The Ten Sexiest Movie Superheroes
Was Christian Bale or George Clooney a sexier Batman?
By James Brady Ryan
With their unlikely physiques and feats of derring-do, superheroes are naturally sexy. But when these comic-book do-gooders get their own movies, they're often embodied by flavor-of-the-month celebrities delivering flat line readings in hokey costumes — not nearly as sexy. Here are some stars who managed to make our favorite superheroes as alluring on screen as they were on the page.
10. Christopher Reeve as Superman, Superman
Making Superman interesting is a particular challenge. You don't have the emotional darkness of Batman, you don't have the outcast desperation of the X-Men, and you're basically invincible. It's hard to be flawless and still be sexy. But if you can't have edge, you can at least have charm, and Reeve brought it to his performance as the Man of Steel in spades. Superman could have been as bland as wheat germ, but the lovable Reeve made him the golden boy you'd love to have hot marital congress with.
9. Ron Perlman as Hellboy, Hellboy
In any list of sexy superheroes, you're bound to get a few out-there characters: not all non-humans can be as normal-looking as Superman. Hellboy is probably on the far end of the spectrum. Sure, he's bright red and has sawed-off horns, but his swagger is undeniable, and in all honesty, you have to admit you'd go to bed with Hellboy over an un-costumed Perlman.
8. Brandon Lee as Eric Draven, The Crow
Your favorite superhero who could also pass as a member of The Cure, Lee's Eric Draven was gothic and terribly romantic in a way that made you forget his harlequin makeup. The perfect mix between action hero and rock star, this performance was made all the more tragically alluring by Lee's accidental death during the film's final weeks of production.
7. Carla Gugino as Silk Spectre, Watchmen
No, not wooden Malin Akerman. We're talking about Gugino as Akerman's mother, who fought crime under the same nom de guerre. Her Vargas-girl style and the feistiness that was missing from her daughter more than made up for her lack of screen time.
6. Edward Norton as the Hulk, The Incredible Hulk
We maintain that this reboot of the Hulk story would have a better rep had it not come out the same summer as Iron Man and The Dark Knight. The timing was off, but Norton's sweet, endearingly sensitive version of scrawny genius Bruce Banner struck all the right chords, even if his green-skinned alter-ego still looked a bit too much like a plastic model.
5. Anna Paquin as Rogue, X-Men
You always want want you can't have, and Rogue, the mutant whose very touch can kill, can't have anyone, making her a smoldering furnace of unfulfilled longings. Though Paquin's version of Rogue was stuck on young Iceman — not quite the partner we would have chosen — she had more than a few moments of crackling (and vaguely inappropriate) tension with the brooding and burly Wolverine over the course of three movies.
4. Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man, Iron Man
Tony Stark's mechanical suit doesn't do much for sex appeal, leaving almost everything to the imagination. For all you know, it could be Pauly Shore under all that bulky metal. Luckily, the ever-capable and rakishly sexy Downey, Jr.'s smooth, cocksure Stark — like Bruce Wayne without all the melancholy — was so indelible it was impossible to forget the sexiness under the armor.
3. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, X-Men
Now that we know what a sunny, sometimes hammy guy Jackman really is, it's amazing to look back at his first appearance as Wolverine, an abrasive, tortured, and dangerously hot mutant lacking both memories and impulse control. He was the bad boy who you knew — in your soul, damn it! — had a heart of gold. And even though the Wolverine/Jean Grey/Cyclops love triangle stretched out over two films, it never seemed like a contest, as poor goody-two-shoes Cyclops could hardly keep up.
2. Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, Batman Returns
Catwoman has always followed her own agenda, and while she may have been an adversary for Batman in this film, her end game was stopping the power-hungry businessman Max Shreck (who, it should be noted, pushed her out a window). You might question her moral compass, but you can't question the unstoppable sexual force of Pfeiffer in one of the first explicitly bondage-gear-inspired superhero outfits.
1. Christian Bale as Batman, Batman Begins
After Batman & Robin managed to make George Clooney unsexy, any actor would be rightfully wary of donning the pointy-eared mask. Luckily, Bale returned sexiness to the Batman name in Batman Begins (and its sequel,The Dark Knight). Able to shift from suave, playboy millionaire to gravel-voiced vengeance machine on a dime, this Batman may be a little intense, but looking like Christian Bale goes a long way.
Commentarium (44 Comments)
James Bond?
No Billy Zane as The Phantom? For shame.
No love for Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier, sexiest bald psychic ever?
Bonus points for remembering Michelle Pfeiffer! To the best of my recollection, watching her in theaters as Catwoman is when I realized I was bisexual.
A list only a gay man could possibly put together. You got maybe one out of 10 right. Maybe.
The Crow sexy? I guess if you have a thing for the goth offspring of Micheal Jackson and Insane Clown Posse.
I'd like to cast my vote for The Bowler from "Mystery Men"... I think I may have a cynicism fetish.
Carla Gugino was the hotness in that movie--young, old every which way. And major points for remembering Michelle Pfeiffer...the camp in that movie is beyond amazing. "You poor guys. Always confusing your pistols with your privates. "
Hellboy? Sexy? That pick deserves a formal apology.
@PO
Too right, man. This felt equivalent to watching quote-unquote female models that I'm supposed to find attractive b/c gay men love little-boy-like anorexic Eastern European women attractive.
Who knew they let gay bashers write comments. :p
This is the internet. Who knew they let people BESIDES gay bashers write comments? :)
Halle Berry. Catwoman suit. Enough said!
Halle Berry is hot in a lot of things, but put her in a superhero movie and she becomes as alluring as a block of wood.
wow - simultaneously gay and gay bashing! in the same column! not bad.
are the people critiquing this list as "gay" arguing with christian bale as number one? as a straight lady, I AGREE.
yep, christian bale is yummy :)
Oh hell yeaaaah,Christian outsexied Clooney by 10 batarangs!!! Omg,he definitely brought sexy back to Batman/Bruce Wayne!!! George "Arrogant" Clooney was the WORST excuse for my fave superhero since Val Kilmer!!! Omg,he totally killed it for me,he was an empty suit as Bruce Wayne,and an empty Cowl as the Dark Knight,he suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked!!! Christian is HOT,SEXY,and HUNKY!!! The Sexiest Batman everrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! ~Balehead4Life
Gay bashing? lol. I pointed out that there is quite an aesthetic dissonance between this list and a "sexiest movie superheroes" list from anyone other than a gay man. Give it a rest, people. How about calling this list "sexiest gay icon superheroes"?
hey PO--who'd be on your list?
@ABM was spot on with a "Mystery Men" reference. The whole team should've made the list (yes, even "The Spleen").
Rebecca Romijn (ftw), Famke Janssen, Halle Berry 2x, Uma Thurman 2x, Jessica Alba, Scarlett Johanssen, Lynda Carter, Helen Slater
It's a pretty gay list. I think it's a good list, but then I'm gay.
I'm just glad Hellboy was part of this list.
Goooooood list! And yeah, the Rogue/Iceman thing always bothers me. Rogue, honey, take another look at your options here, even without Wolverine you'd be trading up. Plus, she and Jackman did have way better chemistry than her and the other guy.
I would always vote Robert Downey, Jr. over Christian Bale. Hands down. Have you SEEN the man?
This is all wrong! Who made this ranking anyway?
It's obvious Tony Stark should be no1! And NOT Baman...
I am disappoint.
You forgot Famke Janssen as Marvel Girl
Seriously? You used a screen shot of the scene wherein Silk Spectre gets beaten and almost raped to underscore her sexiness? You should be ashamed.
No Linda Carter as Wonder Woman? This list, I'm afraid, is incorrect.
I vote for Dr. Manhattan. What's not to like about giant uncut blue penises?
@anonymous - the list is "movie" superheroes. Wonder Woman was a TV show.
Rob Lowe in The Specials. His costume was basically just a skin-tight blue t-shirt. What's not to love about that? Famke Jansen was smoking in X2, but I can see how having three X-Men on the list would've been overkill and Paquin deserves it more.
Christopher Reeve should have been number one. No Eartha Kitt for Catwoman?!
I think Christopher Reeve should be at the top of the list everone else is perfect.
I think Christopher Reeve should top on this list, everyone else is cool.
I am all over Christian Bale
spot on. well played.
Hugh Jackman should be numbers 1, 2, and 3.
Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool was the only good thing about that HORRENDOUS Wolverine origin movie. That man is drop-dead sexy (especially in Blade)! And how come Blade didn't make this list? Vampires that DONT sparkle are sexy!
Bale as Batman or Bateman always gets our vote. Good that Downey has moved up from Less than Zero.
BTW Max Shreck in the Catwoman movie was the real name of actor who played the original Nosferatu in Murnau's (sp) German Expressionist classic.
But you 20 somethings knew that, right?
Where was Mystery Men on this list?? Hello! William H. Macy??
Love the list...you picked someone for every pining superhero fan out there
sex
Now you say something