The 10 Worst Performances in Superhero Movies, Ranked

Unfortunately, when an actor has a bad day at the office, it remains on film forever. When that bad day at the office involves a superhero outfit and cheesy lines that illicit more cringes than cheers, the second-hand embarrassment is felt by everyone. To be fair, it must be challenging for an actor to find the right balance of theatrical and convincing when jumping into the world of big-screen superheroes.

Although the following actors are all talented and have performed in iconic roles, these attempts at comic book movie immortality felt villainous in all the wrong ways. Whether it was due in part to miscasting or a script that failed to capture what made the character work in the place, these are some of the worst performances in superhero movies.

10

Oscar Isaac in ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ (2016)

Even though they tried, the X-Men couldn’t fight Magneto in every movie, so they finally got a chance to battle one of their most dangerous foes in X-Men: Apocalypse. The sequel saw Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and his team of mutants prevent the ancient and powerful Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) from proving his namesake by bringing about the end of the world.

Possibly the costume design didn’t help matters, but Isaac seemed more like a villain that would face off against the Power Rangers than he would the X-Men. Apocalypse is a Thanos-level villain, which makes him a coveted part if handled correctly. Isaac has the skill level to embody the ancient mutant, but a movie that tried to tell Apocalypse’s story with little buildup or backstory didn’t give the actor much to do outside of making menacing faces.

9

Topher Grace in ‘Spider-Man 3’ (2007)

Venom is a fan favorite villain in Spider-Man comic books, but he didn’t make a great first impression on moviegoers in Spider-Man 3. Topher Grace was cast as Eddie Brock, a rival both professionally and personally to Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), who didn’t take losing well. When Eddie came into contact with the black symbiote Peter rejected, the two formed into Venom, a powerful villain who knew Peter’s secrets.

An overstuffed movie left zero room for character development on new faces joining the cast, so Eddie ramps up from smug to praying for Peter’s death with a whiplash-inducing speed. Grace is more adept at comedy, so his dryly humorous line delivery, which audiences were already familiar with from That ’70s Show, made his supposedly serious Peter prayer scene funny. Grace was miscast in the part of Eddie, but given almost nothing to work with, ensured his performance would go down in meme-creating flames.

8

George Clooney in ‘Batman & Robin’ (1997)

When Val Kilmer exited the role of The Dark Knight after Batman Forever, Warner Bros brought in George Clooney to lead the fourth entry, Batman & Robin. By this point, the studio dumped as many characters as possible into the sequel, adding Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone) on the heroes’ side, and packing in Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman), Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger), and Bane (Robert Swenson) for the villains.

Clooney has since admitted to regretting his performance as Batman, and while it’s admirable that he’s so upfront about it, the actor’s indifferent attitude is evident to anyone who watches the movie. At the same time, context is key, because if Clooney had tried to turn in an emotionally charged performance, it would have looked odd in the toy commercial of a movie Batman & Robin ultimately was. When looking checked-out makes more sense than trying, maybe the best decision is to call in sick to work.

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7

Tommy Lee Jones in ‘Batman Forever’ (1995)

In the wake of Tim Burton leaving the Batman franchise so that Warner Bros could pursue a lighter tone, the next entry, Batman Forever, delivered a brighter, broader style. Jim Carrey brought his trademark zany comedic flair to the Riddler, while Tommy Lee Jones turned his energy dial up hard when slapping on brightly colored makeup to play Two-Face. In the role, Jones is half District Attorney, half mobster, and 100% carnival barker from hell.

It’s not clear who’s most responsible for Jones’ over-the-top style in Batman Forever, but the actor looks like he’s channeling the Joker more than Harvey Dent. It’s easy to play Monday morning acting coach, but the more sensible decision would have been to pair Jones’ low-key energy with Carrey’s manic presence; instead, it came off like they were trying to one-up one another. Two-Face didn’t need to be a tortured soul, especially not in Batman Forever, but there was a missed opportunity for Jones to do more in a part he would have excelled in.

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6

Halle Berry in ‘Catwoman’ (2004)

Catwoman was reviled upon its release in 2004, but the movie has since taken on a “so bad it’s great” status with new audiences discovering it. Despite what the name would suggest, Catwoman is not connected to the previous Batman movies or Selina Kyle, focusing the story instead on a new character named Patience Phillips (Halle Berry). When Patience uncovers damning secrets at her company, she is killed, only to be revived and given cat powers by a magic Egyptian cat.

In terms of Berry’s contributions to Catwoman, she is partially caught in the crossfire of a general hate toward the film, but as the lead, it’s hard to excuse her entirely. A silly script almost dares Berry to find a way not to look ridiculous, and so the Oscar-winning actor rubs catnip on her face in her journey to becoming a hero. Berry famously accepted her Razzie award for Best Actress in person, showing she had a good sense of humor about an unfortunate situation.

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5

Nicolas Cage in ‘Ghost Rider’ (2007)

Ghost Rider has always enjoyed a cult following as a comic book antihero, so there was enthusiasm from fans when a live-action movie was announced with Nicolas Cage in the leading role. In Ghost Rider, Cage stars as Johnny Blaze, a stuntman who sells his soul to a demon named Mephisto (Peter Fonda) to cure his father’s cancer. Years later, Mephisto gives Johnny a chance to reclaim his soul if he takes on the mantle of Ghost Rider, a superpowered bounty hunter.

Cage is always going to do what he does, which is to bring a sometimes uncomfortably high level of energy into a scene, but there is a time and place for his approach. Conceivably, Ghost Rider would have been one of those times, but the rest of the cast isn’t on the same wavelength as Cage, and it creates an unusual imbalance in what should be normal conversations.

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4

Jared Leto in ‘Suicide Squad’ (2016)

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There was a great deal of hype surrounding director David Ayer‘s Suicide Squad before it released, especially since audiences were getting the dream casting of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. There wasn’t going to be an appearance of Harley without her main squeeze, the Joker, along to explain her backstory, and there was cautious optimism after learning Jared Leto would be doing the honors. Unfortunately, when photos revealed Joker covered in tattoos and sporting a mouth full of metal teeth, fans began to brace for the worst, which they got.

Creating a character for a big-budget movie is a collaborative process, so it’s not as if Leto had control over every aspect of the Joker, such as his visual appearance. However, the performance itself feels exhaustively self-indulgent and lacking any real menace behind the theatrics. It’s a performance that seemingly tries too hard to be different, resulting in something that doesn’t look or sound like the villain everyone loves.

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3

Jesse Eisenberg in ‘Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice’ (2016)

It was inevitable for Lex Luthor to be introduced into an updated Superman franchise, but many were surprised when Jesse Eisenberg was announced for the role. Appearing as the primary antagonist in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Luthor plots behind the scenes to manipulate Batman (Ben Affleck) and Superman (Henry Cavill) into fighting one another to the death.

It’s fairly agreed upon that Eisenberg delivered one of the worst portrayals of Lex Luthor, but with a different approach, he had the potential to be one of the best. Look at Eisenberg’s quiet intensity and the contempt he embodies in The Social Network, and imagine that channeled into an inferiority complex directed at an alien protector. Instead, the actor went into a full-on mustache-twirling villain performance, and it seems too over the top for the gritty aesthetic of a Snyder superhero film.

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2

Shaquille O’Neal in ‘Steel’ (1997)

In 1997, expectations for superhero movies were fairly low, and Steel made them lower. The “film” follows John Henry Irons (Shaquille O’Neal), a skilled weapons designer who takes it upon himself to build a suit of armor and fight crime after seeing guns he helped create in the hands of criminals.

In all fairness to O’Neal, he’s not a trained actor (it would probably be a stretch to call him an untrained actor), so his performance needs to be graded on a curve. There are no official stats, but Laurence Olivier probably didn’t have a high average of blocked shots per game, so talent is relative to the time spent cultivating it. Regardless, O’Neal looked uncomfortable on screen, and even though he is a legend in the NBA, the part of Steel should have gone to an actor who could have done the hero justice. However, it could be argued that Steel wouldn’t have happened without O’Neal’s involvement, but that’s a conversation for another day.

1

Gal Gadot in ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ (2020)

A high-profile misfire with a great deal of promise, Wonder Woman 1984 was a superhero epic that didn’t leave any actor looking better for having participated. The movie drops audiences into another Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) adventure before she meets Batman and helps create the Justice League. The year is 1984, and Wonder Woman must stop Maxwell Lorenzano (Pedro Pascal) from destroying the world with a stone that grants the user a wish.

Gadot is a performer with limitations that can be worked around by playing to her strengths. Her line delivery is consistently stiff, and it’s more apparent in Wonder Woman 1984 when she’s tasked with a semi-problematic romance subplot that hurts the film and dialogue that would have been clunky regardless of who attempted it. Gadot 100% looks the part of Wonder Woman, but the illusion starts to shatter when it’s time to dig into the psychology of the character.