For the longest time, Superman and Batman were two of the only DC Comics characters to appear on the big screen. However, with Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice on the way, decades of DC history is about to burst its way into theaters. With that film and Suicide Squad set to introduce (and re-introduce) a number of fan-favorite characters from DC Comics, we take a look back at five of the best films based on DC titles. For the record, we’re limiting this list to one release per character/team. So don’t expect to see numerous entries based on the Man of Steel or the Dark Knight popping up here.

Superman: The Movie (1978)

The true grandfather of the modern superhero film, Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie took a (at the time) huge risk in treating the source material with a certain amount of reverence. Up until that point, the most high-profile DC Comics film was the big-screen spin-off based on the 1960s Batman TV show, and the fact that a then-unknown Christopher Reeve was in the title role only added to the film’s pressure to prove that superheroes can become blockbuster hits. Alas, Donner’s film convinced audiences that a man could fly and — bolstered by stars like Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman — legitimized the genre more than a decade before Tim Burton’s Batman would take comic book films a shade darker. By today’s standards, Superman: The Movie may seem quaint, but it marked a vital step in the evolution of modern cinema and set the stage for today’s superhero boom.