Perhaps no movie genre is more beloved and rewarded at the box office than superhero movies. They make everyone believe in the impossible, with their powers, their stories, their origins. They defy what it means to be ordinary and can be portrayed in powerful and riveting roles.

Not all Superhero movies are good. I will be the first to admit that some superhero movies are terrible. Many are just decent, some are good, and others are great. While my colleague and friend Gino Maley may disagree with me on his views of this movie genre, he does make some excellent points on superhero movie faults. They are repetitive, make you stay until the after credits, endless origin story reboots, similar themes, and villains always lose despite being more powerful. But here are the reasons why Super Hero movies are amazing

1. The special effects: The special effects of superhero movies are often visual masterpieces. Whether it is the superpowers, the city-wide destruction, the fantastic fights or even the actual superhero costumes, audiences get to witness the best special effects of this generation.
2. The acting: While this sometimes is a hindrance to a movie, often this boosts a movie to new heights, and superhero movies benefit from having some of the best actors and actresses in the world in their cast. Just to name a few: Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Peter Dinklage, Elizabeth Olsen, Zoe Saldana, Chris Pratt, (voices of) Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, Don Cheadle, Ryan Reynolds, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, (soon) Benedict Cumberpatch, Edward Norton, Scarlett Johansson, James Spader, Morgan Freeman, Hugh Jackman, Tom Hiddleston, etc. This amazing talent pool of actors means that the so called lull of action during most of a SuperHero movie is these amazing actors making their memorable performances and enhancing the quality of the movie not diminishing it.
3. The heroes ARE in danger: In case you haven’t seen Avengers 2: Age of Ultron, SPOILER ALERT!!! In the previously mentioned movie, we did already know that the heroes would save the day and thwart Ultron’s genocidal plan, but in stopping his plan and saving innocent civilians, one Avenger gave his life to save someone. So while the heroes may win the day and save the world, it is not without sacrifice. While the heroes may not always be in danger, other allies and friends aren’t always as safe. SPOILER ALERT FOR Captain America 2, Amazing Spiderman 2, and the Dark Knight!!! Bucky Barnes, Captain America’s lifelong friend and world war 2 comrade “died” trying to save Captain America from Hydra but survived in a very tortured life. In Amazing Spiderman 2 Peter Parker’s on and off again girlfriend Gwen Stacy is killed by the Green Goblin dropping her. In the Dark Knight, the Joker murders Bruce Wayne’s love Rachel and turns Gotham’s white knight Harvey Dent into Two-Face. Just because heroes are often times “destined” to succeed and save the day, their loved ones and allies are vulnerable to death and torture. The Heroes may save the innocent civilians or the whole human race or even the universe, but they seem to never be able to save the ones they care about.
4. The Marvel Cinematic Universe makes sense: The reason the Avengers don’t help one member’s problems is because they each simultaneously have their own problems. Thor often is in a whole other realm and tries to stabilize eight other realms beside Earth, Captain America and Black widow didn’t ask for Tony Stark’s help because he wasn’t trusted with SHIELD secrets, Iron Man doesn’t ask for other’s help because he loves to act solo, the Hulk is too unstable to ask for help, and Hawkeye is often with his family on a farm. Also the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to undergo major changes in Phase Three, with more crossovers, new heroes, new villains, and new battles. Captain America Civil War promises the introduction of heroes Black Panther and Spiderman in the MCU along with a battle between teams Iron-Man and Captain America. Doctor Strange, Ms. Marvel and a few new Guardians of the Galaxy will be introduced in coming years. And then there is the Mad Titan Thanos that the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy will have to face in Infinity War Pts. 1 and 2. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is only halfway through and the second half of the MCU promises to have plenty of crossover and drama and danger for these heroes.

To be clear, I don’t like all superhero movies, and there are quite a lot of terrible ones such as:

1. Hulk solo movies
2. X-men Origins Wolverine and X-men The Last Stand
3. Iron Man 3
4. Green Lantern
5. Fantastic Four movies
6. Spiderman 3 and Amazing Spiderman 1 and 2
7. Green Hornet
8. Daredevil and Electra
9. Anything that Michael Bay directs

Almost any other modern DC or Marvel movie can make its case for being a decent to great movie.