Renewed Top 10 - Non-MCU Marvel Works

The next part of the Superhero lists through out this Summer.

If you read the the title, you may wonder what it means to be a Non-MCU work? Well, it could a Fox movie... it could be an animated series... it could be from BEFORE there was an MCU. So there are quite a bit of stuffs to pick a list from.

So... how about it?

Top 10 Non-MCU Works

Here we go...

Honorable Mention 1: Ghost Rider: So... yes, this movie. It is cheesy. There is plenty of awkward Nic Cage craziness. And some forced attempts at horror. And introduced us to Rebel Wilson. But overall, the movie is entertaining AND Peter Fonda makes a great Mephisto. I stand by this movie. Just... don't watch the sequel. Don't do it.

Honorable Mention 2: The New Mutants: New Mutants was wonderful. It really was. An attempt to make a superhero universe horror film. And it worked. It would've been on the list proper if it were a completed story. It was planned for a Trilogy. It was planned to have a HUGE X-Men villain. But due to the acquisition of 20th Century Fox by Disney, this ended up being the FINAL Fox Marvel movie instead. Unrealized potential is why it didn't make the list proper.

10: X-Men 2 X-Men United: The first X-Men movie was the catalyst for the modern superhero craze. But it was only finding its footing. The sequel, however, stood firm. A man plotline for the story, but seemlessly wove in the subplots. Starting from one of the best opening scenes I've ever seen. Sequels are usually worse. This one is one of the greatest examples of why that isn't always true.

9: The Punisher (2004): Frank Castle will show up more than once here. This time around, he have Thomas Jane at the titular character. Instead of killing his wife and kids, this time around JOHN TRAVOLTA has his entire family murdered. And a few hand to hand fight scene that are fun AND brutal. Not to mention this movie introduced me to the late great stand-up comedian John Pinette. And it was also shot in half the time of a normal action flick. That... is impressive.

8: Spider-Man 2: Tobey... Tobey... Tobey. Engaging story about Peter's PTSD... mixed with a plot revolving around a wonderfully written Doc Ock. Another example of the sequel being better. And... fixed an aesthetic issue I had with the first movie...... ever notice the buildings don't reflect like the should in the windows in the first movie? Yeah......

7: X-Men & Spider-Man Animated Series: So no, this isn't the same show. It is 2 different shows. But I put them together for a reason. Fox was on fire with 90s animated series. And these two had a unique formula... with multi episode arcs, like the comics and outfits ripped straight from the comics as well. They also belong together because they were part of the same animated universe. Comics came to life in these 2 shows.

6: Big Hero 6: Baymax is on this list. Yes, this is a kid-friendly adaption of a Marvel comic. And I... keep forgetting that. It could be because the comics are much less kid-friendly... and this movie is tons better. Unique. Smart. Cute. Makes me cry EVERY time.

5: X-Men Days of Future Past: This was a risky movie. Taking the original X-Men Trilogy and the First Class stories combine. Seemingly natural. Dynamic between the future dystopia and the old school feel. With a great story showing us how branching through time should work. This also had the first Quicksilver slo-mo scene, and THAT alone was a masterpiece.

4: Punisher (Netflix)(Bonus: Daredevil season 2): If I had finished this series yet, I would put it higher. But the fact it is HERE without it being done yet speaks volumes. The BEST live action version of Frank Castle in Jon Bernthal(like Matt Ryan is to DC's Constantine... no one else can play him now). Now... why include Season 3 of Daredevil? Specifically, that is when they debuted this Punisher. And the graveyard scene is by far one of the most emotional scenes Non-MCU or MCU combined(one of...).

3: Logan: The final outing for Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. It felt like a Clint Eastwood epic. Dark, gritty, sad, gory, fun. And it made me cry. Twice. Like a baby. So well written. With an unexpected villain... Logan's own health. And it is responsible to introducing Dafne Keen, the young actress who played Laura. One role is all it took to see she has a bright future(and now she has her own series on HBO called His Dark Materials). Hard R Rating... and it needed it. Logan finally got to be the feral beast we know and love.

2: Deadpool 1 & 2: If there was ever a labor of love in comicbook movies, it is Deadpool. Ryan Reynolds IS Wade Wilson. Even if you don't like comic book movies, this is Van Wilder in Spandex. Gory, funny, 4th Wall Breaking. And 2 DIFFERENT movies. Different writers... different crews. And somehow, it makes BOTH movies better. I don't know what else I can say about Deadpool that you can't hear from Ryan Reynolds himself... so... do that. And watch those movies. Unless you are a kid. Then no. These movies have a HARDER R than Logan. Yes... I mean it. Not for kiddos.

And the Number 1 Non-MCU Work...

(After that last one, WHAT could be better?!?!)

1: Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse: From the people who brought us Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, this is a MASTERCLASS in animation. So much so... it won an Oscar for it. Beautiful colors, glitchy twitches that told the story, and speaking of story... it focuses on Miles Morales and not Peter Parker. Juggled a coming of age story with an origin story with a multiverse story. And... never dropped one of them. Introduced multiple versions of Spider-Man... making a unique origin for each, without throwing up all over Miles' story. Including voices from Nicholas Cage, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Mahershala Ali, Kathryn Hahn, Liev Schreiber, and a BREAKOUT performance from Shameik Moore... this is one of the BEST animated movies I've ever seen... and a surprise Oscar Issac alluding to his involvement with the sequel. It stands out. Watch it.

And there it is. The Top 10 Non-MCU Works.

Any you think I missed? What do think about the ones that made it? Comment and Share...... and above all else... watch them if you haven't.

Part 3 of many is down.

Renewed Top 10 - DC Animated Works

The counterpart to the Previous Top 10. I felt animated needed to be separated, because as mentioned before... Marvel might beat DC in Live Action, but DC kills it in animation overall.

So how about a list for that?

Top 10 DC Animated Works

Here we go...

Honorable Mention 1: WildCATS: A different team, now a part of the DC Universe. It was during the wave of meaningless animated adaptations. Many people missed this. Something that felt familiar but felt different. And it was a great one.

Honorable Mention 2: Static Shock: DC Morning animation gave us this gem. Set in the Justice League shared Universe. This was DC's Spider-Man series. It was. Teenager who ends uo with powers now has to juggle that with high school life. They even tackled a school gun violence episode.

10: Justice League Dark: Animated DCAU movie centered around Matt Ryan as Constantine forming a magical team... with Batman. Animation on point. Story was well done. And Boston Brand being funny. It was a pretty good introduction to the magical portion of the DC Universe.

9: Batman The Brave and the Bold: Cartoon Network gave us this series that was as cheesy as the Adam West 1966 series. With Diedrich Bader as the voice of Batman. It was episodic, each one being its own story. And entertaining as it was goofy.

8: The Death and Return of Superman: Technically called "The Death of Superman" and "The Reign of the Supermen", buying them together in a set, it is called that. They did the truncated version in the infancy of this studio, and it was... okay. So we had a version in DCAU. And it is wonderful. Of the comic stories, this is near the top of the crop. Iconic story... done beautifully through animation.

7: Superman the Animated Series: When this series came out, I had one HUGE hang up about it. Clark Kent was way too solid. He LOOKED like Superman in a business suit. And it worried me. But one iconic theme later, and we have the definitive Superman animated series... that ended up leading to the definitive Justice League series(which makes this list too). Besides... Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor was SPOT ON.

6: The Dark Knight Returns Parts 1 & 2: This is the Frank Miller Batman story of Frank Miller Batman stories. Set in the future, Batman comes out of retirement... and attacts the attention of the US Government. Peter Weller gives Bruce that weathered, but still bad ass in his old age. Besides... killing Conan O'Brien is satisfying. If you've seen it, you get it.

5: Flashpoint Paradox: So this movie in the DCAU presents us with the first Flash story I gave any damn about. Heartbreaking, ingenious, and a surprise Michael B. Jordan. It was brilliantly adapted. Also... it introduced audiences to the team that USED to be the WildCATS, complete with Grifter. Give me a movie centered around them... now please.

4: Batman Beyond: Many people are going to moan that this should be higher on the list. And maybe for you... but wait until you see the top 3. This was futurist take on Batman, set in the future of the Batman the Animated series. Some of the stories were weak... sure. But the overall feeling of this series is truly timeless. Different takes on old Batman villains(like the Jokerz gang), new villains. And tech galore. It was a different series. A different Batman. And it felt good.

3: Justice League/Justice League Unlimited: These are essential the same series from the people that brought us Batman: the Animated Series, Superman: the Animated Series, Static Shock, and Batman Beyond. The ultimate team up facing universal threats. What is the difference? Justice League focused on the main seven: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Jon Stewart Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Martian Manhunter. The Unlimited series made the audience realize there were other heroes in the DC Universe. The main seven are there, but more focus was put on the others.

2: The Killing Joke: The FIRST Rated R movie in the DCAU, it adapted one of the best Batman graphic novels off all time. Some people were pissed that the first part was there. For those not aware, we had an intro with Batgirl. It was necessary. Batgirl hadn't been in ANY other DCAU movie... and she is integral to the Killing Joke story... anyway... I digress. This story centers around the now confirmed origin story for the Joker, and the One Bad Day. With a bonus of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill from Batman TAS doing their voices for Batman and Joker respectively.

And the Number One DC Animated Work is...

1: Batman the Animated Series: What else was it going to be? The definitive Batman animated series. Led to Superman TAS and Justice League. In the same "mood" as the Tim Burton movies. Dark, noir, moody, episodic. With the Batman/Joker duo of Kevin Conroy/Mark Hamill... that is STILL relevant today, even through the whole Arkham games trilogy. Even AFTER the weird animation switch, it was still entertaining. Plenty of guest voices, including Ron Perlman, Melissa Gilbert, and Roddy McDowell. Also... this series changed the COMICS forever in two HUGE ways: the debut of Harley Quinn AND changing Mr. Freeze into an antagonist that we can feel for. Plus that theme/intro... it is playing through my head right now... this spot also includes the movies "Mask of the Phantasm" and "Batman/Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero".

There is the list. Did I miss any that you loved? I know a few I love didn't make the list. So I'm open to it. Tell me in the comments other DC animated series you love or DCAU movies you thought were awesome!

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Part 2 if this journey is down. Stay tuned for the next one.

Renewed Top 10 - DC Live Action Works

I have this big plan for some lists, and you all get to go on this journey with me.

This is the first of a series of lists, leading up to the Top 10 and Bottom 10 overall Comic Book movies toward the end of the Summer. So look forward to that, if you would.

The only way to get there is to take the first step.

So here... we... go...

This Top 10 list is going took at live action DC properties. Movies AND TV Shows. When it comes to DC vs Marvel, DC tend to have the animation down, but falters in the live action department. Even with that fact, DC HAS put out some wonderful live action stuff.

So I'm going to share with you my favorites.

Enjoy...

Top 10 DC Live Action Works

Here we go...

Honorable Mention 1: Batman (1966): The classic series made during the Silver Age of comics. Not violent if could help it. Overly cheesy. BIFF! BAM! SMACK! And it gave us the icon known as Adam West. That makes it great. RIP Mayor West.

Honorable Mention 2: Constantine (2014): This NBC series depicted John Constantine almost perfectly. Solidly paced... but some how it got cancelled after 1 season. Maybe because it was in a horrible TV spot(Dracula was put in the same spot... 1 season). But it made enough of an impact, at least Matt Ryan did, that this Constantine got an animated spin off, he was added to Legends of Tomorrow, AND Matt Ryan is the voice in the DC Animated Universe.

Honorable Mention 3: Superman & Lois (2021): The newest of the CW DC Series, it is a Superman game changer. Not an origin story for Superman. Set after Clark and Lois have teenage sons. Good story so far with so much potential. We will see if they don't screw that up.

10: Swamp Thing the Movie (1982): Directed by the Legendary Wes Craven(yes, THAT Wes Craven) pre-Freddy Krueger. This was campy... very campy. But it took a character that wasn't well known in the comics and turned it into a cult hit B movie series. I have very fond memories of watching this movie AND the series that followed. My uncle and I watched this. And... Dick Durock made it creepy.

9: Smallville: The DC CW series BEFORE The Arrowverse took shape. Follows Clark Kent through the formative teenage years. It had some low points, but Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum have the best Clark Kent/Lex Luthor dynamic I've seen in any Superman property. It also had a wonderfully fresh take on Doomsday... even if the suit they used sucked. I enjoyed the first 8 of the 10 seasons. Go check it out.

8: Batman (1989)/ Batman Returns: Tim Burton is famous for making dark moody movies. So here comes his take on Batman... who was dark and moody. But he had this idea. He took an actor famous for comedies and put him in the suit. Critics chided him for it. And... it worked. Still one of the most iconic Batman actors to this day. And I put both of his movies here because as awesome as Jack Nicholson was as The Joker, the Penguin/Catwoman dynamic was epic in the same ways.

7: The Flash series(2014): Here we have the show that turned CW's Arrow into the Arrowverse. I didn't know what to think about this show at first, but it turned out to be entertaining. Grant Gustin just... worked. And bringing in such a great actor like Tom Cavanaugh as Harrison Wells, a character they have molded into whatever they need to steal the show. I admit, I tapered off the show and I WANT to go back and catch up. But... the first 2 seasons were gold... so much so, I need to say this. The Flash Season 2 is my favorite season of any superhero TV show of all time. The villain Zoom is so well written, I'm glad I got to experience it.

6: Watchmen: Who Watches The Watchmen? I do. My favorite graphic novel of all time. Changed my way of thinking. It really did. So when I saw Zack Snyder was tackling it, I got excited. Perfectly cast across the board. Shot for shot ripped from the novel. But... in the graphic novel has 2-3 panels of Dr. Manhattan penis. Somehow, we got roughly 30 minutes of electric blue penis. Electric... blue... penis. Kudos to Billy Crudup... for... that.

5: Swamp Thing series (2019): I don't want to say too much, because this pissed me off. It was such a good series. Cut short due to money mismanagement. It was scary, the storytelling was better than solid. Perfect homage to the originals... but an even better homage to the comics. Worth the watch. I hope the CW experiement saves it.

4: Superman II Richard Donner Cut: Before pining for the Synder Cut was a thing, the Donner Cut was a reality. Christopher Reeve is an icon. And Superman made everyone believe a man could fly. But this sequel took everything that made the first movie great and made it all legendary. All because of a truly terrifying villain. General Zod. Terrence Stamp aggressively declaring "KNEEL BEFORE ZOD" is ingrained in our minds.

3: Joker: A artistic film representation of a man shit kicked by society's ascension into the Clown Prince of Crime. Noir without being noir. Smart without being too smart. And it doesn't hold your hand through exposition. Hints at something bigger, while still being VERY contained. Capped off by a performance by Joaquin Phoenix that got his that well deserved Oscar. This was a masterpiece of filmmaking. Watch it. But not for the kiddos.

2: The Dark Knight: The Nolan trilogy. Christopher Nolan, famous for his over the top fantasy style of film making decided to flip it... and make a Batman Trilogy that was very grounded in reality. Nearly everything in the trilogy was designed to make the viewer think it was possible in real life. Giving very real explanations for the tech. And of these movies, The Dark Knight was special. As amazing as the Joker movie was, this movie here gave us the definitive live action Joker performance. The movie is overall amazing, but Heath Ledger's Joker is THE reason to watch the movie(getting the Oscar for Supporting Actor for it)...... and even then, I would put Aaron Eckhart's performance at Harvey Dent/Two-Face over that. Yeah. I said it. That is how good those two were in this movie. And a testament to how great the movie was overall.

And the Number One DC Live Action Work is......

1: Zack Snyder's Justice League: So before anyone accuses me of being a Zack Snyder fanboy, he isn't even in my top 5 for directors. He is responsible for one of my least favorite movies of all time: Sucker Punch. But this... this was a cinematic masterpiece. The culmination of his vision, his hard work, the dedication of the fans wanting to see this come to fruition after the piss-poor Whedon Cut failed to satisfy us. We knew it could be more than it was. Then Warner announced it, gave extra money to Snyder to make it however. And what we got was 4 hours of a weaved story, doubling down on Ben Affleck being the best Live Action Batman... while introducing us to The Flash and Cyborg, making them MAJOR players... equals to the Trinity and Aquaman. Along with building a ferocious villain, and more than a glimpse of the end-all villain this one bends to knee to. Solid pace. Good story. And action sequences worth the wait. This is the pinnacle of what DC could be.

There is the list. Tell me what you think. Share it so others can tell me what they think. Any I might've missed? Have you own? Let me know in the comments.

Part 1 of many. So stay tuned.