After 17 years and becoming the most successful film franchise in history, it’s possible to pinpoint the ten movies that came to define theMCU. These are the movies that both embody the spirit of the franchise and provide the building blocks with whichfuture MCU installmentshave been crafted.
When it commenced withIron Manin 2008, the MCU capitalized on a burgeoning genre that arguably began with such Marvel movies as 2000’sX-Menand 2002’sSpider-Man. Now, the MCU is the definitive superhero franchise that provides quintessential adaptations of Marvel Comics' foremost characters.
Adapting these characters faithfully is one ofthe MCU’s most defining characteristics. Definitive MCU movies mostly embody the lighthearted tone of the franchise, which contrasts, in particular, with many DC adaptations. They also embrace the spirit of the shared cinematic universe, which helped to make the franchise so successful.
10Iron Man
Iron Mannot only launched the MCU butlaid the groundwork for the tone that future installments would follow. It remains one of the most critically acclaimed movies in the entire franchise and set the MCU in good standing after grossing $585 million worldwide.
A huge part of its success was Robert Downey Jr., who remains one of theperfect casting choices in the entire MCU. His eminently charismatic portrayal of Tony Stark set him on a path to becoming the de facto protagonist of a sprawling shared universe.
Iron Manstruck a balance between plausibility and sci-fi magicthat would come to define the MCU before future installments likeDoctor Strangewould lean into more fantastical elements. It also set the standard for the classicMCU post-credits scenethat sets up future events.
9The Avengers
The Avengerswas the ambitious result of four years' worth of set-up, and it paid off in spades. After grossing $1.5 billion worldwide, it became thehighest-grossing superhero movie of all time(and the third-highest-grossing movie ever, at the time) andvindicated the concept of a shared universe.
Although the perfectly balanced humor that has come to define the MCU arguably began withIron Man,The Avengershelped to crystallize the practice.The playful banter shared between the titular team members was widely appreciatedat the time, even if some audiences would regard it as stale in future performances.
The Avengersalso proved how the post-credits teases of preceding movies were invaluable to the franchise. Asthe first movie to tie hanging plot threads together, it came to define a formula that theMultiverse Saga has arguably sufferedfrom in its absence.
8Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man: No Way Homecapitalized on one ofMarvel’s most bankable charactersin a big way bystarring all three modern interpretations of the titular character in one movie. By tripling up on one of Marvel’s most beloved superheroes,Spider-Man: No Way Homebecame theMCU’s third-highest-grossing movie.
Short of being a simple cash-grab, however,Spider-Man: No Way Homewas the foremost example of the MCU’s proficiency in paying homage to the superhero genre as a whole. Reintroducing some of the most highly regarded actors from the superhero movies of yesteryear struck a chord that remains one of the best uses of the multiverse concept.
Spider-Man: No Way Homewas arguably the epitome of the MCU’s use of an interconnected universe, extending that concept to the universes of other franchises. Needless to say, it was also rife with the humor, spectacle, and heart that typify MCU productions.
7Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgamewas the culmination of more than a decade’s worth of setup, releasing at a time when the MCU was at its zenith. It was, therefore, a surprise to very few that it would become the MCU’s highest-grossing movie, grossing $2.7 billion worldwide.
Part of the reason for its success was thatAvengers: Endgamestarred almost every character that built the MCU until that point, spotlighting the progenitors of the franchise. After the MCU debuted such characters as Doctor Strange and the Scarlet Witch, it embodied some of the most outlandish aspects of the source material.
Avengers: Endgamealso set an impossibly high barthat future MCU installments will forever struggle to clear.Balancing the characteristic irreverence with some of the most heartbreaking scenes in the MCU, it expertly drew a line beneath one ofthe MCU’s most iconic character arcsand an entire saga.
6Captain America: The Winter Soldier
As one ofthe most critically acclaimed movies of the MCU,Captain America: The Winter Soldierreinvigorated the franchise with a new take on the standard formula. It set a new precedent for what MCU movies and shows could strive for,establishing how a spy thriller take on a Marvel story could work perfectly.
Captain America: The Winter Soldieris also a prime example of the MCU’s cohesion, building on the established facets of the shared universe by centering SHIELD, which played a pivotal role inThe Avengers. Its focus on central characters and their relationships while deftly incorporating new ones exemplifies the MCU formula.
5Deadpool & Wolverine
Although one of the newest additions to the MCU,Deadpool & Wolverineis paradigmatic of some of the MCU’s most beloved characteristics. LikeSpider-Man: No Way Home,it embodied the respect that the MCU has for the superhero genre and the comic bookson which it is based.
Deadpool & Wolverineeven struck a chord before releasing in its incorporation of characters from a now-defunct franchise.The comics-accurate depictions of the titular Wolverine and characters like Gambit were as expected as they were appreciated, with Deadpool himself lambasting the previous reticence to adapt a comics-accurate Wolverine.
It also establisheda new precedent for the MCU in being its first-ever R-rated movie. With it, the MCU has telegraphed its willingness to adapt R-rated outings for similarly violent characters like Blade.
4Black Panther
Black Panther’s debut was teased through severalMCU Easter eggs, which finally paid off with his debut inCaptain America: Civil War.Black Pantherwasn’t just a prime example of the MCU following up on piecemeal teases in the shared universe, but also one of the most highly rated.
Black Pantherwas additionally one of the preeminent world-building movieswithin the MCU. With vibranium playing an integral role in the franchise as early asCaptain America: The First Avenger, the mythical material was central toBlack Panther.
It was definitive in the MCU’s ability to deliver rich storytellingwith compelling characters, both heroic and villainous. To this day, Killmonger remains one of the best examples of the MCU sticking to Stan Lee’s golden rule regarding sympathetic villains.
3Guardians of the Galaxy
Towards the tail-end of MCU Phase 2,the MCU started to debut lesser-known characters, such as those withinGuardians of the Galaxy,and proved how it could pull it off.Guardians of the Galaxyremains one of the franchise’s best-rated movies, as well as one of its most off-the-wall.
Despite the likes ofIron ManandThe Avengersestablishing a particular comedic tone within the MCU,Guardians of the Galaxywas its most overtly comedic yet.The likes ofAnt-Man,Deadpool &andWolverinewould then double down on this humor, althoughGuardians of the Galaxyremainsthe MCU’s comedicforerunner.
2Thor: Ragnarok
Thor was the star of the MCU’s worst-rated movieby the time his third,Thor: Ragnarok, reinvented the character and improved his fortunes. While embodying the typically colorful palette of the MCU,Thor Ragnarokwas possibly the most irreverent MCU movie untilDeadpool & Wolverine.
This tone was orchestrated by the movie’s director,Taika Waititi, who, like James Gunn, left his mark on the MCU with his unique directorial style. Although a potentially risky move (that arguably hamperedThor: Love and Thunder), delivering a tonal shift proved to be a massive strength for the MCU that helped to makeThor: Ragnarokstand out.
1Avengers: Infinity War
WhileThe Avengersset the standard for the MCU’s propensity for team-up movies,Avengers: Infinity Warset an ambitious new bar. It embodied everything that is now synonymous with the MCU,spotlighting almost every character that starred in standalone movies in a perfectly balanced narrative.
Not only didAvengers: Infinity Warexemplify all the MCU’s most definitive characteristics, butit also helped to distinguish the MCU with a distinctly unique ending. Having the heroes lose re-established stakes for the MCU ahead of its newest saga, proving that theMCUwasn’t afraid to subvert expectations in order to keep its universe fresh and unpredictable.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
