Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent once said in The Dark Knight, “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” While that exact scenario is not always the case in most comic book adaptations, there are quite a few instances in which the central character does not deserve to be called the hero as much as another member of the ensemble whose actions played a more pivotal role in the final victory. Let’s take a look at some of the best superhero movies in which the superhero ended up owing a supporting role a large debt of gratitude.
Avengers: Endgame (The Rat)
It would be easy to call Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) the real hero of one of the best Marvel movies, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, since he is the one who sacrifices his life to destroy Thanos (Josh Brolin) at the end. However, the Avengers would have never been able to build a time machine, collect the Infinity Stones, and reverse the Titan’s genocidal act if not for Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), who was released from the Quantum Realm by a device activated by a rat that scurries across it. Thus, that rat is the MCU’s true savior.
The Batman (Officer Martinez)
Matt Reeves’ The Batman from 2022 is one of the rare live-action Batman movies to portray Bruce Wayne’s alter ego (Robert Pattinson) as a genuine detective, but he still never would have figured out Riddler's (Paul Rano) plan to flood Gotham without a tip from Martinez (Gil Perez-Abraham). The GCPD officer identified the villain’s murder weapon as a carpeting tool, leading the Dark Knight to find the map of explosive devices planted around the city underneath the killer's carpet.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (Ned Leeds)
In the multiverse movie favorite, 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker would have never been able to stop Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and other inter-dimensional Spider-Man movie villains without help from his two alternate selves (played by Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire). The epic team-up might not have happened without Peter’s buddy, Ned (Jacob Batalon), who accidentally found the other Peters by using Doctor Strange’s Sling Ring.
Iron Man (Ho Yinsen)
In 2008’s Iron Man, Tony Stark is held captive by The Ten Rings with a fellow scientist named Yinsen (Shaun Toub), whom he thanks for saving him as he makes his escape from their cave. Indeed, Stark was saved by this Afghan family man in two ways: by creating the prototype electromagnet that kept shrapnel near his heart from killing him and by convincing him to reevaluate his life choices and become the hero he was destined to be.
Thor: Ragnarok (Surtur)
In the final act of Thor: Ragnarok, the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth) admits that he is unable to save Asgard by defeating his sister, Hela, (Cate Blanchett). However, he is able to defeat her by allowing the Fire Demon Surtur (voiced by Clancy Brown, in one of his two MCU roles) to bring about the destruction of his beloved home.
Black Panther (M'Baku)
Because of his understandable motivation, fans of 2018’s Black Panther do not necessarily consider Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) to be a genuine villain, but he is still not a “good” person and does not qualify as the film’s “real hero.” For that, we chose M’Baku (Winston Duke) — the leader of Wakanda’s Jabari tribe, which found an incapacitated T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and kept him alive, allowing for his eventual revival and defeat of his corrupt cousin.
Guardians Of The Galaxy (Meredith Quill)
In 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter “Star-Lord” Quill (Chris Pratt), explains to Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) that his late mother, Meredith (Laura Haddock), equipped him with some of “Terra’s” greatest music in a cassette she called “Awesome Mix. Vol. 1.” These tunes turned out to be the perfect tool in defeating Ronan (Lee Pace), whom he distracts from his team’s attack by challenging him to a dance-off.
The Incredibles (Jack-Jack)
In the literally explosive final battle from the beloved Pixar movie classic, 2004’s The Incredibles, it is Jack-Jack of all people whose actions prove most effective in finally defeating Syndrome (Jason Lee). Not to mention, in that scene, the Parr Family's infant son proves that he is the most powerful of them all, boasting a remarkable arsenal of abilities.
Batman Returns (Catwoman)
Most would say there are two villains in Batman Returns and they are not wrong, but Michelle Pfeiffer’s Selina “Catwoman” Kyle is not one of them when you really think about it. In fact, she is the one who gets rid of the actual greatest threat to Gotham in the 1992 sequel (and one of the most overlooked Batman movie characters): corrupt industrialist Max Schreck (Academy Award winner Christopher Walken).
Unbreakable (Joseph Dunn)
If not for Elijah “Mr. Glass” Price (Samuel L. Jackson), David Dunn (Bruce Willis) would have never discovered his superhuman abilities, but because he also murdered many by causing that introductory train wreck, he is far from being the real hero of M. Night Shyamalan’s 2000 thriller, Unbreakable. It is David’s son, Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark), who really teaches his father to embrace his gifts and use them as a force for good.
Superman: The Movie (Eve Teschmacher)
In 1978’s Superman: The Movie, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) manages to hold the Man of Steel (Christopher Reeve) prisoner by putting him in his pool with a Kryptonite-encrusted chain around his neck. Luckily, the wealthy criminal’s girlfriend, Eve (Valerie Perrine), defies him by removing the chain and allowing him to leave and save the day.
Batman (Vicki Vale)
In Tim Burton’s 1989 hit, Batman, photojournalist Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) not only attracts the attention of Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton), but his nemesis, The Joker (Jack Nicholson). Near the end, she uses the criminal’s affection for her against him, keeping him distracted while the Dark Knight sneaks up and engages in a final battle with the clown.
The Meteor Man (The Bloods And The Crips)
At the end of the 1993 superhero comedy The Meteor Man, Jefferson Reed (Robert Townsend, who also writes and directs) has lost his powers when powerful crime lord Anthony Byers (Frank Gorshin) and his assassins show up to do him in. Just then, members of the notorious, real-life rival gangs, the Bloods and the Crips, show up in unity to defend the superhero, ultimately scaring away the vicious criminals who are apprehended by the authorities soon after.
Mystery Men (Carmine The Bowler)
The titular vigilante crew in 1999’s Mystery Men — a comic book movie that deserves a reboot — leave it to the spirit of The Bowler’s (Janeana Garofalo) father, Carmine, who possesses her bowling ball, to destroy Casanova Frankenstein’s (Geoffrey Rush) Psycho-frakulator, which destroys the master criminal’s mansion. saving the day. In the film’s final line, The Bowler admits to Carmine that he did save the day and that they will be “hearing about it for the rest of their lives.”
The Dark Knight (The Ferry Passengers)
In 2008’s The Dark Knight, the Joker (Heath Ledger) devises a cruel social experiment, claiming he will destroy two ferries — one commercial and the other carrying convicts — rigged with explosives at midnight unless one detonates the other first. However, neither boat chooses to sacrifice the other, disproving the criminal’s cynical hypothesis in a profound and inspiring moment of humanity in one of the bleakest comic book films ever made.
X-Men: Days Of Future Past (Quicksilver)
Needing to break Erik “Magneto” Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) from a prison inside the Pentagon, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) recruit the unhumanly fast Quicksilver (Evan Peters) to help them in X-Men: Days of Future Past. The slow-motion sequence would prove to be one of the all-time most iconic and dazzling scenes from an X-Men movie, which automatically makes him its true savior in our book.
The Toxic Avenger (Sara)
After being saved by the titular, hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength (played by Mitch Cohen) from 1984’s The Toxic Avenger, the non-seeing Sara (Andree Maranda) would become the beauty who tamed the beast, so to speak. Indeed, she manages to encourage "Toxie" to continue being the hero Tromaville deserves, when it needs him the most, even when he becomes afraid of himself and what he is capable of.
Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (Andrea Beaumont)
Any fan of, arguably, the greatest animated Batman movie would agree that the true villains of 1993’s Batman: Mask of the Phantasm are the ruthless criminals and corrupt figures whom Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany) targets as her titular alter ego. Her methods may be against the philosophies of the Dark Knight (voiced by Kevin Conroy), but we cannot deny that she gets the job done.
Ant-Man (Officer Jim Paxton)
Because of his criminal record, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is looked down upon by Jim Paxton (Booby Cannavale) — a cop engaged to his ex-wife, Maggie (Judy Greer), who also acts as a loving stepfather to her and Scott’s daughter, Cassie. However, because Scott, as Ant-Man, risked his life to save Cassie from Darren “Yellowjacket” Cross (Corey Stoll), Paxton buried evidence that could have sent him back to jail, beginning a beautiful, overdue friendship between them.
The Avengers (Agent Phil Coulson)
In 2012’s The Avengers, trying to prevent Loki (Tom Hiddleston) from escaping the S.H.I.E.L.D. helipad, Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) is tragically killed. It is his death that ultimately motivates the initially dysfunctional heroes to set aside their differences, work together, and save the world from the Chitauri.
Batman & Robin (Mr. Freeze)
For starters, while many of his puns are criminally atrocious, Dr. Victor “Mr. Freeze” Fries (Arnold Schwarzenegger) does have a justifiable motivation — saving his terminally ill wife — which makes him less deserving of the villain label than his partner, Poison Ivy (Uma Thuman). He also earns his redemption by the end of 1997’s Batman & Robin by giving Bruce Wayne (George Clooney) the cure for McGregor syndrome, which saves Alfred Pennyworth’s (Michael Gough) life.
The Rocketeer (Peevy Peabody)
Director Joe Johnston’s vastly underrated 1991 adventure favorite, The Rocketeer, stars Billy Campbell as Cliff — a 1930s pilot who discovers a jetpack prototype that makes him into a flying superhero. However, you could argue that his mentor, veteran mechanic Peevy (Alan Arkin), is the real brains behind his vigilante exploits.
Batman Begins (Lucius Fox)
Christopher Nolan’s grounded approach to reimagining the origins of Bruce Wayne’s (Christian Bale) war against crime in 2005’s Batman Begins involves the explanation that he did not make all of his wonderful toys on his own. He would have no Batsuit, no Batmobile, and little of his other valuable utilities without the help of Wayne Enterprises' then-head of research, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman).
Ant-Man And The Wasp (Janet Van Dyne)
Ant-Man and the Wasp from 2018 is yet another great example of a superhero movie in which the villain is not really a villain — namely Hannah John-Kamen’s Ava “Ghost” Starr, who is nicknamed for her unstable power of intangibility. However, her unusual condition is luckily cured by Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), Hank Pym’s (Michael Douglas) long-lost wife, after he manages to rescue her from the Quantum Realm.
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (George And Harold)
Ten-year-old best friends George Beard (Kevin Hart) and Harold Hutchins (Thomas Middleditch) may have been the cause of a lot of the trouble in Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, by hypnotizing Principal Krupp (Ed Helms) into adopting his titular. However, the entranced superhero also could not have defeated Professor Poopypants (Nick Kroll) without them.
Iron Man 3 (Pepper Potts)
There are actually several reasons why you could argue that Stark Industries CEO and Tony Stark’s wife, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), is the true hero of the Iron Man movies as a whole. Yet it is in 2013’s third installment that sees her really get into the action when she takes out Guy Pearce’s Aldrich Killian, in the end, using her incendiary abilities after being injected with Extremis.
The LEGO Batman Movie (Phyllis)
In 2017’s The LEGO Batman Movie, Bruce Wayne (Will Arnett) is banished to the Phantom Zone, where its gatekeeper, Phyllis (Ellie Kemper), helps him realize how selfish and cowardly he has been acting. She then allows him to temporarily return to Gotham, where he begins to finally work collaboratively with the likes of Robin and Barbara Gordon, and save the city from Joker and his villains’ collective.
The Crow (Darryl Albrecht)
Ernie Hudson plays one of the best ‘90s movie supporting characters in The Crow as Sgt. Darryl Albrecht. The Detroit cop, who was at the scene of Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) and Shelly Webster’s murder, ends up becoming a trusted ally in the resurrected Draven’s plea for vengeance.
The Mask (Milo)
In 1994’s The Mask — one of Jim Carrey’s best movies — Stanley Ipkiss (Carrey) is able to make a swift escape from the police station holding cell with the help of his dog Milo. The Jack Russell Terrier also helps the banker take down Dorian Tyrell (Peter Greene) and his henchpeople when the titular, mystical artifact turns him into one mean, green mongrel.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Nuala)
In Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy sequel from 2008, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) seeks to lead a rebellion of mystical beings against the human race by unleashing the Golden Army. However, he and his sister, Nuala (Anna Walton) are physically linked, meaning they experience the harm of each other's injuries, and it is her deadly sacrifice that thwarts his plan.
The Dark Knight Rises (Officer John Blake)
At the beginning of 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, Bruce Wayne has put himself into exile, following the death of Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) years earlier, until John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who has figured out that he is Batman, inspires him to don the cape and cowl again. It is no wonder that he chooses him to be his successor at the end — his legal name being “Robin” notwithstanding.
Black Adam (Amon Tomaz)
Following his resurrection, the nearly unbeatable Teth-Adam (Dwayne Johnson) assures multiple times that he is “not a hero.” However, young superhero fan Amon Tomaz (Bodhi Sabongui) teaches him to embrace his potential to be one after all.
