The Magnificent Art of Superhero Movie Trailers

Counting down the best trailers ever made for the ever-growing superhero phenomenon

Let’s get the big, fat elephant-in-the-room out of the way: There have been an exorbitant amount of superhero movies (and series, too) released over the past decade. Yes, it’s true, but I’m not going down the generic “Hey, the over-saturation of superhero movies is a problem” route, because that’s boring and counterproductive at this point. Instead, we’re celebrating an under-appreciated art: The art of the Super Hero Movie Trailer. I make this claim not because such trailers go unnoticed — because that’s not the case in the slightest—but because they are the most exciting genre of trailers. We geek out over them, over-analyze them, and make the tired claim of how much “darker” they look. This small, trailer-based echo-chamber of nerd culture, where even the teaser for the trailer is a big deal, is one I’m tremendously infatuated with.

In celebration of Logan — a movie I’m irrationally excited for — having another trailer that debuts tomorrow, we shall be delving into the best superhero movie trailers ever created. This is the beautiful, unfiltered, and undeniable list of the best of the best of the best. This is a journey of fun.

But before we embark on this journey, let’s first establish a few rules that went into this list. These rules are very important. There are three of them. The three rules, which are named after superhero movies that fit the rule, are as follows:

Important Rule #1: The Dark Knight Rises Rule

No teaser trailers. This is an important thing to note because, if we’re keeping it 100 —and I always keep it 100—a lot of the trailers we get today reveal too much. Sure, they’re entertaining, but they usually take away from the mystery surrounding the film’s premise. Remember back in the day when [dramatic piano note] we didn’t know everything about the plot? But that’s not what we’re focused on, because teasers are, well, just a tease. I consider a teaser trailer as being short, or not having a variety of scenes showcased.

The Dark Knight Rises is one of the first (awesome) examples of this rule. Following the success of The Dark Knight, the anticipation for the final entry in the saga was through the roof. What response did we get?

We got a quick peek of Bane, who looked terrifying:

And then a quick peek at Batman fighting Bane, which looked terrifying because it looked like Batman—a terrifying dude—was scared, and the idea of someone terrifying being scared is infinitely more terrifying:

Teasers were just that: Teases. But this ain’t no tease, this is the real deal.

Side-Note: I’ll never forget the initial Cloverfield trailer. The title for the movie wasn’t even given; most thinking it was Godzilla, and even some wild theories about it being Dragonball. Man…[Takes dramatic hit of Cuban Cigar]…those were the days.

Important Rule #2: The Batman v Superman Rule

This is perhaps the most obvious of rules, but it’s still an important rule. The quality of the final product has no impact on a trailer being selected. So, even if the movie was a disgrace to humanity, it’s trailers are still up for consideration.

Say what you will about BvS, and there’s a lot to say, I really can’t stress how much there is to say, and how little of it is good, or even not-terrible, but: I admit it, BvS had some good trailers.

Except for the “Screw it, let’s show the whole movie” one that featured this unnecessary tragedy:

Wait, I’m sorry, dreadfully sorry, but actually not that sorry, because I’m not sorry for mocking BvS, but wrong picture. I was referring to this godforsaken creature:

Also, this means movies that turned out great (Ex: Spider-Man 2) don’t get special bonus points.

Important Rule #3: The Captain America Winter Soldier Rule

This rule might be the most important. There will be not be — no matter how high it’s levels of awesomeness are—more than one trailer that makes the cut for the same movie. This is because, objectively, there are multiple trailers for the same film that are probably better than the majority.

Winter Soldier, I love you, but you’re gonna have to miss out on this one. Actually, Winter Soldier kinda makes sense for both Important Rule #2 and Important Rule #3. It doesn’t get a boost for being one of the best films, and it’s got two trailers that are both on high levels of awesomeness.

Okay, now that we’ve established some rules, let’s get into the more important things: the superhero movie trailers that worked the most, and why the worked the most.

Just for the record, though, these are some of the basic factors I use to judge the trailers:

• Hides the really cool stuff- Pretty self-explanatory. It also varies, since I irrationally and unfairly hate the second trailer for the first Avengers movie only because it showed Hulk catching Iron Man. Yes, everyone, it’s 2017 and I’m still stupid.
• The killer ending- This isn’t always a must-have, but it’s cool when the trailers end with that extra pizazz, you know?
• The killer music- The most important, probably. The music that gives you chills, man. Like, that’s so key. For example, and it’s not a superhero movie, but when Eminem’s “Won’t Back Down” played in the trailer for Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol I almost fought every person that was in the theater with me.

Okay, sorry for talking so much. Let’s begin the journey—the journey to determine the best of the best of the best.

13. X-Men 2 (2003)

Kicking off our countdown (by the way, forgot to mention, I arbitrarily decided on 13 spots) is the classic X-Men franchise, and arguably the best X-Men movie ever created.

The trailer actually shows a lot, but it does so in a way that works: the super-fast-montage-that-prevents-you-from-knowing-the-specific-story-details way (The Fast and Furious franchise is good at this too). The roll call is, obviously, outdated with how they flash the names, but it’s exciting to see such a large assortment of characters — both good guys and bad guys. The whole thing practically feels like a world war is about to kick off. To top it off, we get the end-of-trailer zinger in the form of a humorous shot of an innocent cat licking Wolverine’s claws.

12. Iron Man 3 (2013)

First things first: I dispute this being a “teaser” since it’s plenty long enough, and has a good variety of shots. It’s also just way too good to be a teaser. That being said, this trailer was a different kind of tease: The kind of tease that was misleading, since this trailer hardly resembles the final product. It made us believe that things were getting “dark” for the first time in the MCU, with the ominous sounding music and Tony’s uneasy narration of his current situation.

Furthermore, the best part of the trailer is when the music synchronizes perfectly with the Iron Man suits getting blown up — all accompanied by Ben Kingsley’s voiceover as The Mandarin; the “Heroes…there is no such thing” line is as chilling as any. It’s definitely got it’s own end-zinger, of sorts, with Tony seen carrying his suit of armor through the snow.

11. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

The circumstances under which this trailer dropped were actually interesting enough within themselves. It was expected to be released later in the week, but since someone leaked the entire thing online in such a public fashion, Marvel simply decided to release it themselves—and responded to the situation quite humorously.

As for the trailer, it was dope. The main reason for this is James Spader’s voice of Ultron, which was masterfully executed. While the trailer did—albeit to a lesser extent—mislead viewers into thinking the film was going to be more dark than it was, it was still exciting. The Hulk vs Iron Man in his Hulkbuster armor? Thor grabbing Tony and lifting him into the air? The last shot with Cap’s shield broken in half? It was brilliant.

“There are no strings on me.”

10. Wonder Woman (2017

Our first, and certainly not the last, DC film to make the list. Wonder Woman hasn’t raised any reasons for concern based on the trailers — and, in fact, actually shows quite a bit of promise. In this trailer, I love the buildup, which goes on for a full minute without blatantly revealing itself too much as being a a superhero movie. The music helps too, and the transition into the action montage is seamless. What’s not to like? There’s even the pro-feminism line where she declares “What I do is not up to you”, which probably exploded the heads of misogynists everywhere and sent them into oblivion. The end scene was decent, too, but felt a little cringeworthy since it was a bit forced.

9. Suicide Squad (2016)

This trailer is the epitome of Important Rule #2. Suicide Squad was terrible, and for many reasons, many of which I’ve discussed in detail before. The trailer, however, was the definition of hype. It was edgy, exciting, and somewhat hip at the same time. Oh, and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” was all kinds of beautiful.

8. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

It’s what every super-fan wanted: To see our favorite characters duke it out on the big-screen. Then Marvel delivered, and the second trailer for Captain America: Civil War gave us the perfect taste of what we were in store for. That part where Tony slaps Cap across the face, knocking him like 30 feet back? Legendary.

I’m actually surprised I didn’t rank this one higher, since it contains that very special Spider-Man end-tease that made me jump out of my bed like I had actually gotten a text from a girl.

7. The Dark Knight (2008)

And here…we…go.

That’s right, folks. Everyone’s favorite clown prince makes his appearance. The Dark Knight was a masterpiece, no questions asked. The trailer, by contrast, was also pretty darn good. It fully utilizes an epic soundtrack, and does a splendid job at capturing the chaotic nature of the Joker. I’ll leave it at that, because nothing else needs to be said.

6. Watchmen (2009)

I’m gonna go out on a limb: Watchmen doesn’t get enough love, and gets far too much hate. The movie did a fine job at adapting the graphic novel. I really don’t understand why it’s such a divisive film, with it ranging from perfect scores to near-trash levels of disdain. Then again, the major critics have the tendency to be overly pessimistic about superhero films in general.

One thing few dispute, though, is Zach Snyder’s ability to make trailers. He’s an excellent director in terms of getting cinematic shots, for sure. And what I love about this Watchmen trailer is how sure of itself it is. Most people didn’t know who the Watchmen were, and the trailer has a certain vibe of a known-blockbuster, like a “Hell yeah, you know what time it is” sort of tone. Yet, Rorschach’s line at the end contradicts with that, and confirms to the audience that this isn’t your typical superhero flick. That’s pretty cool.

(The other trailer for Watchmen is also great)

5. The Avengers (2012)

Oh boy, now we’re talking. We’re officially in the elite territory — the “Fantastic Five”, if you will — of superhero movie trailers.

The first official trailer for The Avengers was one of the most revolutionary things we’d seen for the genre at the time. While the trailer was satisfying as all hell, it wasn’t edited as fluidly as what Marvel does today. I’m still going to shamelessly give it bonus points for just being the one that started it all, though, make no mistake about that.

I’ll never forget the day it dropped. Like, my teacher even took time to play it in class. That’s when you know it’s a historical day.

4. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

*HOPE IS LOST*

**FAITH IS BROKEN**

***A FIRE WILL RISE***

****ON JULY 20****

*****THE EPIC CONCLUSION*****

*****TO THE DARK KNIGHT LEGEND******

3. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

This is just one of those trailers that, like the next one on our list, is taken to another level because of the music. Just try, like actually try, to watch this without getting chills. It does lose some points for showing that Storm was (clearly) going to die, for sure. However, the trailer kicks into overdrive at such a degree that it makes up for the spoiler. Listen to me when I say — and I mean LISTEN TO ME WHEN I SAY—that when I heard Magneto’s “All those years wasted fighting each other, Charles” line, I actually felt compelled to apologize to the kid I stole my Spider-Man action figure from, and that was like 12 years ago.

2. Logan (2017)

You knew it was coming.

First, a few things:

• I’m very excited for this movie
• Like, really, really excited for this movie
• How excited am I, you ask? More excited than when a girl actually texts me.

You already made the self-deprecating girl joke, dude.

Wait, what in god’s name are you doing here? Why show up now, at the very end?

I don’t know. It’s like you’re trying to forcibly inject some level of creativity into this column or something.

I’m going to just ignore you and continue on:

• Every time James Mangold, the director, tweets out a photograph of the movie my hype goes blasting through the roof of my house and into Earth’s atmosphere. For some reason, this style of promoting a film makes me think it’s going to be a masterpiece.
• Same thing goes for when Hugh Jackman posts photos.
• The movie is debuting at the Berlin Film Festival. Superhero movies don’t ever debut at film festivals. This definitely means that Logan is going to be a masterpiece.

As you can tell, I’m excited. Sure, the trailer is undeniably elevated because of Johnny Cash’s “Hurt” being the music—and that song makes almost every trailer a work of art. I’m sticking with my guns, though, since I’ve watched the thing at least 1,611 times. It distinguishes itself from practically every superhero movie that we’ve seen, and that’s an exciting, and surprising, prospect to behold.

Please, please, please, please…please be good.

1. Man of Steel (2013)

Side Note: Choosing between this trailer and the other trailer was impossibly difficult, which is one of the main reasons for why I made Important Rule #3.

As much as I mock the DC films for their inability to be good films, their trailers are usually of the highest quality of good. When deciding on my pick for the best superhero movie trailer of all-time, I knew it had to be Man of Steel. The music — and the score of the entire movie, for that matter—is exceptional, while the footage we get is mesmerizing; from Superman flying into space, to the quick shot of him being slammed into a wall.

Man of Steel is often regarded as a disappointment, which is somewhat unfair — and I would personally attribute that to this trailer. The film has it’s share of problems, as most superhero films do, but it’s the level of excitement generated from this trailer that might’ve detracted from our ability objectively watch, and absorb, the final product. It’s a classic scenario of setting our expectations — 100% identical to what I’m foolishly doing with Logan—too high to be reasonably met.

That might be the most fitting way to conclude this, actually. After all, that’s what the best trailers do. They set unreasonably high expectations, and you’ve gotta love them for it.