The Best Comic Book Movies of 2019

2019 might go down as the most important year in superhero movies, grossing roughly $7 billion at the worldwide box office. It was a year of evolution, beginnings, and endings. Let's begin our countdown and discuss the five best superhero movies of the year starting with...

5. Captain Marvel

This past year, general audiences were introduced to Carol Danvers, an Air-Force pilot searching for her forgotten identity and past. So many people anticipated Marvel’s first female-led film and earned it just over 1.1 billion dollars at the global box office.

Long-time collaborators, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, directed the film and brought their smaller, more personal touch to this galactic tale. Unfortunately, this went up against Marvel’s biggest film to date and pales in comparison in scope. I can’t help but think that Brie Larson is still finding this character at times, and its muddled story keeps me from attaching myself to any of the other new characters.

4. Shazam!

Shazam! might be the year’s most underrated superhero film being the lowest earner of the bunch. It was probably lost in the ‘Marvel-of-it-all,’ but Shazam! Continues DC/Warner Bros superhero success after last winter’s Aquaman.

Shazam! has such a god-like skillset. It maintains so many fun and youthful qualities throughout with such a wonderful young supporting cast including Jack Dylan Grazer’s Freddy Freeman. For this movie to work, Zachary Levi and Asher Angel have to be a dynamite tag team and make us fall in love with Billy Batson/Shazam, which they accomplish in spades. You laugh, you cry, and you rewatch. David F. Sandberg proves once again that he’s one of the more promising, thoughtful, up-and-coming directors.

3. Spider-Man: Far From Home

This year, we were all Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, grieving for the loss of our beloved Tony Stark. The true end to Marvel’s Phase 3 and the Infinity Saga was the vessel for a ton of Hollywood drama. It was briefly believed to be Tom Holland’s last entry into the MCU, completely emptying the tone it had created and its final plot twist involving the reveal of Spider-Man’s true identity, made possible by J.K. Simmons’ J. Jonah Jameson.

Marvel continues to prove that aside from Thanos, Spider-Man has the best villains. Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio petered in at the beginning of the second act, but proved to be insanely effective and thrilling by the end. Who doesn’t love watching Jake Gyllenhaal direct as David Fincher while wearing a mo-cap suit? This movie is sequenced wonderfully and has some of the best visuals in a Spider-Man movie, which is important considering it’s very easy for Spider-Man to appear rubbery. Tom Holland is still the best Spider-Man and I’m dying to see the next entry.

2. Joker

Joker didn’t enter the world without controversy. First of all, film fans were unsure why we needed to cast a second Joker that existed concurrent to Jared Leto’s. It was also in question if Todd Phillips was truly the guy to give this thing the life that it needed. Well, $1 billion later, Joker is laughing at its skeptics.

Joaquin Phoenix elevates this material to the nth degree, making this film elevate above the comic book genre. Joker is a glimpse into classism, mental illness, false truths and appearances, and true descent into madness that works whether Bruce Wayne shows up or not. The final act haunts me to this day and though it can be a tough watch, you cannot doubt this film’s greatness. Phoenix deserves Oscar consideration and Todd Phillips demands to be taken more seriously as a filmmaker.

1. Avengers: Endgame

Like Thanos himself, this entry was inevitable. Very little can be said that is unique about Avengers: Endgame. The hardest thing to believe is that I feared nothing going into this movie. I just knew and expected it to fulfill my needs as a Marvel fan. Avengers: Endgame became the highest grossing movie of all time after a hit 22-film run.

This film swam through different tones seamlessly. First, it was the cinematic equivalent of The Leftovers, exploring the aftermath of Thanos’ fateful decimation, time-traveling through the existing catalog of sequences of prior films, and a final concluding battle sequence that left us with broken hearts.

Avengers: Endgame concludes the arcs of Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark, Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers, and Scarlett Johanssen’s Natasha Romanoff beautifully. It gave us Cap wielding Mjolnir, Smart Hulk, Fat Thor, and ‘I Love You, 3000.’ This movie united audiences everywhere and brought together every single MCU character imaginable, proving that the MCU can do things that no other movie or franchise thought possible. One of the truest historical cinematic landmarks ever. It also makes 2019 one of the greatest years in superhero movie history.