All 9 Nicolas Cage Superhero Movies And TV Shows, Ranked (Including Spider-Noir)

Nicolas Cage is an acting institution all his own. The man can quite literally do it all, bringing his talents to an eclectic mix of styles and genres. When going through Cage's best films of all time, he can do sullen dramas like "Pig," awesome action flicks like "The Rock," and whatever "Face/Off" is supposed to be. 

With all that, it's no surprise to see that Cage has dabbled in the superhero genre, but you might be surprised just how many superhero projects he's been in. He's starred in nine over his illustrious career, including both Marvel and DC projects as well as original projects. 

Cage was even supposed to be in one other superhero film with the titular role in "Superman Lives" in the '90s, but it was sadly cancelled. Yet, like a glorious phoenix, Cage rises from the ashes, with two films on this list that reference the fact he almost played Superman. Cage is the kind of actor where his reputation absolutely precedes him where even his superhero projects that never happened are the stuff of legend. 

Here are all of Nicolas Cage's superhero movies and TV shows, ranked.

Nicolas Cage's appearance as Superman in "The Flash" isn't just bad; it feels antithetical to the very idea of art itself. It only lasts a few seconds, but toward the film's climax when the multiverse starts imploding, several versions of the Flash (Ezra Miller) look around at all these spheres colliding with one another. We get to look inside these spheres and see various past superheroes, like Adam West's Batman, Teddy Sears' Jay Garrick, and several Supermen, including those played by Christopher Reeve, George Reeves, and, yes, Nicolas Cage.

It's a nod to the cancelled "Superman Lives," but how many casual audience members would be aware of that? Putting that aside, it's not like Cage does much, standing around for a beat before fighting a giant mechanical spider, which is, again, a reference to a plot point from "Superman Lives." Even Cage was freaked out by his cameo, saying that he only spent about three hours on "The Flash" set filming, and at no point did he ever think he was fighting a spider.

The entire sequence is such a soulless excuse to cram in memberberries. Even without Cage, it's just these facsimiles of actors, some of whom are dead, standing around so that nerds in the know can point at their screen. It really shows how so much went wrong with making "The Flash" movie that this is what they wound up with, and everyone involved deserved a lot better.

After Nicolas Cage failed to play Superman on the big screen, he'd later get the chance to lead a superhero project with "Ghost Rider." It's by no means a great movie, but it might as well be "Logan" compared to its sequel, "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance."

Johnny Blaze, aka Ghost Rider (Cage), is tasked with once more fighting demons, but this time, he has to protect a young kid named Danny (Fergus Riordan), who's caught up in a devilish conspiracy. Listen, there's nothing wrong with leaning into campy fun as long as it's, you know, actually fun. That's clearly what "Spirit of Vengeance" is going for, but it all comes across as meandering nonsense. Cage is fully unhinged in this installment, but it doesn't gel with what the rest of the film's doing. 

The movie can never decide if it wants to be funny (as shown when Johnny pees fire) or a dark, gritty horror-adjacent film. As such, every scene feels like it's cobbled together from a different movie. While Cage quite literally does everything, everyone else is left out to dry. In particular, Blackout (Johnny Whitworth) really suffers, as he's supposed to be this formidable threat for Ghost Rider but never feels like anything beyond a henchman with a moderately cool power. It can't even ascend the ranks to "so bad it's good." It's just bad. 

There's a frequent debate as to whether Nicolas Cage is a good or bad actor. Personally, I fall into the former camp, but when you see how many awful straight-to-video films Cage has been in, it's understandable some folks might think he's washed up, even if he was only in those to pay off massive debts. When watching "Jiu Jitsu," it's kind of hard to argue that point. 

It's not a superhero movie in the traditional sense, instead focusing on a group of martial artists experienced in, you guessed it, jiu jitsu, who must save the world from an invading alien force. Technically, they're superheroes, so it makes the list. You might think with a title like "Jiu Jitsu," you'd be in for at least some cool fight scenes, but the movie even bungles that. 

Excessive camera techniques make it hard to focus on any of the fights, and many of the casts' opponents are aliens in bulky suits who can't move around as nimbly as the humans. Even viewers hoping for a solid Cage performance will be disappointed here. He shows up way later in the film, clearly intended to invoke Kurtz (Marlon Brando) from "Apocalypse Now" but nowhere near the same gravitas. When your film is called "Jiu Jitsu," at least have some cool jiu jitsu; there's no need to get bogged down in excessive lore. 

The year is 2007. We're one year away from "The Dark Knight" making superhero films legitimate in the larger zeitgeist and "Iron Man" kickstarting a new era where every superhero movie has to connect to one another. But we're not quite there yet, so we're stuck with "Ghost Rider." 

For a movie with a central character whose skull lights on fire, "Ghost Rider" feels oddly tame. That's likely due to its PG-13 rating that neuters a lot of the darkness and possible violence. Despite "Blade" proving R-rated comic book fare could be successful, "Ghost Rider" has to play it safe. Like a slightly more subdued "Spirit of Vengeance," "Ghost Rider" frequently jettisons between hammy, punny dialogue and more horror-centric elements that never quite fit together. 

"Ghost Rider" should've been an opportunity to show just how diverse comic book stories could be on the big screen, giving audiences something different than what they got with 2005's "Fantastic Four" and 2003's "Daredevil." But "Ghost Rider" is just another superhero origin story about a guy with a flaming skull for a head where Cage does a lot of screaming. Maybe the character could've been redeemed had he gotten a cameo in "Deadpool & Wolverine," but he's relegated to the bargain bin of comic book movies. 

It's a shame 2009's "Astro Boy" bombed at the box office, making $42 million against a budget of $65 million. It's nothing revelatory, but it's a fairly fun adventure flick. It was a promising sign of what Imagi Animation Studios could do, but sadly, "Astro Boy" flopped so hard it bankrupted the company.

But it's perfectly charming in its own right. It adapts the origin story of the Japanese manga series Dr. Bill Tenma (left, voiced by Nicolas Cage) puts the memories of his dead son, Toby (Freddie Highmore), into a robot that sets off to fight crime. But Dr. Tenma rejects his creation, forcing Astro Boy to find community elsewhere while preventing the militaristic expansion being conducted by President Stone (Donald Sutherland). 

Everything about "Astro Boy" feels okay to good. The animation is solid, and it plays around with a bunch of ideas, both personal and political. "Astro Boy" feels like a decent enough origin story that could've laid the groundwork for an even better sequel. Unfortunately, that didn't come to fruition, but it's not like there's any shortage of other "Astro Boy" stories out there for anyone interested in seeing more from the character. 

"Ghost Rider" feels held back by its nature as a more subdued superhero flick. But there's nothing "Kick-Ass" holds back on, and Nicolas Cage is allowed to revel in his full Cage-ian glory. 

Before "Deadpool" rocked audiences in 2016, "Kick-Ass" was the superhero adaptation making fun of comic book conventions. Geeky Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is a regular guy who decides to become a superhero, trying to follow in the footsteps of his comic book heroes. But he gets wrapped up in a plot bigger than he imagines, which requires him to team up with some superheroes who know what they're doing: Big Daddy (Cage) and Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz). What follows is a profanity-laden spectacle that shows what would happen if a regular person really tried to be a superhero. Hint: They'd get beat up a lot.

"Kick-Ass" is a riot, and Cage's Big Daddy, in particular, is a highlight. He takes on the vocal cadence of Adam West's Batman, giving him a goofy persona amid all the bloodshed. But his larger-than-life personality is grounded in his love for his daughter and desire to protect her. "Kick-Ass" is a bloody good time with just enough heart to get you invested. 

For many, "Teen Titans Go!" is a massive step down from "Teen Titans." Whereas the latter borrows more influences from serialized superhero cartoons like "Justice League," the former is more akin to other Cartoon Network shows from the 2010s, like "Uncle Grandpa." That's to say it's more focused on humor and silly gags than action, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on your perspective. But either way, that tone allowed it to thrive with the theatrically-released "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies," where Nicolas Cage first got to play Superman for real.

"Teen Titans Go! To the Movies" is better than it has any right to be. It's not only a deconstruction of superhero movies as a whole but also of "Teen Titans Go!" The film begins with the Justice League, including Superman, chastising the team for not taking themselves seriously, which is why they've never gotten their own movie. 

It's meta-commentary on the show as a whole and the fact a lot of comic book fans think it's too silly, allowing the team to ultimately realize they don't have anything to prove to anyone. It's basically a kid-friendly version of "Deadpool" that makes fun of the myriad Batman reboots and the often self-serious nature of DC films (especially during the 2010s when the Snyderverse was at its peak). The film's plot sees the Teen Titans trying to be something they're not for the sake of getting a movie when all they need to be is themselves. Just like with their silly show, this new iteration of the team is what it is, and fans can either take it or leave it. 

When Nicolas Cage led his own superhero film franchise with "Ghost Rider," the results were fairly subpar. It might give one the impression that Cage only works in superhero movies in the capacity of a supporting role, but then "Spider-Noir" came out. 

In an alternate universe, Ben Reilly (Cage) is "The Spider," a vigilante and detective all wrapped into one. It's a blast seeing the Spider in action, but honestly, the series is just as compelling if not more so when Cage gets to carry out classic noir tropes. His banter with everyone is kinetic, and we frequently see him adopt different personas in order to get people to let their guards down. Cage does some hilarious impressions of Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, and other stars from the 1930s and '40s. Throw in some writhing and squirming, and "Spider-Noir" feels like everything Cage's eclectic career has been leading up to. 

With so many Spider-Man reboots, yet another one can feel superfluous. But "Spider-Noir" is an excellent throwback that offers a different take on the character's ethos. Ben Reilly is more jaded than the usual interpretations of Peter Parker, and "Spider-Noir" has no qualms with going full body horror. Plus, "Spider-Noir" is just gorgeous to look at whether you watch it in full color or black-and-white. For a TV series set in the '30s, it's somehow more vibrant than many modern superhero projects. 

If there's anything we have to thank for the excellent "Spider-Noir" series, it's Nicolas Cage's hilarious turn as a noir version of Peter Parker in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." Cage's version of Spidey doesn't have a huge role, as he's one of many variants brought into Miles Morales' (Shameik Moore), but he makes the most of his limited screen time. Overall, "Into the Spider-Verse" is simply one of the best superhero movies of all time, bar none. 

There had already been so many "Spider-Man" movies by the time "Spider-Verse" came out in 2018, but the film successfully reinvented the character by honing in on Miles Morales trying to live up to the legacy set forth by Peter Parker. The story also features spectacular animation, telling a dazzling multiversal story that would've been near impossible in live action. It's not just a testament to superhero cinema but to animation, showing how cartoons aren't inferior in the slightest. The film not only has a lot to say about superheroes but Spider-Man as a character. For the first time, you get the sense of Spider-Man's legacy and how truly anyone can wear the mask. 

As for Cage's contributions, Spider-Man Noir is a blast. Him becoming obsessed with a colorful Rubik's cube in stark contrast to his black-and-white universe is hilarious. Whether he's talking about punching Nazis or drinking egg creams, every line delivery lands. Cage plays a small part in the success of "Into the Spider-Verse," but every component comes together to create the breath of fresh air the genre needed in the late 2010s. It's the perfect showcase for how other theatrical superhero films need to lean into animation more.