Operation: 100 Words or Less

Just how much is (are?) 100 words?

After reading some humorous reviews of the Superman films of the 1970s-80s, I’ve been inspired to go back through the old superhero films and give a fresh take on them here on this blog. But that’s a daunting task. There are easily over 50 films up for review (note: I’ll only be reviewing the films I own, which is most, but not all of them). The catch? I’ll try to keep these reviews short and to the point: 100 words or less. How much is that? I’ve used 100 words in this post.

(OK, I'm past 100 words, but I want to put up the list of films to come...)

Again, I'm only reviewing the films I own or have regular, dependable, legal access to (Netfilx). This is because, before each review, I will watch the film. So, this is going to take several months. I'll go in spurts based on character, so I'll start with the character with the most films in the following list: Batman. Look for his first review this week!

1940s - Superheroes in film serials

DC:

-Batman (1943 serial)
-Superman (1948 serial)

-Batman and Robin (1949 serial)

Marvel:
-Captain America (1944 serial)

1950s - George Reeves brings Superman to Life on TV

-Atom Man vs. Superman (1950 serial)
-Superman and the Mole Men (1951)
-Stamp Day for Superman (1954)

1960s - Adam West makes Batman an icon

DC:
-Batman: The Movie (1966)

1970s - Superman takes over

DC:

-Superman (1978)

Marvel:

-Spider-Man (1977)

-The Incredible Hulk (1977)

-Dr. Strange (1978)

-Captain America (1979)

-Captain America II: Death Too Soon (1979)

1980s - Superman fades and Batman re-emerges

DC:
-Superman II (1980)

-Superman III (1983)

-Supergirl (1984)
-Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
-Batman (1989)

Marvel:

-Howard the Duck (1986)

-The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988)

-The Punisher (1989)

-The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989)

1990-1995 - Batman is cool again

DC:

-Batman Returns (1992)

-Batman Forever (1995)

Marvel:

-Captain America (1990)

-The Death of the Incredible Hulk (1990)

-The Fantastic Four (1994)

Dark Horse:
-The Mask (1994)

Rebellion:
-Judge Dredd (2005)

Independent:
-Darkman (1990)

1996-2000 - Batman is ruined, now it's Marvel's turn to shine

DC:

-Batman & Robin (1997)

-Steel (1997)

Marvel:

-Blade (1998)

-X-Men (2000)

Image:

-Spawn (1997)

Dark Horse:
-Mystery Men (1999)

2002 - Spider-Man is here, and the superhero genre explodes

DC:

-Road to Perdition

Marvel:

-Blade II

-Spider-Man

2003 - DC still recovering, Marvel expanding

DC:

-The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 

Marvel:

-Daredevil

-X2: X-Men United

-Hulk

2004 - DC flops a spinoff, Marvel continues to grow

DC:
-Catwoman

Marvel:

-The Punisher

-Spider-Man 2

-Blade: Trinity

Dark Horse:
-Hellboy

2005 - Batman is back

DC:

-Batman Begins

-V for Vendetta

Marvel:

-Elektra

-Man-Thing

-Fantastic Four

Dark Horse:

-Sin City

-Son of the Mask

2006 - Superman is back. Well, kind of.

DC:

-Superman Returns

-Superman Returns: The Richard Donner Cut

Marvel:

-X-Men: The Last Stand

2007 - Marvel flops thrice, 300 gains attention

Marvel:

-Ghost Rider

-Spider-Man 3

-Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Dark Horse:
-300

2008 - Superhero films are no longer just for nerds

DC:

-The Dark Knight

-The Spirit

Marvel:

-Iron Man

-The Incredible Hulk

-Punisher: War Zone

Dark Horse:
-Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Independent:
-Hancock

2009 - Source material? What source material.

DC:

-Watchmen

Marvel:

-X-Men Origins: Wolverine

2010 - The Avengers are coming, DC isn't even trying.

DC:

-Jonah Hex

-The Losers

Marvel:

-Iron Man 2

-Kick-Ass

Independent:
-Super

2011 - DC Disappoints fans yet again. X-Men saved.

DC:
-Green Lantern

Marvel:

-Thor

-X-Men: First Class

-Captain America: The First Avenger

2012 - Batman vs. Avengers

DC:

-The Dark Knight Rises

Marvel:

-Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

-The Avengers

-The Amazing Spider-Man

Rebellion:
-Dredd

2013 - Superman, again.

DC:

-Man of Steel

Marvel:

-Iron Man 3

-The Wolverine

-Kick-Ass 2

-Thor: The Dark World

Dark Horse:
-R.I.P.D.
-Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Independent:
-The Lone Ranger