Source: lonepinefilmhistory museum

2. Iron Man

We can’t even begin to discuss the recent history of comic book movies without discussing the impact of the MCU.

There are several movies on this list that are “format-setters.” Movies that became the gold standard for “how to make a superhero movie” for the years to come. Iron Man is one of these. It isn’t the best of the pre-Avengers Marvel films (That would be the near-perfect Captain America: The First Avenger) but it was the how-to guide to how to make an MCU movie.

Because, let’s be honest, I love the Marvel movies and I think they’re fantastic, but they’ve basically made Iron Man over and over again, with a couple exceptions. In terms of tone, plot structure, and general atmosphere, they figured out what worked and stuck to it.

And who can blame them?