Family-Friendly Superman Movies in Order: Superhero for All Ages

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Character Development: Superman’s Human Drama Explored in Movie Order

• Superman (1978)
• Superman II (1980)
• Superman III (1983)
• Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
• Superman Returns (2006)
• Man of Steel (2013)
• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
• Justice League (2017)

Superman (1978)

• Genre: Action and Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h 23min
• IMDb: 7.4/10

When the scientist, Jor-El, on the planet Krypton, learns that his world will be destroyed, he worries about the safety of his son Kal-El and sends him to Earth. There, he is raised by a farmer couple, Jonathan and Martha Kent, who raise Kal-El as Clark Kent.

As he grows up, he discovers that he has superhuman powers, which sets him apart from the rest of regular humans. He uses his powers to fight crimes with an identity he adopted as ‘Superman’ while maintaining his disguise during the day with his job as a reporter.

Watch Superman fight against evil with the criminal mastermind and his enemy, Lex Luthor.

Superman II (1980)

• Genre: Action and Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h 7min
• IMDb: 6.8/10

With his desire to settle down with the love of his life, Lois Lane, Clark Kent gave up on all of his powers to live everyday life. Little did he know about the dangers coming from his planet, Krypton.

Three criminals, General Zod, Ursa, and Non, escaped the Phantom Zone prison and teamed up with Lex Luthor to fight Superman. Unfortunately, these villains contain the same powers as Superman used to have, so Kent needs to get back to his old mission.

Watch Superman II as he struggles to find the mysterious green crystal that will restore his powers and help him fight off the villains to save the earth and his life from villains who are adamant about destroying it.

Superman III (1983)

• Genre: Action and Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h 5min
• IMDb: 5/10

The third part of the Superman series introduces a new villain, Ross Webster, who strives for his obsessive desire for power. However, his hatred for Superman grew as Kent turned around his plans to destroy a local coffee shop.

He orders Guss, a computer whiz, to create synthetic kryptonite to destroy Kent, as it is his greatest weakness. As a result, his powers get compromised, and he gets split into two different personalities, which makes things worse for himself.

To win the fight against evil, Kent has first to sort out his persona and restore his true self, so he becomes ready to fight Webster with all his strength.

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

• Genre: Action and Sci-Fi
• Language: English
• Runtime: 1h 33min
• IMDb: 3.7/10

With the movie focusing solely on the anti-nuclear weapons message, the plot still gets interesting as Superman announces to the United Nations that he plans to eliminate all the nuclear weapons from the earth. This doesn’t go well with Lex Luther, who wishes to destroy peace and rule using fear and intimidation.

As he steals hair from Superman’s head to create another powerful villain, Nuclear Man, things get tricky for Kent as he has to fight off someone who is just as strong with superhuman abilities as him. As Nuclear Man attacks Lois Lane, Superman rushes to save her but loses his powers with the blast Nuclear Man caused.

Watch Superman IV: The Quest for Peace to see how he manages to restore his powers while simultaneously destroying his enemies who threaten peace on Earth.

Superman Returns (2006)

• Genre: Action and Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h 34min
• IMDb: 6.1/10

After Superman’s biological father dies on their old planet Krypton, he leaves Earth and returns no less than five years later, only to discover that things have been in a disturbing array in his absence. With his old enemy, Lex Luthor, once again in power to destroy everything good, Kent has to muster up his strength to restore the earth to its peaceful state.

Superman Returns is a sequel to Superman II, with its third and fourth parts eliminated from the plot. Nevertheless, it is an exciting watch to make sure you stream it on your way to bringing all Superman movies in order.

Man of Steel (2013)

• Genre: Action and Sci-Fi
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h 23min
• IMDb: 7.1/10

This is the one for you if you’re looking for a from-scratch reboot of the Superman series. Being sent from another planet Krypton to the Earth by his dad to save his life, he lives with his foster parents until he realizes that he has superhuman abilities, which could come in handy when it comes to saving planet Earth from its ongoing crimes.

However, it turns out that he is one of many from his old planet Krypton who is sent to Earth. One of the old enemies and a criminal who survived the destruction of Krypton, General Zod also descended to kill Superman and cause havoc on Earth with his superpowers.

Watch Man of Steel to see the adventures of Superman as he paves his way out of trouble which his enemies keep bringing in his path to justice.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

• Genre: Action and Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h 31min
• IMDb: 6.4/10

While usually two superheroes coming together in one movie is thrilling, this one may differ from what you expect. With Batman considering Superman a source of threat due to his battle with General Zod in the Metropolis and Superman not approving of Batman’s way of justice, the two engage in conflict until they have no other option than to join forces together.

Their collective strength becomes essential to defeat a monster Lex Luther created from General Zod’s DNA. Watch Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice to see the two superheroes unite to defeat a common enemy with the best of their strengths and abilities.

Justice League (2017)

• Genre: Action and Adventure
• Language: English
• Runtime: 2h
• IMDb: 6.1/10

After the death of Superman by the end of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the world faces a new threat. Following the attacks by different villains who arise to destroy peace on earth, new superheroes, including Wonder Woman, Batman, the Flash, Aquaman, etc., gather on a secret Project Superman to revive him from the dead using a Mother Box.

With Steppenwolf making his way on earth and remaining undefeated by the rest of the superheroes, the Justice League needs to hasten its efforts to destroy the looming threat, with Superman being the only one to match its powers and defeat it, hence saving the world.

Superman Animated Movies in Order

List of animations where Superman noteworthy appeared:

• The Superman Serials (1948 and 1950)
• The Adventures of Superman and Superman and the Mole Men (1951)
• Animated: The New Adventures of Superman (1966 to 1969 – TV show)
• Animated: Super Friends (1973 to 1985 – TV show)
• Superman (1978)
• Superman II (1980)
• Superman III ( 1983)
• Supergirl (1984)
• Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
• Superman (1988)
• Superboy (1988 to 1992 – TV show)
• Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993 to 1997 – TV show)
• Superman: The Animated Series (1996 – Animated TV show)
• Justice League (2001 to 2004 – Animated TV show)
• Smallville (2001 to 2011) TV Show
• Justice League Unlimited (2004 to 2006 – Animated TV show)
• Superman: Doomsday (2007 – Animated movie)
• Superman Returns (2006)
• Young Justice (2010 to 2013 – Animated movie)
• All-Star Superman (2011 – Animated movie)
• Man of Steel (2013)
• Teen Titans Go (2013 to present – Animated TV show)
• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
• Supergirl (2015 to Present)
• Justice League (2017)
• The Death of Superman (2018 – Animated movie)
• The Reign of Superman (2019 – Animated movie)
• Superman: Man of Tomorrow (2020 – Animated movie)
• Superman: Red Son (2020 – Animated movie)
• Crisis on Infinite Earths (2020 – TV show)
• Superman and Lois (2021 – TV show)

What to Know?

In order

• Superman: The Movie
• Superman II
• Superman III
• Superman IV
• Superman Returns
• Man of Steel
• Batman v Superman

Christopher Reeves’ Era

• Superman: The Movie
• Superman II
• Superman III
• Superman IV. DCEU: Man of Steel
• Batman v Superman

Standalone

Superman Returns. Side-by-side origin stories: Superman: The Movie and Man of Steel. If you want to watch all Superman movies, it will take 900 minutes or 15 hours.

FAQs

What order do the Superman films go in?

The following is the list of orders the Superman films go in:

• Superman (1978)
• Superman II (1980)
• Superman III (1983)
• Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
• Superman Returns (2006)
• Man of Steel (2013)
• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
• Justice League (2017)

What Superman movie is after Man of Steel?

• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
• Justice League (2017)
• Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
• Superman: Legacy (2025 TBA)
• Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (TBA)

Is Man of Steel a sequel?

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Why is Superman not in the Avengers?

As you know, Superman is part of the (DC) Detective Comic series created in 1938. Superman is not in the (MCU) Marvel Cinematic Universe. That’s why Superman is not in the Avengers.

Was there a Superhero before Superman?

The Golden Bat, or Ōgon Batto, was the first Superhero in 1931. Superman is the first action comic which debuted in 1938.

Final Thoughts

To sum it up, you can now easily stream all the Superman movies in order wherever you reside using a safe and reliable VPN. We recommend ExpressVPN for this purpose due to its vast benefits for users. You no longer have to go through the hassle of figuring out which Superman movie comes after the other and watch Superman movies in the order we have laid out for you.

Gary Wilson

Gary is a geeky-binge watcher who loves to pen down all that he watches. The night-owl has just got two hobbies, binge-watching all the latest shows and writing everything about them.