The 11 Best Comic Book Movies Streaming Now

From Hellboy to Iron Man, a treat for your inner nerd.
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Just because 'Black Panther' is monopolizing comic-book movie conversations doesn't mean there's nothing outside the multiplex. From timeless superhero tales to stories that are a bit more grounded in reality, here are the best adaptations available on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.

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    01

    Akira (1988)

    **Where to stream it:** Hulu\ \ Katsuhiro Ôtomo’s *Akira* was many Americans’ introduction into the world of anime—and what an introduction it was. In a post-World War III world, Tokyo has become a dystopia overridden with terrorism, organ harvesting, and the abuse of military power. But when two teens happen upon a secret government plot, the future of Neo-Tokyo is in their hands.
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    02

    Batman (1989)

    **Where to stream it:** Hulu\ \ Tim Burton’s classic creepy-camp adaptation helped pave the way for more serious comic-book movies. Michael Keaton delivers a brilliant performance as billionaire bachelor Bruce Wayne, who spends his days wandering around his massive estate and his nights using assorted high-tech gadgets to defend Gotham from The Joker (Jack Nicholson).
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    03

    Ghost World (2001)

    **Where to stream it:** Amazon\ \ Before you knew her as Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson was Rebecca, the second fiddle to Thora Birch’s Enid: best friends and social outcasts trying to navigate post-high school life. The two drift apart after Rebecca gets a job as a barista and Enid befriends a lonely fried chicken restaurant manager (Steve Buscemi), creating a story about alienation that’s as funny as it is heartbreaking.
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    04

    Hellboy (2004)

    **Where to stream it:** Netflix\ \ Guillermo del Toro used his talent for terror to create a comic book movie that ably mixes horror, action, comedy, and the paranormal into one visually stunning feature. A demon originally summoned to Earth by the Nazis during World War II—just go with it, OK?—Hellboy (Ron Perlman) grows up to defend the world against dark forces and all the things that go bump in the night.
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    05

    V for Vendetta (2006)

    **Where to stream it:** Netflix\ \ Hugo Weaving is V, an anarchist in a Guy Fawkes mask who attempts to overthrow a fascist-like regime with the help of Evey (Natalie Portman), a woman whose dedication to the cause blurs her sense of right and wrong. James McTeigue’s translation of Alan Moore’s graphic novel won over even Moore’s most skeptical fans, and to this day, V’s mask is a recognizable symbol of protest (see: Anonymous).
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    06

    Iron Man (2008)

    **Where to stream it:** Amazon, Hulu\ \ Back before Iron Man was the core of the Marvel Cinematic Universe—hell, before anyone had heard the phrase "Marvel Cinematic Universe"—director Jon Favreau had to fight to cast the scandal-plagued Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark. It's a good thing he did: RDJ brings just the right amount of humor (and baggage) to swaggering billionaire Stark.
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    07

    The Dark Knight (2008)

    **Where to stream it:** Amazon with HBO\ \ With all due respect to Christian Bale, the brilliance of Christopher Nolan’s Batman reboot rests on its villains. Heath Ledger, who passed away before the film’s release, posthumously won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as The Joker—and deservedly so. Ledger plays his role with a perfect mix of insanity, intensity, and dark humor, and still leaves time for some gorgeous action scenes.
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    08

    Watchmen (2009)

    **Where to stream it:** Amazon with HBO\ \ Despite the initial backlash from fans of Alan Moore’s comics, people have warmed to Zack Snyder’s adaptation. The visually stunning (if head-scratching for the uninitiated) interpretation of Moore’s magnum opus bent space and time to tell the story of an alternate universe where America and Russia are on the brink of nuclear war. (Well, at least it *used* to feel like an alternate universe.)
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    09

    Doctor Strange (2016)

    **Where to stream it:** Netflix\ \ After a car accident leaves impeccable-but-cocky neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) with permanent hand damage, he searches for an experimental procedure to save his career—and ends up learning how to bend time. That, of course, creates a Pandora’s Box of problems for his superhero and flesh-and-blood friends, forcing him to learn to use his newfound powers to save the world.
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    10

    Deadpool (2016)

    **Where to stream it:** Amazon\ \ After a decade in movie purgatory, the Marvel antihero's debut was massively successful—raking in more than $780 million worldwide at the box office with its mix of pop-culture savvy and dark blue humor. In the movie, Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson seeks revenge on the doctor whose experimental cancer treatment turned him the outcast we know as Deadpool—his pain might be gone, but so are his looks.
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    11

    Captain America: Civil War (2016)

    **Where to stream it:** Netflix\ \ Marvel’s Captain America mini-franchise is its most politicized, and in this installment, Cap (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) face off over the government’s role in superheroes’ behavior. The heated disagreement forces all the Avengers to pick sides; while sowing discord on a team who kicks ass for a living is a bad idea, the ensuing ass-kicking is a great one.
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