Skip to main content
Games Radar
  • Newsarama
  • Total Film
  • Edge
  • Retro Gamer
  • SFX
Total Film The smarter take on movies
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Subscribe
  • Podcast
  • Newsletter
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best Netflix Shows

Recommended reading

Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman
Movies The 32 greatest DC Comics movies of all time
Best superhero movies: close-up images of Captain America, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
Superhero Movies The 25 best superhero movies of all time
The best DC movies: Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne and Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle in The Batman.
Action RPGs The 10 best DC movies of all time, ranked
Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow.
Movies The 32 Greatest Action Movies of the 2010s
The 30 best sci-fi movies of all time: pictures of Alien, Arrival, Terminator, Brazil and 2001.
Sci-Fi Movies The 30 best sci-fi movies of all time
Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four: The First Steps
Marvel Movies Fantastic Four unveils its epic Galactus-themed popcorn bucket, and it's going to turn audiences into the Devourer of Snacks
The White House gets destroyed in Independence Day
Movies The 32 Greatest Sci-Fi Movie Moments Of All Time
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

Top Ten Greatest Comic-Book Movie Posters

Features
By Joshua Winning published 17 April 2012

Awe-inspiring ads

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

The Poster: Wolverine makes his presence known by using his knuckle-knives to inform us that this is the third X flick.

Designed By: The Cimarron Group, the folks also responsible for those bad-ass Bridesmaids posters, plus one-sheets for Twilight: Eclipse , Gran Torino and Hellboy .

How Faithful: Super-faithful. Brett Ratner’s trilogy-capper may have a menagerie of super-powered characters at its disposal, but as always, it’s Wolverine who provides the heart (and face fuzz) of the picture. It's here, after all, that his trilogy-spanning love affair with Jean Grey comes to an explosive head...

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
Superman (1978)

Superman (1978)

The Poster: A Japanese ‘B1’ poster used to promote the comic book adaptation on distant shores.

Designed By: Movie poster guru Bob Peak provided the artwork (the shot of Reeves is one that wasn’t used in American marketing). We can only assume the Japanese distributors added the Japanese text.

How Faithful: More exciting than the American version, this one features both the man you’ll believe can fly (staring right at you for added drama) and a title logo in swooshy 3D.

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
A History Of Violence (2005)

A History Of Violence (2005)

The Poster: Deliriously moody, with pregnant clouds threatening a downpour as Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) protects his wife (Bello) from some dude with a firearm.

Designed By: Intralink Film Graphic Design, who also gave us those awesome Batman Begins posters, the iconic 300 one-sheets, and Schwarzenegger being all muscular on the poster for Raw Deal . Plus loads, loads more .

How Faithful: It’s basically an artistic freeze-frame from the movie itself, this being that moment when Tom goes up against a gun-wielding goon. Also, the fact that the gun’s covering half of Mortensen’s face is seething with subtext – this guy isn’t who he seems to be.

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
Thor (2011)

Thor (2011)

The Poster: An almost two-toned character one-sheet introducing us to the mighty Thunder God. It’s part of a series of character posters for the film that also included Odin, Loki and love interest Jane.

Designed By: BLT & Associates, the chaps who also brought us awesome artwork for Avengers Assemble (more great character sheets), Red and Tron Legacy .

How Faithful: Thor means business, all suited and booted to kick some ass – this is definitely the heroic Thor from the second half of the film, not the flippant manchild of the first half. Also, Chris Hemsworth’s wavy locks are just as shiny as in the movie.

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
The Incredible Hulk (2008)

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

The Poster: Bruce (Ed Norton) and his angry alter-ego shield us from a scene of downtown carnage that’s straight from the movie itself.

Designed By: Crew Creative Advertising, the company that also had us swooning for Megan Fox with their Jennifer’s Body ads, made us giggle at Sacha Baron Cohen on their Bruno one-sheet, and marvel at how wrecked Naomi Watts looked on their Funny Games poster.

How Faithful: The Hulk sure is huge in this sort-of-reboot second outing for the green giant, and Norton looks fittingly tortured as Brucie. It resembles the classic TV show more than the film, though, and now we have them back-to-back, the change in trouser size is really noticeable, isn’t it?

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Batman (1989)

Batman (1989)

The Poster: A gleaming teaser for Tim Burton’s defining comic adaptation that doesn’t reveal Batman, but still has us chomping at our fingernails in excitement.

Designed By: B.D. Fox Independent, who previously gave us that phenomenal pumpkin-knife Halloween (1978) poster, the cycling-past-the-moon E.T. ad, and the evil-storm-clouds-rolling-in Fright Night (1986) placard.

How Faithful: Well, it’s an exact replica of the insignia on Batman’s chest, so yep, pretty faithful. The twinkly light flares also hint at Burton’s slightly campy pop-art take on the material (campy in comparison to Nolan's trilogy, of course, and a model of restraint next to Schumacher's disasters).

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
The Crow (1994)

The Crow (1994)

The Poster: A dark, minimalistic ad for Alex Proyas’ tortured (in more ways than one) comic adap. The touted remake will need to do something really special to top it.

Designed By: Intralink Film Graphic Design, the same chaps who gave us the History Of Violence poster on this list. As well as that, they gave us one-sheets for 28 Weeks Later , Deep Blue Sea and the 1999 version of House On Haunted Hil l (yes, the bloody handprint one).

How Faithful: Simply oozing a tangible, gothic mood, this one-sheet easily reflects the ambience of the movie itself, with Lee’s hunched anti-hero as enigmatic in pose mode as he is on-screen.

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Sin City (2005)

Sin City (2005)

The Poster: Wet as an April weekend, with Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen and co all braving a downpour for one seriously bad-ass one-sheet.

Designed By: That’d be BLT & Associates again ( Thor ). Their other stunning credits include the arachnid-shadow Amazing Spider-Man poster, that beautiful red planet John Carter poster and the recently released Django Unchained tease r.

How Faithful: Uber-faithful, without a doubt. This is damn near a carbon copy of the comic artwork by Frank Miller – only with a few A-listers thrown in for good measure. Even the title font is the same, reflecting the fact that the film is as much a companion piece for the graphic novels as it is a movie adap.

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Iron Man (2008)

Iron Man (2008)

The Poster: Robert Downey Jr. and an impressive cast of A-gamers strike contemplative poses, as Iron Man’s gleaming eye-sockets bore right into us.

Designed By: Only BLT & Associates again. These guys seem to have cornered the market when it comes to awesome comic book artwork. Wonder if they’ll give us a Catwoman version of The Dark Knight Rises poster any time soon…

How Faithful: It’s slick, it’s got explosions, and Paltrow looks good with a red ‘do – we’d say this is a perfect representation of the movie.

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
The Dark Knight (2008)

The Dark Knight (2008)

The Poster: Easily one of the coolest, most iconic one sheets out there – whether we’re talking about superhero posters or posters in general.

Designed By: Well, it had to be BLT & Associates, didn’t it? These guys have four posters on this list, and it’s not hard to see why – they’re basically the Saul Basses of poster-making. (On a side note, we swear this list isn’t sponsored by BLT… No really.)

How Faithful: So faithful we’ve got shivers. Not only is that a line The Joker barks himself with lip-smacking craziness, but the imagery reflects the mad man's characteristics – here, he’s all misty and out of focus, because we never know anything concrete about this Joker. Shiver.

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
Joshua Winning
Social Links Navigation

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.  

See more Movies Features
Read more
Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman
The 32 greatest DC Comics movies of all time
Best superhero movies: close-up images of Captain America, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
The 25 best superhero movies of all time
The best DC movies: Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne and Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle in The Batman.
The 10 best DC movies of all time, ranked
Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow.
The 32 Greatest Action Movies of the 2010s
The 30 best sci-fi movies of all time: pictures of Alien, Arrival, Terminator, Brazil and 2001.
The 30 best sci-fi movies of all time
Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four: The First Steps
Fantastic Four unveils its epic Galactus-themed popcorn bucket, and it's going to turn audiences into the Devourer of Snacks
Latest in Movies
Scarlett Johansson as Zora Bennett in Jurassic World Rebirth
Disney's Tower of Terror movie with Scarlett Johansson is still under maintenance due to "thin" lore
Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor in Superman
Superman star Nicholas Hoult sized up David Corenswet after auditioning for the role himself and knew he was "perfect for it"
Henry Golding looking forward in The Old Guard 2
One James Bond potential favorite thinks it would be a "nightmare" role after recent rumored list is revealed
A man on a red motorbike during one of the best sci-fi movies ever made, Akira.
Live-action Akira movie finally dies after Warner Bros. give up rights to beloved anime
Denis Villeneuve at a screening of Dune
New James Bond report claims Denis Villeneuve won't have final cut and that the next 007 won't be picked until the script is written
Transformers
Hope you like Transformers, because a new report says there are 5 films on the way, including a new Michael Bay movie and the G.I. Joe crossover, but no Transformers One sequel
Latest in Features
Sam balances across a ladder high up in the mountains in Death Stranding 2
Death Stranding 2 is my favorite online game this year, even though you never directly see any other players
Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
The Squid Game season 3 finale is a crushing but ultimately hopeful conclusion – and I wouldn't have it any other way
Resident Evil Requiem
I don't care what Capcom says, Leon not being in Resident Evil Requiem makes no sense
One-Punch Man season 3: Saitama punching while in mid-air during the anime One-Punch Man.
Anime Expo 2025: dates, announcements, and why One-Punch Man fans should be excited
The Shrouds
It may feature corpses, missing limbs, and AI, but with The Shrouds, legendary director David Cronenberg has made the ultimate meditation on grief: "To me, there is no afterlife"
Henry Cavill at the premiere of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Henry Cavill’s Warhammer 40K series should ditch Space Marines for one of the series’ most important characters, and I know exactly how it would work
  1. Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
    1
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  2. 2
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  3. 3
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  4. 4
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  5. 5
    Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter"
  1. M3GAN doll in M3GAN 2.0
    1
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  2. 2
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  3. 3
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  4. 4
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  5. 5
    Karate Kid: Legends review: "Better than Karate Kid (2010), nothing on Karate Kid (1984)"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...