Movies like Superman II (1980)
The best movies like Superman II (1980) are Superman (1978), Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006) and Superman III (1983). If Superman II 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 ratedSuperman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)7.4/10 from 430 votes
- NewestThe Fantastic 4: First Steps (2025)Released 2025
- Same seriesSuperman (1978)Superman
Superman (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: Same series: Superman · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuperman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)
Superman agrees to sacrifice his powers to start a relationship with Lois Lane, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuperman III (1983)
Aiming to defeat the Man of Steel, wealthy executive Ross Webster hires bumbling but brilliant Gus Gorman to develop synthetic kryptonite, which yields some unexpected psychological effects. Between rekindling romance with his high school sweetheart and saving himself, Superman must contend with a powerful supercomputer.
Why it matches: Same series: Superman · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies 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: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Flash (1990)
A laboratory accident endows a police scientist with the ability to move at superhuman speed which he uses to battle a menacing gang as a superhero.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBatman (1989)
Having witnessed his parents' brutal murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne fights crime in Gotham City disguised as Batman, a costumed hero who strikes fear into the hearts of villains. But when a deformed madman known as 'The Joker' seizes control of Gotham's criminal underworld, Batman must face his most ruthless nemesis ever while protecting both his identity and his love interest, reporter Vicki Vale.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMan of Steel (2013)
A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuperman (1948)
Superman comes to Earth as a child and grows up to be his home's first superhero with his first major challenge being to oppose The Spider Lady.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & adventure
The Rocketeer (1991)
A stunt pilot comes across a prototype jetpack that gives him the ability to fly. However, evil forces of the world also want this jetpack at any cost.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisX-Men (2000)
Two mutants, Rogue and Wolverine, come to a private academy for their kind whose resident superhero team, the X-Men, must oppose a terrorist organization with similar powers.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCaptain America: The First Avenger (2011)
During World War II, Steve Rogers is a sickly man from Brooklyn who's transformed into super-soldier Captain America to aid in the war effort. Rogers must stop the Red Skull – Adolf Hitler's ruthless head of weaponry, and the leader of an organization that intends to use a mysterious device of untold powers for world domination.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisX-Men: First Class (2011)
Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were arch-enemies, they were closest of friends, working together with other mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Incredible Hulk (1977)
An accidental overdose of gamma radiation causes a mutation in scientist David Banner's DNA: now whenever he becomes angry, he metamorphoses into a seven-foot-tall, 330-pound, mindless muscular green creature.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBatman Forever (1995)
Batman faces off against two foes: the schizophrenic, horribly scarred former District Attorney Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, and the Riddler, a disgruntled ex-Wayne Enterprises inventor seeking revenge against his former employer by unleashing his brain-sucking weapon on Gotham City's residents. As the caped crusader also copes with tortured memories of his parents' murder, he has a new romance, with psychologist Chase Meridian.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Fantastic 4: First Steps (2025)
Against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel's First Family is forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, while defending Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisX2 (2003)
Professor Charles Xavier and his team of genetically gifted superheroes face a rising tide of anti-mutant sentiment led by Col. William Stryker. Storm, Wolverine and Jean Grey must join Magneto and Mystique to unhinge Stryker's scheme to exterminate all mutants.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSupergirl (1984)
After losing a powerful orb, Kara, Superman's cousin, comes to Earth to retrieve it and instead finds herself up against a wicked witch.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisCaptain Marvel (2019)
The story follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Set in the 1990s, Captain Marvel is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 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: Fans watch both · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIron Man 2 (2010)
With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark faces pressure from the government, the press and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, with Pepper Potts and James 'Rhodey' Rhodes at his side, must forge new alliances – and confront powerful enemies.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpider-Man (2002)
After being bitten by a genetically altered spider at Oscorp, nerdy but endearing high school student Peter Parker is endowed with amazing powers to become the superhero known as Spider-Man.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpider-Man 2 (2004)
Peter Parker is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock. In the meantime, Parker still can't act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson, a girl he's loved since childhood. A certain anger begins to brew in his best friend Harry Osborn as well...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuperman (1941)
After The Daily Planet receives a letter from a mad scientist threatening to wreak destruction with his Electrothanasia Ray, Lois Lane heads out in the hopes of getting more information for a news story.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both science fiction & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisSuperman: The Last Son of Krypton (1996)
Clark Kent, the last survivor of the dead planet Krypton, uses his amazing powers to defend people of his adopted world, Earth, and become Superman.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989)
Falsely accused of assault, Dr. David Banner is arrested and placed on trial, facing the possibility of a long prison sentence. Blind attorney Matt Murdock takes on his defence, while secretly operating as the vigilante Daredevil. As the courtroom battle unfolds, Banner’s struggle to control the Hulk leads to a dangerous confrontation with criminal mastermind Wilson Fisk.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Incredible Hulk Returns (1988)
Years after the end of the original series, David Banner continues his wandering search for a cure for the condition that turns him into the Hulk. He reunites with former colleague Don Blake, unaware of his mystical connection to Thor. When a criminal organization threatens their lives, Banner is forced to unleash the Hulk once again, marking the character’s return after the series finale.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdventures of Captain Marvel (1941)
On a scientific expedition to Siam young Billy Batson is given the ability to change himself into the super-powered Captain Marvel by the wizard Shazam, who tells him his powers will last only as long as the Golden Scorpion idol is threatened. Finding the idol, the scientists realize it could be the most powerful weapon in the world and remove the lenses that energize it, distributing them among themselves so that no one would be able to use the idol by himself. Back in the US, Billy Batson, as Captain Marvel, wages a battle against an evil, hooded figure, the Scorpion, who hopes to accumulate all five lenses, thereby gaining control of the super-powerful weapon
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
The Flash II: Revenge of the Trickster (1991)
Every super hero has his nemesis - and this time Flash has that murderous mischief maker the Trickster
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & science fiction
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Superman II?
The closest matches to Superman II are Superman (1978), Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006) and Superman III (1983). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Superman II?
People who watched Superman II most often go on to Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006), Superman Returns (2006) and The Flash (1990).
What is the highest-rated movie like Superman II?
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006), rated 7.4/10 by 430 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Superman II?
The Fantastic 4: First Steps (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Is Superman II part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to Superman, which includes Superman (1978) and Superman III (1983).
Are there English movies like Superman II?
Yes: Superman (1978), Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006) and Superman III (1983).
How are movies similar to Superman II chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Superman II, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.