Oscar-winning comic book movies

Key Takeaways

Comic book movies’ quality has evolved, with impressive writing, directing, and acting.
Comic book movies now compete at the Oscars, with some taking home awards.
Wins for Best Animated Feature, Costume Design, Visual Effects, and Makeup and Hairstyling show recognition.

It wasn’t so long ago that comic book movies were looked at as B-movies at best and absolute trash at worst . This was an age of embarrassing costumes, wooden performances, and typically a huge disregard for the source material . That all began to change in the early 2000s with films like Batman Begins that put actual love and care into the writing, directing, and acting. Since then, comic book movies have become some of the most popular and profitable franchises in the world. Sure, we still get a stinker every now and then, but the ratio has no doubt shifted strongly in the other direction.

The Academy Awards reserve their prestigious Oscars for only the best and most influential films of the year . Directors, actors, studios, and entire film departments all push themselves just for the honor of being nominated for such an award. Comic book movies were never even considered to be at the level of an Oscar two decades ago, but are now celebrated alongside all the other amazing films of the year. In fact, plenty of comic book movies are proud winners of a couple of Oscars. Here are a few of the most impressive Oscar-winning comic book movies.

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1 The Dark Knight

Heath Leger – Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

The Dark Knight (2009)

Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart

This list couldn’t start anywhere but with Heath Leger’s breathtaking performance as The Joker in Nolan’s The Dark Knight. No doubt this is the best Batman film ever made, but could easily be called the best comic book movie as well. While the writing and direction played a huge part in its appeal, it was Leger’s take on the most iconic villain in the Batman mythos that made it a must-watch film. Sadly, Leger passed away before the film was released and was unable to accept his award for his Oscar-worthy performance. While he was technically a supporting role, he and his Joker were just as much the star of the film as Bale’s Batman.

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2 Joker

Joaquin Phoenix – Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Joker (2019)

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Robert De Niro

If you want to win an Oscar, land a role as the Joker. Okay, that isn’t totally true, but that is the current trend. Following up Leger’s Joker must have been a daunting task for any actor, but Phoenix wasn’t afraid to take the role in his own direction. He fully embodied the unstable nature and more tragic side of the character in a way we’ve never seen on the big screen before. The result was a film that didn’t feel like a comic book movie at all, but did so without betraying the character it drew inspiration from. All that’s left is to see if lightning can strike twice when the sequel comes out.

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3 Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

Best Animated Feature

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

$21 $31 Save $10

Starring: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld

One major reason comic book movies weren’t taken seriously for so long was the fact that they were mostly live-action. It’s just so difficult to make a person in the kinds of costumes superheroes wear look good. That’s why animation is where we got the best comic media for so long, at least on TV. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse was a change of pace after all the live-action adaptations for a few reasons. First, Miles Morales was a fantastic new lead we could invest in, but the animation style was unlike anything else. Using an intentionally choppy style, but mixed with bright and thick colors, everything about this film was a visual treat. It more than deserves the Best Animated Feature award it received.

Tobey Maguire, Tom Holland, and Andrew Garfield all as Spiderman.

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4 Suicide Squad

Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling

Suicide Squad (2016)

Starring: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie

Yes, that’s right, the dumpster fire that was the 2016 Suicide Squad film is an Oscar winner. Sadly, the same can’t be said about the much better second attempt, but what can you do? It didn’t win for anything you would typically tune-in to watch the Oscars for, but we do have to admit that makeup and hairstyling are very important for a comic book movie. The least a movie can do is make the characters look right, which we can at least give this movie some credit for.

What is the worst movie you’ve ever seen?

This past weekend saw the release of Borderlands, which, despite having a stacked cast with Jamie Lee Curtis, Cate Blanchette and Kevin Hart, failed to impress critics or audiences, hitting just a 10% on the Tomatometer and making only $8.8 million from over 3,000 theaters, which makes it one of the worst opening weekends of the year. You can check out our critic Anthony Marcusa’s review at the link for more on Borderlands, but I thought, on the subject of terrible movies, what is the worst movie you’ve ever seen? It may be recency bias, but I remember feeling totally let down by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, with its cheap design, poor story, and lackluster effects. For me, that film represents the ultimate low point in the MCU, and I remember thinking if this is where the franchise is going, then Tony Stark truly died for nothing. Granted, I guess he’s back now (kind of) but in any case. What is the worst movie YOU remember seeing?

5 Black Panther

Best Achievement in Costume Design

Black Panther (2018)

$15 $27 Save $12

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o

Remember how we mentioned costumes are hard? Well, Black Panther nailed that aspect so well it got an Oscar for its costume design. The Black Panther outfit isn’t as complex as some other heroes, but that also makes it hard to do well. It’s mostly a black suit, but those trims,angles, and texture to it have to be perfect to avoid looking like a guy wearing a black leotard. A great win for a great film.

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6 Spider-Man 2

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

$38 $76 Save $38

Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina

Showing a character flying in a movie is easy, but feeling the rush and vertigo of swinging between buildings while sitting in a theater seat is a true feat. The lengths Spider-Man 2 went to give us shots in both first and third-person of Peter swinging through the city like it was effortless still looks impressive to this day. That’s not even mentioning the huge set pieces like the train or any of the fights across rooftops that blend CG and practical effects seamlessly.