Part of finishing off this list of 100 essential superhero movies is bringing in my audience, and so when I got down to the last 15-20 movies, I decided that I would let you decide. And what better than to reach out to other movie critics and reviewers to let them argue the case for a superhero movie that they are a fan of and at the bottom of the post, there is a poll where you can vote whether or not you agree if it should be included in the 100 Essential Superhero Movies list. But I didn’t want them to have all the fun so today I will be defending the case for the campy sci-fi classic Flash Gordon.

This is another one of those movies that is a little hard to classify it specifically as a “superhero” movie even though it is based on a comic book. But Flash Gordon is someone who is a regular person who is thrown into a very unusual situation filled with superhuman aliens even though they look just like humans. And once everything is said and done he becomes Flash! Aaaahhhh! Savior of the Universe! It’s a classic from many people’s memories even though it didn’t become nearly the classic that Star Wars did just a couple years earlier. The biggest support of this movie came just a couple years ago when Seth MacFarlane’s Ted made many references to the movie including having Sam Jones himself play a role.

The biggest high point in this movie is the extremely catchy music by Queen including the previously mentioned Flash theme, but even throughout the rest of the movie there’s plenty of moments of Queen greatness filled with guitar riffs and lightning strikes. And on top of that, there’s the great Max von Sydow playing the main villain Ming the Merciless. The rest of the movie is filled with very episodic fight scenes, sexual tension, and very lavish (yet low budget) costumes and sets. It’s a sci-fi epic that really sells the pulp sci-fi serials of the past just like the kind that also inspired Star Wars, even though this turned into a very different type of movie.

So do you agree with me? Disagree? Do you think that this is a classic movie from your youth but don’t feel that it’s enough of a superhero movie? Be sure to vote in the poll below and tell me whether or not you think that Flash Gordon is an essential superhero movie or if it’s just a cheesy sci-fi movie that should be left in the past. Until next time, this has been Bubbawheat for Flights, Tights, and Movie Nights.