Top 10 WTF Superhero Movie Rip-Offs

Top 10 Funniest Superhero Movie Rip Offs

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Funniest Superhero Movie Rip Offs.

For this list, we’ll be looking at movies that attempt to replicate prominent caped crusaders and their films, but miss the mark with hilarious effect.

What’s your favorite Superhero knock off? Let us know any we’ve missed in the comments!

#10: “Thunderstorm: Return of Thor” (2011)

Around the release of Marvel’s Thor in 2011, director Brett Kelly decided to mix Iron Man’s costume with Thor’s powers. This birthed what looks like a student film where they just found out how to use Adobe After Effects. Some religious zealots try to bring Hel, the Norse god of death, to Earth. Grant Farrel, a descendant of Thor, has to take them down. And what results is some of the most hilariously abysmal acting in all of Superhero rip offs. Chris Hemsworth’s crown as everyone’s favourite god of thunder is safe.

#9: “Rise of the Black Bat” (2012)

Director Brett Kelly strikes again! This time it was to ride the hype of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises”. The mockbuster follows District Attorney Tony Quinn, who can only see at night following surgery on his damaged eyes. This results in him becoming the Black Bat to fight the city's criminal underworld. Reviews have criticised this hero as a poor mashup of Daredevil and Batman. But you may be surprised to learn that this character was actually published before both. That doesn’t mean however that this movie comes close to other adaptations. From poor special effects and a royalty-free soundtrack, to an uncomfortably long scene in what might be a strip club?, this attempt at an edgy comic book movie is farcical and cringe worthy.

#8: “La Mujer Murciélago” (1968)

Batman has a Maxican counterpart! Only she’s a Secret Agent, investigator, and Pro-Wrestler.
In this unofficial adaptation of the ace detective, Maura Monti stars as the Bat-Woman as she investigates an evil scientist who’s kidnapping pro-wrestlers to make an evil Gill Man. Yes it’s as ridiculous as it sounds. The movie draws huge similarities in costumes and tone to the 1966 Adam West TV Show. What we get is a somewhat competent and self-aware movie – an enjoyable watch, even if DC didn’t get any kickback from the rights to the character.

#7: “Avenger Grimm” (2015)

The concept of a grittier version of fairy tale characters is great on paper, but production company The Asylum have never been fussy on execution. Much like Marvel’s Avengers, popular fairy tale characters Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Repunzel, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella team up to repel invaders. To our delight, the acting is stale, stunt doubles incredibly noticeable, and “The Incredible Hulk” actor Lou Ferrigno makes a fun appearance as Iron Jon. The film spawned a sequel called “Time Wars”, as well as a spin-off “Sinister Squad”, ripping off DC’s “Suicide Squad”. Talk about playing all the angles!

#6: “Iron Hero” (aka “Metal Man) (2008)

Mockbuster veterans TomCat Films are back with this MCU lookalike, Metal Man.
Our hero, Kyle Finn, gets stuck in a combat robot suit, and seeks revenge on the goons who killed his family. But that’s only when the movie decides it wants to make sense; sometimes even the film forgets where it’s going. The continuity in this film is so inconsistent, it’s difficult to follow. And while all of this Bargain Bin Avenger’s powers may be difficult to discern, his ability to kick ass is never in question. With out of focus shots, horrendous audio glitches, cartoonish special effects and stupendously bad acting, this slapped together film would be painful to watch if it wasn’t so bad, it’s good.

#5: “3 Dev Adam” (aka “Three Mighty Men”) (1973)

“Three Mighty Men”? More like three mighty copyright infringements! Faced with a crime wave, Istanbul police call in two well-known heroes to help. Look familiar? That’s right: Captain America and Mexican wrestler El Santo. The leader of the criminals is none other than Spider-Man – a homicidal version of the hero who takes care of business with his switchblade rather than traditional superpowers. The film jumps randomly from murders to … adult content … with no explanation, confusing you every step of the way! This flick is so surreal, it’s hard to believe it exists.

#4: “Almighty Thor” (2011)

The Asylum are notorious for creating films that ride on the coat-tail of higher budget movies, just like their “Avengers Grimm” earlier in this list. But this film hasn’t nearly got as creative a premise. After an attack on Asgard, Thor is tasked with retrieving the Hammer of Invincibility, which supposedly means the wielder can never be beaten. However, everyone who uses the hammer ends up defeated, and that plot hole isn’t even the worst part. Horrible CGI monsters, cliche writing, and surprisingly hilarious deliveries makes this film more a comedy than an action fantasy movie.

#3: “Dariya Dil” (1988)

Little did you know that the greatest DC Marvel Crossover was a Bollywood musical! Mind you, Superman and Spider-Man aren’t actually the focus of the film. “Dariya Dil”, meaning “Generous Heart”, just has two of its characters dress up as the costumed heroes for a musical number. The movie is a family drama about a miserly industrialist. But it’s this one scene that projected the film to the internet meme-dome and solidified it as one of the most memorable and funniest live-action superhero adaptations ever. A Superman - Spider-Man romance? Hey, there’s definitely chemistry there!

#2: “The Amazing Bulk” (2012)

Special effects are an active part of modern day movie making. This feature film is what happens when you don’t have the budget to follow through. Henry Howard is a young scientist working for the military who experiments on himself with his own serum. The serum transforms him into a purple monster who roams around the city butt-naked wreaking havoc. With half of the film being stock footage, and the rest poorly imposed actors on 3D environments, you feel like you’re in a fever dream. It’s hard not to draw comparisons with Marvel’s big green dude, with the plot and characters heavily inspired by the Incredible Hulk. But what puts this film on the map for us, is the unironic use of comic sans.

#1: “Italian Spiderman” (2007)

On the heels of Sam Raimi’s trilogy of wallcrawler films, another Spiderman movie was released. But the Australian parody film “Italian Spiderman” had the webslinger rocking a mustache and a shotgun. As he saves the world from criminal mastermind, Captain Maximum, this version of the hero acts more like a costumed James Bond in a surreal self-aware action flick. He beats crocodile-human hybrids with telephones, teleports around to beat up misogynists, and summons a penguin army to defeat his enemies. This film may have begun as a Spider-man rip off, but becomes a whole new funny and memorable experience by the end.