4) Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Pfeiffer’s turn as Catwoman is a difficult one to place on this list. Fans of Tim Burton’s Batman movies swear by her as one of the best Dark Knight villains put to film, but arguably her turn as Selina Kyle doesn’t have as much widespread recognition as it deserves.
In contrast to the sultry, in-control women played by Julie Newmar in Batman ’66 or Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises, Pfeiffer goes in a completely different direction. Her Catwoman is as sexy and kickass as the character always is on the outside, but underneath the mask she’s a woman split right down the centre; someone desperately trying to hang on to her rapidly fracturing sanity.
It’s a breathtaking, hugely charismatic performance and totally steals 1992’s Batman Returns away from her incredibly talented male co-stars Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and even Christopher Walken. Until recent years brought us the likes of Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Pfeiffer’s Catwoman was easily the best female performance in a superhero movie.
Let’s hope the actress delivers another star turn when she features as Janet Van Dyne in Ant-Man and the Wasp.