If you’re holding out for a hero, you’re in luck — there’s a superhero story for you. The superhero television and movie spectrum is as vast as any comic book universe: Some series and films follow righteous, street-level heroes, like Spider-Man, who work to keep their neighborhoods safe. Others feature morally ambiguous antiheroes, like The Punisher, who juggle the fate of the world in their hands despite an aversion to the spotlight.
Whether they’re saving the universe or trying to avenge it, the best thing about these superheroes’ stories is that they come in all shapes and sizes. Some are big-budget spectacles while others are more intimate tales of people with powers discovering their purpose. Whether you’re looking to watch some dynamic fight scenes or get invested in multi-season arcs, these 14 movies and series will inspire you to pull on your best spandex and take flight.
Grant Gustin stars as Barry Allen, whose childhood was altered by the sudden death of his mother and the subsequent imprisonment of his innocent father for her murder. Years later, Barry, who now works as a forensic crime-scene investigator, is struck by lightning in a freak storm that leaves him with the power of superhuman speed. After discovering how many others use their own powers for evil, he decides to begin masquerading as the costumed vigilante the Flash, all while trying to get to the bottom of what really happened to his mother. The CW series ran for nine seasons, making it the ideal watch for when you want to get really invested in a superhero story.
Based on Mark Millar and Frank Quitely’s comics of the same name, Jupiter’s Legacy stars Josh Duhamel (Ransom Canyon) as Sheldon Sampson, aka the Utopian, the leader of the world’s first superheroes. The Utopian and his teammates — including Brainwave (Ben Daniels), Lady Liberty (Leslie Bibb), the Flare (Mike Wade), and Skyfox (Matt Lanter) — make up the idealistic Union of Justice. After decades defending the world from ever-growing threats, they’re ready to pass the torch to the next generation. The problem? Their superpowered children are spoiled, volatile, and struggling to live up to their parents’ legacies. When the Utopian’s son, Paragon (Andrew Horton), breaks one of the Union’s founding rules, his actions could have disastrous consequences nearly a century after superheroes first broke onto the scene.
In this sci-fi thriller, Jamie Foxx (Day Shift), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Trial of the Chicago 7), and Dominique Fishback (Swarm) make for an unlikely trio working together to stop the distribution of a superpower-granting street drug. Set in a futuristic version of New Orleans, the pill — appropriately called “Power” — gives the user five minutes of various superpowers. The catch? You never know what you’ll get when you ingest it, meaning that a user could gain strength or invisibility, or they could just explode. When a local cartel starts using the drug to commit crimes, a cop (Gordon-Levitt) tries to put an end to it by teaming up with a teenager (Fishback) and a traumatized former soldier out for revenge of his own (Foxx).
Single mom Nicole Warren (Alisha Wainwright) is already struggling to raise her young son, Dion (Ja’Siah Young), after her husband Mark’s (Michael B. Jordan) death when she discovers that Dion has developed superpowers. Confused and alone, she turns to Mark’s best friend, Pat (Jason Ritter), to help her make sense of her shifting reality. She soon learns that there are people who want to exploit her son’s burgeoning abilities. This two-season drama, based on the 2015 comic book and short film by Dennis Liu, also stars Jazmyn Simon (Ballers) and Ali Ahn (The Diplomat).
After his first outing with the Avengers as Spider-Man, 15-year-old Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is ready to join the team. It’s too bad that Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is more interested in keeping Peter close to the ground — a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, if you will. By day, Peter is an A-plus student in Queens, New York, where he hangs with his best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon), and tries to catch the attention of his crush, Liz (Laura Harrier). But when school lets out, Peter suits up to thwart bicycle thieves and fight bank robbers. That’s how he stumbles on an alien tech black market conspiracy led by Adrian Toomes, aka the Vulture (Michael Keaton). Determined to prove he’s a real hero, Peter defies Mr. Stark and investigates the scheme, soon finding himself caught in a tangled, potentially deadly web. Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler), Jon Favreau (Rudy), and Zendaya (Malcolm & Marie) also star.
Brooklyn teen Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is just trying to adjust to his fancy school, live up to his loving parents’ expectations, and impress the new girl, Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), when he’s bitten by a radioactive spider. That’s when he meets Spider-Man, aka Peter Parker (Chris Pine), who’s on a mission to stop the villainous Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) from tearing a hole in reality. Spidey fails, leaving Miles to save their world and juggle the alternate-universe Spider-People who keep popping up: the jaded, over-the-hill Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson); the hypercapable Spider-Gwen (Steinfeld); the angst-ridden, black-and-white Spider-Noir (Nicolas Cage); the tech-savvy Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn); and the talking cartoon pig in spandex, Spider-Ham (John Mulaney). If they work together, these unlikely allies might be able to save the multiverse, return home, and discover what it means to be heroes. The movie, produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Project Hail Mary), won Best Animated Feature at the Critics Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, and the Oscars.
Steve Blackman’s series, which is based on the comic book by My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, is an inventive superhero story, but it’s also a show about complicated family dynamics. The Umbrella Academy focuses on the Hargreeves, an estranged family of superpowered adopted siblings who are brought back together by the death of their father. (And when we say estranged, we mean estranged: One sibling lives on the moon after being injected with a serum that made him half-ape.) The reunion inspires the Hargreeves to look into the shady circumstances surrounding how their father died, and how it connects back to their own mysterious origins. The large ensemble cast includes Elliot Page (Close to You), Tom Hopper (Love in the Villa), David Castañeda (The Guilty), and Emmy Raver-Lampman (The Beekeeper).
Superheroics run in the family in this indirect sequel to The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl. Written and directed by Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids), the flick follows Missy Moreno (YaYa Gosselin), who doesn’t have superpowers. She’s the daughter of the sword-wielding hero Marcus Moreno (Pedro Pascal). When the world’s greatest superheroes, the Heroics, are defeated and captured by an alien enemy, it’s up to their kids to suit up and save the day by harnessing their greatest weapon: teamwork. Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Dostana), Boyd Holbrook (Narcos), Christopher McDonald (Happy Gilmore 2), and Christian Slater (Chupa) also star.
