Superheroes come in all shapes and sizes
The screen superheroes who defined the decade, from Iron Man to Sister Knight
The Joel Schumacher years of nipple-clad Batsuits seem so long ago, since no decade proved superheroes to be a force in entertainment quite like the 2010s.
The Avengers assembled, combining separate movie franchises into a team-up event never before seen on film — and turning Marvel Studios into a Hollywood superpower. On the small screen, the CW’S gritty vigilante series Arrow spawned multiple shows in a connected, DC Comics-inspired universe.
Here’s a list of the heroes (and actors) who defined this past decade:
IRON MAN (ROBERT DOWNEY JR.)
There is no Marvel Cinematic Universe without Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, who helped bring the franchise to life in the aughts with his first Iron Man film.
Downey redefined the live-action cinematic superhero in the years following. Secret identity? Maybe for your grandparents’ comic-book characters — “I am Iron Man” took care of that problem in the first of many memorable onscreen moments from the man in the iron mask.
Downey’s Stark evolution took him from a billionaire playboy without a care to the hero who ended up making the ultimate sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame. Downey as Stark was always at his best when the uniform was off. His off-the-charts confidence and sarcasm were such that there was no doubt Tony Stark’s mind was the
Avengers’ greatest superpower.
BATMAN (CHRISTIAN BALE)
Overshadowed by the late Heath Ledger’s Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight, Christian Bale delivered his best performance as DC’S caped crusader in his 2012 comic swan song, The Dark Knight Rises — the only solo Batman film this decade. (Ben Affleck had to share the screen with other heroes.)
Bale was always deceivingly charming enough as Bruce Wayne to convince us he couldn’t possibly be Batman, yet still believable when he donned the cape and cowl.
WONDER WOMAN (GAL GADOT)
Gal Gadot’s starring turn as Wonder Woman in 2017 was a double achievement for WB/DC, proving they could create spectacular superhero films again while also getting their top female character to star in a solo movie before Marvel Studios. (Captain Marvel came nearly two years later.)
Gadot faced no easy task in replacing Lynda Carter, the last actress to play a live-action version of Diana. But Gadot did so with a dominating performance full of range, knocking down tanks and towers with her shoulders and defeating rogue Greek gods with unparalleled strength but also taking the time to marvel at the wonders of ice cream.
BLACK PANTHER (CHADWICK BOSEMAN)
There is living up to the hype, and then there’s exceeding it, which Chadwick Boseman accomplished in a role that comic book fans of colour waited multiple generations to see onscreen. This was the superhero film that finally cast black performers as the hero, the love interest and the villain — no longer just side characters to mark a check on a list.
CAPTAIN AMERICA (CHRIS EVANS)
Chris Evans’ biggest feat as Captain America? Being so good you almost don’t remember — or care — that he was the Human Torch in those forgettable Fantastic Four movies. Downey’s Iron Man may be the most popular hero in the MCU, but Evans led its best movie — 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier — and arguably its best trilogy.
Somehow, through the wonders of special effects, the movies made us believe Steve Rogers was a laughably scrawny kid from Brooklyn, while Evans made us believe in a strong man with a heart of gold and unshakable morals.
GREEN ARROW (STEPHEN AMELL)
Oliver Queen, the billionaire playboy turned vigilante archer on the CW’S Arrow, emphasized that superheroes could work well on television, too. When Stephen Amell donned the comics’ famous Green Arrow mask at the end of Season 2, it was a big bang of sorts for the DC Comics-inspired Arrowverse: The show got a little geekier, and the CW greenlit connected shows such as The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.
DEADPOOL (RYAN REYNOLDS)
For a while, Fox looked like it might not get a Deadpool movie off the ground because of how badly it mishandled the character in X-men Origins: Wolverine. But in 2014, someone (likely Reynolds) leaked some test footage of the character online, causing fans to say, “Why doesn’t Fox just make this?” So they did.
Reynolds’s Merc with a Mouth is the best superhero there is at being just as naughty as he is funny. His dirty humour and R-rated brand are stronger than ever.
AQUAMAN (JASON MOMOA)
More impressive than making a billion dollars with the King of the Seven Seas? Jason Momoa making him cool.
Sure, Aquaman has had a rugged, longhair look in the comics before, but he’s usually been a pop culture punchline, what with his animated adventures on the classically boring Super Friends cartoon or the running joke about him on HBO’S Entourage. But Momoa’s Aquaman was dashing, daring and definitely different. Momoa managed to be hulking and intimidating while also proving that the DC universe didn’t have to be universally dark anymore — there’s room to have fun and smile.
SPIDER-MAN (TOM HOLLAND)
Tom Holland helped save a Spider-man brand that was headed toward irrelevance after the Andrew Garfield movies earlier in the decade. When the web-slinger finally arrived in the MCU in Captain America: Civil War, Holland’s youthful exuberance was a refreshing reset. For the first time ever in a movie, Spider-man was a kid, something that always worked well in the comics but had eluded Hollywood.
The character’s geeky awe at being in the presence of other Avengers matched the feelings of fans just as excited to finally see such a reunion.
WOLVERINE (HUGH JACKMAN)
Hugh Jackman helped get the superhero movie boom started in the new millennium with 2000’s X-men. The first time you watched him order a beer and call someone “bub,” you knew he was on to something special with this role.
SISTER NIGHT (REGINA KING)
It is no easy task taking on an adaptation of a well-known and revered entity such as Watchmen, especially one that transforms the mythos of something many fans deem untouchable.
The face of the new HBO series is Regina King’s bone-breaking, no-time-for-your-mess vigilante, the character you didn’t know you needed in your superhero-loving life. Her inspiring performance as a cop who has to put on a mask to uphold the law, while coming to grips with a legacy she never knew existed, makes sure superheroes remain a part of the entertainment conversation as this decade comes to a close.