15 Most Important Movies In Marvel"s 50-Year Film History
Summary
Several of those non-MCU Marvel movies failed to capture audiences, while others flew under the radar and others became classics of the superhero genre. Likewise, Marvel Studios has released unanimous hits within the MCU, while other MCU installments haven't even gotten close to meeting expectations. Throughout Marvel's 80-year movie history, however, fifteen movies stand out as deeply influential milestones that have either taken the brand in a new direction or achieved what no previous Marvel movie had done before.
15 Captain America's 1944 Debut Is Marvel's First-Ever Movie Captain America Serial Film (1944), Shot In Black-And-White![]()
Eight full decades ago, 1944's Captain America serial film marked the first time a Marvel character starred in a live-action feature-length movie. At the time, Marvel Comics was still named Timely Comics, and Captain America's movie debut lacked most of the elements of a traditional Captain America story, such as the iconic shield, the Super Soldier serum, the US army background, and Steve Rogers himself. But while primitive, 1944's Captain America is an important part of Marvel's cinematic history due to its status as the first attempt at a live-action Marvel superhero.
Serial films used to be movies divided into multiple parts, shown for a limited time in theaters.
14 The Incredible Hulk TV Movies Are The First Popular Marvel Films Six The Incredible Hulk Movies From 1977 To 1990, Starring Bill Bixby And Lou Ferrigno![]()
The Incredible Hulk is mostly known as a popular 1970s TV series, but each of its feature-length episodes and made-for-TV movies are also part of its cult appeal. From Bill Bixby's first scenes as the tormented David Banner in The Incredible Hulk's 1997 feature-length pilot to Thor's appearance in 1988's The Incredible Hulk Returns and the Hulk's uncharacteristic demise in 1990's The Death of the Incredible Hulk, all The Incredible Hulk installments manage to overcome the limitations of the time and deliver a dark and exciting take on Marvel's Jade Giant.
13 Howard The Duck Showed Marvel What Doesn't Work In A Movie Howard The Duck (1986) Was Marvel's First Bomb![]()
Known as one of Marvel's biggest failures, Howard the Duck is Marvel's first properly theatrical, live-action, feature-length movie. Howard the Duck attempted to replicate E.T.'s whimsical tone with less lighthearted humor. However, the movie was heavily criticized for its plot, tone, performances, and special effects. Howard the Duck barely made its budget back and was ravaged by critics, but it served as proof of what a Marvel movie needed to avoid in order to be successful, at least until the MCU allowed for a wider variety of fantastical characters and riskier tones.
12 Blade Is The First Modern Marvel Movie Blade (1998) Spawned Two Sequels, Blade II (2002) And Blade: Trinity (2004)![]()
Even without Spider-Man's fame or the X-Men's popular lore, Blade's titular vampire hunter was able to capture audiences at a moment in Marvel's history when Marvel movies were limited to throwaway low-budget films and one big-budget flop. Blade delineated the action-fueled and comedy-infused style that modern superhero movies would soon adopt, and at the same time, it adapted the eponymous comic book superhero rather faithfully. While Blade never reached Spider-Man's popularity, the vampire hunter's 1998 film may be just as influential as Marvel's other early-2000s hits.
11 X-Men Introduced Marvel's First Full-Fledged Movie Superhero Team X-Men (2000) Created A 20-Year-Long Marvel Franchise![]()
The X-Men have been one of Marvel's most famous properties since the 1970s. However, translating Marvel's mutants to the big screen was a challenge in the early 2000s, as many of the aspects that make the X-Men such a popular group of characters were still untested. Although X-Men passed up the team's comic-accurate costumes and put its main focus on Wolverine, it marked the first time a superhero movie followed a team of heroes and the first time a movie took place in a world filled with superhumans. More than twenty years later, the franchise lives on within the MCU.
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Related The Complete X-Men Movie Timeline Explained (From 2000 To Dark Phoenix) The X-Men movie timelines can get pretty confusing, but this breakdown guides you from X-Men to Days of Future Past, and on to Dark Phoenix. 10 Spider-Man Proved The Superhero Genre's True Potential Spider-Man (2002) Established The Golden Age Of Superhero Movies![]()
Following X-Men, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man finished establishing the superhero genre as Hollywood's new hot trend. Spider-Man's expert balance between sci-fi and realism served as precedent for all the superhero movies that came afterward, launching Marvel's most successful sub-franchise to date, with two reboots, $9 billion in earnings, and more than eight theatrical movies in total. Like X-Men, Spider-Man's influence on Marvel earned it a place in the MCU — two of its main characters co-star in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
9 Iron Man Launched The Marvel Cinematic Universe Iron Man (2008) Led To The MCU's Phase 1 And The Infinity Saga Close The foundations laid by all Marvel movies released before 2008 would have been for nothing without Jon Favreau's Iron Man, which had the colossal task of setting up the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Neither Robert Downey Jr. nor Iron Man himself were box office pulls at the time, and the MCU couldn't afford to have an unsatisfying first installment. Fortunately, Iron Man not only exceeded expectations as a solo movie, but it also provided enough interest in the Marvel brand that it turned Iron Man into an A-list property and practically greenlighted the thoroughly planned MCU's Phase 1. The rest is history.
8 The Avengers Started Hollywood's Crossover Movie Trend The Avengers (2012) Was The MCU's First Crossover Event![]()
Although Iron Man had completed the most difficult part of launching the MCU, the franchise's future wasn't yet set in stone until 2012's The Avengers, which paid off every set-up included in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger. Not only was The Avengers a resounding success, but it also defined the tone, scope, action, and comedy that all following MCU movies started using as a template. The Avengers proved how successful an interconnected cinematic universe could be, and it inspired increasingly ambitious superhero crossovers on the big screen.
7 X-Men: Days Of Future Past Fully Introduced Time Travel And Alternate Timelines X-Men: Days Of Future Past Laid The Foundations For The Marvel Multiverse![]()
X-Men: Days of Future Past took on the ambitious goal of merging the original X-Men movies with the slightly retconned timeline established by X-Men: First Class. Besides excelling in this task, X-Men: Days of Future Past also introduced the intertwined concepts of time travel and the multiverse through Wolverine's trip to the past. The concept of alternate timelines was only revisited in jest during Deadpool 2, but it became the main core narrative of the MCU after Avengers: Endgame, and it ended up involving previous Spider-Man and X-Men actors, including Hugh Jackman's Wolverine himself.
6 Captain America: Civil War Took Superhero Movie Crossovers To Another Level Captain America: Civil War (2016) Broke The MCU's History In Two Close MCU crossover events didn't stop with The Avengers and its lower-performing sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron. Despite not being an Avengers title, Captain America: Civil War served as the MCU's next crossover event after Avengers: Age of Ultron. Even more ambitious than the Avengers sequel, it marked Spider-Man's official MCU debut thanks to a deal between Marvel Studios and Sony. Captain America: Civil War shook up the usual MCU story structure and pitted the MCU's main heroes against each other, concluded with the main antagonist succeeding, and left the Avengers broken up.
5 Deadpool Brought R-Rated Superhero Comedy To The Forefront Deadpool (2016) And Deadpool 2 (2018) Succeeded As R-Rated Comedies Against All Odds![]()
Over at Fox, Deadpool defied the studio's expectations after several years' worth of attempts to develop the movie by star Ryan Reynolds and director Tim Miller. Due to a leak of test footage's overwhelmingly positive reception, Fox allowed Reynolds and Miller to move forward with Deadpool, which promptly became the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, at the time. Wade Wilson's violence and self-aware humor in Deadpool and Deadpool 2 made the character a coveted superhero movie property, as evidenced by Deadpool 3's extremely anticipated release and its status as a key installment of the MCU's Multiverse Saga.
Year
R-Rated Movie
Worldwide Earnings (Approx.)
2019
Joker
$1,074,400,000
2023
Oppenheimer
$958,500,000
2018
Deadpool 2
$785,800,000
2016
Deadpool
$782,60,000
2003
The Matrix Reloaded
$741,800,000
4 Logan Is The Most Intimate Exploration Of Marvel Superheroes Logan (2017) Brought The Superhero Genre Back To Its Standalone Roots![]()
Immediately following Deadpool, James Mangold's Logan adopted the use of the R rating to craft a superhero character study centered around Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. Logan broke apart all kinds of superhero tropes to depict Wolverine as an aging, vulnerable character with little hope at the end of his life. Taking inspiration from the Western film genre, Logan provided Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier with a touching farewell, though Marvel Studios brought back alternate versions of the characters in order to incorporate them into the MCU.
3 Avengers: Infinity War Epitomized Marvel's Comic Book Extravaganza Avengers: Infinity War (2018) Presaged The End Of The MCU's Infinity Saga![]()
Every leap of faith Marvel movies had made up until the end of the MCU's Phase 3 led to Avengers: Infinity War, which pulled no punches in its translation of the comic book format to live-action. Avengers: Infinity War united all open MCU storylines in a sci-fi epic centered around Thanos, who received his own fully fleshed out characterization. Very little of Avengers: Infinity War could have been possible before 2018. Therefore, Avengers: Infinity War stands as a massive success in the superhero genre as a whole, both financially and in terms of quality.
2 Avengers: Endgame Culminated A Decade's Worth Of Build-Up Avengers: Endgame (2019) Became A Massive Pop Culture Event![]()
More than a movie or a crossover film, Avengers: Endgame was a worldwide pop culture event. Avengers: Endgame wrapped up several character arcs and storylines in an exciting climax that gathered all major MCU characters in the battle against Thanos and gave its central heroes their final send-off. As a celebration of the MCU's 11-year history, Avengers: Endgame filled its runtime with references, easter eggs, and cameos that paid off the loyalty of the franchise's long-time fans. Accordingly, Avengers: Endgame earned over $2.78 billion worldwide and the second spot in the list of highest-grossing movies of all time.
1 Spider-Man: No Way Home United Three Different Franchises Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) Brought All Three Live-Action Spider-Man Actors Together Close Similarly to Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home was designed to be a celebration of Spider-Man's movie history. Marvel and Sony gathered most main villains from previous Spider-Man movies, as well as Spider-Man's Tobey Maguire and The Amazing Spider-Man's Andrew Garfield, to craft the ultimate Spider-Man movie. Filled with references and callbacks, Spider-Man: No Way Home proved why the wall-crawler remains Marvel's most famous and successful property across all media, and the $1.91 billion it earned during the COVID-19 pandemic serves as proof of it.
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- There have been several influential movies in Marvel's cinematic history, including the brand's early attempts, which included the 1944 Captain America serial film, The Incredible Hulk TV movies, and the critical bomb Howard the Duck.
- Marvel's pre-MCU movies were key in the franchise's success: Blade, X-Men, and Spider-Man laid the foundations for the MCU.
- The MCU's biggest landmarks so far have been Iron Man, The Avengers, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
- Outside the MCU, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Deadpool, and Logan have taken the superhero genre in brand new directions.
Several of those non-MCU Marvel movies failed to capture audiences, while others flew under the radar and others became classics of the superhero genre. Likewise, Marvel Studios has released unanimous hits within the MCU, while other MCU installments haven't even gotten close to meeting expectations. Throughout Marvel's 80-year movie history, however, fifteen movies stand out as deeply influential milestones that have either taken the brand in a new direction or achieved what no previous Marvel movie had done before.
15 Captain America's 1944 Debut Is Marvel's First-Ever Movie Captain America Serial Film (1944), Shot In Black-And-White
Eight full decades ago, 1944's Captain America serial film marked the first time a Marvel character starred in a live-action feature-length movie. At the time, Marvel Comics was still named Timely Comics, and Captain America's movie debut lacked most of the elements of a traditional Captain America story, such as the iconic shield, the Super Soldier serum, the US army background, and Steve Rogers himself. But while primitive, 1944's Captain America is an important part of Marvel's cinematic history due to its status as the first attempt at a live-action Marvel superhero.Serial films used to be movies divided into multiple parts, shown for a limited time in theaters.
14 The Incredible Hulk TV Movies Are The First Popular Marvel Films Six The Incredible Hulk Movies From 1977 To 1990, Starring Bill Bixby And Lou Ferrigno
The Incredible Hulk is mostly known as a popular 1970s TV series, but each of its feature-length episodes and made-for-TV movies are also part of its cult appeal. From Bill Bixby's first scenes as the tormented David Banner in The Incredible Hulk's 1997 feature-length pilot to Thor's appearance in 1988's The Incredible Hulk Returns and the Hulk's uncharacteristic demise in 1990's The Death of the Incredible Hulk, all The Incredible Hulk installments manage to overcome the limitations of the time and deliver a dark and exciting take on Marvel's Jade Giant.13 Howard The Duck Showed Marvel What Doesn't Work In A Movie Howard The Duck (1986) Was Marvel's First Bomb
Known as one of Marvel's biggest failures, Howard the Duck is Marvel's first properly theatrical, live-action, feature-length movie. Howard the Duck attempted to replicate E.T.'s whimsical tone with less lighthearted humor. However, the movie was heavily criticized for its plot, tone, performances, and special effects. Howard the Duck barely made its budget back and was ravaged by critics, but it served as proof of what a Marvel movie needed to avoid in order to be successful, at least until the MCU allowed for a wider variety of fantastical characters and riskier tones.12 Blade Is The First Modern Marvel Movie Blade (1998) Spawned Two Sequels, Blade II (2002) And Blade: Trinity (2004)
Even without Spider-Man's fame or the X-Men's popular lore, Blade's titular vampire hunter was able to capture audiences at a moment in Marvel's history when Marvel movies were limited to throwaway low-budget films and one big-budget flop. Blade delineated the action-fueled and comedy-infused style that modern superhero movies would soon adopt, and at the same time, it adapted the eponymous comic book superhero rather faithfully. While Blade never reached Spider-Man's popularity, the vampire hunter's 1998 film may be just as influential as Marvel's other early-2000s hits.11 X-Men Introduced Marvel's First Full-Fledged Movie Superhero Team X-Men (2000) Created A 20-Year-Long Marvel Franchise
The X-Men have been one of Marvel's most famous properties since the 1970s. However, translating Marvel's mutants to the big screen was a challenge in the early 2000s, as many of the aspects that make the X-Men such a popular group of characters were still untested. Although X-Men passed up the team's comic-accurate costumes and put its main focus on Wolverine, it marked the first time a superhero movie followed a team of heroes and the first time a movie took place in a world filled with superhumans. More than twenty years later, the franchise lives on within the MCU.
Related The Complete X-Men Movie Timeline Explained (From 2000 To Dark Phoenix) The X-Men movie timelines can get pretty confusing, but this breakdown guides you from X-Men to Days of Future Past, and on to Dark Phoenix. 10 Spider-Man Proved The Superhero Genre's True Potential Spider-Man (2002) Established The Golden Age Of Superhero Movies
Following X-Men, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man finished establishing the superhero genre as Hollywood's new hot trend. Spider-Man's expert balance between sci-fi and realism served as precedent for all the superhero movies that came afterward, launching Marvel's most successful sub-franchise to date, with two reboots, $9 billion in earnings, and more than eight theatrical movies in total. Like X-Men, Spider-Man's influence on Marvel earned it a place in the MCU — two of its main characters co-star in Spider-Man: No Way Home.9 Iron Man Launched The Marvel Cinematic Universe Iron Man (2008) Led To The MCU's Phase 1 And The Infinity Saga Close The foundations laid by all Marvel movies released before 2008 would have been for nothing without Jon Favreau's Iron Man, which had the colossal task of setting up the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Neither Robert Downey Jr. nor Iron Man himself were box office pulls at the time, and the MCU couldn't afford to have an unsatisfying first installment. Fortunately, Iron Man not only exceeded expectations as a solo movie, but it also provided enough interest in the Marvel brand that it turned Iron Man into an A-list property and practically greenlighted the thoroughly planned MCU's Phase 1. The rest is history.
8 The Avengers Started Hollywood's Crossover Movie Trend The Avengers (2012) Was The MCU's First Crossover Event
Although Iron Man had completed the most difficult part of launching the MCU, the franchise's future wasn't yet set in stone until 2012's The Avengers, which paid off every set-up included in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger. Not only was The Avengers a resounding success, but it also defined the tone, scope, action, and comedy that all following MCU movies started using as a template. The Avengers proved how successful an interconnected cinematic universe could be, and it inspired increasingly ambitious superhero crossovers on the big screen.7 X-Men: Days Of Future Past Fully Introduced Time Travel And Alternate Timelines X-Men: Days Of Future Past Laid The Foundations For The Marvel Multiverse
X-Men: Days of Future Past took on the ambitious goal of merging the original X-Men movies with the slightly retconned timeline established by X-Men: First Class. Besides excelling in this task, X-Men: Days of Future Past also introduced the intertwined concepts of time travel and the multiverse through Wolverine's trip to the past. The concept of alternate timelines was only revisited in jest during Deadpool 2, but it became the main core narrative of the MCU after Avengers: Endgame, and it ended up involving previous Spider-Man and X-Men actors, including Hugh Jackman's Wolverine himself.6 Captain America: Civil War Took Superhero Movie Crossovers To Another Level Captain America: Civil War (2016) Broke The MCU's History In Two Close MCU crossover events didn't stop with The Avengers and its lower-performing sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron. Despite not being an Avengers title, Captain America: Civil War served as the MCU's next crossover event after Avengers: Age of Ultron. Even more ambitious than the Avengers sequel, it marked Spider-Man's official MCU debut thanks to a deal between Marvel Studios and Sony. Captain America: Civil War shook up the usual MCU story structure and pitted the MCU's main heroes against each other, concluded with the main antagonist succeeding, and left the Avengers broken up.
5 Deadpool Brought R-Rated Superhero Comedy To The Forefront Deadpool (2016) And Deadpool 2 (2018) Succeeded As R-Rated Comedies Against All Odds
Over at Fox, Deadpool defied the studio's expectations after several years' worth of attempts to develop the movie by star Ryan Reynolds and director Tim Miller. Due to a leak of test footage's overwhelmingly positive reception, Fox allowed Reynolds and Miller to move forward with Deadpool, which promptly became the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, at the time. Wade Wilson's violence and self-aware humor in Deadpool and Deadpool 2 made the character a coveted superhero movie property, as evidenced by Deadpool 3's extremely anticipated release and its status as a key installment of the MCU's Multiverse Saga.Year
R-Rated Movie
Worldwide Earnings (Approx.)
2019
Joker
$1,074,400,000
2023
Oppenheimer
$958,500,000
2018
Deadpool 2
$785,800,000
2016
Deadpool
$782,60,000
2003
The Matrix Reloaded
$741,800,000
4 Logan Is The Most Intimate Exploration Of Marvel Superheroes Logan (2017) Brought The Superhero Genre Back To Its Standalone Roots
Immediately following Deadpool, James Mangold's Logan adopted the use of the R rating to craft a superhero character study centered around Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. Logan broke apart all kinds of superhero tropes to depict Wolverine as an aging, vulnerable character with little hope at the end of his life. Taking inspiration from the Western film genre, Logan provided Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier with a touching farewell, though Marvel Studios brought back alternate versions of the characters in order to incorporate them into the MCU.3 Avengers: Infinity War Epitomized Marvel's Comic Book Extravaganza Avengers: Infinity War (2018) Presaged The End Of The MCU's Infinity Saga
Every leap of faith Marvel movies had made up until the end of the MCU's Phase 3 led to Avengers: Infinity War, which pulled no punches in its translation of the comic book format to live-action. Avengers: Infinity War united all open MCU storylines in a sci-fi epic centered around Thanos, who received his own fully fleshed out characterization. Very little of Avengers: Infinity War could have been possible before 2018. Therefore, Avengers: Infinity War stands as a massive success in the superhero genre as a whole, both financially and in terms of quality.2 Avengers: Endgame Culminated A Decade's Worth Of Build-Up Avengers: Endgame (2019) Became A Massive Pop Culture Event
More than a movie or a crossover film, Avengers: Endgame was a worldwide pop culture event. Avengers: Endgame wrapped up several character arcs and storylines in an exciting climax that gathered all major MCU characters in the battle against Thanos and gave its central heroes their final send-off. As a celebration of the MCU's 11-year history, Avengers: Endgame filled its runtime with references, easter eggs, and cameos that paid off the loyalty of the franchise's long-time fans. Accordingly, Avengers: Endgame earned over $2.78 billion worldwide and the second spot in the list of highest-grossing movies of all time.1 Spider-Man: No Way Home United Three Different Franchises Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) Brought All Three Live-Action Spider-Man Actors Together Close Similarly to Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home was designed to be a celebration of Spider-Man's movie history. Marvel and Sony gathered most main villains from previous Spider-Man movies, as well as Spider-Man's Tobey Maguire and The Amazing Spider-Man's Andrew Garfield, to craft the ultimate Spider-Man movie. Filled with references and callbacks, Spider-Man: No Way Home proved why the wall-crawler remains Marvel's most famous and successful property across all media, and the $1.91 billion it earned during the COVID-19 pandemic serves as proof of it.
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