10 Superhero Movie Sequels That Couldn't Beat The Original
The superhero movies of the MCU, the DCU, and beyond often spawn sequels that cannot live up to the original. The success of the superhero genre – as evidenced by the box office and critical performance of the movies of the MCU, for instance – has been built on connectivity. Telling standalone stories that link to form a larger shared universe brings with it the potential for high-profile crossovers and team-ups, leading to major cinematic events that capture the imaginations of global audiences.
Despite sequels being a key part of this framework, they aren’t always as successful as the studios in question might have hoped. In many cases – such as with some of the movies of the DCEU, for example – the sequels struggle to live up to the success of the original, earning them unfavorable comparisons. Going from a superhero classic to taking a noteworthy drop in quality is always disappointing, and does nothing to help a franchise overall. With that in mind, here are 10 superhero movie sequels that couldn’t live up to the original.
10 Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011) Sequel to: Ghost Rider (2007) Close 2007’s Ghost Rider introduced Johnny Blaze to live-action, with the ambitious adaptation of the eponymous Marvel character bringing in the talent of Nicolas Cage to achieve the task. The result was broadly considered mediocre, with aspects of the movie praised while others were labeled less impressive. Despite this, Ghost Rider was able to earn a place among the pre-MCU Marvel movies that helped buoy the superhero genre’s earlier days.
Ghost Rider’s 2011 sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, was unable to live up even to the relatively low bar set by its predecessor. Where the original was somewhat average, Spirit of Vengeance was laughably poor, with its story proving entirely forgettable and the performances of its cast seeming disjointed and disinterested. Sadly, the 2011 sequel was entirely too poor to build upon the moderate success of the first film, taking a noticeable dip in quality.
9 Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom (2023) Sequel to: Aquaman (2018) Close Coming at the very end of the DCEU’s movie timeline, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom faced a difficult task. Its predecessor, 2018’s Aquaman, was one of the franchise’s more successful movies, establishing the hero in a standalone story after his introduction in 2017’s Justice League. The James Wan movie was largely successful, with Jason Momoa’s turn as Aquaman and the movie’s colorful creativity earning it a reasonable amount of general popularity.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was not able to recapture the success of the original movie, however. The follow-up being officially announced as the final movie in the DCEU did nothing to help, but the movie earned negative reviews across the board. This led to it being considered nowhere near as good as the 2018 original, as it failed to recapture much of the first movie’s charm.
8 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) Sequel to: Fantastic Four (2005) Close 2005’s Fantastic Four is hardly considered a classic of the superhero genre, but in terms of pre-MCU Marvel movies, it’s afforded a level of respect. The film’s special effects largely hold up, and it passes as a reasonable adaptation of its titular characters. However, its 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, proved unable to live up to the original, in spite of the relatively low expectations of the second movie.
Rise of the Silver Surfer leaned harder into CGI to bring its story to life, which hurt the film in a visual sense. The adaptations of characters such as Galactus were heavily criticized for their lack of comic accuracy or creativity, and the movie was critically panned and shunned by audiences. Despite the original not being a masterpiece itself, the sequel was still unable to keep pace with its predecessor in terms of quality.
7 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) Sequel to: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) Close Sitting centrally in Spider-Man"s movie timeline is The Amazing Spider-Man franchise, consisting of a short-lived two-film arc starring Andrew Garfield as the titular hero. The first film, released in 2012, told a slightly revised origin story for the iconic character, and saw him battle against the Lizard. The follow-up, 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, promised to up the stakes in every way, with more villains, more drama, and more action.
The result proved somewhat underwhelming. Despite the franchise having significant potential, the execution of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was lacking in certain areas, with its writing in particular standing out as inferior to that of the original movie. The lukewarm reception to The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ultimately led to the franchise being scrapped and Spider-Man"s introduction into the MCU, further evidencing how the sequel couldn’t live up to the original.
6 Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016) Sequel to: Man of Steel (2013) Close Many actors have played Batman in live-action, and the DCEU’s own iteration of the hero, played by Ben Affleck, was first introduced in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The movie served as the sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel, which introduced Henry Cavill’s Superman, following on from its story and pitting the two heroes against one another. Though Man of Steel was largely met with a positive response, Batman v Superman was not.
The sequel’s writing, lack of originality, and its handling of the source material were all cited as reasons for its negative reception. Batman v Superman has since been dissected by fans and critics alike, and though it has been reappraised in a slightly more favorable light, it’s still considered a notable step down from its predecessor. Where Man of Steel looked at an iconic story from an interesting new perspective, Batman v Superman simply didn’t, meaning that it was not able to live up to the original.
5 The Marvels (2023) Sequel to: Captain Marvel (2019) Close 2023 saw the release of The Marvels, which picked up various loose plot threads from across the MCU. The cast of The Marvels saw the return of Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau, each of whom had previously starred in a well-considered entry into the MCU. The Marvels’ story was most closely a follow-up to 2019’s Captain Marvel, which was one of the most successful movies of the MCU’s Phase 3.
Considering the success of Captain Marvel, expectations for The Marvels were relatively high. Unfortunately, the sequel did not live up to them, flopping at the box office and failing to impress critics or audiences alike. The narrative strength of the original movie did not translate well to the sequel, and The Marvels has sadly gone down in superhero movie history as another sequel that couldn’t live up to the original.
4 Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) Sequel to: Wonder Woman (2017) Close Upon the release of Wonder Woman in 2017, it was swiftly hailed as the best movie in the DCEU. Even after subsequent releases in the franchise, it lays a reasonable claim to the accolade, as few other DCEU movies earned the same level of critical success. However, it was not Wonder Woman’s only solo movie in the franchise, as 2020 saw the release of a sequel, Wonder Woman 1984.
For all of Wonder Woman’s success, Wonder Woman 1984 was seemingly in a great position to be an entertaining sequel. Sadly, the subtext and themes explored in the original were nowhere to be seen in the sequel, and Wonder Woman 1984 felt a hollow imitation of its predecessor’s success. Struggling at the box office and failing to impress critics, Wonder Woman 1984 was simply not able to recapture the original movie’s overwhelming popularity.
3 Kick-Ass 2 (2013) Sequel to: Kick-Ass (2010) Close 2010 saw the release of Kick-Ass, a grounded, self-aware superhero movie that examined the genre from a darkly comedic viewpoint. Though Kick-Ass was contentious, especially with critics who abhorred its brutal violence involving child characters, it was largely successful from both a box office perspective and in terms of overall audience reactions. However, its 2013 sequel, Kick-Ass 2, did not fare anywhere near so well upon its own release.
Earning only mixed reviews, Kick-Ass 2 was nowhere as successful as its predecessor. Its box office gross was far less impressive, and criticisms were leveled at the movie’s violence even from its own stars. Though Kick-Ass continues to boast a significant cult following, Kick-Ass 2 is considered a much weaker effort, as it lacks much of the charm and nuance that made the original film so enjoyable to audiences.
2 Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) Sequel to: Shazam! (2019) Close The movies of the DCEU were notoriously inconsistent when it came to quality, and the franchise’s two Shazam! movies are no exception. The first movie, 2019’s Shazam!, helped to revitalize the franchise after the disappointing reception to Justice League’s theatrical release. With a more comedic tone, Shazam! was able to earn a reputation as one of the DCEU’s most enjoyable movies upon release, with critics and audiences appreciating its humor and less gritty approach to its story.
The 2023 sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, did not fare so well. As well as receiving mixed reviews and being widely considered inferior to the original, the sequel was a box office disappointment. Many critics felt that it simply didn’t compare well to its predecessor, which offered a far more engaging adventure for the hero. In almost every regard, Shazam! Fury of the Gods just couldn’t live up to the first movie’s success.
1 Iron Man 2 (2010) Sequel to: Iron Man (2008) Close Coming as early as it did in the MCU’s movie timeline, Iron Man 2 served as the franchise’s first ever sequel. Following up on 2008’s Iron Man, the sequel explored the wider implications of Stark’s heroism, as well as introducing several other figures into the franchise. Unfortunately, it was also widely considered nowhere near as good as the original movie.
Iron Man 2’s reputation was, for a long time, that of one of the worst MCU movies. Though it has since come to be more favorably considered, it still does not compare well to the first movie, which is a still almost universally beloved introduction to the eponymous Marvel hero. Iron Man 2 is lacking some of the original’s directness and novelty, making it another superhero movie from the MCU, the DCU, and beyond that struggled to live up to the popularity of its predecessor.
Despite sequels being a key part of this framework, they aren’t always as successful as the studios in question might have hoped. In many cases – such as with some of the movies of the DCEU, for example – the sequels struggle to live up to the success of the original, earning them unfavorable comparisons. Going from a superhero classic to taking a noteworthy drop in quality is always disappointing, and does nothing to help a franchise overall. With that in mind, here are 10 superhero movie sequels that couldn’t live up to the original.
10 Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011) Sequel to: Ghost Rider (2007) Close 2007’s Ghost Rider introduced Johnny Blaze to live-action, with the ambitious adaptation of the eponymous Marvel character bringing in the talent of Nicolas Cage to achieve the task. The result was broadly considered mediocre, with aspects of the movie praised while others were labeled less impressive. Despite this, Ghost Rider was able to earn a place among the pre-MCU Marvel movies that helped buoy the superhero genre’s earlier days.
Ghost Rider’s 2011 sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, was unable to live up even to the relatively low bar set by its predecessor. Where the original was somewhat average, Spirit of Vengeance was laughably poor, with its story proving entirely forgettable and the performances of its cast seeming disjointed and disinterested. Sadly, the 2011 sequel was entirely too poor to build upon the moderate success of the first film, taking a noticeable dip in quality.
9 Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom (2023) Sequel to: Aquaman (2018) Close Coming at the very end of the DCEU’s movie timeline, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom faced a difficult task. Its predecessor, 2018’s Aquaman, was one of the franchise’s more successful movies, establishing the hero in a standalone story after his introduction in 2017’s Justice League. The James Wan movie was largely successful, with Jason Momoa’s turn as Aquaman and the movie’s colorful creativity earning it a reasonable amount of general popularity.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was not able to recapture the success of the original movie, however. The follow-up being officially announced as the final movie in the DCEU did nothing to help, but the movie earned negative reviews across the board. This led to it being considered nowhere near as good as the 2018 original, as it failed to recapture much of the first movie’s charm.
8 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) Sequel to: Fantastic Four (2005) Close 2005’s Fantastic Four is hardly considered a classic of the superhero genre, but in terms of pre-MCU Marvel movies, it’s afforded a level of respect. The film’s special effects largely hold up, and it passes as a reasonable adaptation of its titular characters. However, its 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, proved unable to live up to the original, in spite of the relatively low expectations of the second movie.
Rise of the Silver Surfer leaned harder into CGI to bring its story to life, which hurt the film in a visual sense. The adaptations of characters such as Galactus were heavily criticized for their lack of comic accuracy or creativity, and the movie was critically panned and shunned by audiences. Despite the original not being a masterpiece itself, the sequel was still unable to keep pace with its predecessor in terms of quality.
7 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) Sequel to: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) Close Sitting centrally in Spider-Man"s movie timeline is The Amazing Spider-Man franchise, consisting of a short-lived two-film arc starring Andrew Garfield as the titular hero. The first film, released in 2012, told a slightly revised origin story for the iconic character, and saw him battle against the Lizard. The follow-up, 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, promised to up the stakes in every way, with more villains, more drama, and more action.
The result proved somewhat underwhelming. Despite the franchise having significant potential, the execution of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was lacking in certain areas, with its writing in particular standing out as inferior to that of the original movie. The lukewarm reception to The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ultimately led to the franchise being scrapped and Spider-Man"s introduction into the MCU, further evidencing how the sequel couldn’t live up to the original.
6 Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016) Sequel to: Man of Steel (2013) Close Many actors have played Batman in live-action, and the DCEU’s own iteration of the hero, played by Ben Affleck, was first introduced in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The movie served as the sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel, which introduced Henry Cavill’s Superman, following on from its story and pitting the two heroes against one another. Though Man of Steel was largely met with a positive response, Batman v Superman was not.
The sequel’s writing, lack of originality, and its handling of the source material were all cited as reasons for its negative reception. Batman v Superman has since been dissected by fans and critics alike, and though it has been reappraised in a slightly more favorable light, it’s still considered a notable step down from its predecessor. Where Man of Steel looked at an iconic story from an interesting new perspective, Batman v Superman simply didn’t, meaning that it was not able to live up to the original.
5 The Marvels (2023) Sequel to: Captain Marvel (2019) Close 2023 saw the release of The Marvels, which picked up various loose plot threads from across the MCU. The cast of The Marvels saw the return of Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau, each of whom had previously starred in a well-considered entry into the MCU. The Marvels’ story was most closely a follow-up to 2019’s Captain Marvel, which was one of the most successful movies of the MCU’s Phase 3.
Considering the success of Captain Marvel, expectations for The Marvels were relatively high. Unfortunately, the sequel did not live up to them, flopping at the box office and failing to impress critics or audiences alike. The narrative strength of the original movie did not translate well to the sequel, and The Marvels has sadly gone down in superhero movie history as another sequel that couldn’t live up to the original.
4 Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) Sequel to: Wonder Woman (2017) Close Upon the release of Wonder Woman in 2017, it was swiftly hailed as the best movie in the DCEU. Even after subsequent releases in the franchise, it lays a reasonable claim to the accolade, as few other DCEU movies earned the same level of critical success. However, it was not Wonder Woman’s only solo movie in the franchise, as 2020 saw the release of a sequel, Wonder Woman 1984.
For all of Wonder Woman’s success, Wonder Woman 1984 was seemingly in a great position to be an entertaining sequel. Sadly, the subtext and themes explored in the original were nowhere to be seen in the sequel, and Wonder Woman 1984 felt a hollow imitation of its predecessor’s success. Struggling at the box office and failing to impress critics, Wonder Woman 1984 was simply not able to recapture the original movie’s overwhelming popularity.
3 Kick-Ass 2 (2013) Sequel to: Kick-Ass (2010) Close 2010 saw the release of Kick-Ass, a grounded, self-aware superhero movie that examined the genre from a darkly comedic viewpoint. Though Kick-Ass was contentious, especially with critics who abhorred its brutal violence involving child characters, it was largely successful from both a box office perspective and in terms of overall audience reactions. However, its 2013 sequel, Kick-Ass 2, did not fare anywhere near so well upon its own release.
Earning only mixed reviews, Kick-Ass 2 was nowhere as successful as its predecessor. Its box office gross was far less impressive, and criticisms were leveled at the movie’s violence even from its own stars. Though Kick-Ass continues to boast a significant cult following, Kick-Ass 2 is considered a much weaker effort, as it lacks much of the charm and nuance that made the original film so enjoyable to audiences.
2 Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) Sequel to: Shazam! (2019) Close The movies of the DCEU were notoriously inconsistent when it came to quality, and the franchise’s two Shazam! movies are no exception. The first movie, 2019’s Shazam!, helped to revitalize the franchise after the disappointing reception to Justice League’s theatrical release. With a more comedic tone, Shazam! was able to earn a reputation as one of the DCEU’s most enjoyable movies upon release, with critics and audiences appreciating its humor and less gritty approach to its story.
The 2023 sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, did not fare so well. As well as receiving mixed reviews and being widely considered inferior to the original, the sequel was a box office disappointment. Many critics felt that it simply didn’t compare well to its predecessor, which offered a far more engaging adventure for the hero. In almost every regard, Shazam! Fury of the Gods just couldn’t live up to the first movie’s success.
1 Iron Man 2 (2010) Sequel to: Iron Man (2008) Close Coming as early as it did in the MCU’s movie timeline, Iron Man 2 served as the franchise’s first ever sequel. Following up on 2008’s Iron Man, the sequel explored the wider implications of Stark’s heroism, as well as introducing several other figures into the franchise. Unfortunately, it was also widely considered nowhere near as good as the original movie.
Iron Man 2’s reputation was, for a long time, that of one of the worst MCU movies. Though it has since come to be more favorably considered, it still does not compare well to the first movie, which is a still almost universally beloved introduction to the eponymous Marvel hero. Iron Man 2 is lacking some of the original’s directness and novelty, making it another superhero movie from the MCU, the DCU, and beyond that struggled to live up to the popularity of its predecessor.
