Given that the song for the newest Batman vs. Superman trailer was leaked with excitement just before the trailer itself was released, makes it easy to say that comic book movie fans care deeply about the music tied to their beloved heroes and villains. Once upon a time, comic book movies were great vehicles for catchy rock and pop songs and vice versa. Soundtracks were assembled with, not scores, but twelve to fourteen lyrical, radio approved songs. In recent years, especially after the success of Hans Zimmer's Dark Knight score, comic book movie soundtracks, with a few exceptions, have moved away from made-for-the-masses music.
However now it seems everyone wants to be the next Zimmer and deep, dark, soul-quaking soundtracks are blanketing every new release, thus hindering their chance to stand out, despite their strengths, against one another. As they start to all bleed together, we forget the joys of a song with lyrics or the use of a popular song to bolster nostalgia and to further tap into the other interests of the comic book movie fan base. While it isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's certainly a shift that was worth noticing and one that changed the way fans interacted with big movie releases.
That is why the trailers for both Suicide Squad and Deadpool were pretty refreshing in terms of music. The Suicide Squad trailer features a song by Sidney Chase, a relatively unknown singer who has just about 4,500 followers on Facebook and 2,300 on YouTube. The power of, what intends to be, a summer blockbuster using a song from an up and coming artist, instead of a tried and true composer, is an exciting turn of events when it comes to comic book movie soundtracks. It's a turn that reflects a transition back to lyrics and possible hits.
Deadpool's trailer features both "Shoop" by Salt-N-Pepa and "X Gon' Give It To Ya" by DMX. Granted Deadpool's aesthetic and mood lends itself to the use of well-established and entertaining pop music, and less so to a Zimmer knock-off, but still we are reminded that we can have a little fun when we go to the movies.
In light of Deadpool's trailer release and memory of all those great soundtracks from years ago, we give you our Top Ten Comic Book Movie Hits.
Hero – Chad Kroeger ft. Josey Scott from Spider-Man
The Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies provided some of the strongest comic book movie soundtracks that we can remember, and for that reason they appear on this list twice. With that we have to start at the beginning with Spider-Man, which gave us Chad Kroeger's memorable “Hero” that reached #1 on rock charts, won an MTV Video Music Award, and most powerfully was written specifically for the Spider-Man Soundtrack. Despite the general public's attitude toward Kroeger's band Nickelback, no one can deny how powerful (and emotional) they felt exiting the theater to this song as it played on through the end credits. The song nails what it must feel like to be Peter Parker as Spider-Man for the first time, "And they say that a hero can save us. /
I’m not gonna stand here and wait."
Desolation Row – My Chemical Romance from Watchmen
My Chemical Romance's cover of Bob Dylan's 1965 song of the same title was recorded specifically for Watchmen. The first chapter of the comic book gets its name from the song. Though the song only reached number 30 on Billboard's rock chart, the beauty of the connection to the original work and its updated punk-infused rendition is hard to beat. The collaboration was well thought out, all the way down to the music video that was directed by Zack Snyder himself. The video features no footage of the film but has several nods to it and features the band doing what any self respecting rock star should be doing– rocking out, breaking stuff, and getting arrested in the process. Though the song wasn't as widely recognized or welcome as say, “Hero” was for Spider-Man, it still makes the list for tying up a pretty Watchmen package.
The End is the Beginning is the End – Smashing Pumpkins from Batman & Robin
“The End is the Beginning is the End” by Smashing Pumpkins remains one of the coolest soundtrack songs ever to exist because, even though it didn't please the masses at the time of its release, it did win a Grammy. Smashing Pumpkins wrote the song specifically for Batman. If you ask us, their unique and ahead-of-its-time sound would probably be better suited to Christian Bale's darker Batman and less so to George Clooney's cartoony one. The song is dark and jarring relying heavily on loud, shocking guitars. If you're paying attention you'll catch the equally despondent lyrics fitting to Gotham City and Batman, "I am kremlin king of angels avenged / To destroy the end / Is it bright where you are /Have the people changed." A slowed down version of this song was also in Watchmen.
Come On Come In – Velvet Revolver from Fantastic Four
Despite the rumor that the band hardly ever played it live, Velvet Revolver's “Come On, Come In” makes the list for being so classically kick ass that it's hard to ignore. Plus any song that has Slash destroying a solo wins a spot, even if the movie itself was a little weak. It always makes us a little sad when we realize some of the best soundtrack songs were created for some of the less-than-great movies. The music video is a bizarre mash up of the band playing against an obvious green screen spliced together with clips of the movie and some drawings of the Fantastic Four from the comic. But the video's weakness can probably be attributed to the fact that song was originally released as a promotional record. Either way, the song still holds today.
Black Sheep – Metric from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Finally we get to our first female-led song. Metric's “Black Sheep” featured in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a sexy but ghostly rock song that features lead singer Emily Haines' distinct vocals against heavy but catchy guitar riffs. “Black Sheep” is another song that pulls the comic book and the movie together more closely. Scott Pilgrim's author Bryan Lee O'Malley told the LA Times that Haines was the inspiration for how he drew Envy Adams who performs the song in the movie adaptation and is played by Brie Larson. Not only is the song catchy, perhaps one of catchiest songs on this list, but we love how the song, film, and original work all play together to give fans the ultimate sensory experience.
Bring Me to Life – Evanescence from Daredevil
I think many of us forget that Evanescence's “Bring Me to Life” was featured on the Daredevil soundtrack. And if it's not that that we forget, it's that the song didn't reach its peak critical acclaim until its release on the soundtrack. That's right, the song was doing relatively well, but its inclusion on the Daredevil soundtrack launched it into critical acclaim and fame. This may be our first case of a song doing better than the its movie counterpart in terms of success and lasting effects on fans. Amy Lee's vocals are absolutely insane, powerful, moving, and reach for the deep dark places within us. Paul McCoy's grungy guest spot balances Lee's pure sound and we're left with a powerful rock song that burned a hole in all of our radios for weeks.
Vindicated – Dashboard Confessional from Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2's main theme song is Dashboard Confessional's “Vindicated”. The song was first released specifically for the movie, much like Kroeger's “Hero” at the beginning of our list, and included on the soundtrack. “Vindicated” takes us away from many of the songs on our list that evoke a "heroes are rockstars" theme, and takes us to a new place where our heroes are vulnerable and, dare we say, a little emo. The song reflects the major themes of the film, as it should, considering Chris Carrabba wrote the song directly after a screening of it. "And I am flawed but I am cleaning up so well/ I am seeing in me now the things you swore, you saw yourself."
Live to Rise – Soundgarden from Avengers Assemble
Our most recently released song on this list, “Live to Rise” by Soundgarden for Avengers Assemble. Perhaps this was the song that has started a tide turning back to original and lyrical songs written for comic book movies. Soundgarden's song is like many on this list, a little bit dark, a little bit brooding, and worthy of flawed but great heroes. The song got a huge boost as it was the first song released by the band in fifteen years. Leave it to a blockbuster comic book movie to bring a band back to life. This is another great instance of a song and a movie working together in tandem to create an all-in-one experience for comic book movie fans.
Kiss From A Rose – Seal from Batman Forever
https://youtu.be/ateQQc-AgEM
How could we create this list and not include Seal's most memorable hit from the nineties? The song's re-release was on the Batman Forever soundtrack and was launched into hit lists and wound up winning three Grammys, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Just like Kroeger's “Hero” (yes, here we are referencing it again) the song was played over the end credits of the film. A powerful spot in any movie, that ties the viewer's emotional experience in the film to a single track they can listen to day in and day out and relive the moment. Despite our feelings about a Val Kilmer Batman, the song was a hit that brought Seal into the spotlight. Who knows? Without Batman Forever, he may never have married Heidi Klum.
Men in Black – Will Smith from Men in Black
Sure, it's not a "superhero" movie, which may skew the list a little. But a comic book movie is a comic book movie and Men In Black from the movie of the same title might just be the most well-known song on this list. Sampling "Forget Me Nots" from 1984, Smith released his first solo song (bye bye Jazzy Jeff) along with his blockbuster film with Tommy Lee Jones. The song won a Grammy and was burned into everyone's minds for weeks and months following the release of both the movie and the song. And here I think we've unveiled a bit of secret sauce. Just like “Hero” and “Kiss from a Rose”, “Men in Black” played in the movie's credits. Perhaps this is the spot for solid gold comic book movie songs.
