Superman has been voted the greatest superhero movie of all-time by Brits.

The classic 1978 flick starred Christopher Reeve as the man of steel and featured Gene Hackman as the villainous Lex Luthor, alongside the legendary Marlon Brando as Superman's dad, Jor-El.

It was a massive success upon its release bringing in $300 million at the box office and spawning several sequels.

Second spot was secured by The Dark Knight which featured Christian Bale as Batman and an Oscar-winning performance from the late Heath Ledger as the Joker.

Relative newcomer, Deadpool came third in the poll, while Tim Burton’s take on Batman came fourth and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, fifth.

The research of 1,000 UK adults was commissioned by Virgin Media.

The poll also found four in 10 Brits wish they were a superhero – that’s in excess of 26 million people.

Jeff Dodds, managing director of consumer at Virgin Media, said: “Superheroes have never been more popular and that’s certainly evident in the survey results.

“It’s remarkable just how many of us wish they could be a superhero – who wouldn’t want super powers?”

Avengers Assemble, Guardians of the Galaxy and the culmination of Jonathan Nolan’s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, finished sixth, seventh and eight respectively.

The first X-Men movie featuring Hugh Jackman’s debut as Wolverine rounded off the top 10 along with Iron Man which starred Robert Downey Jr.

The research also found Superman and Wonder Woman are the superheroes men and women respectively most want to be.

And invisibility is the superpower most Brits would like to have, followed by the ability to fly and power to time travel in joint-second place - along with super-healing in third.

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While it’s unlikely those polled will be battling intergalactic threats anytime soon, many have a definite opinion on what they’d wear in the event they miraculously develop superpowers.

Three in 10 would adorn a cape – a wardrobe staple for many a superhero – and 44 per cent would keep their identity hidden by wearing a mask.

Forty-five per cent would wear gloves, six in 10 would complement their costume with a pair of boots and 43 per cent plump for a tight fitting body suit.

Around two-thirds would top it off with a symbol – the most popular ones being a peace symbol, a star and a flag representing the country of their birth