50 Fun Facts About Superhero Movie

Which actor, chosen from more than 200 auditionees, played the title role in Superman (1978)?

Marlon Brando, as Jor-El, was paid $3.7 million plus a share of the gross for a few minutes of screen time.

Which musician wrote the songs for Tim Burton's Batman (1989), alongside Danny Elfman's score?

Jack Nicholson took the Joker only on condition of top billing and a cut of the merchandise, which reportedly earned him tens of millions.

Who starred as the half-vampire hunter in Blade (1998), often called Marvel's first hit film?

It arrived two years before X-Men and four before Spider-Man, and showed a comic character could carry an R-rated hit.

Which actor was Bryan Singer's first choice for Wolverine in X-Men (2000)?

Crowe turned it down to make Gladiator, and Jackman ended up playing Wolverine for 17 years.

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002) was the first film to do what at the box office?

Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin was the villain, and the film became the most successful comic-book adaptation to that point.

Whose posthumous Oscar for the Joker made The Dark Knight the first comic-book film to win a major acting award?

It was also the first major feature shot partly with high-resolution IMAX cameras, about 28 minutes of the finished film.

Which 2008 film, directed by Jon Favreau, was the first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Its post-credits scene had Nick Fury mention the 'Avenger Initiative', a tease that paid off four years later.

Who wrote and directed The Avengers (2012), the first Marvel production to pass $1 billion?

It finished as the third-highest-grossing film ever at the time and the biggest of 2012.

Which film knocked Avengers: Endgame off the top of the all-time box office chart in March 2021?

Endgame had taken the crown from that same film in July 2019; a Chinese re-release put the older movie back on top.

Which 2018 film was the first superhero movie ever nominated for the Best Picture Oscar?

Ryan Coogler's film won three of its seven nominations, the first Academy Awards for any MCU film.

Which teenage Spider-Man is the hero of the Oscar-winning animated film Into the Spider-Verse (2018)?

Its look blended computer animation with hand-drawn comic techniques inspired by the character's co-creator Sara Pichelli.

Who wrote and directed Pixar's The Incredibles (2004), after his previous film The Iron Giant flopped?

He was Pixar's first outside director, and the film won Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Sound Editing.

Deadpool (2016) was greenlit by Fox only after what happened in 2014?

It went on to make $782.6 million on a $58 million budget, then the biggest R-rated gross ever.

Who directed Wonder Woman (2017)?

Warner Bros. announced the film in 2010 but did not hire its director until 2015; it earned over $824 million.

Which 2017 film was the first live-action superhero movie nominated for a screenwriting Oscar?

Its Best Adapted Screenplay nomination came for Hugh Jackman's final outing as Wolverine, with Dafne Keen debuting as Laura.

In Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), which actor voices Groot?

Bradley Cooper voices Rocket the raccoon, and James Gunn co-wrote the script with Nicole Perlman.

Joker (2019) became the first film with which rating to gross a billion dollars?

It also won the Golden Lion at Venice, a first for a comic-book film, before Joaquin Phoenix's Best Actor Oscar.

Which actress played the eleven-year-old vigilante Hit-Girl in Kick-Ass (2010)?

Nicolas Cage played her father Big Daddy, and Matthew Vaughn adapted Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s comic.

Who directed Hellboy (2004), the first live-action film based on Mike Mignola's Dark Horse character?

Ron Perlman played the red demon under hours of prosthetics, and returned for The Golden Army in 2008.

In Batman Begins (2005), which actor plays Ra's al Ghul, the mentor who trains Bruce Wayne?

Ken Watanabe plays a decoy Ra's early on, and Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow supplies the fear toxin.

Man of Steel (2013), starring Henry Cavill, launched which shared film series?

Zack Snyder directed and Christopher Nolan produced; Michael Shannon's General Zod was the villain.

Which action star played Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin (1997)?

George Clooney wore the cowl after Val Kilmer declined to return, and the film is routinely ranked among the worst ever made.

Which star of Catwoman (2004) turned up in person to accept the Razzie for Worst Actress, Oscar in hand?

She called it a 'god-awful movie' and joked it was 'just what my career needed'; the film also won Worst Picture.

Green Lantern (2011) starred which actor as test pilot Hal Jordan, a casting he later mocked in Deadpool?

The suits were entirely CGI, and a mid-credits scene set up a Sinestro rebellion that never got its sequel.

Which filmmaker was executive producer of the notorious flop Howard the Duck (1986)?

It was the first Marvel character to reach cinemas since a 1944 Captain America serial, and future Foo Fighter Pat Smear is an extra.

Which director structured Unbreakable (2000) to mirror the three-act shape of a comic book origin story?

Bruce Willis's David Dunn survives a train crash unhurt, and Samuel L. Jackson's Elijah Price returned in Split and Glass.

Which Breaking Bad co-creator co-wrote Hancock (2008), Will Smith's superhero film?

Peter Berg directed; the script had circulated for years under the title Tonight, He Comes.

The Crow (1994) was the final film of which actor, who died in an accident on set?

He played Eric Draven, a musician resurrected to avenge his own murder; the film was finished with doubles and effects.

In Shazam! (2019), which teenage foster child is chosen by the wizard to become his champion?

Zachary Levi plays the grown-up hero, Asher Angel plays Billy, and the wizard is Djimon Hounsou.

Which 2018 film became the highest-grossing movie based on a DC Comics character, taking $1.152 billion?

Jason Momoa's Arthur Curry fights his half-brother Orm, played by Patrick Wilson, for the throne of Atlantis.

Which actor plays the Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)?

Joe Johnston directed, having made another retro-aviator hero film, The Rocketeer, twenty years earlier.

Which Shakespearean actor-director made Thor (2011), introducing Hemsworth and Hiddleston to the MCU?

Anthony Hopkins played Odin, and the film's Frost Giant plot is set in motion by Loki secretly letting them into Asgard.

In The Batman (2022), Robert Pattinson hunts which villain, played by Paul Dano as a serial killer?

Colin Farrell is unrecognisable as the Penguin, and Zoë Kravitz plays Selina Kyle in Matt Reeves's film.

Which two former Spider-Man actors returned alongside Tom Holland in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)?

It grossed $1.921 billion, at the time the biggest film Sony Pictures had ever released.

Captain Marvel (2019) was the first female-led superhero film to reach what box-office milestone?

Brie Larson plays Carol Danvers, and her cat Goose turns out to be a tentacled alien Flerken.

Which Kryptonian general, played by Terence Stamp, escapes the Phantom Zone in Superman II (1980)?

Richard Lester finished the film after Richard Donner was removed, and a 'Donner Cut' finally appeared in 2006.

The Rocketeer (1991) is set in Los Angeles in which year, when a stunt pilot finds a hidden rocket pack?

Joe Johnston directed the Dave Stevens adaptation, with Timothy Dalton as a Errol Flynn-style star who is secretly a Nazi agent.

Sam Raimi created Darkman (1990) after Universal turned down his pitch to adapt which pulp character?

Its disfigured hero Peyton Westlake was played by a then little-known Irish actor, in a story that nods to Universal's 1930s horror films.

Which Oscar-winning director made Hulk (2003), with Eric Bana as Bruce Banner?

Its comic-panel split screens divided audiences, and Marvel rebooted with The Incredible Hulk just five years later.

Spider-Man 2 (2004) won which Academy Award?

Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus, with his four mechanical arms, was the showcase for those effects.

Big Hero 6 (2014) was the first Disney animated film to use characters from which publisher?

Disney had bought the publisher in 2009; the film won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

Which actor voices the blue-headed supervillain in DreamWorks' Megamind (2010)?

Brad Pitt voices his heroic rival Metro Man and Tina Fey the reporter Roxanne Ritchi.

Who played Superman in Superman Returns (2006), Bryan Singer's continuation of the 1978-1980 films?

Kevin Spacey played Lex Luthor and Kate Bosworth Lois Lane; the sequel was cancelled in favour of a reboot.

Which comedian played Edward Nygma opposite Val Kilmer in Batman Forever (1995)?

Tommy Lee Jones was Two-Face, and Kilmer replaced Michael Keaton for a single film.

In Daredevil (2003), which actor plays blind lawyer Matt Murdock?

Colin Farrell was Bullseye and Jennifer Garner's Elektra earned a spin-off; Affleck later played Batman instead.

Which future Captain America played the Human Torch in Fantastic Four (2005)?

Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba and Michael Chiklis completed the team, with Julian McMahon as Doctor Doom.

Mystery Men (1999), with Ben Stiller and William H. Macy as hapless heroes, was based on which comic?

Bob Burden's characters include the Shoveler and the Blue Raja, upstaged by Greg Kinnear's Captain Amazing.

Which actor plays the Commander, the superhero father in Disney's Sky High (2005)?

His son Will Stronghold starts high school without powers; Kelly Preston plays his mother Jetstream.

How much was Marlon Brando paid up front to play Jor-El in Superman (1978)?

His deal totalled about $19 million for roughly ten minutes on screen, and he later sued for more.

The Dark Knight (2008) was the first major feature shot partly in which high-resolution format?

Christopher Nolan shot about 28 minutes on the 70mm cameras, including the opening bank heist.