When the situation seems dire and the music swells, that's when a superhero shows up to
save the day. Of course, not all superhero entrances are created equal.
From the Man of Steel to Earth's Mightiest Heroes, here are the most epic superhero entrances
in movies.
The promotion for Superman: The Movie promised that we'd believe a man can fly. It was a
bold claim, and one the movie had to back up. Richard Donner and company weren't going
for childish glee, like all previous live-action Superman incarnations.They truly wanted you
to believe, and every frame was directed toward that end.
John Williams' swashbuckling score over the spacey credits kicks things off masterfully.
Casting Christopher Reeve was critical. Equally critical were the special effects. If we saw
just one wire carrying the Man of Steel like a marionette, it would all be ruined. Thankfully,
none of that happened.
It's an epic moment when a much younger Clark Kent, played by Jeff East, arrives at his
Fortress of Solitude to take on the mantle of Kal-El, the Last Son of Krypton.
"Who am I?"
"Your name is Kal-El. You are the only survivor of the planet Krypton."
Cue Williams' orchestral march as Superman is transformed into a man, and Christopher
Reeve flies in costume and into legend, ready to deliver a five-finger patriotic punch of
truth, justice, and the American Way.
After Superman: The Movie ruled the box office in 1978, a sequel was a foregone conclusion.
Actually, it was happening regardless of the money, because both movies were filmed at
the same time.
Despite a lot of behind-the-scenes drama with directors, Superman II eventually took flight,
and the plot finds our fair planet in peril as three Kryptonians escape their floating
mirror prison and seek vengeance on the son of the man who put them there. This trio of
space meanies imprisons humanity, eventually forcing the President of the United States
to kneel before Zod.
Meanwhile, Superman has given up his powers so he can be with his love, Lois Lane, which
seems remarkably shortsighted given the circumstances. All hope seems lost when the three Kryptonians
take Lois hostage, hoping to lure the Man of Tomorrow out for a round of fisticuffs.
But as they say, be careful what you wish for.
"General, would you care to step outside?"
"Superman!"
"Superman, thank God."
It's a bird. It's a plane. Nope, it's the red and blue Boy Scout coming to kick Zod's
butt.
Tim Burton is mostly known for his incredibly eccentric style, but the guy clearly has sharp
box office sensibilities. Take Batman, for instance. The movie's success is directly
attributable to this one fact: Fanboys dug it. And they were especially crazy about Batman's
entrances.
This film features two iconic entrances, which fans are still quoting 30 years later. Batman's
first appearance comes in the beginning of the film and features Michael Keaton taking
out two hoodlums who've just mugged a family.
"I want you to do me a favor. I want you to tell all your friends about me."
"What are you?"
"I'm Batman."
It was such an effective line that filmmakers are still copying it today.
Arguably even more awesome is Batman's entrance later in the flick. After Jack Nicholson's
Joker kidnaps innocent reporter Vicki Vale, the Caped Crusader bursts through the glass
ceiling with perfect timing. After all, timing is everything in show business and superheroics.
Remember what we said about filmmakers copying the "I'm Batman" moment? Well, that line was
so memorable it was repeated 16 years later in the Warner Brothers reboot, Batman Begins.
You know your scene is special when even uber-original director Christopher Nolan feels the need
to borrow it.
The setup, however, is much different. This isn't our first encounter with Bruce Wayne
by this point. We've been with Wayne on his journey from disenchanted youth to prison
baddie to ninja warrior. And after an hour of buildup, we see him for the first time
as the man in black.
Vicious mob boss Carmine Falcone is making a deal on the docks, like he's safely done
a million times before. But this is Batman's town now. With the pacing of a horror movie,
a shadowy figure takes out the hoods one by one. Falcone attempts to escape in his limo,
when Batman arrives.
"What the hell are you?"
"I'm Batman."
Hey, just because a moment is an homage doesn't make it any less epic.
Batman just seems to naturally lend himself to awesome entrances, and for proof, look
no further than The Dark Knight Rises. The final entry in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight
trilogy may not have quite lived up to its sky-high expectations, but it wasn't for a
lack of awesome entrances.
The first sees Batman returning after eight years, as the League of Shadows has just invaded
Gotham's equivalent of Wall Street. As night falls on the city, the police are in hot pursuit
of the villains. Suddenly, several overhead lights go out.
"What the hell was that?"
"Oh boy. You are in for a show tonight, son."
As Hans Zimmer's score reaches its crescendo, we realize the old-timer is right, Batman
is back. But then he gets his back broken by Bane, winds up imprisoned underground in
an undisclosed location, and watches helplessly as Gotham City is held hostage by terrorists.
Boy, that sucks.
However, you can't keep a good bat down, and the Caped Crusader rises from his subterranean
prison and returns home. Of course, he can't just sneak up on the unsuspecting Bane. No,
that would be too simple. He has to make a statement. So he sets a bridge on fire with
his symbol. Maybe it's not practical, but who cares? It's totally awesome.
Superman Returns was not a great movie. It was so average in fact that Warner Brothers
abandoned this $200 million franchise restart, only returning to the character after another
seven years hiatus. All this aside, one iconic scene is unforgettable.
Superman has been gone for five years. Lois Lane is on a commercial jet being carried
by a NASA space shuttle, and a villainous Lex Luthor has just set off a global electromagnetic
shock.
And of course, that's when you-know-who returns to Earth. Through the windows of the jet we
see something red and blue streak by, faster than a speeding bullet, as the opening strings
of John Williams' score tease Superman's arrival. Long story short, Superman saves the day.
"Well, I hope this experience hasn't put any of you off flying. Statistically speaking
it's still the safest way to travel."
Nothing fancy, but bear in mind, this was the first time we got to see a live-action
Superman with modern CGI special effects.The scene was the highlight of the film, proving
that even a mediocre movie can have an epic entrance.
The Avengers has more than its share of epic entrances. There's Iron Man rescuing Cap from
Loki, and Thor riding a wave of lightning bolts to capture his imprisoned brother, just
for starters. But the most memorable of the bunch comes in the film's final act, during
the battle of New York.
A giant evil space slug is attacking New York City. Mild-mannered Bruce Banner arrives on
a scooter, ready to take it out.
"Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."
"That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry."
This moment is actually two entrances for the price of one, as it immediately leads
into the now-classic Avengers wraparound scene. Originally, they were six individuals. Now,
they're a team. Avengers assemble!
While there have been many attempts to bring Wonder Woman to the big screen, the Amazonian
warrior princess hadn't been seen in live action since Linda Carter. However, that changed
in the most unlikely of places: the first on-screen pairing of Batman and Superman.
Despite the disappointment that followed in its wake, it's hard to overstate just how
monumental Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice was for fanboy culture. This was the first
time Batman and Superman would share the screen in a live-action film. Plus, Wonder Woman
was going to show up too. It should've been great. It was not.
However, Wonder Woman's entrance was a dream come true for millions of fans worldwide.
While Diana Prince had been a principal character in the film, she didn't appear in the red,
blue and gold until the final battle. Doomsday is about to blast Batman into oblivion when,
with her now iconic, Led Zeppelin-like theme wailing in the background, Wonder Woman appears
to save the day. If your movie is only going to have one good moment, make it a great one.
Spider-Man is Marvel's most famous character and one of the most popular heroes in comic
book history. By the time Captain America: Civil War arrived in 2016, the character had
been on the screen five times, breaking several box office records along the way. Even after
the dreadful Amazing Spider-Man films, fans worldwide wanted to see their favorite friendly
neighborhood superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
And sure, Spider-Man's entry in the MCU wasn't exactly heroic. There was little fanfare,
or saving of innocents. He simply swung into the middle of a tense confrontation between
Iron Man and Captain America.
"Cap-captain…big fan, Spider-Man."
"Yeah, we'll talk about it later."
"Hey everyone."
"Good job."
He wasn't even really the focus of the scene. However, that was the point. Here was a fresh,
unexpected vision of a character we'd grown accustomed to. Marvel's franchise star was
taking a backseat to two characters who only in the last 15 years had become mainstream
blockbuster stars in their own right. It reflected the character perfectly. Here he was, a literal
kid learning the ropes of how to be a hero. In other words, this was the essence of Spider-Man.
Directed by Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman features an entrance unlike any other. Taking place
in the grisly pits of World War I trench warfare, the setting is more reminiscent of Band of
Brothers than of a superhero movie.
After witnessing the suffering of innocent villagers and the madness of World War I raging
around her, Wonder Woman is moved to action. She bravely marches into No Man's Land, taking
fire from countless German soldiers.
Upon arriving in the imprisoned village of Veld, the Amazonian warrior princess pretty
much single-handedly wins the battle like the demi-god she is. Once again, her theme
is the soundtrack, and the screaming electric guitar totally works in the early 20th-century
setting.
In an era dominated by MCU's effective, well-honed storytelling style and the DCEU's dark and
dour films, there was something fresh and invigorating about good, old fashioned adventure
storytelling. While the DCEU has had its ups and downs, Wonder Woman's entrance is definitely
a high point.
In Avengers: Infinity War, Chris Hemsworth makes the kind of entrance that inspires actors
to sign up for superhero movies. But of course, poor Thor has to go through quite a lot before
he shows up to save the day. After getting smoked by Thanos in the first five minutes
of the movie and watching both his friend and brother die along the way, the god of
thunder is in a very bad place.
Thor wants revenge. But he needs a new weapon to take down the Mad Titan. So he travels
to the distant reaches of the galaxy to have a battle ax made forged in the heat from the
heart of a star.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, the battle of Wakanda is not going well for the Avengers. Thanos'
armies have breached the force field, and they're on the verge of decimating the country.
All hope seems lost when a beam of light rains down from the heavens. Thor's spinning ax,
Stormbreaker, takes out the alien army like a fidget-spinner from hell. The Avengers theme
blares, and Thor is back.
"You guys are so screwed now."
"Bring me Thanos!"
It's hilarious and awesome all at once. Moments like this are why Marvel is so unstoppable.
We all know that, despite their best efforts, the Avengers couldn't stop Thanos in Infinity
War. The Mad Titan snaps his fingers, half the universe turns to dust, and the Avengers
have to cook up a complicated time heist to right the wrongs of the past. And as we come
to the end of Avengers: Endgame's huge three-hour runtime, that's when we get one of the most
epic entrances in all of cinema.
While Hulk successfully snaps the Infinity Stones and brings everybody back to life,
Thanos now has the upper hand in the climactic battle. His million-monster army has caught
the Avengers by surprise, and he seems poised to destroy what's left of Earth's Mightiest
Heroes, reclaim the Infinity Stones, and destroy all life as we know it.
The heroes once again find themselves in peril, when suddenly, Dr. Strange's familiar glowing
orange orb appears. King T'Challa, the Black Panther, appears. The last we saw him, he
had been turned into dust following Thanos' snap.
He's soon joined by Dr. Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, and the remainder
of our once-fallen heroes. Thanos' victory in Infinity War has been reversed. We're in
the endgame now. The screen is soon populated by thousands of Wakandans, Asgardians, and
other warriors, ready to wreak vengeance upon Thanos.
"Avengers…assemble."
Only one word can describe such an entrance: epic.
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