1) Theme from Superman - John Williams.
How could this NOT be at the top of any list? It's ICONIC. Admit it, as soon as you read that, you could *hear* the early strains of the brass section building into that first crescendo. John set the bar so high with this one because, let's face it, he's John Williams. His scores instantly elevate whichever film they're in.
2) Theme from Batman (1989) - Danny Elfman
Once again, a modern classic that, despite there being multiple actors to wear the cowl, this score has carried over multiple times and it still holds up to carry the weight of a brooding Dark Knight. A vigilante set on fighting the criminal underworld his way.
This next selection had me hemming and hawing for a while before settling on one just ever so slightly over the other and I'll explain why shortly.
3) Theme from The Avengers - Alan Silvestri
From the strings at the start, almost marching towards the grander spectacle that's to come. This composition builds to this big brass fanfare and the entire orchestra following makes you want to cheer whatever's happening on screen.
4) Is She With You? - Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL
From the moment Diana Prince dropped into the middle of the battle between Superman and Batman vs. Doomsday, in an otherwise lackluster film, this aggressive tribal/metal fusion let you know this Amazonian meant business.
Which leaves me to explain the reason why my 3 and 4 picks were close but The Avengers edged out the Theramiscian. The Silvestri score is a filled out track that you could listen to from beginning to end and it feels like you're listening to a complete story. Meanwhile, the Wonder Woman theme, while aggressive, really doesn't go much deeper than that. Like, outside of that heavy tribal beat, I can't think of what the rest of the song sounds like. Like it's more of an excerpt, whereas the top 3 in this list are complete music beds.
And finally,
5) X-Men the Animated Series theme - Ron Wasserman
Oh yeah, out of left field, didn't see that one coming, did you? But as soon as you read that, the uptempo synthesizer theme started playing in your head, didn't it? It's a simple, repetitive track that builds right at the 60 second mark like any good TV series intro should.
Honorable Mentions:
Spiderman 1967 animated series -
Come on, who doesn't know this classic? It's such a classic, it's been riffed multiple times in the live action films.
Batman 1966 TV series -
The quick horns that lead right into a simple rhythmic bed manages to remain one of those songs that may never go away.
The Lonely Man - The Incredible Hulk TV series 1977 -
Didn't think I was going to overlook one of the most stirring yet, low-key themes that's ever been used for a superhero series. It's entirely at odds with a rampaging beast it represents but carries so much weight. The reluctant hero on the run, who distances himself from anyone he knows and loves out of fear over what his inner monster could do to destroy everything around him.
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