By GFR
| Updated
Tired of having to hear the words “cinematic universe” when talking about superhero movies? Want to enjoy an era of science-fiction, fantasy, and action cinema that also gives you iconic figures to look up to and to learn from?
Us actual humans at Giant Freakin Robot – our names are in the credits! Thanks for keeping our families alive by watching this! – have assembled at our own Hall of Justice to turn back time and tell you about the 1980s superhero movies that are still worth watching today.
And let’s get the biggest, most obvious one out of the way first…
Condorman.
Nah, we’re not talking about Condorman. Get mad at us in the comments, Michael Crawford fans.
You know what’s actually up first.
Batman
Director Tim Burton changed superhero history, let alone movies, with the 1989 release of Batman. Jack Nicholson blew audiences away with his superbly seasoned ham of a performance, Michael Keaton made the cape and cowl his own, and we are still feeling the influence of this movie on blockbusters almost forty years later.
Since the narrator is getting to write this section, I will say Batman isn’t in my top five Batman movies – once again, I ask the editor to NOT show people where they can find my Batman movie rankings – but it’s absolutely still worth discovering or rewatching for any number of well-established reasons.
As a piece of tactile production, Batman has earned its reputation as one of Hollywood’s crowning achievements. The design and execution of the entire vision still transports viewers to this particular Gotham City decades after it made film history.
If you’ve never sat and watched Batman from start to finish, you owe it to yourself to see the superhero movie that changed the genre forever.
RoboCop
If you were asking me, Mr. Narrator, to name the best superhero movie of all time, it’s not even a debate.
RoboCop is a masterwork from director Paul Verhoeven about a resurrected police officer turned into a mindless cyborg by an evil corporation. Is there any other kind of corporation, really?
But humanity triumphs over the soulless programming of capitalism as Peter Weller’s Alex Murphy regains his memory and seeks out the criminals responsible for his death and his sci-fi return from the grave.
If you only watch one movie on this list, it must be RoboCop. Movies just don’t get any better. Tell ‘em how I feel about your movie, Emil.
The Toxic Avenger
From the studio that brought you Marvel and DC golden boy, James Gunn, The Toxic Avenger launched Troma Entertainment into the stratosphere of silly, sleazoid cinema delights.
A pencil-thin janitor at Tromaville’s trendiest health club ends up in a vat of toxic waste and becomes a misshapen monster, seeking revenge on his cruel tormentors and the corrupt criminals running the town.
Loaded with things I’m sure YouTube daddy is making us censor, The Toxic Avenger is an absurd and ample helping of barftastic bad taste with just the right amount of goofball heart and charm to make you love it.
For my money, no Marvel Avenger can ever stand up to Toxie.
Superman II
You will believe a man can kneel in Superman II, a direct sequel to Richard Donner’s smash hit in which the Man of Steel may have met his match with three evil Kryptonians just as strong as he is.
General Zod and his cronies bust out of the Phantom Zone and come to Earth to defeat Superman, but the hero has forsaken his powers in order to live a mortal life with Lois Lane.
Defending his adopted planet from this new menace means getting his powers back, forcing the greatest hero to choose between the love of his life and the rest of humanity.
While all of the performances in this film are adorably earnest, the highlight of the whole thing is Terence Stamp giving the movie the perfect level of villainous campy fun. You WILL be saying “kneel before Zod” a LOT after the credits roll.
And you can choose two different cuts of the movie to check out. The original theatrical cut which was completed by director Richard Lester, or the alternate cut supervised by original director Richard Donner.
The Punisher
We’ve given the spotlight to director Mark Goldblatt’s The Punisher in a previous video, but we figured he deserved another chance at finding some new fans.
In this original feature film outing for Frank Castle, the violent vigilante wages a one-man war on crime after his own family is killed by the Mafia. But when the Yakuza decide to take over the city, a grim-faced Dolph Lundgren must rescue the children of the local crime lords that he’s sworn to put out of business.
Lundgren has some weirdly compelling energy if you can tune into his wavelength, but what we love most about this early superhero film is how much of a love letter it is to old-school action schlock.
The local video store was filled to the brim with these kinds of scrappy shoot-em-ups made for a pitiful fraction of however many mega-millions Disney just burned on the next MCU product.
The Punisher is a throwback to a simpler and admirably lower budget era of comic book action, and it stands as a solid example of the decade’s grindhouse charms.
Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe may not feature much of Castle Grayskull, but this film still “has the power.” That part of the script was in quotes, so I had to say it or they would make me lick Gwildor’s cheek folds.
In all seriousness, Masters of the Universe is full of ‘80s spectacle and fun for anyone to enjoy.
The plot involves He-Man and his faithful friends getting stranded on Earth in their attempts to free the Sorceress from the evil clutches of Skeletor. Pursued by murderous minions and unexpectedly aided by Earthlings, He-Man must fight his greatest foe while the fate of no less than two worlds hangs in the balance.
Dolph Lundgren is back and as much as we vibe with his hangdog Frank Castle, he is far better cast as the buff embodiment of cartoon He-Man.
But the real thrill of this movie is Frank Langella, who imbues the wicked Skeletor with the kind of pathos and charisma his animated incarnation lacks. Between the bold performances and the killer designs from production designer William Stout – seriously, just LOOK at the designs for Skeletor’s stormtroopers and all this other incredible set and costume work – Masters of the Universe may not please the fanatically faithful but it’s still a sci-fi superhero from the ‘80s worth a movie night.
Flash Gordon
George Lucas originally tried to make Flash Gordon in the 1970s but couldn’t get the rights. So, he went and made his own spin on the sci-fi/fantasy world. “I’m gonna make my own Flash Gordon, with Death Stars and wookies!”
Just three years after the historic success of Star Wars, its sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, would be sharing the theater screens of 1980 with none other than Flash Gordon.
The square-jawed quarterback played by Sam Jones finds himself the only man who can stop Ming the Merciless from destroying the planet, and along the way, he battles hawkmen, pilots a spaceship, duels to the death, and wins the heart of an alien princess.
The only thing louder than the over-the-top acting, including the legendary Brian Blessed, is the gorgeously retro outfits and sets. These perfectly capture the throwback magic of the pulpy 1930s sci-fi serials that made the hero an icon of his era. Sure it’s all cheesy in the extreme, but you can’t deny this movie has a sense of style.
Flash Gordon is corny and cliche and knows it, fully embracing every hokey bit of genre absurdity to craft a smile-inducing sci-fi adventure that stands the test of time.
And if nothing else, there’s that rockin’ Queen soundtrack.
Supergirl
DC’s first attempt at expanding a superhero film franchise with a new hero arrived in 1984 with Helen Slater as Supergirl. And it would have been even more monumental if the Christopher Reeve Superman cameo was left in the final script.
Instead, Supergirl puts the Man of Steel’s cousin up against Selena, an evil sorceress who wants to harness the Omegahedron and conquer the world.
The by-the-numbers plot, filled with cheap special effects and nonsensical twists falls apart by the second half, but Supergirl still stands out thanks to Helen Slater whose charming performance captures everything that has made Kara Zor-El a fan favorite for decades.
Supergirl is one of those legendary movies you’ll put on, thinking you’ll laugh at it, but by the end, you’re rooting for Slater and wondering how amazing she would have been if she had gotten more chances at the role.
Swamp Thing
Two years before Watchmen author Alan Moore turned The Saga of The Swamp Thing into one of comic’s greatest series, horror master Wes Craven brought the tragic tale of Dr. Alec Holland to the big screen.
After a scientific experiment transforms him into the plant-like monster known as Swamp Thing, Dr. Holland tries to prevent Anton Arcane from using the formula for his own nefarious ends.
Swamp Thing has always been more about horror than more usual superheroics. On the big screen, the muck-encrusted mockery of a man ends up carrying more tragedy than even the Caped Crusader.
In the hands of a lesser director, Swamp Thing would descend too far into camp, but thanks to Craven embracing the story’s inherent body horror and classic monster movie elements, it’s the wildest, most entertaining film of his early career.
A drive-in classic that still deserves the right kind of appreciative audience.
The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension
In a world with Deadpool, it’s hard to imagine a more bonkers superhero film, but for decades, no one has been able to match the insanity of the neuroscientist test pilot physicist rock star, Buckaroo Banzai.
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension packs more characters, more plot, and more wild sci-fi superheroics into 102 minutes than most modern superhero films today.
In short, Buckaroo Banzai and his band, The Hong Kong Cavaliers, have to stop Dr. Emilio Lizardo from rewriting history by traveling through time and space to combat the Red Lectroids, prevent an intergalactic war, and find a way to return home.
Meanwhile, in our reality, Buckaroo Banzai invented modern nerd culture before anyone knew what to call it, and has become one of the greatest cult films of all time that has influenced every successive sci-fi movie you’ve probably ever watched. Even if that’s not the case, it’s still a better multiverse film than anything Marvel’s done.
Between Buckaroo Bonzai and RoboCop, Peter Weller deserves to be recognized as the ‘80s superhero icon.
Superman III
If you enjoyed Superman II, Superman III deserves a chance to be your next adventure into the heyday of ‘80s superhero cinema.
Though critically panned, this entry in the Superman film series is not without its charm. It has plenty of action, as well as comedy legend Richard Pryor playing a bumbling computer genius who steals an exorbitant amount of money from the payroll long before Office Space made it look cool.
On this adventure, Clark Kent returns to Smallville, reconnects with childhood sweetheart Lana Lang, and somehow finds himself involved in a botched synthetic kryptonite Ponzi scheme gone disastrously wrong. Meanwhile, an unsuspecting programmer working for a cartoonishly evil tech conglomerate is blackmailed into waging war on coffee sales, weather patterns, and, eventually, Superman himself.
Superman III is worth revisiting specifically for its unique brand of chaotic charm. From Pryor’s manic hacker energy to the epic and supremely weird junkyard brawl between Evil Superman and Good Clark Kent, there’s no shortage of camp and chaos in this superhero flick that’s equal parts enthralling and bewildering.
The best way to view Superman III is as a one-off outing outside of the overarching film series. It’s goofy, it’s messy, and it’s unlike any Superman movie you’ve ever seen before.
And I’m sure someone in the comments has some nightmare memory of this robot scene.
Hero At Large
Have you ever dressed up like a superhero, only for people to actually think you’re the real deal and ask you to keep up the charade? This is exactly what happens to down-on-his-luck actor Steve Nichols in 1980’s Hero at Large, who finds out that being a superhero is a lot harder than it looks.
John Ritter plays the hapless hero, originally hired to promote a superhero movie by dressing up as Captain Avenger for various publicity appearances. Still not as great an Avenger as Toxie.
The job is great, but when he inadvertently stops a robbery while in costume, he’s hired by the mayor’s entourage to keep up the good work, despite the fact that he has no actual powers.
Using naive sincerity as a vehicle for its inherently silly sense of humor, Hero at Large’s premise is infinitely elevated by Ritter’s commitment to the bit. Our hero learns that he’s way in over his head. He’s just a guy with a fancy cape and belt who dedicates himself to a cause that’s way above his pay grade.
Hero at Large is a superhero comedy with a feel-good edge, a stark contrast to the doom-and-gloom world-building that has dominated superhero cinema for nearly two decades. It’s the kind of movie that reminds us: sometimes all we want to see is a good guy trying his best. He just happens to like wearing a cape.
Ultraman: The Adventure Begins
If you long for the days of slamming down bowls of sugar cereal with your eyes glued to sacred Saturday morning cartoons, then 1987’s Ultraman: The Adventure Begins is the blast from the past you need to beam straight into your brain.
Scott, Chuck, and Beth are three US stunt pilots known as the Flying Angels who wake up totally fine after inexplicably crashing through an intense flash of light during a training exercise. Now, somehow bonded with a race of giant alien warriors from the planet Altara, their new calling in life is to protect the planet Earth from a bunch of invading monsters from planet Sorkin.
With the help of three quirky robots and cutting-edge flying crafts that allow them to do what they do best, they are now the Ultra Force.
Pure ‘80s magic in every conceivable way, Ultraman: The Adventure Begins is everything wonderful about the era’s best superhero fantasy. Every brilliant piece of animation shines with bold and bright colors, out-of-this-world monster design, and a proud desire to wear its weirdness on its sleeve.
The next time you want to time travel back to the mystical glory days of 1980s Saturday mornings, get lost in the technicolor dreams of Ultraman: The Adventure Begins.
Feel like we missed a few? Let us know your picks in the comments! I should’ve stood up for The Return of Swamp Thing. That’s a fun little movie. I give it a thumbs up. Love you, Swampy.
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