You Pick BestYouPickBest

The 15 Best Superhero Movie Themes of All Time

by YPB Team

Some of these you can hum after one bar; others work only in the dark of a cinema. Brass fanfares meet drones, drums and hip-hop.

  1. Spider-Man theme (Danny Elfman) — ranked #11
    Spider-Man theme (Danny Elfman)
    Elfman's swinging, choral theme for Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man.
    1000pts
  2. Superman theme (John Williams) — ranked #22
    Superman theme (John Williams)
    John Williams' soaring 1978 march for Superman: The Movie, the template for every hero fanfare since.
    999pts
  3. Black Panther (Ludwig Göransson) — ranked #33
    Black Panther (Ludwig Göransson)
    Göransson's Oscar-winning fusion of Senegalese talking drums and orchestra.
    944pts
  4. Guardians of the Galaxy (Tyler Bates) — ranked #44
    Guardians of the Galaxy (Tyler Bates)
    The orchestral theme behind a film better known for its Awesome Mix tapes.
    944pts
  5. X-Men theme (Michael Kamen) — ranked #55
    X-Men theme (Michael Kamen)
    The theme that opened Fox's X-Men era, alongside the fan-loved animated-series tune.
    713pts
  6. Man of Steel (Hans Zimmer) — ranked #66
    Man of Steel (Hans Zimmer)
    Zimmer's slow-building piano and percussion anthem 'Flight' for Zack Snyder's Superman.
    533pts
  7. The Incredibles (Michael Giacchino) — ranked #77
    The Incredibles (Michael Giacchino)
    Giacchino's big-band, spy-jazz score for Pixar's superhero family.
    533pts
  8. Spider-Verse (Daniel Pemberton) — ranked #88
    Spider-Verse (Daniel Pemberton)
    Pemberton's hip-hop-inflected score for Into the Spider-Verse.
    533pts
  9. Iron Man (Ramin Djawadi) — ranked #99
    Iron Man (Ramin Djawadi)
    Djawadi's rock-guitar score for the 2008 film that launched the MCU.
    532pts
  10. The Batman (Michael Giacchino) — ranked #1010
    The Batman (Michael Giacchino)
    Giacchino's funereal four-note motif for Matt Reeves' 2022 film.
    420pts
  11. Superman (2025) theme — ranked #1111
    Superman (2025) theme
    John Murphy and David Fleming's score for James Gunn's film, which folds Williams' 1978 fanfare back in.
    420pts
  12. The Dark Knight (Zimmer & Howard) — ranked #1212
    The Dark Knight (Zimmer & Howard)
    Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard's two-note, droning score for Nolan's trilogy.
    420pts
  13. Wonder Woman theme — ranked #1313
    Wonder Woman theme
    The electric-cello battle riff Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL introduced in Batman v Superman.
    420pts
  14. Batman theme (Danny Elfman) — ranked #1414
    Batman theme (Danny Elfman)
    Danny Elfman's brooding gothic march for Tim Burton's Batman (1989), later reused for the animated series.
    286pts
  15. The Avengers theme (Alan Silvestri) — ranked #1515
    The Avengers theme (Alan Silvestri)
    Alan Silvestri's brass rallying cry that tied the MCU's team-up films together.
    0pts
movies673music843superheroes38film scores2

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first!

Make your own rankingAny question with 2–50 answers. AI fills in options and pictures in a minute.Create →Add rankings to your siteEmbed any ranking. Your readers vote right on your page.How it works →