The 10 Highest Rated Episodes In Superhero Shows

Peacemaker Season 2, Episode 7, “Like a Keith in the Night,” boasts the highest rating of any episode. It’s easily one of the most anticipated episodes of the season, as it’s the first to arrive after Chris’s (John Cena) discovery that, in the alternate dimension he has fallen in love with, Nazis won World War II and rule the planet.

Hence, “Like a Keith in the Night” delivers an intense, wild confrontation between Chris and the Nazi-world alternate versions of his father (Robert Patrick) and brother (David Denman). However, it’s more than a final battle; it reveals just how different Chris’s family has become in the most unexpected timeline and delves even deeper into Chris’s trauma than before. Like The Suicide Squad (2021) and Creature Commandos (2024), it’s the perfect James Gunn-esque blend of humor, heart, tragic backstory, and explosive action.

Watchmen Season 1, Episode 8, “A God Walks into Abar,” is the highest-rated episode of the critically acclaimed show with an IMDb score of 9.4. The episode’s popularity is likely due to its portrayal of fan-favorite character Doctor Manhattan (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). Not only does it pull off one of the best twists of the series with the revelation that Cal Abar is actually a form of Doctor Manhattan, but it also pulls off one of the best superhero romances on the small screen.

“A God Walks into Abar” explains how Angela Abar (Regina King) and Doctor Manhattan fell in love and created the Cal Abar identity to help the God-like being blend in. However, because Doctor Manhattan experiences time nonlinearly, he knows the tragic end of their romance. Even so, he pursues love in an episode that beautifully captures both his essence and the nature of love.

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, Episode 4, “Gloves Off,” achieved the highest rating of the series with an IMDb score of 9.4. The explosive episode sees Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) step into the boxing ring. While it’s meant to be a trap for Bullseye (Wilson Bethel), the public fight is an exhilarating and terrifying testimony to Fisk’s sheer physical strength and imposing stature.

However, Daredevil (Charlie Cox) and Bullseye are the real showstoppers, both harboring rage that is nearly palpable as they confront each other over the past. As Bullseye tries to atone for his sins, Daredevil grapples with the concepts of mercy and forgiveness. The moral inner conflicts raging alongside the gritty, brutal physical battles are what set Daredevil: Born Again apart from most superhero shows.

Across seven seasons, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7, Episode 9, “As I Have Always Been” rose as the top-rated episode at a 9.5 IMDb rating. The episode takes on a Groundhog Day (1993) and Russian Doll (2019) vibe, as Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), Daisy Johnson (Chloe Bennett), and the team find themselves stuck in a time loop. Coulson and Johnson are the only ones who remember the events of each loop and struggle to save their team over and over again.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. does the time loop storyline exceptionally well. It crafts a compelling time loop without feeling repetitive, and takes full advantage of the setting to create humor and drama. While it comes with the typical absurdity and comedy of time loop tropes, the episode also gives its characters space for reflection, resulting in a few tear-jerker heart-to-hearts and a tragic hero’s death.

Superman & Lois’s series finale, Season 4, Episode 10, “It Went by So Fast,” boasts the show’s highest IMDb score of 9.5. The series finale delivers the action, capturing the final dramatic showdown between the Kent family, Doomsday (Paul Lazenby), and Lex Luthor (Michael Cudlitz). However, the best part of the episode is the quieter exploration of the next 32 years.

During the show, Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) becomes mortal, allowing Superman & Lois to do what few shows have done: capture the full life-and-death of Clark Kent. The ending will leave you in tears with a beautifully written monologue and montage that allows you to see yourself in Lois (Bitsie Tulloch) and Clark. No Superman project has quite so perfectly captured the humanity of Clark Kent and the love he shared with Lois.

Daredevil Season 3, Episode 13, “A New Napkin,” marked the highest-rated episode of the series with a 9.5. The high-stakes season finale sees Daredevil (Charlie Cox) prepared to defeat Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) by any means necessary. At the same time, a spiraling Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) also sets his sights on Fisk. It’s not surprising that Bullseye is a key component of both the highest-rated episodes of Daredevil and Daredevil: Born Again.

Nothing compares to the tension, stakes, and complex relationships between Bullseye, Daredevil, and Fisk. “A New Napkin” even soars above “Gloves Off” with its culmination in a brutal three-way brawl. However, it has a happier, more satisfying ending due to its season-finale status. Daredevil enjoys a triumph that will send chills down your spine and truly establishes him as the hero the comics envisioned him as: The Man Without Fear.

The Flash Season 1, Episode 15, “Out of Time,” stands as the long-running series’ top-rated episode with a score of 9.6. “Out of Time” offered one of the biggest early reveals of the show, unveiling its Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) twist, as well as featuring Barry Allen’s (Grant Gustin) discovery of his time-traveling capabilities. It’s the kind of episode that made me feel like The Flash was a PG version of The Boys or Invincible.

The Flash may not have been as gritty or gory as Invincible or The Boys, but it delivered nearly as shocking twists and surprises. From identity reveals to deaths to epic battles, “Out of Time” delivers some of the best action and shocking plot twists in the Arrowverse. “Out of Time” will have you on the edge of your seat with its nonstop superhero action, giving the episode a cinematic feel.

The Boys Season 3, Episode 6, “Herogasm,” is the show’s highest-rated episode to date with a score of 9.6. It was easily one of the most anticipated episodes of the series, as fans of the comics were interested in seeing whether it was even possible to translate the Herogasm comic book storyline into a TV-appropriate episode. However, “Herogasm” pulls off the story nicely, combining epic action and strong character development with the absurdity and horror of a superhero orgy.

The Boys episode features multiple high-stakes battles, as Butcher (Karl Urban), Hughie (Jack Quaid), and Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) take on Homelander (Antony Starr), and A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) faces off with Blue Hawk (Nick Wechsler). The only thing that could make the surprise twists and turns and cliffhangers better is The Boys doing what it does best and totally shocking and weirding out viewers with a gratuitous, violent, and absurd Supe sex party.

The MCU miniseries Loki ended on a strong note with its Season 2 finale, Episode 6, “Glorious Purpose,” which earned a 9.6 IMDb score. The finale sees Loki (Tom Hiddleston) scramble to find a solution to save the Sacred Timeline as the Temporal Loom nears destruction. Unable to find a solution, Loki makes the ultimate sacrifice, taking the branches of the timelines and forming them into a Yggdrasil while confining himself to oversee the timelines alone at the End of Time for eternity.

It’s a powerful, tragic ending that brings Loki’s incredible redemption arc to a satisfying end. After decades in the MCU and multiple failed evil schemes and attempts at redemption, Loki found his “glorious purpose.” It’s hard to imagine a better ending for the fan favorite Marvel God than “Glorious Purpose.”

Invincible Season 3, Episode 8, “I Thought You’d Never Shut Up,” achieved the series’ highest rating through its first Invincible (Steven Yeun) and Conquest (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) showdown. In one of the most gruesome, anxiety-inducing battles of the show, Invincible takes on the Viltrumite Conquest. The sheer scale of the destruction they cause to the world and one another is hard to look away from.

Still, “I Thought You’d Never Shut Up” balances the action and emotion, allowing the Guardians and Invincible time to grieve and have a touching funeral scene. However, it also maintains the realism, capturing the toll of the trauma on Invincible as he grapples with whether he must become a killer to prevent further devastation in the future. Bloody, brutal, and realistic, “I Thought You’d Never Shut Up” is Invincible at its best.