As Avengers: Endgame approaches, now’s a great time to look back at each of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films that have led us all to this point. The world of Marvel is one like no other, for lack of a better term. While the idea of a shared universe didn’t originate with Marvel - with Universal having crossed over their characters in multiple movies, while Kevin Smith linked all of his movies via his franchise mascots Jay and Silent Bob in the View Askewniverse - Marvel has popularized the idea, and is easily the most ambitious. Endgame is the culmination of twenty-two movies worth of storytelling, with the comic book titans crossing over countless heroes and villains in various movies to tell one giant over-arching story.
Phase One was easily the shakiest of all their phases, with the company not finding their footing for quite some time. While Marvel is now known for their distinct style - cohesive storytelling with solid, emotional character development mixed with many visual gags and one-liners - their first few films didn’t emulate that format. A great benefit to many of these films were that most of them weren’t bound by the groundwork laid in a previous movie. Most of these movies were free to do what they pleased since they kicked things off, with some movies using this to hit the ground running, while others needing some time before blossoming. While none of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films are exactly bad, the road to such success was filled with plenty of mixed results.
Iron Man
The one that started it all. Before this movie, Iron Man was a B-list hero, with an unmemorable rogues gallery, and even more unmemorable supporting characters. This was at a time where some of the only marketable Marvel characters were X-Men, Spider-Man, and Fantastic Four, so to give Tony Stark his own movie was deemed risky. No one also knew going into this that this was meant to reveal a whole greater universe, so everyone can surely remember how they felt when they saw Samuel L. Jackson appear in the post-credits scene (which also wasn’t so popular at the time) and mention the Avengers.
The first Iron Man is still widely regarded as one of the best entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and rightfully so. The film benefited immensely from being a self-contained story, as Marvel still didn’t have a fully realized plan going into this. While many MCU films have their emotional moments, this is easily one of the heavier entries, that focused a lot on Tony Stark’s crisis of conscience as he comes back from being held hostage in Afghanistan. In retrospect, the film feels much darker when compared to later Marvel films, with the color palette being just a splash darker than a normal Marvel movie. While the violence wasn’t graphic, it feels a little more brutal, with scenes such as terrorists mercilessly attacking villages, and scenes of Tony lighting the terrorists on fire.
That’s not to say this wasn’t fun, because it mostly definitely is. The many quips Tony is largely known for are present all throughout this movie, with one-liners galore that gain some well-deserved laughs. Robert Downey Jr. - who at this point hasn’t been in the spotlight for years - brings a lot of charisma to the role, and his engaging performance is one of the movie’s strongest elements. The film also benefits from some highly stylized action scenes that don’t feel so CGI-heavy at all times, and contains a great rock n’ roll soundtrack that keeps the energy high.
The one major complaint is that, like many of their earlier movies, the film doesn’t exactly have a great villain. While Jeff Bridges does a great job as Obadiah Stane, the character himself doesn’t feel like a believable villain, abruptly turning on Tony with a cause that just doesn’t seem believable. The film also suffers slightly at the end due to some cheesy over-acting during the final battle, a problem that would be present in many of the earlier Marvel films.
However, the movies’ faults are minor, and if anything, Iron Man rightfully remains as one of the strongest MCU entries, thanks to its emotional resonance, humorous moments, and fast-paced energy.
The Incredible Hulk
The long-forgotten second entry into the MCU. The Incredible Hulk is the only entry to feature Edward Norton - who co-wrote the screenplay - as the titular character. Norton was originally to reprise his role for The Avengers and other future installments, but the actor and Marvel parted ways, with conflicting reasons given as to why. Because of this and its minimal connection to later entries, fans often disregard this film and barely count it as a “real MCU movie.” While Marvel became known for its sense of humor, The Incredible Hulk is one of the few movies that almost lacks it. That’s not to say this movie is all doom-and-gloom, as it does have some funny moments here and there, but the moments feel almost nonexistent compared to later MCU entries, and the movie sometimes suffers from being a bit too dour at times.
However, the action scenes are great, and the movie does have some really solid, emotional character arcs. While the film is far from Marvel’s strongest, it does contain one of the best narrative tactics, by summing up Bruce’s origins and first transformation in a montage over the opening credits, so that way the movie opens with Bruce already established as the Hulk and in the middle of some emotional conflict with Betty Ross. While Mark Ruffalo is now irreplaceable as the character, Norton did a solid job with the material, and he would have been welcomed back in future installments had he stuck around.
Once again, though, the film does suffer from a lack of a strong villain. Just like Jeff Bridges, Tim Roth does a solid job as Emil Blonsky, but he’s more of a plot device than a three-dimensional villain the audience cares about. There’s much more of an emotional arc between General Ross - who employs Blonsky - and both his daughter and Banner, yet he’s second to a character who just causes havoc and nothing more.
While The Incredible Hulk isn’t a go-to Marvel movie due to its sometimes overly-somber tone, it’s an overall solid entry that makes for an entertaining action movie mixed with some solid character drama.
Iron Man 2
While The Incredible Hulk has since been forgotten, Iron Man 2 is viewed as the first true misfire for the MCU, and is still one of the series’ weaker entries. The first direct sequel in the series, this had some awfully big shoes to fill, considering how believed the first Iron Man was. However, the film suffered due to acting as more of a set-up to The Avengers rather than acting as its own entity - something the MCU wouldn’t master till down the line. The film starts off feeling just as fresh and enjoyable as the first film and then dips in quality, with a painful story arc involving an almost dying Tony engaging in drunken shenanigans and squabbling with both Pepper and Rhodey. The film also detours for some dialogue-heavy exposition between Tony and Nick Fury regarding The Avengers before getting back to its regularly scheduled programming in the final 30-45 minutes.
While the film does have its issues, it is the first to truly feel a bit more like a traditional Marvel movie, containing a lighter color palette than either the first Iron Man or The Incredible Hulk, and the jokes coming at a much more frequent pace. The film does have some more interesting villains this time around, even if they are slightly underused. Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash has a solid emotional vendetta against Tony established at the beginning, although that arc ultimately doesn’t go too far, as Whiplash is only sparingly seen throughout the movie. The main villain is Justin Hammer, who doesn’t necessarily do a hole lot either, but manages to have some snarky quips of his own, thanks to a charismatic Sam Rockwell. The film also ends on a high note with a thrilling final battle that also makes use of War Machine for the first time.
Iron Man 2 is far from a cohesive MCU film, though in retrospect, it’s actually not as bad as people remember it to be when it was first released, which was more due to them just being underwhelmed. It has some issues with pacing and character development in the middle, but has some a great beginning and great end, thanks to some solid action and much-needed moments of levity.
Thor
This was a movie that definitely got better as it went along. Thor looked like a mess when the trailers first dropped, and the film’s first twenty minutes or so definitely didn’t do it any favors. Considering all the characters are based on ancient mythological characters, it’s difficult to criticize them for not feeling like real people. However, the film’s Asgard-set first act can be particularly cringe-worthy due to its extremely cheesy moments that are filled with some painful over-the-top acting and terrible dialogue.
It wasn’t until the film shifted its focus to Earth that it got immensely better. The film managed to lighten up, and actually surprise the audience with a much more frequent use of humor, as well as contain some fairly solid action scenes in the open, desolate parts of New Mexico. Chris Hemsworth does a decent job as the titular character, though feels a little stiff in this go-around when he’s stuck with some of the more serious material. The actor stated in a recent interview he wished to have more fun with the character from the start, and it feels apparent here, as he has feels much more at-ease with the lighter material. Meanwhile, many of the supporting protagonists don’t truly get to do a whole lot here, mainly stuck with corny dialogue, outside of Lady Sif and the Warriors Three.
The true standout of this film is Tom Hiddleston as Loki, who would go on to become a fan-favorite, and is known as the only noteworthy Phase One (and arguably Phase Two) villain. While this isn’t the character at his finest (more on that later), Hiddleston does a solid job with the character, coming more to his own as the movie shifted over to Earth. He’s the only early Marvel villain with true emotional, personal conflict, with much of his actions fueled by his hatred of Odin and jealousy of Thor, and it was easy to be invested in him just as much as the main characters. Plus, he was the first villain to have any sense of humor of his own.
Thor is a bit of a mess at first, but finds its footing more towards the halfway point. While it suffers from being a bit melodramatic at times, it does manage to have some fun and proves to be an entertaining early entry into the MCU.
Captain America: The First Avenger
By far one of the most underrated entries into the MCU. While Winter Soldier and Civil War are hailed as some of the best MCU entries, the first Captain America film is actually a lot of fun in its own right. The film feels like an old, throwback war movie, almost exclusively taking place in World War II. Many of the action scenes in this film have some great kinetic energy, constantly moving at a nice, brisk pace, and giving the film a feel reminiscent of pulpy, propaganda movies from that time period. The film also kicks off one of the more emotional character arcs, with Steve Rogers losing and leaving behind many loved ones during the 1940s, only to revisit many of them in the later Captain America entries. The way Steve leaves off with some of the film’s supporting characters are heartbreaking moments that are often forgotten about.
The film does suffer a bit from feeling a bit too “goody-two-shoes” at times, especially in the first half, with characters constantly loudly proclaiming how moral Steve is (noting it even more than he does). Tommy Lee Jones’ Colonel Phillips also feels more like a stock character, filling the cranky, curmudgeon army veteran who gets into arguments with the morally righteous hero. While Jones himself is fine, his scenes can feel familiar at times. Also, Red Skull continues the trend of weak early-entry villains. Hugo Weaving is serviceable but the character lacks any sort of distinct personality. The HYDRA moments are only redeemed by just how fun it is watching Steve go toe-to-toe with the villains.
Captain America: The First Avenger may not be one of Marvel’s absolute best, but it’s easily one of the much more fun Phase One films. While its characterizations can be a tad weak at times, it’s overall a mostly fun action movie that really captures the feel of similar movies in its time period.
The Avengers
The moment many fans were waiting a lifetime for. The Avengers marked the first time on the big screen that some of Marvel’s finest would share the screen together, so the payoff had to be worth all the build-up. And it certainly was. The movie was the right balance of all the familiar elements that Marvel would be known for in their later movies. It had great conflict, spectacular visuals, well-developed characters, a quick pace, and was very funny. Many of the titular heroes would meet each other for the first time, briefly fight, then work together. The scenes moved quickly, and flowed cohesively to tell an engaging story. At nearly two and a half hours, this is one of the only Marvel productions of that length that didn’t feel bogged down.
The film also introduces Mark Ruffalo as the new Hulk, replacing Edward Norton. While the film picks up on the character’s journey from the end of his solo outing and he’s still portrayed as having some of the largest inner turmoil, Ruffalo ends up being a much welcome addition to the team, as he leaves behind much of the solo film’s overly grim tone, and brings with him some much needed charm to line up with the rest of the MCU. The film also sees Chris Hemsworth a little more at ease overall as Thor, not restricted to hammy, melodramatic dialogue that plagued the first half of his own solo outing. Fans will find themselves sorely missing this sort of performance - while Thor has two appearances in Phase Two, it wouldn’t be until Phase Three where he’s this relaxed with the material again in Thor: Ragnarok.
This also sees Thor villain Loki at his finest. While the character was already nicely developed in his first appearance, The Avengers sees him at his most unhinged, all the while retaining much of the same motivation that fueled him in Thor. This made his scenes much more interesting to watch. While his destruction was on a much grander scale this time around, most of his hatred was still directed towards Thor himself, and made the conflict feel more personal and emotional. And he still managed to have some fun with the role, cracking jokes here and there, and playing along brilliantly to some of the film’s more over-the-top material.
The Avengers is one of the most fully realized projects from Marvel, and easily the strongest of the Phase One films. There aren’t that many negative things to say about this one, as it contained grandiose blockbuster thrills while still managing to tell an effective, emotional engaging story that also made the audience smile. The first time many of Marvel’s finest appeared together on screen is certainly one of their most memorable.
Overall Thoughts
While Phase One started and ended on a great note, everything in between was definitely a mixed bag. Marvel struggled early on with balancing heavier emotional scenes with laughs and stylistic visuals, which caused many of these earlier films to be tonally jarring at times. The films also suffered from not making more use of some of their supporting characters and didn’t quite understand what it meant yet to tell a great standalone film while also laying the groundwork for future installments, with some films feeling like they took unnecessary detours from the main story.
Also, outside of Loki, many of the villains in Phase One were incredibly weak. While there were plenty of talented actors who went up against Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and everyone else, many of them felt one-dimensional, with poor motivations and no charm. None of these early films were bad, and each of them had enough redeemable qualities that make them entertaining in their own respective ways. However, while they did manage to find their way for The Avengers, it would still be some time before Marvel fully found its groove.
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