Top 15 Movie Superhero Beards Ranked

Find out which superhero has the best beard. Who do you think will be number one?

Throughout history attitudes about beards have varied widely. Whether people love them or hate them has a lot to do with where and when the person lives. Some religions (like as Islam and Sikhism) consider a full beard a requirement. Some cultures look down on a beard as showing the man to be savage or uncivilized. Others see a beard as a sign of a man's virility, wisdom, strength, sexual prowess.

Superheroes with beards are relatively rare in movies mainly because they contradict the idea of superheroes being good and pure. But occasionally one pops out with a truly powerful set of whiskers.

Love them or hate them. Here are the manliest chin whiskers in the comic book movies.

15. Bucky Barnes

Whether you call him "Winter Soldier", "White Wolf" or just Bucky the man sports some serious five o'clock shadow. When he was a soldier he was clean shaven, but when he returns as the Russian Assasin he's got some scruff. It sends the message that he's tortured. So tortured he can't bother to shave every day.

He grew it out for Infinity War, so we'll probably see more of it in the Falcon and Winter Solider series coming to Disney+.

​14.​ Batman

Batman doesn’t have a beard in the comics. When Bruce Wayne is traveling the world he grows out a beard so he’s not so easy to spot. He blends in so well he’s even arrested for stealing from his own company. Once he comes back to Gotham he shaves it off. All the better to be a billionaire playboy.

But the beard came back in a goatee after his self-imposed exile at the beginning of The Dark Knight Rises. Then he becomes the clean-shaven hero Gotham needs and not the one they deserve.

​13.​ Star-Lord

Peter Quill grows up in space and they have a ton of strange looks. As an adult, Chris Pratt gives him a set of righteous mutton chops and a sparse goatee. He’s such a maverick. With his light hair, it’s hard to make out. 

In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, he grows a thicker one. It’s OK. The comic version of Quill didn't have a beard but recently grew one after the first movie opened.

​12.​ Superman

Christopher Reeve and every other Superman actor have been cleanly shaven. But in Man of Steel, when Clark Kent is taking a “bye-year” off to travel the world, Henry Cavill grows out a beard.

Superman has always been clean-shaven, but he did grow a beard in the comics. He wore a fake beard in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #23 (1957) and a huge one in Superman: At Earth's End (1995). Since it's too glorious to miss I'm adding it below.

It’s a good looking beard and matches Cavill's hairy chest. The less said about his needlessly hairless lip in Justice League the better.

​11.​ Doctor Strange

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch)

For the movie Doctor Strange, Benedict Cumberbatch grows out a beard in his search for the secrets of the universe. He shaves it into a neat goatee when he returns and becomes the protector of our world. It's nicely shaped and rivals Tony Stark with its precision, but lacks the sense of smarmy style that goes with it. It does give Strange the sense of world-weariness that the character demands.

In the comics, Doctor Stephen Strange has a Fu Manchu, but he’s occasionally grown it into a big beard.

10.​ M' Baku

M’Baku starts out as a villain but quickly becomes a hero at the end of Black Panther. In the comics, M’ Baku is a cleanly shaved brother with a gorilla on his head. For the movie, Winston Duke ditches the unintentionally racist “Man-Ape” designation and gorilla head but grows a fabulous beard.

“He’s such a Jabari man,” Duke explained to Vanity Fair. “He’s got the full beard, strong hair, very present. All these things. That’s a Jabari warrior right there.”

In Infinity War Duke takes his beard to the next level and cuts the edges to match his hairstyle.

9.​ Nick Fury

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) - Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson)

Nick Fury starts out in the comics as a cleanly shaved white guy. But in the alternate comic universe comic Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #5 (2001) Fury is a black man that happens to look like Samuel L. Jackson. The movie takes inspiration from the comics and cast the actual Samuel L. Jackson.

It’s an amazing beard. It also looks a little bushier in Spider-Man: Far from Home.

​8.​ Falcon

When Sam Wilson shows up in Captain America: The Winter Soldier he’s got a beautiful goatee that looks amazing with his Falcon goggles. It’s pencil thin and neatly trimmed. For Infinity War he sports a short boxed beard with sharp, clean edges.

The comic version of Sam Wilson is cleanly shaven most of the time but does have a goatee on occasion.

​7.​ Thor

Thor: The Dark World (2013) - Thor (Chris Hemsworth)

When Thor starts out in the comics he's a clean-shaven superhero with long hair. But in the Ultimate alternative Marvel universe, he’s a long haired bearded barbarian. The movie takes inspiration from that. Chris Hemsworth has a close cut beard. 

That is until the guilt from Infinity War drives him on a downward spiral of depression. He gains
weight and grows a long unkempt beard.

It gets neatly braided after he becomes Thor again. He trims it short later on. All the beards are pretty impressive.

​6.​ Deadshot

Suicide Squad (2016) - Flloyd Lawson / Deadshot (Will Smith)

Will Smith played Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot in Suicide Squad. When Smith was planning out his look for his first super-villain turned superhero role he grew out a thick goatee.

It’s a good look and really gives his edgy character some attitude and the feel of a wild west gunslinger. Especially since Smith still looks like a teenage Fresh Prince. Black don't crack.

​5.​ Captain America

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - Steve Rogers / Captain America (Chris Evans)

Chris Evans is the overgrown boy scout of the Marvel Universe. So it makes sense that he starts out righteous and clean-shaven. After Civil War Steve takes some time off to do some soul-searching. Along the way, he grows out an amazing beard.

"He's such a monastic character and he has such a quotidian approach to his existence," Evans said about his beard. "I imagine when he wakes up in the morning, there is a routine. Part of that is in his nature, part of that is just to keep his sanity, and that all kind of goes out the window a little bit after (2016's Captain America: Civil War). You see a guy who doesn't stop caring but just puts down some of that obligation."

Sadly the beard disappeared in Endgame.

​4.​ Aquaman

Jason Momoa rocked the Internet by shaving off his trademark beard. He did it to promote drinking water from recyclable aluminum cans rather than plastic bottles. "It's just water, but I feel good about it because I know I'm going to recycle this, and I know that we can recycle it,” he said. “This thing can be a can in 60 days for the rest of its life.”

Mamoa first grew the beard to play Kahl Drago on Game of Thrones back in 2011. He shaved it off after left the show that year but grew it back. When Zack Snyder cast him as Aquaman for Batman v Superman he’s got an amazing thick beard.

In the comics, Aquaman grows a beard and long hair, but he also has a hook for a left hand. The movies take inspiration for that look. No word on if we’ll see the hook anytime soon. But he promises to grow it back for Aquaman 2.

​3.​ Iron Man

Tony Stark has a goatee in the comics for a while but later just shaved it to a mustache. Starting in the first Iron Man (2008) movie Robert Downey Jr. sports an elaborate shaped goatee with a barely connected mustache. For the first movie, Downey Jr. wore a fake beard but he grew it out for the sequels.

​2.​ Black Panther 

Chadwick Boseman grows a neat boxed beard to play the royal king T’Challa in Captain America: Civil War. It’s powerful and royal and the perfect look for the king of Wakanda.

Black Panther doesn’t usually have a beard in the comics. I imagine having facial hair under a mask would be insanely annoying but that gives him attitude.

​1.​ Wolverine

Wolverine is a very hairy man. In the comics, Logan sports big mutton chops that hint of whiskers. equal parts rebel and sophistication. For the movies, Hugh Jackman grows a set of larger and larger chops until they spout into a beard that almost meets on his chin.

It’s hard to find someone who crafts his beard as much as Wolverine. It must take him hours every day. But the results are worth it.

Which superhero has the best beard? Let us know in the comments below!
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