Best Musical Scores from Superhero movies Part 1 of 2

Best Musical Scores from Superhero movies Part 1

Since Spiderman III has surfaced in the theaters, I figured I’d make a list of the top ten best Superhero musical scores from their respective movies.

1. Superman: The Movie: This score by John Williams should be on everyone’s list. I remember humming the main theme all the time when I was a kid, with people giving me strange looks. Each section of the score has a different feel and style just like the movie. The Smallville section has a soothing warmth that makes you forget these tracks are from a Superhero movie. The Krypton music is grand and stately in style, while the Metropolis music is fun and has that superhero mood to it. Besides the wonderful and daring Empire Strikes Back score, Superman is probably one of John Williams’ best scores. Future composer should take note.

2. Batman: Danny Elfman created this dark and mysterious score with a full theme that fits the Dark Knight nicely. There’s something very Un-Tim Burton about the score that I can’t put my finger on, but it doesn’t have the usual Circus feel that many of the Burton/Elfman collaborations usual include. The biggest highlight is the music where Batman takes Vickie to his cave, just as the Batmoblie passes the camera on the road; this is one of Elfman’s best cues ever.

3. X-Men 2: Okay, why would I choose this over the Spiderman movie scores? I will have to say that John Ottman’s Suite from X2 is simply amazing. Listening to the piano solo playing Jean Grey’s theme is one of the best moments on the soundtrack. It’s just a well-crafted soundtrack from start to finish. Ottman has taken Williams’ style and added his own flavor to it.

4. Spider-Man 2: Yes, Danny Elfman hated writing this score and the experiences he had with producers and executives. The fallout from this score’s development ended a 10-year friendship with the director as well, but none of that matters because this score is extremely well written. This score builds on the themes he developed for the first movie, while adding a few new ones into the mix.

5. Superman Returns: You can tell that John Ottman was a huge fan of Williams’ work from the original, so he wrote the entire score with Williams’ style from 70s and 80s. Hearing the Main Theme in theaters, as it was written in the first movie, for the first time was a real treat. This score is miles ahead of the crappy Superman sequel scores after Williams left (II-IV). It is so nice to hear some of Williams’s themes being played with such warmth and care, and this score is a fitting tribute to the original score.