The superhero subgenre is so storied and jam-packed by this point that it’s fair to call it its own genre. From serials in the ’40s to Richard Donner’s Superman in the late ’70s to the advent of the MCU, DCEU, and DCU, it’s been a long road. And, for the most part, that road has been filled with Marvel and DC movies, even before the crafting of those aforementioned universes. But there have also been superhero flicks based on properties from smaller publishers and, sometimes, just straight from the mind of a director.

In other words, stuff like Spawn, The Shadow, Bloodshot, and The Phantom. That said, Birdman operates more as a character-piece drama than a superhero film, so it wasn’t considered for inclusion. Without further ado, the best non-DC and Marvel movies out there, ranked.

20 years before director Joe Johnston gave the MCU what is still one of its best installments with Captain America: The First Avenger he directed the similarly fun throwback . A critical success but a financial flop, The Rocketeer is nonetheless the exact type of movie that develops an audience over time thanks to services like Disney+.