Skip To...
There have been so many comic book movies released in the last few decades, but it’s surprising how there aren’t many trilogies of films. Most franchises either stop at one or two entries or go on for too long, like Superman, the X-Men franchise, or Batman. Yet, within those franchises, there are self-contained, standalone trilogies. Some of these trilogies are magnificent and hold up decades later, while others suffer a quality drop so bad that the film tanks the franchise for years. Let’s take a look at which trilogy comes out on top by ranking the best 10 comic book movie trilogies.
10. Blade
At the bottom of our list is a prime example of how one bad movie can ruin a franchise, with the inclusion of the Blade trilogy. Consisting of the good if not great films, Blade and Blade II, the quality takes a deep dive with Blade: Trinity. With Wesley Snipes (White Men Can’t Jump) as the titular character, the half-vampire vampire hunter, known as The Daywalker, is one of the coolest Marvel characters, and these films matched his vibe.
Unfortunately, while the first two movies are fun, Trinity buried the franchise. Snipes recently returned in Deadpool & Wolverine, alongside his Trinity co-star Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool). Hopefully, we eventually get the teased Blade movie with Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) even if the film is going through a few production problems with rewrites and directors abandoning the project.
9. X-Men
The X-Men franchise is a perfect example of how some franchises can run for too long. Thankfully, the original three films are self-contained enough to count as a trilogy, but – like Blade – it just so happens to contain one of the worst comic book movies of all time. The original X-Men trilogy consists of X-Men, X2, and X-Men: The Last Stand. If X-2 wasn’t one of the best comic book movies of all time, this particular trilogy might not have made the top 10.
Beginning with Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables) as Wolverine, these movies have some of the best cast comic book characters of all time. The original X-Men still holds up after over 20 years, but the desecration of the Dark Phoenix Saga in The Last Stand weighs on this original trilogy heavily. It’s one of the reasons the X-Men prequel films aren’t on this list (of course, those aren’t a trilogy as there are four of them).
8. Iron Man
The Iron Man trilogy is the eighth-best comic book trilogy, consisting of one of the best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – which is also the film that started it – the original Iron Man. The Iron Man trilogy is an interesting one because it’s fairly divisive. While the first one is great, there are issues with Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3. They aren’t major issues, and people might have problems with both.
Even though parts of both films are fun and likable, there are whole plot lines in them that feel bloated. It’s the lack of consistency preventing the trilogy from climbing higher, but at the very least Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes) is great in all of them. They do have some of the worst villains though, particularly because it’s difficult to stand out against Downey Jr.
7. Venom
The goofiest trilogy of comic book movies comes in at number seven, with Sony’s Venom trilogy. The Spider-Man adjacent franchise stars Tom Hardy (Inception) as journalist Eddie Brock who happens upon a symbiote. When attached to the symbiote, the pair becomes the brain-eating antihero known as Venom. There are no fantastic movies in the Venom franchise, but they are fairly consistent.
The Venom films are funnier than most of the movies on this list, in all their chaotic glory. Throughout Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and Venom: The Last Dance, there are no big quality drops. There are average to great moments in all of them, and if you have fun with them, you’ll have fun the whole way through. Which is unlike some of the other comic book movie trilogies we’ve seen over the years.
6. Deadpool
The Merc with a Mouth is a part of the sixth-greatest comic book movie trilogy. The Deadpool movies are quite similar to the Venom movies in that they are action comedies more than they are traditional superhero movies. All three Deadpool movies are good, with a couple of them venturing into the great range. They all have great moments, like Deadpool & Wolverine’s infamous dance sequence, and they’re all a pretty fun time.
The films follow Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson, a mercenary who undergoes an experimental treatment for terminal cancer that gives him a powerful healing factor but also leads him irreparably scarred. While the first two Deadpool films were a part of the Fox X-Men universe, Deadpool & Wolverine exploded into the MCU, and remarkably, it didn’t fall apart.
5. Spider-Man (MCU)
The Jon Watts Spider-Man trilogy is one of the best comic book movie trilogies. Not only does every film have good and well-executed villains, but after five live-action Spider-Man movies, these MCU films managed to find angles to keep Spider-Man fresh. Tom Holland’s (Uncharted) version of Peter Parker/Spider-Man is great, and the twists and turns in the trilogy are not only thrilling, but make for very fun outings.
Homecoming and No Way Home are on par with both movies hitting some great high bars. The middle entry, Far From Home, is weaker than the other two movies, but not by much. There’s only so much the European vacation trope can be stretched, and that movie does seem to push it to the limit. It also has the unfortunate timing of following up Avengers: Endgame, so it’s more a sequel to that than it is at home in the trilogy.
4. Guardians of the Galaxy
The most consistently great comic book movie trilogy is James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy. The second comic book team to be represented on the list, the Guardians are made up of various space characters within the MCU, like Peter Quill/Star-Lord as played by Chris Pratt (Jurassic World), Gamora as played by Zoe Saldana (Avatar), and Rocket Raccoon as voiced by Bradley Cooper (The Hangover).
Gunn’s style is well-suited for a whacky space adventure, so much so that he pretty much nailed it three times. While there are moments in all three Guardians films that fall slightly flat, they are consistently funny which results in a great time. They just happen to be extremely heartfelt as well, giving them a bit of a boost on this list. Plus, the soundtracks are excellent.
3. Captain America
The Captain America trilogy is the best trilogy in the MCU, with Captain America: The Winter Soldier being one of the greatest comic book movies of all time. Captain America: The First Avenger is a period film, taking place during World War II. The film has a unique earnestness that many superhero films are missing, which did wonders to cement Captain America as a modern live-action superhero character.
The Winter Soldier is more of a spy thriller than the adventure of the first film, while the third film, Captain America: Civil War, is the live-action equivalent of smashing action figures together. It’s a fun time, but that’s about it. Although, the action sequences across the trilogy are spectacular, and without them, the movies wouldn’t be nearly as fun as they are, especially Civil War.
2. The Dark Knight
Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy has some tremendous highs and not too many lows. Batman Begins is good, if not great, while The Dark Knight is widely regarded as not just one of the greatest superhero movies, but one of the best films of all time. While The Dark Knight Rises is a solid follow-up, it doesn’t quite live up to its predecessors. Starring Christian Bale (American Psycho) as Bruce Wayne/Batman, the Nolan trilogy showed off a grittier, more realistic version of the Caped Crusader.
With Liam Neeson (Taken) as Ra’s al Ghul, Tom Hardy as Bane, Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) as Scarecrow, and Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain) as the Joker, the series has great villains, with phenomenal actors playing them. It deserves the second spot on this list, and if Batman Begins or Rises had been a touch better it might have taken the top spot.
1. Spider-Man (Raimi)
A close contest between these and Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, the Spider-Man trilogy takes the top spot because of how fun and rewatchable they are. Spider-Man 2 is the pinnacle of the franchise, but it doesn’t mean that the original Spider-Man is anything to scoff at. Tobey Maguire (The Great Gatsby) is a fantastic Spider-Man/Peter Parker, while Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse) was so great and iconic as the Green Goblin that they brought him back for No Way Home. The same goes for Alfred Molina (Boogie Nights) as Doc Ock from Spider-Man 2.
Everyone might mock Spider-Man 3, but it’s a fun movie, and while the original Spider-Man has flaws, it’s still one of the best movies on this list. The Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy is what modern superhero movies should aspire to be, fun and stylized grounded stories that manage to capture the humanity of the superhero type.
