This year will go down as the greatest ever for fans of the superhero movie.

Used to those of us who have Batman memorabilia tucked away in our homes could only hope to catch a comic book inspired flick once every other summer, but 2008 has given us “The Dark Knight,” “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army,” “Hancock,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “Iron Man.”

Amazingly, there’s not a stinker in the bunch.

But of course there are degrees of greatness, and here’s a ranking of the five fanboy flicks that have graced the big screen - updated to include a midnight screening of the best of the bunch:

1. “The Dark Knight.” Brilliant, disturbing, exciting — “The Dark Knight” is the greatest film of its kind ever made and one that redefines the genre. I went in with unrealistic expectations and it still exceeded them. Chris Nolan has taken a comic and turned it into high art, giving us not just a magnificent superhero movie, but one that has a legitimate shot at earning Academy Award nominations.

The late Heath Ledger gives his finest performance as the Joker, creating the most malevolent villain this side of Anton Chigurh. He’s a lock for a Best Supporting Actor nomination.

At its core the movie is a gritty mob film as well as a dark psychological study of good and evil — and how sometimes there isn’t much difference in the two. It’s a motion picture that requires you to think hard just to keep up — and even then you’ll have to see it again.

It makes Batman Begins pale by comparison, and with the possible exception of “Spider-Man 2” that was the best superhero movie ever made — until now.

2. “Iron Man.” Action-packed without being mind-numbing, serious without taking itself too seriously, funny without being campy, Jon Favreau’s celluloid tribute to the Lead Head is great summer entertainment.

Robert Downey Jr. was born to play Tony Stark/Iron Man, and the supporting cast is spot-on.

This one has me wishing they’d make the sequel now.

3. “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.” Guillermo de Toro proved to be a master of the weird with Pan’s Labyrinth, and his second go round with Big Red is far better than the first — and the original Hellboy was underrated.

This one goes heavy on creepy critters and Ron Perlman again is outstanding in the lead role. While Hellboy 2 is more of a horror-comedy than superhero movie, it’s one that’ll keep you entertained from wire-to-wire.

4. “The Incredible Hulk.” A relaunch of the franchise, no time is wasted on the origin story — we get all that during the opening credits, which is to the credit of director Louis Leterrier.

Edward Norton, one of our finest actors, plays it straight as Bruce Banner, and the computer generated Hulk is much less cartoonish and much more, well, Hulk-like than Ang Lee’s creation a couple of years ago.

Plus we get to hear the big guy say, “Hulk Smash!”

It pales in comparison to “Iron Man” and “Hellboy 2” (and I’m sure “The Dark Knight”), but it’s still worth a visit to the cineplex.

5. “Hancock.” Who doesn’t like Will Smith? Sure, “Hancock” raises a whole lot more questions than it answers and has gaping plot holes, but what were you expecting — “Godfather: Part 2”?

Jason Bateman is well cast as a big-hearted, down-on-his look PR guy and Charlize Theron is top-notch (and smokin’ hot) in a role that offers an unexpected twist.

Not great by any means but still a lot of fun. And believe it or not, it’s even kinda sweet.