Exclusive clip: Tony Stark
demonstrates the Jericho missile.

Sure to be the first bona fide blockbuster of 2008, Iron Man already has its first crown to claim. The Marvel icon's inaugural foray onto the big screen is not only Certified Fresh and Rotten Tomatoes' best-reviewed film of the year so far -- it's also potentially one of the highest-rated superhero movies of all time.

Paramount's Iron Man will kickstart the summer season when it opens nationwide this Friday, and tent poles don't get much bigger or better than this; as of today, Iron Man sits at 95 percent on the Tomatometer with 107 reviews counted. This puts the Jon Favreau pic in the number one spot among wide releases of 2008, with the concert documentary U2 3D (92 percent) and the Judd Apatow-produced comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall (85 percent) in the two and three positions.

Jon Favreau's directing history

Made (2001), 67 percent

Elf (2003), 83 percent

Zathura (2005), 76 percent

In particular, critics credit Robert Downey Jr.'s acerbic and witty turn as the conflicted weapons manufacturer Tony Stark, who uses a gift for mechanics and a newly sparked moral outrage to create the iconic Mark 2 suit -- a body of high-tech armor that allows him to fly, crash, and bang his way through throngs of bad guys. Favreau takes on his biggest directing job to date -- and acquits himself well, balancing special effects and character development with the excitement of a comics-crazed kid.

Click to watch RT's interview
with Robert Downey, Jr.

Not only does Iron Man currently sit atop the critical heap of all of the films released so far this year, it may also end up being one of the best-reviewed superhero movies ever made. Sam Raimi is the current king of the superhero flick; Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man(2002) are two of the best-reviewed comic book movies ever. And there's also Bryan Singer, whose Superman and X-Men movies have also been extremely well-received.

See how Iron Man lines up among the best superhero films of all time.

Best-Reviewed Superhero Movies
Spider-Man 2 (2004) -- 93 percent
Superman: The Movie (1978) -- 93 percent
Spider-Man (2002) -- 90 percent
X2: X-Men United (2003) -- 87 percent
Superman II (1980) -- 87 percent
Batman Begins (2005) -- 84 percent
X-Men (2000) -- 80 percent
Hellboy (2004) -- 79 percent
Superman Returns (2006) -- 77 percent

For more Iron Man reviews, photos, trailers and clips, click here. Iron Man opens nationwide this Friday.