Captain America: The First Avenger was one of the highlights of Phase One of the MCU. Chris Evans' portrayal of Steve Rogers felt like it took the comic character directly off the page and put him on the big screen in an action-packed superhero war movie. While it's been eclipsed by its sequel, First Avenger is still a wonderful example of a great superhero origin movie from before the MCU embraced a rather tired origin movie formula.
And while it's an enjoyable movie, calling The First Avenger great is a road too far. Early MCU movies had their strengths but not all of them stand up the best. Captain America: The First Avenger is better than a lot of superhero origin movies that came after it, but there are also ones that are better than it for a variety of reasons.
8 Batman (1989) Ignited A Craze
It's hard to impress upon fans of today just how out of left field the success of Batman (1989) was. This was a very different time for superhero movies; the Superman series of films had sputtered out, something which hurt the genre a lot. On top of that, no one expected Michael Keaton, considered a fine comedic actor at the time, to be a great Batman or that director Tim Burton would do a good job with the movie.
Luckily, everyone was wrong. Batman is over thirty years old at this point and yet it still stands up. Keaton is an amazing Batman, Jack Nicholson's Joker is an icon, and Kim Basinger's Vicki Vale keeps up with both of them. Burton's stylized directing is perfect, and the sound stage sets give the movie a claustrophobic feel that works for Gotham. Add in a killer soundtrack with some amazing Prince songs, and it's still one of the best superhero movies of all time.
7 Wonder Woman Does Everything CA: TFA Does, But Better
Wonder Woman quickly proved to be one of the strongest movie superheroes with her role in BvS, and fans were excited about her solo film. What they got was better than anything they could have imagined. Wonder Woman set itself in World War I, giving the origin of Diana, introducing Themyscira, and taking her on a journey through Man's World and its wars. Gal Gadot proved to be the perfect Wonder Woman, but what really made the movie shine was Patty Jenkins' directing.
MCU movies have long had a stylistic problem when it came to shot composition and lighting, but that's not a problem Wonder Woman has. The movie is beautifully shot. Adding to it, the story is amazing, the characters are wonderful, and it's one of the strongest, if not the strongest, DCEU origin movie.
6 Deadpool Impresses On Multiple Levels
Deadpool was a long time in the making but when fans finally got to see it, it took its place among the pantheon of superhero movie classics almost immediately. There hasn't been a superhero casting as amazing as Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool since RDJ as Iron Man or Hugh Jackman as Logan and that was only part of what made the movie shine.
The R rating allowed the movie to embrace extremes that no other superhero film had in years, mixing violence and humor in equal and wonderful measure. At the core of the film was a touching love story, one which set it apart from the typical superhero fare. It's a wonderful movie, which feels strange to say about something as blood-soaked and profane as it is. It's also the best way to describe it.
5 Iron Man Is Still The Gold Standard For Solo MCU Superhero Origin Films
Marvel Studios embraced a specific formula for introducing characters until Phase Four. Superhero movies can be very well written, though, and Iron Man is a perfect example of that. It's basically the perfect storm of a superhero movie; the right director, screenwriters, actors, and cinematographers combined to create a theatrical experience that surprised everyone.
Iron Man set the tone for every MCU origin movie that came after it, for better and worse. RDJ is amazing as Iron Man and the rest of the cast impresses as well. It's just a great movie, endlessly entertaining in every way possible.
4 X-Men: First Class Revitalized The Franchise
The X-Men franchise's quality varied wildly and fans thought it was dead several times. After X-Men: The Last Stand's blunders, everyone had completely written it off. However, X-Men: First Class proved all the doubters wrong. An origin movie for Xavier, Magneto, and Mystique, it used its amazing core cast of James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence to create what is still one of the best superhero movies ever.
Director Matthew Vaughan brought the whole thing together, presenting a movie that was as visually interesting as anything before or since. Combine that with Kevin Bacon's scene-stealing Sebastian Shaw and X-Men: First Class does an amazing job of franchise rehabilitation.
3 Superman Made Audiences Believe A Man Could Fly
Superman is the ultimate role model, but his films have left something to be desired for a long time. One of the main reasons for that is how perfect the first one was. Superman is one of the foundational movies of the superhero genre, and even with its archaic effects, it's still among the greatest superhero movies ever made. Everything about it hits on levels that most other superhero movies only wish they could.
The cast is stellar. Christopher Reeves understood how to be Clark and Superman in a way no one else has since, Margot Kidder makes Lois the kind of fireplug force of nature she needs to be, and Gene Hackman plays Lex Luthor to smarmy perfection. Director Richard Donner did a fantastic job with the movie, creating a timeless classic.
2 Guardians Of The Galaxy Was The Most Stylish MCU Origin Film
If there was any MCU movie that had a chance at failure, it was Guardian Of The Galaxy. Starring a bunch of C-list heroes no one outside of comic fans had ever heard of, it was basically coasting off being a part of the MCU. And then people watched writer/director James Gunn's masterpiece of an origin movie and saw just how great it was. Gunn brought his personal flavor and visual language to the movie and its dialogue was endlessly quotable.
The humor, action, and visuals were only part of it, as the ensemble cast nailed their roles in ways that made other MCU actors look bland by comparison. It was such a surprising movie in a way that few MCU films have ever been and is just as good at emotional storytelling as it is everything else. It still stands head and shoulders above most of the MCU.
1 Batman Begins Filtered The Caped Crusader Through Christopher Nolan's Auteur Sensibilities
Batman Begins hit at just the right time. Superhero films were going through an early resurgence in the 2000s, but there had yet to be an auteur superhero movie. Batman Begins filled that role, with director Christopher Nolan bringing his widescreen directing style to the movie. Just from a cinematography basis, Batman Begins is not only better than CA: TFS but also the vast majority of the MCU. There's a scope to some of the shots that just can't be beat.
Christian Bale immediately made a splash as one of the best Batmen ever, and the movie is a masterpiece in nearly every way. It kicked off The Dark Knight trilogy in epic fashion, proving that superhero movies could be about more than the action but also about the people therein. It's still an amazing accomplishment in superhero cinema and beats the pants off nearly every other superhero origin movie.