If the daily dose of global warming isn?t a sure-fire indicator, the tidal wave of comic book-based superhero movies hitting theaters surely tells us that we?re smack in the middle of the dog days of summer.

As we come to the 10th anniversary of Airlock Alpha, I thought we would celebrate by looking at the 10 best comic book hero movies in the past decade.

Now, in anticipation of a flood of ?You forgots,? I have eliminated movies based on one-shot graphic novels (such as ?V for Vendetta? and ?300?), and you will never see me list ?Sin City? in any ?Best of? categories, unless it?s the ?Best of Misogynistic Crap? list. Sorry, guys, but I just don?t swing that way!

The following list is in chronological order. I refuse to choose which one is the bestest of them all, because I value my life!

1. ?X-Men? (2000) -- I have to admit, I did not grow up reading X-Men comics. While they debuted when I was a small child, they weren?t as popular as Superman, Batman or Spider-Man. My oldest son, however, read them voraciously, and knew the X-mythology inside and out.

It was clear, however, that while DC comic heroes represented ideals for people to look up to, Marvel heroes represented the everyday life struggles of anyone who is ?different.? People could identify with them. If it wasn?t that aspect of the movie that was appealing, then it was the presence of Hugh Jackman.

2. ?Spider-Man? (2002) -- Who can?t identify with the smart geeky guy suffering from the angst of unrequited love, who gets bullied all the time, and then suddenly gets cool super powers? It?s the biggest ?I?ll show them all? of them all. Plus, there?s web-slinging action and people writing cartoon songs about you.

?Spider-Man 2? was nearly as good, complete with Doc Oc, and a killer train sequence.

3. ?X-2? (2003) -- All the greatness of the first movie, but in a better story. My favorite line in the movie: ?Have you tried not being a mutant??

4. ?Hellboy? (2004) -- If the makeup, art design and special effects don?t win you over, the snarky banter and fighting off scary, slimy creatures while holding a box of kittens will at least tickle your innards. ?Hellboy 2? was equally as good, looking much like a hybrid between ?Indiana Jones? and ?Star Wars? movies, but with a big red guy and a skinny blue guy in the lead.

5. ?Batman Begins? (2005) -- So that's how Batman got all that cool stuff! (Still, Katie Holmes was a little too pretty and syrupy to play the tough Rachel Dawes, and represented the biggest black hole in the movie, much as Kate Bosworth did as Lois Lane in ?Superman Begins.? There was too much pretty, too little character.)

6. ?Fantastic Four? (2005) -- A lot of critics didn?t like this movie, largely because the lighter tone in comparison to other Marvel movies made it seem less substantial. It was precisely because of the less weighty material that I liked this movie.

It was fun, and funny. It was a nice way to spend an afternoon in air-conditioning with the kids.

It?s one of those movies you can watch over and over again, because it?s not tedious or painful. As much as I liked ?Batman Begins,? it was so dark and somber, I couldn?t watch it more than once. ?Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer? was equally good, but more compelling, because Silver Surfer is just plain cool.

7. ?Superman Returns? (2006) -- While the story could have been more inspired, there was something tear-worthy about seeing the big guy with the underwear over his tights. It was daring to give Supes a son in this movie, as it moved the Man-of-Steel mythology forward after being stuck in neutral since the Great Depression.

While it didn?t give Brandon Routh a whole lot of acting to do, and Lois Lane was some dolly doppleganger whose origins must reside in Candyland, it set the stage for (hopefully) more Superman movies.

8. ?Iron Man? (2008) -- When this movie started, I thought I was going to hate it. After all, it was glorifying an arms dealer.

But the story drew me in, and it just got better and better as it progressed.

The arms dealer, oblivious to what he represented, got a look at the consequences of his dealings, and developed principles and a conscience. And a really cool, high-tech iron costume that occasionally slammed him into a wall. I always thought ?Iron Man? comics were boring. The movie is not.

9. ?The Incredible Hulk? (2008) -- A non-sequel to and better than its predecessor, the 2003 movie, ?The Hulk,? this movie did a beautiful job of merging the comic book mythology with the premise of the 1970s TV series. There was the poignant TV theme song; the scene of Banner watching ?The Courtship of Eddie?s Father,? making sure that the late Bill Bixby got acknowledged in the movie; the appearance of Lou Ferrigno, once again as a security guard; and the line ?You wouldn?t like me when I?m angry.?

I enjoyed Ed Norton as Bruce Banner more so than Eric Bana. Ed Norton is more of an ?every man,? making it easier to identify with him and his plight than the somewhat prettier Bana. Liv Tyler also seemed to have more spark than Jennifer Connolly in the role of Betty Ross.

10. ?The Dark Knight? (2008) -- Better in many ways than ?Batman Begins,? this engrossing movie has one thing no other movie will ever have. Heath Ledger?s last completed performance in a movie ? and this one is Oscar-worthy.

Unlike Jack Nicholson?s hilariously demented Joker, Ledger?s Joker is genuinely frightening.

There were plenty of good performances in this film, and some welcome improvements (such as Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes ? I want her to be Lois Lane, too), but Ledger was brilliant, and truly disturbing, in the role.

Another thing I found intriguing about the movie is that there were a number of sci-fi TV actors in supporting roles, including Nestor Carbonell (?Lost?), Anthony Michael Hall (?The Dead Zone?), Keith Szarabajka (?Angel?) and Eric Roberts (?Heroes?).

This is my list, with extras thrown in there for good measure. Which comic book hero movies of the past decade (or maybe ever) would you include on your list?

Ten Forward is a monthly column leading up to Airlock Alpha's 10th anniversary on Aug. 13. It is written by Robin Brownfield, a staff writer with Airlock Alpha, who lives in New Jersey. She can be reached at rbrownfield@airlockalpha.com.