Best Superhero Movie Directors' Debut Films - Collider

Many filmmakers have a signature style and/or theme that permeates the majority of their work. Guillermo del Toro explores the nature of monsters in his film - both literally and figuratively. Akira Kurosawa tackles matters of class, whether it was in feudal or modern Japan. Jordan Peele expertly blends horror with social commentary and looks to continue that trend with his third feature film Nope. Whether it's an indie feature or a big-budget blockbuster, those threads show up consistently - and nowhere is that true than the reign of superhero films.

Many comic book adaptations had borne the signature stamp of a director, from Sam Raimi's horror roots permeating his Spider-Man trilogy to James Gunn exploring the themes of family in Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad. And that extends to these seven directors, as their directorial debuts contain themes and elements that would extend to their entries in the world of capes and cowls.

Matt Reeves: Cloverfield (2008)

Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, and Michael Stahl-David in Cloverfield (2008) — Image via Paramount Pictures

Though Matt Reeves technically made his directorial debut with the romantic comedy The Pallbearer, Cloverfield marks his entry into the mainstream - and what an entry it was. Cloverfield focuses on a group of 20-somethings who are thrown into the middle of chaos when an alien monster starts destroying New York City. Rob (Michael Stahl-David), his girlfriend Beth (Odele Annable), and others must navigate the wreckage of New York while also dealing with the parasites that fall from its body.

Reeves has often included biblical allusions into his work and Cloverfield is no exception. The creature bears a striking similarity to the Leviathan from the Book of Job; the Leviathan is described as possessing with “bones are tubes of bronze" and "limbs like bars of iron" and the creature is able to shrug off military weapons and is even implied to have survived a nuclear bomb. The biblical allusions continue in War for the Planet of the Apes, with Caesar becoming a mythic figure in the vein of Jesus, and The Batman featuring a "death and rebirth" of sorts for Robert Pattinson's Dark Knight as he sheds his more vengeful persona and becomes a beacon of hope to Gotham City.

Jon Watts: Cop Car (2015)

Jon Watts delivered one of the most high-concept thrillers of the 2010s with Cop Car. The premise lives up to the film's name: best friends Travis (James Freedson-Jackson) and Harrison (Hays Wellford) find an abandoned cop car and take it for a joyride. Little do they know that the car belongs to a corrupt police sheriff Kretzer (Kevin Bacon) and that there's a man in the trunk. The film only continues to grow tenser as the boys attempt to stay one step ahead of Kretzer and various other obstacles.

This same sense of growth permeates Watts' Spider-Man film trilogy. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter Parker attempts to join the Avengers but soon decides to stick with being a "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man". Spider-Man: Far From Home finds him struggling to cement his place in the world after the death of his mentor Iron Man. And Spider-Man: No Way Home has him choosing to let Doctor Strange wipe the world's memories of him in order to protect his friends - the first truly adult choice this Spider-Man has made.

Joe and Anthony Russo: Welcome To Collinwood (2002)

When Joe and Anthony Russo were hand-picked to direct Captain America: The Winter Soldier, many pegged their work as producers and directors on Community as the perfect stepping stone to helm the Sentinel of Liberty's sequel. However, their debut film Welcome to Collinwood also proved to be an example of things to come. A remake of the Italian crime comedy Big Deal on Madonna Street, Collinwood features a collection of would-be thieves who attempt to pull off a "Bellini", aka a perfect heist. However, things keep going wrong as they attempt to pull off the Bellini.

Collinwood boasts an impressive ensemble, including Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy, Gabrielle Union and George Clooney (Clooney also produced the film with Steven Sodebergh). Similar ensembles populated the Russos' Marvel films, and they'll continue that trend with their upcoming Netflix film The Gray Man, which pits Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans, Captain America himself, against each other as a pair of dueling spies.

Ryan Coogler: Fruitvale Station (2013)

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For his debut film, Ryan Coogler came swinging out of the gate. Fruitvale Station is based on the last day of Oscar Grant III, who was detained and fatally shot. The film takes its time in humanizing Grant - he argues with his girlfriend, he goes to his mother's birthday party, and he's shown to have a solid connection with his daughter. This approach only makes Grant's final moments all the more tragic, as viewers get a sense of the life he led and could have continued to lead if he was still alive.

The film also marked the beginning of a partnership between Coogler and Michael B. Jordan, with Jordan starring in Coogler's next two films Creed and Black Panther. Much like Fruitvale, Panther chooses to humanize Jordan's Erik Killmonger - he's shown to carry grief and rage over the death of his father, and even if his methods are extreme his desires are utterly relatable. The final confrontation between Killmonger and T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is laced with Shakespearean-level drama and emotion, leading up to the moment where T'Challa carries Killmonger to the top of Wakanda to see the sunset.

James Gunn and Zack Snyder: Dawn of the Dead (2004)

dawn-of-the-dead-2004-social-feature — Image via Universal Pictures

At first glance, James Gunn and Zack Snyder couldn't be more different. Gunn's wild, often juvenile humor hides a huge beating heart, and Snyder's stylized imagery has split audiences down the middle. However, they both managed to pool their talents together for the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. Gunn's script mixed some deft humor with character development and bursts of zombie-laden action, and Snyder constantly found new ways to up the scare factor. Two words: zombie baby.

Both Gunn and Snyder took their respective talents to superhero films, and have returned to their roots with their most recent projects. The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker both feature similar action and a well-crafted ensemble that Gunn wrote for Dawn of the Dead, and Snyder called Army of the Dead a "spiritual sequel" to the remake.

Christopher Nolan: Following (1998)

following-christopher-nolan-movie — Image via Momentum Pictures

Christopher Nolan's star continues to shine bright, to the point where nearly everyone in Hollywood is signing on to his upcoming film Oppenheimer. But it wasn't always like this; he had to dip into his own funds to get his debut film Following onto the screen. And to save money, he would restrict himself to one or two takes. The end result is a gripping neo-noir that takes multiple twists and turns, resulting in the film's protagonist (Jeremy Theobald) taking a fall for murder. Perhaps Following's most ingenious plot device is the decision to tell the narrative out of order, building up to the grand reveal. Nolan has used this device for subsequent films, including Batman Begins; it's an inventive way of telling Bruce Wayne's origins and lends more weight to the Dark Knight.

Guillermo del Toro: Cronos (1993)

Guillermo del Toro was blending the macabre with the beautiful from the start of his film career, as the 1993 film Cronos contains a number of his trademark flourishes. Chief among them is the titular Cronos device - a mechanical scarab-shaped device that when injected into the bloodstream of Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi), grants strength and longevity but causes vampiric tendencies including drinking blood. Gris attempts to keep the device hidden from nefarious forces while also struggling with his bloodlust; this self-loathing seems to permeate most of del Toro's protagonists.

The film also marks the first time del Toro and Ron Perlman worked together. Perlman continues to play a role in del Toro's films, most notably Hellboy and its sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army. In both films, Hellboy grapples with the power the Right Hand of Doom gives him — and how that power could end the world. Yet he still manages to show off a human heart, particularly with his love for Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) and his father Trevor Bruttenholm (John Hurt).