Our Ten Best: Top Marvel Films

Marvel Comics’ stable of characters have become a golden goose for Hollywood, breaking box office records and brining to life modern myths. These characters have replaced the action heroes of past and given moviegoers unique cinematic experiences. With the release of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” its time we look back at the top ten Marvel Comic film adaptations.

10: “X-Men”: The film which many point to as the modern superhero blockbuster’s OG. X-Men brought to life everyone’s favorite group of mutants by delivering a fun character driven story. X-Men managed to balance story and action, launching the career of then unknown Australian actor Hugh Jackman and reminding Hollywood of Marvel’s blockbuster potential.

9: “Spider-man”: Two years after “X-men” hit the scene; it was your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man’s turn to captivate audiences around the world. Cult classic machine, Sam Raimi, the unlikeliest of choices, was given the helm. With a well-rounded cast, a story that brought the essence of what makes Spider-Man great to life and a scary performance by Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/ The Green Goblin, Spider-Man was another step in the right direction for Marvel adaptations.

8: “X-Men 2”: With the first “X-Men” bringing comics favorite outcasts to the world, it was time for Bryan Singer to put them through the ringer. “X-Men 2” had Wolverine’s dark past come to haunt him and the rest of the team. A great performance by the always amazing Brian Cox as the mutant hating Colonel William Stryker and a fight scene between Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike that makes the Wolverine/Mystique fight in the first film seem like a playground scuffle, “X-Men 2” is still fresh in audience’s minds ten years later.

7: “The Avengers”: A fanboy’s wet dream brought to life. The Avengers brought together marvel’s finest heroes (that they still own the film rights to) to fight Loki and his Chitauri army. The first 45 minutes do drag but credit must be given to Joss Whedon for being able to balance larger than life characters, cracking the Da Vinci code that is how to moviegoers care about the Hulk. The Avengers is not a perfect movie, the sheer scale and response to the movie by audiences worldwide, earns it a spot on this list.

6: “Kick-Ass”: Based on Scottish writer Mark Millar’s graphic novel of the same name, “Kick-Ass” asked audiences what would happen if a real kid decided to become a superhero? And the answer was an action packed comedy, which is in a league of its own. Introducing audiences to Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who is set to play Quicksilver in “Avengers: Age of Ultron “and Chloe Grace Moretz, who stole the show as the potty mouth 11 year old killing machine, Hit-Girl. “Kick-Ass” did not light the box office on fire but did deliver a new type of superhero film.

5: “X-Men: First Class”: Marvel’s mutants are now on their seventh movie outing, they are obviously doing something right. After the train wrecks that were X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, movie goer’s interest in the X-Men was on the decline, in 2011 in a crowded summer of superhero films, the X-Men proved once again why they’re the best at what they do. Set in the early sixties, which explored the start of the team, the early days of Charles Xavier (James Mcavoy) and Erik Lensharr’s (Michael Fassbender) bromance, and where it went sour. A stellar cast and its period setting, makes First Class the top of its class.

4: “Iron Man 3”: The first post-Avengers Marvel film, “Iron Man 3”, pitted the Ironed Avenger against his most recognizable villain, The Mandarin. Set during the holidays, like all Shane Black films, “Iron Man 3” had Tony Stark at his weakest. Still feeling the shell shock of The Battle of New York, things begin to get worse for Stark when Aldrich Killian played by the underrated Guy Pearce comes back to haunt him. The film’s take on Iron Man’s iconic villain the Mandarin split audiences in half, nonetheless the role is owned by Sir Ben Kingsly. “Iron Man 3” redeemed the forgettable predecessor with high risk/ high reward threads and Iron Man’s hall of armor. Love it or hate it, it is always good to see the Hulkbuster armor in action.

3: “Iron Man”: The film that started Marvel’s cinematic universe, “Iron Man” shocked everyone. Robert Downey Jr. was not on the top of any studio’s wish list to headline a summer blockbuster and Iron Man was a C-list superhero at best. Downey’s performance as the billionaire genius had an untouchable charm that made us all fall in love with an alcoholic jerk. It was not about the huge set pieces or the big battles, it was about one man’s journey to learning to use his genius for the good of the people.

2: “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”: “Captain America: The First Avenger” by far is the weakest of the nine Marvel Studios films, but you couldn’t tell from the follow up. Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans) questions whether he is fighting for the good of the people and is forced to go and figure out a conspiracy that dates back to World War II. The Russos bring fans a true Captain America experience with an airtight script and great action. Plus there is nothing quite like watching The Falcon (Anthony Mackie) dodging missiles in the sky.

1: “Spider-Man 2”: “Spider-Man 2” easily tops this list. “Spider-Man 2” had Spidey facing off against Doctor Otto Octavius AKA Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina). The film had Peter Parker question whether he really wanted to be a hero, with Mary Jane engaged and his powers dwindling, Parker thought it was time to hang up the tights, Then Doc Ock comes along. The film, like its predecessor, brings the essence of what makes Spider-Man so relatable to life. He’s not a billionaire, a god, or a super soldier. He’s just a Queens kid who just wants to live his life on his terms, but with great power, comes great responsibility. The fact the film analyzes this and has Peter stop his fight against crime to teach the audience that sometimes we all have to make sacrifices to make the world we live in a better place, a true superhero tale.