Ant-Man (2015)

Ant-Man was always going to be a risky concept to bring to the big screen. As popular as the character is in the comic books, trying to make a shrinking man seem formidable in a live action universe that includes characters like Thor and the Hulk was always going to be difficult – but it was fantastic.

In spite of the removal of Edgar Wright from the project, the 2014 movie brought joy to audiences around the world. Paul Rudd and his fellow cast members made the movie hilarious, but the character also came across as worthy of joining the Avengers in the future.

Like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it had the advantage of being a part of a massive franchise in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but people still weren’t convinced it would work. But it turned out to be a great heist movie with lots of laughs.

And now on to the final entry in this list, which was arguably the most surprising comic book movie success.