- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Age of Ultron did exactly what it needed to do: It gave us furthered plenty of important franchise arcs, put some cracks in the heretofore cohesive Avengers and introduced us to a posse of new, important characters. And Ultron himself, voiced by James Spader, certainly had plenty of swagger. But should a logic-driven AI monster have swagger?
- Ant-Man (2015)
Age of Ultron was still playing in theaters when Scott Lang (Rudd) first slapped on Dr. Han Pym’s clever little ant suit. No wonder the movie felt like a comedic superhero palate-cleanser. This wasn’t a story about world domination or a rumination on good intentions gone awry: It was just about a former small-time crook who hopes for a clean start and just wants to be a good dad. After years of the MCU amping up everything in its movies, Ant-Man proved that heroism (and good superhero flicks) comes in small packages, too.
- Doctor Strange (2016)
By definition, films in the MCU have always been a little surreal. But Doctor Strange climbed three rungs up the weirdness ladder and still managed to tell a really gripping and, for the franchise, important story. Benedict Cumberbatch wielded the cape well, and was given a strong assist by the always mesmerizing (if controversially casted) Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One. And in the grand finale, instead of tearing a bunch of buildings down, Strange managed to build ‘em up.
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Even most MCU fans didn’t know anything about this oddball team of mercenaries, assassins and sentient trees before this film. Frankly even Marvel’s showrunners probably weren’t expecting much from the flick. But buoyed by pitch-perfect performances across the board (Chris Pratt as Star-Lord! Bradley Cooper as a talking raccoon!) and a resonant storyline about how sometimes we make our own families, Guardians proved that the MCU was a franchise juggernaut without precedent. The only thing it needed? More Drax.
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
An Avengers movie in all but name, Civil War brought the MCU’s two biggest heroes—Iron Man and Captain America—to blows. At times the film felt fun and thrilling. (The fight at the airport might be one of the best action sequences in MCU history.) At others, it was hard to watch. (Even thinking about that final showdown between Cap and Tony makes me sad.) But it was a necessary, and effective, springboard into what was yet to come.
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