It’s the time that every Marvel comics fan has been waiting for as Iron Man 2 is due to hit our screens on Thursday.

With his revelation that he is indeed Iron Man at the end of the last film, Tony Stark (played splendidly by Robert Downey, Jr.) is now under intense pressure from everyone to share his technology with the military. However, the billionaire inventor refuse to submit due to fears the information may fall into the wrong hands.

In this film, he is set to meet new alliances and nemeses.

While waiting for Iron Man 2 to arrive in our cinemas, here’s a look at other notable superhero films:

X-Men (2000)

This was one of the first films that kick-started the hero craze. One the few things I had fell in love with while watching this film is the strong female characters (save for cardboard-like Storm) that they have tried to develop within the series. Director, Bryan Singer made a great effort with this first film to project the conflict faced by Wolverine and Rogue in gaining acceptance and staving off the discrimination from non-mutants. It could have been a great trilogy if only Singer did not leave before the third film…

Spider-man (2002)

I lost count the number of times I watched the first instalment no thanks to cable TV’s knack for repetition. In my (at that time) teenage perspective, no nerd was ever so sexy or muscular. The first instalment in the Spider-man trilogy had nearly everything to make it great (not as good as the first in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy but well… close). It had right amount of romance, suspense, mystery and most importantly, action to sustain the whole story. Nothing was overdone.

The Dark Knight (2008)

One word – ‘Brilliant’. If I had to describe it in one word, that just about covers everything. A film that is hauntingly dark (I’m not just talking about the film’s settings) and beautiful at the same time, surpassing its prequel in every way. I don’t know about anyone else but if there is one thing I would always remember, it’s The Joker.

I remember feeling I could sense a small jolt of fear cursing through my body at the sight of that evil glint in Joker’s eyes. That face and that sneer; I bet anyone who’s watched Heath Ledger’s performance here would agree that he’s got that crazed look down to a T. If Jack Nicholson’s Joker defined Tim Burton’s Batman (1989), Ledger’s Joker makes Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.

Iron Man (2008)

I didn’t really like the idea of Iron Man as much as the other superheroes here at first but, I’m happy to say I was proven wrong. I foolishly thought he was not as ‘special’ because he: a) Did not suffer from a traumatic childhood; b) Was not bitten by a genetically-engineered arthropod, insect, animal or half-human; c) Was not from another planet and so on.

As I was saying, Iron Man did have something going for it - Robert Downey, Jr. I never thought he could be a superhero but he managed to pull it off. More than that, I also like the fact that the premise was close to reality and the comics’ theme of terrorism and corporate crimes.

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

After the ‘other’, forgettable Hulk film, I wondered if I should even bother with this reboot version. But I keep telling myself, “It’s Edward Norton!” - how wrong could it possibly go, right? As I hold that thought in my mind, I watched in satisfaction as this version had a tighter plotline, believable Hulk and a more formidable villain in which the green guy could actually go against. On second thought, if someone just throws everything out of the window and leave Edward Norton there, that would do just fine too …