The Best Comic Book Movies to Date

I was never a rabid comic book reader as a child, but the movies I look forward to most these days are the ones based on them. From a distance, comic books seem like child's stuff we eventually grow out of liking, but the best movies made from them show what a great art form it is in regards to storytelling. While many deal with the typical good guy versus bad guy stories, others feature highly complex characters that burn into your memory and help to create the most unforgettable adventures. When Hollywood gets it right, comic books can make for the most enthralling cinematic experiences.

Granted, there are a large number of bad comic book movies floating out there ("Green Lantern" being the latest victim), but the ones below will stand the test of time:

The Dark Knight

The ultimate Batman movie and the greatest comic book movie so far, "The Dark Knight" does not lower itself to an average tale of good vs. bad. Bruce Wayne/Batman, the Joker, and Harvey "Two Face" Dent are given tremendous depth and complexity, and the line between right and wrong gets seriously blurred as the outlaws fight each other. The Batman of Christopher Nolan's vision is not one who rises above his enemies as Christian Bale's Caped Crusader comes to realize that he must become the thing he's after in order to stop the Joker's ensuing chaos.

Spider-Man 2

Sam Raimi's first "Spider-Man" movie was very good, but the second one blew it away. As it was with "Superman 2," Peter Parker struggles between being a superhero and pursuing the girl of his dreams, Mary Jane Watson, finding that he may never be able to have both. Simultaneously, Parker has to duke it out with Doc Ock, a bad guy who makes the Green Goblin look like a pansy. What makes "Spider-Man 2" stand out as one of the greatest is its attention to characters and how the writers and actors succeed brilliantly in bringing them down to Earth. It makes for an emotionally fulfilling experience that other comic book movies only dream of being.

X-Men 2: X-Men United

Having introduced all the characters and no longer needing to deal with their origins, Bryan Singer's follow-up to "X-Men" jumps right into the. This time the mutants take on Colonel William Stryker (the great Brian Cox) who seeks to eliminate them all with extreme prejudice. The themes of being seen as an outcast from society and alienated from one's family make "X-Men" unique in the world of comic books, and "X-Men 2" explores those themes to an even more emotionally powerful effect than before. We care about the mutants because in the end, they are not really different from humans, and the evolution of humanity should not be seen as a threat.

Superman I & II

I put these two together as both show the Man of Steel at his cinematic best. Brought to life by Christopher Reeve, "Superman" was the superhero I lived to cheer on as a kid. Reeve gave us a superhero who is truly good at heart, and he never made him a laughably one-dimensional Boy Scout (Clark Kent is another story). Even today we want to see another "Superman" movie because even if he's too much of a nice guy, the world still needs a savior.

So these films will hopefully keep you busy until "The Dark Knight Rises" comes out in a year from now. Still, I'm not sure I can wait that long --