conflict between Batman and Superman is so incredibly ridiculous that it hard to take it seriously. It’s a film that wants to comes across as the most grand and ambitious movie every made, but really doesn’t have much to say on anything it’s talking about. Other than trying to cram two to three movies worth of material into one film, there’s nothing really risky or daring about Dawn of Justice. Ben Affleck is fine in the role and there’s a few standout moments here but that’s nowhere near enough to save this failure. Even the ultimate edition which some claim “saves” the movie is really just has more of the same things that were wrong in the first place save for being slightly better paced and edited. At least Batman & Robin is a fun movie TO poke fun at! Batman V Superman is just…..miserable!
Suicide Squad (2016)
It’s baffling how you can take a movie that has this fun and exciting premise and a superbly talented cast (outside of Jai Courtney and Joel Kinnaman) and somehow manage to execute it in the worst way possible. Attempting to take a page from Guardians of the Galaxy with it’s style and soundtrack, Suicide Squad is like to trying to build a puzzle with pieces that clearly don’t fit. It’s clear that this wasn’t what director David Ayer had in mind when he first signed one for this as he clearly envisioned something more bleak and grounded. It also doesn’t help that it has a rushed script that makes absolutely no sense, terrible AD-HD editing, pointless characters and subplots, cringe dialogue that sounds like it was ripped straight out of a 90s video game, and a premise that crumbles when you think about it for a split second. Not even the superb casting of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Will Smith as Deadshot, and Viola Davis as Amanda Wallers can save this mess! At least two of these three folks would be better used in later DC properties.
Max Steel (2016)
There’s literally no one on this planet that has seen this movie by me! I have the scientific facts to prove I’m the only human being on the planet to witness the abomination against humanity that is Max Steel! And I will tell you, this makes Batman & Robin look like The Dark Knight in comparison! To be honest, I don’t even think it’s even better than that other Steel movie I previously mentioned! At least that wasn’t about masturbation! Yes, really!
Yeah, I’ve said enough! Next!
Justice League (2017)
It’s unbelievable about how not only the first ever live-action Justice League movie doesn’t work, but it has to be one of the most average, lifeless, and forgettable superhero movies ever made. The course correction from BvS is painfully obvious on screen that it’s downright embarrassing. This came across as more of a straight-to-dvd Avengers knock-off that you would find at the bargain bin at the Dollar Store than an actual Justice League movie. A handful of moments (or at least the ones I can remember) are cool in their own right but it’s incredibly unforgiveable just how cheap, hollow, and unmemorable this whole experience is. At least the other version is much better, right?!
Dark Phoenix (2019)
You can debate whether this or The Last Stand was a worse adaption of the Dark Phoenix saga but I’m putting my foot down with the 2019 release of Dark Phoenix itself. As underwhelming as Last Stand was, that at least had more effort put into it and had some sort of emotional investment from the first two X-Men movies to pay off of. This movie on the other hand lacks any sort of groundwork or proper payoff. We are expected to care about versions of X-Men characters we just meet one movie ago and is expected to have the sort of gravitational emotional weight that Endgame provided. It doesn’t even come close to capturing a quarter of that since these are the versions of the characters we have spent the least amount of time with and there’s not much of a proper finale to build to. Sophie Turner and Han Zimmer bring their A-game here but no one else does. Even the usually reliable James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender phone it in hard! Sad to see such a long-running franchise go out with a complete whimper.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Patty Jenkin’s follow-up to the original Wonder Woman could not have been more underwhelming if it tried. Instead of actually trying to expand upon the character of Diana Prince and develop her even further, Wonder Woman 1984 remains stuck in the past quite literally, as Jenkins attempts to make a sequel with the same tone, heart, and feel as the Christopher Reeves Superman movies but ends up landing closer in the quality to the last two bad ones as oppose to the first two good ones. There’s many things I can overlook in this such as the nonsensical magical rock plot, the gazillion leaps of logic, and the complete unself-awareness of the whole thing. What kills the whole picture is turning Wonder Woman into a love sick puppy dog, obsessing over her dead boyfriend she knew for like a week over 40 years go, and even raping a guy (Yes, really!) thanks to an ill-conceived body swapping plot device that was clearly not thought out in the slightest. There’s only so much the human brain can take before it flips the table and walks away. Not even the spot-on chemistry between Gal Gadot and Chris Pine works this time around because of this creepy plot mechanic or even Kristen Wig’s solid portrayal as Cheetah. It’s certainly more watchable than some of the other bad DCEU movies but it all just feels like a waste of time and potential. Too bad no one on the creative team will likely have another chance in the future with this universe about to get rebooted. Just stick with the first film!
Morbius (2022)
I don’t care about all the glorious memes that this movie created or that it has Matt Smith hamming it up, it is still complete and utter crap. The worst thing about Morbius isn’t just that it’s poorly made, has no engaging characters, no exciting action beats, and has practically no identity of it’s own but that it’s mere existence inhabits everything that is wrong about modern superhero movies. The kind of movies that are not just bad but ones that studios try to force onto the mainstream audiences just to pretend that the movie they’re watching that they don’t like might lead them to want to watch another movie which they may or may not like. That awful post credit scene with Michael Keaton’s Vulture is suppose to be the main selling point of this entire movie and it’s not even the movie itself. Say what you will about other recent superhero movies, those at least gives you something to chew on after the credits roll. Morbius doesn’t bother trying to give you anything! Even Batman and Robin gave you something truly special in it’s sheer awfulness that you would at least remember it. It gives you nothing, nothing at all!
Madame Web (2023)
This movie is undoubtedly the most fascinating mess of a movie that I’ve seen in quite some time, Madame Web doesn’t so much feel like an actual film but more of a proof-of-concept of a film. You got four talented women that could not look more embarrassed to be there, lifeless direction, time gaps that make no sense, and some of the cringeworthy dialogue ever put to film! And don’t get me started on the embarrassing memes that came out of this trainwreck! It’s certainly more competently made than say….Morbius but it feels as ever bit as much of an obligation to make as that. And yes, it does have Sydney Sweeney as well! So, it gets at least two points for that!
Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)
Joker: Folie à Deux is by and large the worst kind of sequel. Not only because it’s one that clearly hates it’s predecessor and it’s audience but it hates itself. It’s only exists because the first film made a billion dollars and was nominated for a bunch of Oscars. The story and direction are non-existent, the musical segments are tedious and comes across as a distraction, the court house scenes are nonsensical and a chore to sit through, the romance between Arthur and Lee is barley explored, the Joker himself is hardly in it, and it all leads to an ending that makes the two Joker films feel utterly pointless. This is almost as if Todd Phillips is punishing the studios, the general audience, and himself for being forced to make a sequel, along with making sure that we NEVER get another film set in this universe again. For as divisive as the first Joker film was, he managed to make a sequel that is basically universally hated, bringing both critics AND audiences together to dunk on his latest trash heap. I never in a million years would imagine that it would be Joker 2 of all things that brings everyone together before the nukes hit. That might just be the greatest joke of all.
Kraven The Hunter (2024)
What will most likely be the final installment in the supervillain cinematic universe that no one asked for, Kraven The Hunter is able to end this disaster run of Sony Spider-Man spin-offs like a turd…..in the wind! Like with the others subpar entries, it’s plagued by obvious reshoots, bizarre editing, little to now flow from scene-to-scene, blatantly unfinished special effects, a non-existent plot or character arcs, and having no regard towards it’s source material whatsoever! Unlike the other spin-offs, there’s nothing here that compares to Tom Hardy’s gloriously over-the-top dual performances, Sydney Sweeney’s special “powers”, and MORBIN TIME! And there is ESPECIALLY nothing in here compared to, “WHAT KILLED THE DINOSAURS?!?!! THE ICE AGE!!!!!”. Kraven The Hunter might legit be the most nothing superhero/comic book film to ever exists! And that is saying something!
So, there you have it! That is 25 superhero movies that I would rather watch Batman and Robin over! Do you agree with more or think I’m crazy and that B&R is the worst abomination ever?! Let me know in the comments below and feel free to follow me through social media on Twitter, YouTube, and Letterboxd.
Also, feel free to check out the other piece I wrote about Batman and Robin doing my Batman marathon I did in preparation for the release of The Batman.
Here’s a link for that:
Batman and Robin (1997)- A Bad Movie, Now Calm Down! – Adam’s Blog (adamr.website)
Adam's Blog 