After directing what some are already calling “the best superhero movie ever made,” Joss Whedon sat down to reveal the comic book movies that have earned his admiration.

Thanks to Forbes (via CBM) for the interview!

What, in your view, have been the great superhero movies?

I still think the first two “Spideys” were unmatched. I think they captured the comic and found some cinematic extensions of that that were purely cinematic. Again, I think “Watchmen” was slavishly adherent to the comic, and that sometimes is almost as bad as completely ignoring the comic and just using the title. I think “Batman Begins” is certainly my favorite Batman movie I’ve seen.

Huh, not “The Dark Knight”? Most people would say “The Dark Knight.”

“The Dark Knight,” for me, has the same problem that every other “Batman” movie has. It’s not about Batman. I think Heath Ledger is just phenomenal and the character of the Joker is beautifully written. He has a particular philosophy that he carries throughout the movie. He has one of the best bad guy schemes. Bad guy schemes are actually very hard to come up with. I love his movie, but I always feel like Batman gets short shrift. In “Batman Begins,” the pathological, unbalanced, needy, scary person in the movie is Batman. That’s what every “Batman” movie should be.

What do you think? What’s your favorite superhero movie?