Ten years ago, there were four comic book movies released (Blade II, Men in Black II, Road to Perdition, and Spider-Man). This year, there are six. With two titans clearly dominating the arena, it looks like the biggest year yet; quite possibly changing the face of such adaptations in future.

Regardless of such profound proclamations, I'm just looking for some good movies. So let's meet the heavyweights, and everyone else who's playing too.

GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE

UK Release Date: February 17th
Directors: Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
Cast: Nicholas Cage, Idris Elba, Ciaran Hinds, Anthony Head
Based On: Marvel Comics character created in 1972 by Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich and Mike Ploog
Plot: Johnny Blaze (Cage), the demonic Ghost Rider, must stop the Devil (Hinds) from taking human form.
Excitement Level: Nil. I don't read Ghost Rider comics, I didn't see the first movie, and the trailer for this one, while cool, did not have enough substance to change my mind about not seeing it.
Trailer

THE AVENGERS

UK Release Date: April 27th
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston
Based On: Marvel Comics team created in 1963 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Plot: To save the world from the evil god Loki (Hiddleston), secret agent Nick Fury (Jackson) assembles the world's mightiest superheroes to form a special team.
Excitement Level: Maximum. I can barely contain my excitement for Marvel's great gamble. It's been four years in the making, and whether it's awesome or terrible, it's sure to be fun to watch.
Trailer

MEN IN BLACK III

UK Release Date: May 25th
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Cast: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve, Jemaine Clement, Rip Torn
Based On: Aircel Comics series created in 1990 by Lowell Cunningham and Sandy Carruthers
Plot: To stop a time-travelling alien (Clement) from changing history, Agent J (Smith) journeys back to the 1960s and joins forces with a younger Agent K (Brolin).
Excitement Level: Medium. This one barely counts, since they've heavily deviated from the comic book, as I understand, but I'm including it. I liked the first movie a lot, and the second one had it's charms too. While I don't think anybody was screaming for a third, it looks like it'll be a lot of fun.
Trailer

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

UK Release Date: July 4th
Director: Marc Webb
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen
Based On: Marvel Comics character created in 1962 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Plot: Shy nerd Peter Parker (Garfield) finds himself bestowed with superhuman abilities following a unique spider bite, and becomes the hero Spider-Man, while dealing with various personal problems, including a giant humanoid lizard (Ifans).
Excitement Level: Medium. The first two Spidey movies were, appropriately, amazing, but I was ready to put this franchise to bed. However, X-Men: First Class taught me not to count my spider eggs before they hatch. Plus, Andrew Garfield's heartfelt speech at last year's San Diego Comic Con won me over.
Trailer

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

UK Release Date: July 20th
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman
Based On: DC Comics character created in 1939 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger
Plot: Batman (Bale) faces his greatest challenge yet: Genius terrorist Bane (Hardy) who has assembled an army to take over Gotham City and break the Dark Knight.
Excitement Level: Maximum. As excited as I am for the next Batman movie, I might be equally as excited for the next Christopher Nolan movie. The man does not know how to fail. It's sure to be a worthy finale.
Trailer

DREDD

UK Release Date: ??? (September 21st in the US)
Director: Pete Travis
Cast: Karl Urban, Lena Headey, Olivia Thrilby
Based On: 2000AD character created in 1977 by John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra and Pat Mills
Plot: In a fascistic future where law-enforcing "judges" are the ultimate authority, the stoic Judge Dredd (Urban) teams with his new partner to take down a powerful drug ring.
Excitement Level: Medium. Another character I have no interest in, comics-wise, nor have I seen the (poorly received) first movie. But this clean start does sound like my kinda action/sci-fi movie, so I'm in.
No trailer released at time of publication

Who knows how things will pan out, but I'm planning to see Marvel's The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises at least ten times a day. And we've got Man of Steel and, apparently, Iron Man 3 coming next year too. If the world doesn't end, that is.

Happy viewing!