Superman Movies In Order To Watch
The Superman Serials (1948 and 1950) The first live-action appearance of the Man of Steel can be traced back to serials that premiered in theatres in 1948 and 1950. The two serials each have 15 chapters and stars Kirk Alyn as Superman and Noel Nielle as Lois Lane. Spencer Gordon Bennett served as the director for both series, though he shared co-directing duties with Thomas Carrin the first Superman Serial.
Superman and the Mole Men (1951) The first official superhero movie featuring DC characters sees George Reeves star as the Man of Steel. Superman, as his alter ego Clark Kent, along with Lois Lane (Phyllis Coates), go investigate the world’s deepest oil well only to discover a race of humanoid creatures have emerged from the underground. The film, directed by Lee Sholem, was intended to drum up interest for The Adventures of Superman, a TV show that premiered the following year and ran for six seasons. It also starred George Reeves.
Superman (1978) In this classic film, we see Superman’s origin story: His father Jor-El (Marlon Brando) sends him from the dying world of Krypton to Earth, where his unique molecular structure gives him superpowers. He’s raised by the Kents until he learns the truth about where he comes from and has to face off against Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), who plans to sink the US west coast with a nuclear weapon.
Superman II (1980) A hydrogen bomb is sent into space by Superman and inadvertently releases three Kryptonian war criminals led by General Zod (Terence Stamp). Granted the same powers as Superman, the three Kryptonians set out to conquer Earth. Meanwhile, Superman rids himself of his powers so he may live a normal life with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder).
Superman III (1983) Superman III marks a precipitous fall in quality from the first two Superman films, perhaps because a new director, Richard Lester, was brought on board. His rendition sees Christopher Reeves return as Clark Kent and head back to his hometown of Smallville, Kansas. Meanwhile, the CEO of Webscoe, Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn), hires a talented-but-klutzy computer programmer (Richard Pryor) to help him destroy his competitors and hopefully kill Superman.
Supergirl (1984) Supergirl is the forgotten spinoff from the Christopher Reeves’ Superman films. It was a box office and critical disappointment, but it does give a glimpse at the future of interconnected universes in superhero films. Supergirl follows Kara Zor-El, a Kryptonian refugee. She lives in Argo City and accidentally loses a device that powers the entire city. She follows it all the way to Earth to get it back.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) The final Christopher Reeves’ Superman film sees the Man of Steel take on a nuclear arms race. When Superman announces that he intends to destroy every nuclear weapon, the nations of Earth agree too and begin to shoot the weapons into space.
Superman Returns (2006) A false start at resetting The Superman Universe, this film is a sequel to the first two Christopher Reeves’ Superman films. But it ignores the events of the third and fourth films. It’s the toughest film to place in our timeline because it’s supposed to be set five years after Superman II, which took place in 1982, but it ignores all that and somehow takes place in “modern-day” 2006.
Man of Steel (2013) The film that kicked off the official DC Extended Universe sees Henry Cavill take on the mantle of Superman. The star-studded origin story casts Russel Crowe as Superman’s birth father, Jor-el, and Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as the Kents who adopt him.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) Batman v Superman shows how two of the most recognizable superheroes end up hating each other. Ben Affleck’s Batman views Cavill’s Superman as an unstoppable alien force that’s too great a risk to leave unattended. Meanwhile, Superman views Batman’s brand of vigilante justice as just another example of crime running rampant. While they each work to outmaneuver the other, Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenburg) is behind the scenes making a weapon powerful enough to beat them both.
Justice League (2017) or Snyder Cut (2021) Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) are outgunned and still reeling from the death of Superman (Henry Cavill) in Batman v Superman, so Justice League sees the classic superhero team unite to take on Steppenwolf, a villain who is out to terraform Earth into an uninhabitable planet like his own home.