OldBoy

I've been watching the Maguire Spider-Man movies and it has a distinct theme. Elfman does it again after Batman (1989). he has a knack for movie music, especially Tim Burton stuff. But, his 89 Batman is iconic and i think his 2002 Spider-Man is pretty good.

Anyway, The Holland Spider-Man movies have a good theme as well and i love Black Sabbath Iron Man. What Hans Zimmer did for Nolan Batman was great, almost iconic and i do love it. Actually Wonder Woman (2017) is great as well, but for my money The Avengers by Alan Silverstri gives me goosebumps every time. and now it's played sometimes with Marvel's logo as intro to other Marvel films. just great.

i did from Maguire Spider-Man as if you took Superman (1978) there would be no contest. nobody comes close to Williams. well maybe close, but never better. so basically the modern day films that have come out the past 20 years now.

What's your superhero favorite theme music?

d2cheer

I remember Superman (1978) not one other theme...so there you go.

The Cow

The Avengers might be the only I know since 2002.

GoldenJCJ

Obviously John Williams’ Superman theme is THE superhero theme that trumps them all…

…But to be quite honest, Hans Zimmer’s theme for Man of Steel is actually quite good. It can’t beat the original but it’s the best of the new batch of forgettable sameness over the last 20 years or so.

SmackDaddy

I mean, what is there other than Superman 78 and Batman 89? Now, I do really like Batman's theme from The Batman, but it's likely because I just saw it. I can't honestly think of any particular theme music from 2002 onward that stands out, but I do also really like Superman's theme from the Cavill movies.

Mike86

I can’t really think of many off hand if I’m honest. I like Zimmer’s themes for The Dark Knight Trilogy and Man of Steel. The theme for The Avengers is alright too.

Decker

I've listened to the soundtrack to The Batman a few times already and think it's magnificent.

Ash Ketchum

From 2009: My favorite superhero TV theme song:

Maxflier

I can’t say any of the modern themes are memorable unlike the iconic ones like Burton’s Batman and Williams’ Superman

Kurt D

In fact the answer is Batdance from '89.

OldBoy

I can’t believe more don’t know more of current themes. Dark Knight trilogy certainly has got to be forerunner, but I’m always tuned to soundtrack too while watching movie. Music is so important. There are themes for every movie, I believe. Some more distinct, obviously, but guess not. Surprised more not more in tuned.

d2cheer

That should tell you something...

Kurt D

Exactly, the current themes just aren't that memorable.

Michael Corvin

Hands down, Wonder Woman. Everyone else is fighting for a very distant second place.

Wolf359

There's not a single super hero theme in decades that can pass the whistle/hum test. It doesn't make it bad music but it's the immediate, catchy memorability that is missing. Williams Superman and Elfman Batman will probably never be topped. The closest is probably Silvestri Avengers or Captain America.

TGM

the Avengers theme is pretty fucking good

bchbdaddy

I’ve seen all the dc movies multiple times, and only could spot Wonder Woman’s theme outside of the films. Seen most of the Marvel movies once and can’t remember any music (or story).

So the answer is Batman 89

Wolf359

Kurt D

I just started watching The Batman animated series, so my honest answer will be that theme song, written and performed by The Edge, evocative and very memorable

MLBFan24

Probably “Dark Knight” and “Captain America-Winter Soldier” scores are my favorite.

Haven’t listened to Dark Knight score in a long time. Thank you thread for the reminder.

Hokeyboy

Wonder Woman probably has the most memorable, followed by The Avengers. Although I'm really liking The Batman soundtrack quite a bit too. I've never dug most of Hans Zimmer's work. His heavy reliance on repeating an atonal 5-6 note motif, with droning orchestrations weaving in and out of it, gets really repetitive.

Michael Corvin

Yeah, Avengers is probably a pretty solid second, but I still couldn't hum a few bars if I tried. Just mentioning Wonder Woman brings the theme to mind.

William's and Elfman's themes are still the gold standard though and are as tied to the characters as some of their comic book traits.

jjcool

This is the only one post 2000 theme that I can remember off the top of my head. '78 Superman and '89 Batman are the two that stick out the most for me all time, though.

tanman

Why the arbitrary dates of 2002 to now?

I definitely have to say that no theme gets me so pumped up like Alan Silvestri's Avengers theme song. The only problem with that is that it's just so short. Just a few bars of music. Granted it's used to incredible effect but the rest of the MCU soundtrack is really largely forgettable. Sure there's some standouts like Black Panther's theme but largely it's just background music.

Now DC spanks all sorts of ass when it comes to superhero theme music. Of course there's John Williams Superman and Danny Elfman's Batman that are some of the best and most recognizable leitmotifs in cinema history. While less of a distinct theme The Dark Knights soundtrack is one of the best. Hans Zimmer and James Howard did incredible work and brought the superhero theme into the modern world. Zimmer continued that with Man of Steel. Not easy to follow up John Williams score but I think it was still incredibly memorable in it's own right. IMO the current most kick ass theme song has to be Rubert Gregson-Willam's (who the hell is this guy anyways?) Wonder Woman theme song. That moment in Batman vs Superman when Wonder Woman makes her cinematic debut with that theme was such a kick ass moment in superhero cinema. That's the way you introduce a goddess.

Also have to give a shout out to Michael Giacchino's Incredibles theme song and soundtrack. So retro. So jazzy. So cool. The 100 mile dash is one of my favorite superhero sequences and it has a lot to do with the soundtrack.

KurtD already mentioned it but I think some of the absolute best superhero theme songs exist in the small screen and especially the Timmverse.

Batman the Animated Series opening sequence just can't be topped in terms of style and musicality. Apparently Danny Elfman did the opening sequence music.
Shirley Walker did the opener for The Superman Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, The Justice League, JLU and Batman Beyond. All absolutely kick ass theme music with Batman Beyond especially being absolutely electric.
Of course you can't talk about 90's superhero animated theme songs without mentioning Ron Wasserman's iconic X-Men theme song.


Unfortunately it seems like the trend is to move away from leitmotifs in soundtracks. Even listening to John William's own Star Wars soundtrack and all of his themes in the OT are instantly recognizable and timeless. Even the PT has some recognizable themes. But the ST doesn't really have any recognizable leitmotifs. Maybe Rey's theme but that was really only in TFA.

tanman

I've been watching this YouTube channel that does these mashups of soundtracks. It's pretty cool he does a pretty good job combining them.