Super, Scary, Mighty, & More: Best Geeky Releases of 2025

Every year brings us new and exciting media to keep us occupied, entertained, and involved in the pop culture landscape. From January to December, geeks are sitting down with television, movies, books, games, and more. Every month, we find new things to love and new fandoms to explore, creating communities and connecting with fellow fans around the world.

In 2025, writers, studios, directors, and artists — and all the teams and countless names on the credits deserving our infinite praise — gave us so much content to adore. But can you help us decide the absolute best geeky release of the year? Make your pick in our poll, then find out why these particular titles made our list below.

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The Mighty Nein Season 1

Adapted from Critical Role Campaign 2, The Mighty Nein took viewers on a high-stakes, heartfelt adventure. Combining gorgeous art and animation, plus in-depth fantasy storytelling, the animated series delivered a debut season worthy of immense praise. We’re all looking forward to season 2, slated for release sometime in 2026. In the meantime, if you’re hungry for more Mighty Nein, make sure to check out the OG podcast.

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IT: Welcome to Derry

A prequel to the Andy Muschietti’s IT films, Welcome to Derry expertly blended fantasy and fiction, horror and comedy. For super Stephen King fans, it also references additional projects such as The Shining and even Shawshank Prison. But Welcome to Derry was primarily so good because it never pulled its punches with the violence or political commentary. The series also included plenty of Emmy-deserving performances; the Academy, can you hear us?

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Superman

Super hero fatigue is so real but James Gunn’s Superman was a refreshing addition to the genre. Earnest in its optimism, but never taking itself too seriously, Superman truly shined with its well-rounded characters (finally, a Lois Lane who wasn’t just a flat love interest!) and well-paced, laugh-out-loud story beats. And we have to give a special shoutout to Mr. Terrific’s every line and appearance. He was, well — he was terrific.

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Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Whatever Hideo Kojima is putting out, we’re picking up. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach was a bold and surreal sequel to the industry-changing original. Taking players over sprawling landscapes and through mind-boggling boss fights, the video game featured weeks’ — if not months’ — worth of gameplay and once again tested the limits of what we consider possible via the gaming art form.

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Sunrise on the Reaping

Decades after astounding the world with The Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins returned with prequel books. The YA dystopian thrillers made huge waves on bookshelves, and the first, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, was already adapted onscreen by director Francis Lawrence. Sunrise on the Reaping follows fan-favorite character Haymitch Abernathy in his deadly, disastrous Quarter Quell — and it was a wild ride from the first page to the last.

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Fallout Season 2

Fallout season 1 was a total blast. Season 2, releasing in the last month of 2025 and into the new year, gets down and dirty in the politics of the place. Based on a video game series, Fallout criticizes capitalism, greed, and the commodification of humanity. So far, each episode is a strong testament to those themes, especially considering the wide range of corrupt corporations and devious technology in the series.

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The Cartoonists Club

From powerhouse duo Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud comes The Cartoonists Club — a tale of identity, friendship, and shared purpose. Colorful and endearing, this graphic novel showed us exactly why kids are drawn (pun intended) to making art. And it showed us how we often cannot create our stories in a bubble; that is, we need supporters, teammates, and all kinds of talent by our side in order to produce anything truly meaningful.

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Exquisite Corpses

The Purge meets Battle Royale in this thrilling indie comic book by writer James Tynion IV and artist Michael Walsh. Set on Halloween night, Exquisite Corpses #1 delivered a brutal and bloody first issue. The limited series continued with the kinds of glorious, gory twists and turns that propelled Tynion to such fame. Surprising, fast-paced, and beautifully illustrated, this is a run you do not want to miss.

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Frankenstein

The sun is life, and GDT-led horror is life. Frankenstein was a visual and intellectual treat. Part film and part slow-walk-through-an-art-gallery, Guillermo del Toro’s latest gothic masterpiece combined everything he loved into a single film. From real sets to incredible costuming and creature makeup, it was also a love letter to practical effects and hands-on filmmaking in an industry that continues to push for soulless, artificial forms of creation.

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The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Marvel’s caring, carefully constructed vintage release impressed audiences everywhere with its humor and heart. Because, in the wake of interstellar stakes and cosmic threats, The Fantastic Four: First Steps actually grounded its story in the intimacy of family. Yes, the main villain was an outer space entity/god. But the core of the story centered around four family members — and their newest addition. Fans can hardly wait to revisit this heartwarming dynamic in Avengers: Doomsday.

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Sinners

Ryan Coogler’s genius, genre-blending, wholly original release should be on every “best of 2025” list. A cultural reset, Sinners paid homage to horror films of old while standing strong and steady on its own two feet. If you haven’t seen it yet, make it your new year’s resolution to do so ASAP. You won’t regret stepping into a world of vampires, blues, and hoodoo — all approached with historical accuracy, cultural sensitivity, and jaw-dropping creativity.

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What was your favorite release of 2025 — whether it be a movie, TV show, video game, comic, or book? Did we miss your favorite? Share your picks and make some media recommendations at side.show/geekgroup or in the Sideshow Social Network. Happy New Year, and as always, don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!