092025 was an exciting year for superhero content (in both live acxtion series/films, or in animation). This year we witness the launch of James Gunn’s new DC universe with “Superman”, and Marvel was back with 3 films in theaters! Meanwhile, there was new series on HBO Max and Disney Plus for Marvel and DC, ranging from the last few episodes of “Creature Commandoes” back in January to “Marvel Zombies” in October. While we could sing the praises of multiple shows ansd films this year, we’re focusing on the stuff that was a major hit for us personally.
What was the Best Superhero content of 2025? Here’s our News & Review Staff’s Picks:
Bat-Fam offers a unique take on the Caped Crusader and his extended family. Continuing from the Merry Little Batman animated movie from a couple of years ago, Batman and his son Damian (now officially known as Little Batman) continue fighting crime alongside some characters that one wouldn’t really expect to see as part of a Bat-Family, if we’re talking comic book accuracy. But adding folks like Alfred’s niece (NOT as a Batgirl), a de-aged Volcana, a slacker and mooching Man-Bat and a ghostly Ra’s al Ghul, works surprisingly well within this continuity. The family dynamics are very entertaining, and offer a good balance between all of the comedy and drama. And this being a Batman cartoon, you can expect some cool action, too. One of the things that I especially liked about this whole premise is that the stories take place later in Batman’s career, and he has already faced off against several if not all of his usual foes. This in turn leads to some surprising twists to the villains’ legacies, with some of them deciding to retire, perhaps even reform, while others still want to come back and cause more trouble. And to top it all off, we have also some of their offspring showing up, which makes sense and adds more characters for Damian to interact with. The first season was very entertaining for the most part, and there should still be at least another batch of episodes on the way. The show has a lot of heart and there’s still some potential in there left, and perhaps future episodes will bring in more surprising characters to focus on.
The third season of Invincible was once again a pretty wild ride of brutal superhero battles, but it also had an entertaining side-quest of a more romantic nature, following Invincible and Atom Eve’s relationship. The stakes keep increasing, and the action keeps getting crazier by the end of the season. And those familiar with the comics might know there’s still more intense stuff coming up next.
The Fantastic Four haven’t really had much success in live-action prior to this movie. While First Steps might not have been a huge cinematic blockbuster success, it still feels like their best movie yet. Disregarding the bigger connection to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (which should be easy enough to do, considering the movie is pretty much stand-alone), bringing in Franklin Richards from the start and having an actual Galactus as the antagonist makes it different enough from what came before. On top of that, the characters are likeable enough, and their family dynamics shine throughout the movie, and will likely continue to entertain in their future appearances, when they will probably team-up with other heroes for bigger battles. And hopefully, we’ll see a Spider-Man/Human Torch team-up, too.
Superman proved to be the highlight of the Summer blockbuster season. Yes, it sounds familiar: A new Superman live-action movie, supposedly to set up a new inter-connected series of films. It’s been tried before, to various degress of success, and even more varied degrees of entertainment value. And yet, they find a way to make it unique once again.
While the Zach Snyderverse is known for a “a Justice is Grey” ethos of drab colors and moral ambiguity in his Batman and in the Justice League film, the new James Gunn universe has been off to a more optimistic start. The motif of Superman being a “punk rocker” who still tries to do the right thing despite, his parents’ ambitions, works well. Luthor is a comics accurate portrayal that gets at his jealousy and hatred well. Classic Justice Leaguers like Green Lantern Guy Gardner give color to the film as well, making it clear there’s a whole world outside Superman’s window. With many cameos and references to appease longterm fans, this is just the film DC needed after many disappointing films like Blue Beetle and the Flash. Plus, there’s Krypto the Super Dog, who brings his own unique brand of comedy in just about every scene he is featured.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a unique “What If…?” story that depicts Spider-Man’s earliest days of crime fighting. It does have some similarities with the classic stories and also takes some cues from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but there are some new twists to the story as well, such as having Norman Osborn as Peter Parker’s mentor, and knowing his superhero alter-ego from the start. Though it’s clear Norman is still up to some shady business, that might be a constant thing within the multiverse. Then you have Peter’s pals, like Nico Minoru of the Runaways, and Lonnie Lincoln whose transition to the comic book Tombstone is one of the show’s more intriguing plots. The first season also brought in a few guest-stars, including Daredevil, who hasn’t been seen in a cartoon in quite a while. Season 2 is supposed to bring in more stuff (some of which has been confirmed at this point, but this mini review will not include spoilers), so there should be more amazing fantasies to look forward to.
Peacemaker may not be the most interesting or greatest hero in the DC stable, but if there’s one thing these last few years proves, it’s that he’s a survivor. John Cena’s Chris Smith/Peacemaker first appeared in The Suicide Squad (that’s the second Suicide Squad movie) and got his own HBOMAX show to explore his violent and crude world. Then, all the old DCEU continuity was jettisoned while James Gunn firmly grasped the new DC movie/TV universe with both hands, opting to keep the broad strokes of Pacemaker season one. Season two even begins with a “Previously in the DCU” with the Justice Gang introduced in Superman overwriting the Justice League that appeared at the end of last season.
James Gunn wrote every episode while directing three, and there’s a lot of connective tissue with his previous work. Frank Grillo, who played Rick Flag Sr. in Creature Commandos, returns, and the fallout from Lex Luthor’s plot from this past summer’s Superman (which conveniently snuck in a cameo from Peacemaker) also comes into play. It’s all very impressive that Gunn can quickly establish a new universe that feels like it has existed for a while. It’s getting easier and easier to forget the old DCEU. Season two of Peacemaker was a bit of a departure from season one. While it did include travel to another Earth, that was mostly a vehicle for Chris to regain the family he had lost and give him what seemed to be a perfect life. With Harcourt being blacklisted from every government agency, Adebayo letting her relationship fall by the wayside in favor of a longshot of a career, Economos working for people who don’t respect him, and Adrian being, well, Adrian, the 11th Street Kids had a lot of baggage to work through this season. Gunn himself in one of the post-credit interviews says he treated this season more as a character piece than a superhero show, and it paid off. He was able to enrich the wider DC Universe he’s creating while at the same time not forgetting about the personal journeys of the characters who make Peacemaker what it is.
Batman Ninja was a wild DTV movie take on Batman from 2018 with stylish Afro Samurai style designs fusing east and west. After 7 years, the Batman anime by director director Junpei Mizusaki received a sequel. This twist on the Batman family has the Justice League reinterpreted as the yakuza Hagane family. There is influence from both the western Batman canon, such as the presence of many Robins, as well as new interpretations of characters like Harley Quinn as a madcap anime clown. Overall Batman Yakuza League is an entertaining and action packed installment that was worth the wait.
But that’s our picks. What are yours?!?
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