10 Worst Moments In Marvel And DC's 2016 Superhero Movies

2016's been an interesting year for Marvel and DC's superhero movies, but pretty much every release featured at least one awful or cringeworthy moment. These are the ten best (worst?) examples of them!

By JoshWilding - Nov 14, 2016 09:11 AM EST

Filed Under: Batman vs. Superman

2016 has been quite the year for superhero movies. We kicked things off with the R-Rated Deadpool (a movie no one expected to be as successful as it ultimately was), and followed that with two more critical and commercial hits from Marvel Studios in the form of Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange. Warner Bros. also kicked off their DC Films Universe, though their fortunes weren't as good!

This was supposed to be the start of great things for that brand, but while Suicide Squad performed a little better than expected at the box office, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice did not, and both received overwhelmingly negative reviews. X-Men: Apocalypse also underwhelmed, and what looked like it would be Fox first $1 billion Marvel movie could now lead to a complete franchise reboot.

Regardless of your feelings on all of the releases listed above, it's fair to say that each of these Marvel and DC movies had good and bad moments. What we're focusing on here though are the worst ones!

10. Batman, Serial Killer

Regardless of whether you loved or hated Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, everything was going pretty well right up until the moment the Caped Crusader goes after Lex Luthor's men in that action-packed Batmobile chase scene. All of a sudden, the hero - whose no kill rule is a huge part of his personality - is indiscriminately murdering these men, whether that's by blowing them up or crushing them to death.

If you're a fan of Batman, this makes for uncomfortable viewing, and it's kind of depressing that you'll probably be used to his brutal methods by the time that awesome hand to hand battle rolls around later on in the movie. Zack Snyder has attempted to justify this, and regardless of Batman v Superman's other issues, a killer Dark Knight was its biggest crime.

Before the release of Captain America: Civil War, much was made of the fact that we would see Peter Parker wearing a homemade costume of his own design. After his final Tony Stark designed suit was revealed in the trailer, fans instantly started wondering how the youngster's own version might compare, with many hoping we'd see a costume which looked like it had been torn straight out of the pages of Amazing Fantasy #15.

Well, Peter had a homemade costume, but we never really got to see it due to the fact that it was relegated to a couple of hard to see videos Iron Man had in his possession. As great as Spider-Man's role was in this movie, the fact we never got to properly see him fighting crime in a suit of his own design comes down to him being added here at the last minute.

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8. Harley Quinn's Transformation

Jared Leto's Suicide Squad performance was butchered in the editing room, and as a result, we never got a proper feel of what his Joker might be like (just snippets which felt like they had been inserted here from another movie). However, the biggest disappointment from that has to be the fact that Harley Quinn's origin story was completely botched as a result, and while the movie certainly got some things right - her classic costume for example - it also let her down in a big way.

By the time Harleen decides to jump into that vat of chemicals, we have no real idea why she loves The Joker or what he did to break her because Warner Bros. cut it all out! That robs the moment of any real power it might have otherwise had, but hopefully the Extended Cut can fix that.

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7. Wolverine's Deadpool "Cameo"

Going into Deadpool, I think it's fair to say we all expected Hugh Jackman's Wolverine to appear in some form. The fact that these two characters have never properly shared the screen is heartbreaking (X-Men Origins: Wolverine really doesn't count), and this R-Rated release could have easily found some sort of role for him even if it had been as brief as his X-Men: First Class cameo.

Unfortunately, it never happened, and despite some references to the clawed mutant, his appearance ultimately boiled down to Wade Wilson wearing a Hugh Jackman "mask" over his scarred face for last minute cheap laughs. As great as Deadpool was, the lack of Wolverine was a major disappointment, especially as Logan means we'll now never get to see these two standing side by side on the big screen.

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6. Mystique Leads The X-Men

As incredible as it was to finally see the X-Men wearing their classic costumes in X-Men: Apocalypse (despite the fact that Fox decided to spoil it in the trailers and official images), that's a moment many fans were unable to enjoy due to a pretty bizarre creative decision. We've grown used to Mystique being a focal point of this franchise, but the fact that things wrap up with her leading the X-Men is baffling.

Not only does it greatly diminish the importance of characters like Professor X and Cyclops, but it feels like a pretty desperate attempt by Fox to keep box office draw Jennifer Lawrence around. Why that couldn't be done by having Mystique revert to her villainous nature is hard to say, but the character has outstayed her welcome, and this was one step too far.

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5. Dormammu's New Look

The first confrontation between Doctor Strange and Dormammu was definitely pretty cool, especially as it helped to emphasise what a great hero the Sorcerer Supreme in training has become by this point in the movie. Unfortunately, the villain's appearance wasn't anywhere near as good as the rest of what was going on here.

While it's easy to see what Marvel was going for by having him made up of energy from the Dark Dimension, he ends up looking nowhere near as imposing or terrifying as his comic book counterpart. Yes, a man with his head on fire in a bulky suit would have probably been more than a little bit daft, but there are better ways he could have been updated than this. As a result, the Dread Dormammu's long overdue big screen debut ends up feeling a tad underwhelming.

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4. Sad Sack Superman

After my first couple of viewings, Superman being miserable and mopey in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice didn't bother me that much. Perhaps I was just used to it after seeing Man of Steel, but it was the first couple of episodes of Supergirl season two that reminded me that the hero is supposed to be a beacon of hope. That's never the case in this movie, and while I still believe his sacrifice during the battle against Doomsday was handled well, his attitude is just appalling.

From start to finish in Batman v Superman, Clark Kent is miserable or feeling sorry for himself, something emphasised by his depressing trip up a mountain to talk to his dead father and some pained facial expressions from Henry Cavill which occasionally border on being comical. Things need to change in Justice League!

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3. What's Next For Magneto?

At the end of both X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past, it looks like Magneto is going to finally assemble his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. It's a shame then that when we pick up with him in X-Men: Apocalypse, that's still not the case, but even worse is the fact that the movie can't decide what to do with the Master of Magnetism when all is said and done.

It looks like he's about to embark on a heroic path (which is fine considering that's happened in the comics on multiple occasions), but rather than commit to that, the movie instead leaves the door open for another big change next time we see Erik. That's frustrating because if he now returns as a bad guy, it's going to undo everything that was done in X-Men: Apocalypse, but the character has become a glorified McGuffin in this trilogy anyway.

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2. Task Force X Vs. The Enchantress

The Enchantress may very well be the worst comic book movie villain of all-time, and the less that's said about her ridiculous CG brother, the better. Most of what we see here as Task Force X battles her is probably from reshoots, but either way, the whole sequence is ridiculous. Enchantress has the power to wipe all of these heroes out, but decides to take them on in hand to hand combat and gets beaten as a result (with a laughable amount of slow motion to boot).

Had The Joker shown up here to confront the team as David Ayer originally planned, perhaps it wouldn't have felt so underwhelming, but this made for a lousy ending to Suicide Squad and simply emphasised what a poor choice of big bad Enchantress was. The tacked on happy ending for Rick Flagg and Julie Moon also didn't help!

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1. "Martha!"

I'll be honest; this didn't bother me as much as pretty much everyone else on the internet. However, looking back, there's no denying that it's a moment which simply didn't work. Batman is so intent on killing Superman that learning his mother shares the same name really shouldn't have stopped him; yes, it humanises the Man of Steel in his eyes, but that doesn't change the fact that the Caped Crusader clearly believes that Superman is responsible for the death of thousands of innocents.

However, all is forgiven after this, and Batman is suddenly a friend to Superman, something which really doesn't feel earned given their far more interesting relationship in the comics. It would be nice to think Justice League could make up for this, but chances are it's something which will be glossed over.

Do you agree that these were the worst moments in 2016's Marvel and DC superhero movies? Do you have any of your own suggestions? Share your thoughts in the usual place.

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148 Comments

1 2 3 4

KnifeWasTooSlow - 11/14/2016, 9:14 AM

Some of these are reaching IMO.

KnifeWasTooSlow - 11/14/2016, 9:15 AM

Belly Dancer vs Family should've been number 1.

SisterSunday52 - 11/14/2016, 7:31 PM

@LeonardTheWise - Agreed. Even the Martha scene had deeper subtext to it. But what the hell was Enchantress doing?

Kman - 11/14/2016, 9:15 AM

Josh signing off after posting this article...

DrReedRichards - 11/14/2016, 9:17 AM

"Sure, let's throw in a couple of MCU moments in there, just for the sake of keeping things ballanced and whatnot. What if neither makes actual sense? It will sure make up for some fine flame-bait!"

I am beginning to consider myself stupid for still being surprised by your dumb shit, Josh.

Forthas - 11/14/2016, 9:24 AM

The worst moment (outside of 2016) is when they cast Ben Affleck to be Batman. They had a perfectly good version of Batman ALREADY who is STILL the only DC franchise that competes with Marvel's offerings both critically and commercially. As Warner Brothers continues to flounder in the wind because of that epic bad decision (to abandon the Dark Knight universe instead of build on it), one can only hope that Warner Brother's come to their senses and abandon their almost certainly doomed future for the current iteration of the DCEU. Continuing to polish that turd is not helping anyone. The talented actors associated with it are regularly embarrassed; DC fans are routinely disappointed; and company is sorely under performing compared to their peers. So what is the reason to continue...?

Spidey10 - 11/14/2016, 9:24 AM

The Spider-man one is kind of a reach...and did everyone expect Wolverine in Deadpool??? The rest I agree with although I didnt have an issue with Dormammu's look

KnifeWasTooSlow - 11/14/2016, 9:27 AM

@Spidey10 - Yeah, the Dormamu thing is getting REAALLY annoying, people are starting to compare him to Galactus from FF2, I mean, REALLY???

1 2 3 4

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10 Worst Moments In Marvel And DC's 2016 Superhero Movies

2016's been an interesting year for Marvel and DC's superhero movies, but pretty much every release featured at least one awful or cringeworthy moment. These are the ten best (worst?) examples of them!

10. Batman, Serial Killer

9. Spider-Man's Homemade Costume

8. Harley Quinn's Transformation

7. Wolverine's Deadpool "Cameo"

6. Mystique Leads The X-Men

5. Dormammu's New Look

4. Sad Sack Superman

3. What's Next For Magneto?

2. Task Force X Vs. The Enchantress

1. "Martha!"

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