#10. Superman: The Movie. What many feel is the first comic book movie to "get it right", Superman was brought to the big screen by Richard Donner in 1978, a full 40 years after his first appearance in comic books. The film is filled with notables such as Marlon Brando as Jor-el and Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, but in the starring role, Donner cast a then unknown actor by the name Christopher Reeve, who would be known as Superman from then on, even after his tragic accident. Several sequels and a re-boot have come since then, but none have showcased the Man of Steel quite as well.
#9. Spider-Man. Brought to the big screen by Sam Raimi in 2002, Spider-man stars Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, who is bitten by a genetically engineered spider, granting the awkward teen super-powers akin to a spider. Although a few core principles of the mythos were changed for the film, it still manages to translate well the theme of the book, "With great power comes great responsibility", something Parker has to learn the hard way. Also chewing up the scenery is always-great Willem Dafoe as The Green Goblin/Norman Osborne, one of Spidey's oldest nemesis'. 
#8. Batman (1989). Tim Burton brought his dark flavor to an already dark character with Batman, an often filmed character, that was never portrayed as his dark, brooding self until now. Instead of the campy, Adam West version, we got a whispering, cloaked-in-shadows Batman that dropped out of nowhere and kicked your ass. Opposite of Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne is legend Jack Nicholson's Joker, a role seemingly waiting for him to play it. The Clown Prince of Crime dances through the film on his own personal bubble of crazy, Nicholson truly creates one of the greatest villains ever.
#7. Watchmen. Hailed as the "un-filmable" graphic novel, Zack Snyder brought the epic Watchmen to the screen in 2009. Set in Cold War era America, it centers on a semi-retired group of vigilantes that set out to find out why they are being targeted for death. Casting mostly unknowns in the hero roles, Snyder said he wanted the characters to speak for the actors, and not the other way around, although some big names were tossed around in the casting process. Most of the original story is presented, with a few changes here and there, most notably the ending, but it doesn't kill the movie. Best part: all of Jackie Earle Haley's scenes as the quite-possibly insane Rorschach, he nearly went mad himself studying for the role.
#6. Punisher: War Zone. In his third big screen outing, Frank Castle is finally given the treatment his current comics persona is enjoying, a no-holds-barred violence fest. Although the 2004 Thomas Jane vehicle was good on its own, it was based on a singular graphic novel called "Welcome Back, Frank", that changed up his origin and other themes. The "War Zone" entry takes Castle back to his original story, and features an actual villain from his rogue's gallery in the way of Jigsaw, a disfigured mob boss featured heavily in many Punisher stories. The film features the gritty feel of the comic, but an also too brief alliance with one of his only confidants in the pages: Wayne Knight perfectly cast as Linus Lieberman, a.k.a. Microchip, his go-to tech specialist. 
#5. Akira. OK, so this one may be cheating a bit, since it is easy to just pick up a comic book and animate it, but when your source material is a 2182 page Japanese manga, that increases the challenge. Much of the last half of the manga was "pruned" to allow for time, but sticks to the core of the story. Tetsuo and Kaneda are best friends in Neo-Tokyo 30 years after WWIII, and through a series of events, Tetsuo appears to be the second coming of Akira, a boy with vast mental powers that destroyed Tokyo decades previous. Several other story threads are floating in and out of the main story: political revolt, teenage biker gangs, government corruption, but the ascension of Tetsuo to Akira is the meat of the movie, and the destruction he causes along the way is both beautiful and horrifying. 
#4. Iron Man. Directed by confessed fan-boy Jon Favreau, this was the first of Marvel Comics self-funded films, and also a part of the much grander "Marvel Cinematic Universe", that ties several of the recent and upcoming pictures together. Perfectly cast in the role of playboy billionaire industrialist Tony Stark is Robert Downey, Jr., a role he was seemingly born to play. After Stark is nearly killed in the Middle East, kidnapped by terrorists and forced by them to make a bomb, he secretly builds an exoskeleton with which he means to escape, and when he does he goes back home, and as a changed man, begins work on more extensive suits, and develops a superhero persona. As close to the original origin story as it can be, only set in modern times, as opposed to the 60's era in which the hero first premiered.
#3. The Crow. Not being from one of the two big comics publishers didn't stop this excellent series from becoming a film. Perfectly (and tragically) cast as Eric Draven was Brandon Lee, son of the late Bruce Lee, who is murdered in his apartment with his fiancee' by a gang of drug crazed thugs. Draven comes back from the dead as an avenging force, his spirit transported by the vessel of a crow. He then proceeds to rub out the members of the gang in increasingly violent fashion, sustaining no damage to himself, since he is already dead. Ernie Hudson also stars as Sgt. Albrecht, a beat cop who starts to investigate the murders of the gang and it leads him to discover Draven and who/what he is. Best scene in the movie: Albrecht: "I said don't move, Snow White, or your dead." Draven: "I say I'm dead, and I move." 
#2. Sin City. From visionary creator Frank Miller, and directed by Robert Rodriguez, this is as close as it comes to having a comic come to life on the screen. A who's-who of Hollywood heavyweights are on display here, from Bruce Willis to Elijah Wood to the late Brittany Murphy. But the real star of the show is the cinematography and the way the movie is presented. Shot mostly in black and white, splashes of color are added to certain scenes for added effect, giving it all the more comic feel. The best performance of the picture goes to Mickey Rourke as the tortured Marv, who's quest for the truth as to who set him up is a gritty, violent tale with a bittersweet ending. 
#1. The Dark Knight. Yes, Batman and The Joker take the top spot on this list after already appearing on it, but the only comparison to Burton's and Christopher Nolan's takes on the comic is that they have the same characters in their films. Nolan's Batman, portrayed here by Christian Bale for the second time, is dark and brooding like Burton's, and then some. Nolan's Joker, expertly played by the late Heath Ledger, is far above and beyond Nicholson's, there is even speculation that Ledger's turn as The Joker may have contributed to his death, as the character was so dark and disturbed that he was unable to shake it even after the cameras stopped rolling. Add to the mix Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face (albeit too briefly) and Maggie Gyllenhaal and you have an epic production that really brings the flavor of the Batman character and his world to life.
Hellboy
Kick-Ass
300
The Road to Perdition
A History of Violence
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