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6 Superhero Movies That Get More Hate Than They Deserve

3. X-Men: The Last Stand

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I know this entry will ruffle some feathers, but I will defend this movie to the death. X-Men: The Last Stand is not a bad film. Virtually any point people say against this film, I can counter. You’re complaining that they brought in “too many” mutants and didn’t give them enough background? Well let’s see you say the same about X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past. They ignored the relationship between Professor Xavier and Juggernaut? Well, let’s hear you say the same thing about Nightcrawler and Mystique in X2. You’re upset that they killed off Cyclops? They completely undermined that character from the very beginning of the franchise when they decided to make Wolverine front and center. Nobody cared about Cyclops. Get over it.

The only excuse I’ll accept for The Last Stand being bad is in regards to what they did to Phoenix, though that really didn’t bother me. I would’ve loved to have seen more emphasis on Phoenix, but I’m totally fine with what we got. It was a simple yet enjoyable movie that reminded me of the Marvel Civil War storyline. We also got to see Juggernaut and Beast make an appearance, the latter of which had one of the best portrayals in an X-Men film to date. The huge fight on Alcatraz sealed the deal for me. How can you not enjoy watching Iceman and Pyro facing off while Colossus and Wolverine pulled the Fastball Special? My sole complaint is that we didn’t have Nightcrawler come back. Thanks, Alan Cumming.

2. The Dark Knight Rises

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I’ll go on record as saying that The Dark Knight Rises is one of my top superhero movies of all time. I’m all for respecting people’s opinions, but I can’t help but cringe when people say that this film sucked. I think the main reason for the hate is because people were expecting something like The Dark Knight (which I personally think wouldn’t be as loved if Heath Ledger didn’t die). Other complaints I saw over The Dark Knight Rises include the political overtones, the poor portrayal and demise of Bane, and the occasional plot-hole.

It’s funny how people complain about politics being “forced” into movie plots ONLY when it’s something that goes against their own beliefs. But I won’t get into that because I’m too busy defending Bane. After the horrible version we saw of this key villain in Batman and Robin, how can you criticize Tom Hardy? It’s not an exact copy of the character straight from the comics, but he was a hell of a lot better than the moronic henchman we saw tagging along behind Poison Ivy. And you have to admit that the two major Batman vs. Bane fight scenes were downright epic. As for the plot holes, welcome to comic book movies! They’re everywhere! Even your precious Joker film had its fair share of plot holes, but people seem to be too busy worshipping Ledger’s performance to say anything. All I’m saying is, if you’re going to complain about The Dark Knight Rises, at least have decent evidence. Don’t regurgitate things you read online and expect to provide a viable argument.

1. Iron Man 3

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You had to have known this was coming. Iron Man 3 has gotten so much hate that people have actually called it the worst comic book film in history. Let that sink in. They’ve considered it worse than Ghost RiderBatman and Robin, and Howard the Duck. Once again, I understand where some of the hate comes from: the Mandarin twist. Aside from that, is the movie really bad? No, it’s not.

Similar to the case of X-Men: The Last Stand and Phoenix, people were tremendously upset about a super powerful villain being reduced to a wimpy underling. I get that, I really do. But does that warrant all the hate against the film? It was a Tony Stark movie as much as it was an Iron Man movie. We got to watch Stark use his own resourcefulness and determination help him break into the Mandarin’s compound, fix his suit, and defeat Killian’s army. It completely baffles me when people pawn this film off as being terrible without giving a logical excuse besides the Mandarin twist. The ending scene alone should’ve won audiences over. Tony Stark summoning all the armors to help him in battle? Pure awesomeness.

Half of the time, I’m convinced the hate against some films is just part of a bandwagon effect and that people are afraid to support movies when the popular theme is to hate on them. Screw that. I’ll support every movie on this list with no hesitation!

What do you think of this list? Any other films you want to add? Let us know in the comments or send us your thoughts on Twitter!

About the author

Alex Reale

From a young age, Alex knew he was destined to be a writer. He also harbored a deep infatuation with superheroes and comics. Luckily, he was able to combine these two passions through his role with A Place to Hang Your Cape, where he works as Junior Sidekick and Social Media Hero.

When he’s not writing for AP2HYC or working full-time as a content manager for a small business website, Alex is diligently at work on other creative projects including a fantasy novel collection and an independent comic series.

You can find Alex's first book, Dodger's Doorway, on Amazon!

3 Comments

    • Oh yeah. I’ve seen an incredible amount of hate towards it, mainly because of the Mandarin twist. I thought it was amazing.

      • Ah, well that does make sense. As someone who really only knows Marvel through the MCU, I quite liked that twist of Ben Kingsley being not so Ben Kingsley, but looking back now it really just gave Iron Man 3 ANOTHER mean business-type dude as a baddie. It may be worth an Iron Man 4 just to see another kind of villain for Tony 😛