Movies like Black Lightning (2009)
The best movies like Black Lightning (2009) are The Incredible Hulk (2008), Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980). If Black Lightning hooked you with its science fiction and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Avengers (2012)8.1/10 from 40,326 votes
- NewestHenry Danger: The Movie (2025)Released 2025
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Scientist Bruce Banner scours the planet for an antidote to the unbridled force of rage within him: the Hulk. But when the military masterminds who dream of exploiting his powers force him back to civilization, he finds himself coming face to face with a new, deadly foe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuperman (1978)
Mild-mannered Clark Kent works as a reporter at the Daily Planet alongside his crush, Lois Lane. Clark must summon his superhero alter-ego when the nefarious Lex Luthor launches a plan to take over the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuperman II (1980)
Three Kryptonian criminals led by General Zod team up with Lex Luthor to conquer Earth, forcing a depowered Superman to regain his strength and stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGuardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisJustice League: Gods and Monsters (2015)
In an alternate universe, very different versions of DC's Trinity fight against the government after they are framed for an embassy bombing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHalo: Nightfall (2014)
Set between the events of Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians… Halo: Nightfall tells the dramatic story of legendary man hunter and Naval Intelligence Officer Jameson Locke and his team as they are caught in a horrific biological attack while investigating terrorist activity on the distant colony world of Sedra. As they unravel a plot that draws them to an ancient, hellish artifact, they will be forced to fight for their survival, question everything and ultimately choose between their loyalty and their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOblivion (2013)
Jack Harper is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is nearly complete. His existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Saint (1997)
Simon Templar (The Saint), is a thief for hire, whose latest job to steal the secret process for cold fusion puts him at odds with a traitor bent on toppling the Russian government, as well as the woman who holds its secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Avengers (2012)
When an unexpected enemy emerges and threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSuperman Returns (2006)
Superman returns to discover his 5-year absence has allowed Lex Luthor to walk free, and that those he was closest to felt abandoned and have moved on. Luthor plots his ultimate revenge that could see millions killed and change the face of the planet forever, as well as ridding himself of the Man of Steel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisBatman (1943)
Japanese master spy Daka operates a covert espionage-sabotage organization located in Gotham City's now-deserted Little Tokyo, which turns American scientists into pliable zombies. The great crime-fighters Batman and Robin, with the help of their allies, are in pursuit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuperman: Red Son (2020)
Set in the thick of the Cold War, Red Son introduces us to a Superman who landed in the USSR during the 1950s and grows up to become a Soviet symbol that fights for the preservation of Stalin’s brand of communism.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHenry Danger: The Movie (2025)
Henry Hart meets a superfan—eager to fight crime with Kid Danger—who comes into possession of a device that can open up alternate realities. Facing a wild ride, Henry will need his best friend Jasper and his new superfan sidekick to find his way out or be stuck in another dimension forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMira (2022)
Near future. Lera Arabova is a 15-year-old girl who lives with her family in Vladivostok. Lera's father has been working at the orbiting space station "Mira" for many years and has long lost contact with his daughter, turning only into a voice on the phone. After a meteor shower hits the city, Lera has only one chance to save her loved ones and the city from a new disaster. Her father helps her in this - through satellite surveillance systems and the telephone, he uses every opportunity to send a message to his daughter, watching from above from the station her every step.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisF.R.E.D.I. (2018)
An intelligent, lovable robot known as "F.R.E.D.I." is stolen from a secret research facility by the project's lead scientist. The robot is found by a 15 year old teenager, James. Soon the two begin to communicate and create a bond in which F.R.E.D.I. learns about teenage life and James learns about some new values.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisSuperman: Man of Tomorrow (2020)
It’s the dawn of a new age of heroes, and Metropolis has just met its first. But as Daily Planet intern Clark Kent – working alongside reporter Lois Lane – secretly wields his alien powers of flight, super-strength and x-ray vision in the battle for good, there’s even greater trouble on the horizon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuicide Squad (2016)
From DC Comics comes the Suicide Squad, an antihero team of incarcerated supervillains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisSecret Society of Second-Born Royals (2020)
A rebellious teenage princess discovers she has superhuman abilities and joins a secret society of extraordinary second-born royals tasked with protecting the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCosmoball (2020)
Cosmoball is a mesmerizing intergalactic game of future played between humans and aliens at the giant extraterrestrial ship hovering in the sky over Earth. A young man with enormous power of an unknown nature joins the team of hot-headed superheroes in exchange for a cure for his mother’s deadly illness. The Four from Earth will fight not only to defend the honor of their home planet in the spectacular game, but to face the unprecedented threat to the Galaxy and embrace their own destiny.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBatman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012)
Batman has not been seen for ten years. A new breed of criminal ravages Gotham City, forcing 55-year-old Bruce Wayne back into the cape and cowl. But, does he still have what it takes to fight crime in a new era?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDragon Force: So Long Ultraman (2017)
Dragon Force: So Long, Ultraman is a Chinese action animated film animated by BlueArc Animation in cooperation with Le Vision Pictures, TIGA Entertainment and UM Corporation. It is based on the 2012 3D animated series Dragon Force created by Kazuya Hatazawa and a sequel to the 2013 movie of the same name.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Super-Hero partners Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne, along with with Hope's parents Janet van Dyne and Hank Pym, and Scott's daughter Cassie Lang, find themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought possible.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKamen Rider V3 vs. Destron Mutants (1973)
A physicist named Tetsuo Okita discovers a new mineral called "Satanium," which is more powerful than uranium and emits destructive effects to anyone exposed to it. However, Destron abducts Okita in hopes of finding the source of Satanium and collecting more of it to expedite their run for global domination. Kamen Rider V3 must act fast in rescuing Professor Okita and preventing Destron from collecting more of the deadly mineral.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
Kamen Rider Wizard in Magic Land (2013)
A rainbow-colored tornado takes Haruto and Koyomi to an alternate reality called "Magic Land". There, its residents never developed science. Instead they put extensive research on magic. As a result, anyone has an ability to use magic, and some of them can even transform into a Kamen Rider Mage. When Haruto arrives, he meets a young orphan called Shiina. As Haruto explores Magic Land, he finds the Emerald Palace and meets Emperor Maya. He also meets Prime Minister Orma, who is known as Kamen Rider Sorcerer, who does not appear what he may seem to be...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
A teenage Peter Parker grapples with both high school and amazing super-human crises as his alter-ego Spider-Man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMax Steel (2016)
The adventures of teenager Max McGrath and alien companion Steel, who must harness and combine their tremendous new powers to evolve into the turbo-charged superhero Max Steel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Doctor Strange, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInspector Gadget (1999)
John Brown is a bumbling but well-intentioned security guard who is badly injured in an explosion planned by an evil mastermind. He is taken to a laboratory, where Brenda, a leading robotics surgeon, replaces his damaged limbs with state-of-the-art gadgets and tools. Named "Inspector Gadget" by the press, John -- along with his niece, Penny, and her trusty dog, Brain -- uses his new powers to discover who was behind the explosion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisHulk (2003)
Bruce Banner, a genetics researcher with a tragic past, suffers massive radiation exposure in his laboratory that causes him to transform into a raging green monster when he gets angry.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisHoward the Duck (1986)
A scientific experiment unknowingly brings extraterrestrial life forms to the Earth through a laser beam. First is the cigar-smoking drake, Howard, from the duck's planet. A few kids try to keep him from the greedy scientists and help him back to his planet, but then a much less friendly being arrives through the beam...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Black Lightning?
The closest matches to Black Lightning are The Incredible Hulk (2008), Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Black Lightning?
Start with The Incredible Hulk (2008), the closest match to Black Lightning.
What is the highest-rated movie like Black Lightning?
The Avengers (2012), rated 8.1/10 by 40,326 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Black Lightning?
Henry Danger: The Movie (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Black Lightning chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Black Lightning, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.