10 Best Justice League Movies, Ranked

While The Avengers are more prominent in the public spotlight nowadays, the Justice League is still the blueprint for a successful superhero team. Each member has different strengths and powers that compensate for the other’s weaknesses, and when put together, they form an iconic team that has been replicated in some of the most popular shows, like The Boys.

Despite the Justice League‘s popularity, there have technically only been two modern live-action movies. However, the animation department more than makes up for this with many famous comic adaptations of everyone’s favorite superhero team. These movies showcase unique storylines and fun dynamics between the characters to create superhero experiences unlike any other, leaving fans hoping for a new Justice League movie by James Gunn in the future.

10 ‘Justice League: War’ (2014)

Starring Alan Tudyk, Jason O’Mara, and Sean Astin

As the introduction to the DCAMU, Justice League: War sets up the big bad of the universe, Darkseid, and introduces fans to the heroes. The film adapts Geoff Johns‘ and Jim Lee‘s Justice League: Origin as Darkseid invades Earth with his hoard of parademons, forcing the creation of the Justice League. The heroes must learn to work together, which proves difficult with so many colorful characters and bursting personalities.

Even though Justice League: War features a simplistic plot, it was the best choice for an introduction to the Justice League, as it allows each member to shine without being bogged down by a complex plot. The movie is perhaps the funniest in the universe, with the iconic scene of Green Lantern getting ganged up on by some parademons. However, Justice League: War excels with its character dynamics, making the team feel like family right from the get-go as they learn to deal with one another.

9 ‘Justice League: Gods and Monsters’ (2015)

Starring Benjamin Bratt, Michael C. Hall, and Tamara Taylor

Separate from any connected universe, Justice League: Gods and Monsters is a standalone movie set in an alternate reality with a unique take on DC’s trinity. Fans also shouldn’t confuse this movie with Chapter 1 of Gunn’s DCU, which uses the same name and has fans curious if there will be any similarities. These versions of the characters are ruthless, working outside the law, but after being framed for some murders, the government orders their capture.

The unique twist on Gods and Monsters really adds a lot to the movie, giving a fresh take on the heroes fans have loved for so long. Having a Mexican family raise this Superman, the son of Zod, shapes the character in a completely different way. This Wonder Woman also has a compelling backstory, as the movie makes them anti-heroes and previous villains as heroes. The nature vs. nurture theme also makes Gods and Monsters a different and refreshing take on the Justice League, helping it stand out among superhero movies.

8 ‘Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One’ (2024)

Starring Jensen Ackles, Matt Bomer, and Darren Criss

Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths—Part One adapts the famous comic with the same name, which forever changed the DC franchise. This movie is the first installment of a trilogy that ends DC’s animated Tomorrowverse, including films such as Batman: The Long Halloween and Superman: Man of Tomorrow. After the Anti-Monitor begins destroying multiple Earths across the multiverse, his counterpart forms a team of the strongest heroes in every universe to help take him down.

Crisis on Infinite Earths is a giant mashup of DC’s most well-known heroes, providing incredible action, comedy, and intrigue. Focusing on the Flash, the movie delves into his character, which serves as both a pro and con for the movie, as some fans wished for more of the other heroes. With its massive scale, Crisis on Infinite Earths could be a bit confusing at times, but overall, the grand story was a treat and an excellent set-up for rather disappointing sequels.

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7 ‘Justice League Dark: Apokolips War’ (2020)

Starring Rosario Dawson, Tony Todd, and Christopher Gorham

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is the finale of the DCAMU, which started in 2013. In one of the darkest DC movies, Darkseid kills many beloved characters in his invasion of Earth and has the rest of the heroes serve as slaves on Apokolips. The remnants of the heroes then begin a plan to free the others and defeat Darkseif two years after his overwhelming victory.

Apokolips War did not play it safe for this movie. This film was a bloody fan fest, with heroes getting torn apart or having torturous lives under Darkseid’s rule. The depressing atmosphere allowed for a lot of character development and a spotlight on characters like Constantine to shine. Combining incredible action and shocking developments, Apokolips War sets up the new universe in a depressing yet worthwhile finale.

6 ‘Justice League: Doom’ (2012)

Starring Kevin Conroy, Nathan Fillion, and Carl Lumbly

Inspired by the famous story arc, Tower of Babel, Justice League: Doom has villains discover Batman’s plans to defeat the Justice League. In the event that the league turns evil, Batman creates contingency plans; however, after those plans fall into the wrong hands, he has a larger mess to clean up. Vandal Savage uses this to take down the league, leaving Batman to save them and take down the villains.

Seeing the Justice League’s demise is both entertaining and awful, as this movie shows the utter defeat of every single member. The plans were exciting and made for a great film, but the entire Justice League was fine in the end. Despite this, Justice League: Doom is still a classic DC animated movie that includes everything fans love in a superhero movie, plus a great villain and scheme.

5 ‘Justice League Dark’ (2017)

Starring Matt Ryan, Camilla Luddington, and Jason O’Mara

After a supernatural plague infects civilians with terrifying illusions, countless deaths and injuries occur as the mysterious threat looms. Batman, alongside Zatanna, Constantine, and Deadman, experts in the supernatural, puts together a team. Together, the group investigates the plague, bringing them to multiple paranormal encounters and further developing the mystery.

Hence, its title, Justice League Dark, gives fans a darker experience with a horrifying plot and events. This ensemble surprisingly has excellent chemistry, with Constantine’s sarcastic remarks, Batman’s dull responses, and Deadman’s comedic moments. Justice League Dark is a refreshing experience with fantastic characters and a unique vibe, making it perfect for Halloween. Delving into the magic and supernatural side of DC greatly benefits the movie, as it allows the underappreciated dark elements to shine.

4 ‘Justice League: The New Frontier’ (2008)

Starring Neil Patrick Harris, David Boreanaz, and Miguel Ferrer

Justice League: The New Frontier takes place in the 1950s and serves as the league’s origin. Shortly after the Korean War, an entity known as The Center deemed humanity to be evil based on its wars and destruction, so it set out to destroy all humans. Martian Manhunter and Batman investigate a cult that worships the entity as each member of the Justice League learns more about the atrocity heading their way.

The New Frontier is perfect as the Justice League’s origin story, as it utilizes the time period nicely but also features the heroes in their prime. The movie doesn’t have any needless introductions to characters fans already know; instead, it gives context into their current lives, such as Wonder Woman training women in Korea after the war or the negative response to Flash retiring. The setting is fantastic, the characters are engaging, and the story contains enough mystery and action to make a tremendous superhero movie worthy of being adapted into live-action.

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3 ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ (2021)

Starring Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, and Gal Gadot

After the disaster that was the 2017 Justice League movie, Zack Snyder finally got to make the movie the way he wanted after an outcry of support from fans. Zack Snyder’s Justice League has roughly the same story and plot as the initial, which has Batman and Wonder Woman put together a team of heroes facing the threat of Darkseid and Steppenwolf after the death of Superman.

Snyder’s Justice League is one of the longest movies ever, clocking in at 242 minutes, and he ensured he got everything he wanted in that space. The movie significantly improves Cyborg’s character, making him the heart and soul of the film and one of the best things about it. While the overuse of slow-motion and questionable decisions plague an otherwise great film, everything else makes up for it. The dark atmosphere, the action, and the cinematography mesh together so well to create a fantastic live-action Justice League movie.

2 ‘Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths’ (2010)

Starring Mark Harmon, William Baldwin, and James Woods

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths serves as a prequel to Justice League: Doom, despite not having related events. The film follows the Justice League as an alternate version of Lex Luthor coming to their world, begging for their help to stop The Crime Syndicate. The evil group is the opposite of the league and rules the world with an iron fist, threatening peace with their powers.

Crisis on Two Earths accomplished a multiverse movie before the peak of its popularity, and it still sticks out as one of the best. The film subverts expectations and excels with its character work, having each member of the Crime Syndicate serve as a character foil to the Justice League. The Crime Syndicate proved to be threatening villains for the Justice League, specifically Owlman, who, with his nihilistic approach, only sees the one real choice being to destroy the keystone, Earth-prime, as every other choice on every other Earth doesn’t matter. Owlman remains one of the most underrated DC villains and carried this movie to the second spot on this list.

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1 ‘Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox’ (2013)

Starring Kevin Conroy, Justin Chambers, Michael B. Jordan

While Justice League: War is the start of the new universe, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox sets it up in an alternate setting. Reminiscing his mother’s death, Flash tries to see if he can bring her back by running into the past; however, despite being successful, he brings an entirely new reality with its share of evil. The film changes significant events, such as Bruce Wayne dying as a child, Thomas Wayne taking up the Batman mantle, or Wonder Woman and the Amazons waging a bloody war against Aquaman and Atlantis.

The Flashpoint Paradox is a fantastic multiverse movie, not relying on cheap cameos but showing alternate versions of characters that are integral to the plot. Watching the world be enveloped in a superhero war is genuinely frightening, with so many heroes getting their spotlight and having a significant impact. Pair the great dynamic of Flash and Thomas Wayne’s Batman with the phenomenal villain of the Reverse Flash, and The Flashpoint Paradox is the greatest DC animated movie ever to be made.

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