by David Kent | staff writer

Avengers: Infinity War will become the newest addition to the Avenger’s Saga, coming in as the nineteenth Marvel movie over the course of the last ten years. Infinity War is the culmination of ten years of character development and a whopping three billion dollar budget from all eighteen movies. All Marvel movies have been successful, however, there are only a few worthwhile ones to remember for years.

#10. Thor (2011)

It was the begining to one of the greatest Marvel superheroes. Haha, I meant one of the greatest villains…such as Loki! Sure, Thor is cool. However, Loki felt like more of a character and he had more of a story. Loki’s story is one of tragedy, from being stolen as a child by Odin, and then being told he was going to be used to harbor peace by the very man who he thought was his father. Okay, sorry about that. “Thor” is a great movie with a few very memorable characters, like the two who were stated above. The movie had a very shakespearean aspect to it with the feuding and drama of royal affairs along with the visual aspect of Asgard itself. Personally, I wish there was more interaction between Loki and Thor, though what we got as a result wasn’t half bad.

#9. Doctor Strange (2016)

“Doctor Strange” was basically what would happen if a marvel movie was filled with trippy hallucinations, it was like a rollercoaster with all of the twists and turns and felt like you were you were on something. Visually, it was a stunning movie with our favorite Sherlock Holmes as Doctor Strange, Benedict Cumberbatch. The story of the movie was rather simple and the villain was alright, however the movie most shined through its use of surreal visual effects and imagery which exploded off of he movie screen like an elaborate painting.

#8. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

To put it simply, “Guardians of the Galaxy” is a movie about a ragtag team of nobodies and criminals who assemble together to defeat an alien menace. Basically, it’s Suicide Squad but it makes more sense…and has likable characters. From the psycho assassin, Gamora, to the enhanced talking racoon, Rocket, “Guardians of the Galaxy” has a very unique cast of characters who often bicker amongst one another. Their reason for saving the galaxy? “Cause I’m one of the idiots who lives in it!” GotG is a very enjoyable movie-going experience with exciting characters but with a villain I don’t really care about, all I know is that he is blue and angry.

#7. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

“Thor: Ragnarok” is the newest installment in the “Thor” movie saga. With it’s third installment, Ragnarok turned towards a light-hearted and comedic movie theme instead of it’s typical dark and shakespearean theme which was present in the first two Thor movies. I, myself, personally enjoyed both “Thor” and “Thor: The Dark World” despite many people disliking both, especially the second. However, “Ragnarok” was a splash of humor in an otherwise humorless area of Marvel movies. The movie was a new take on Thor as a character and a very welcome one. It turns normally serious situations, such as the monologue of Surtur to destroy Asgard, to more of a comedy sketch where Thor keeps interrupting him. Ragnarok reinvented the character of Thor and introduced us to the hilarious rock-giant, Korg and his friend Meek. However, I’ll personally miss the serious tone of the previous two Thor installments.

#6. Avengers (2012)

“Avengers” was the first superhero movie to bring together all types of heroes to combat an end of the world threat. It was the culmination of all of the phase one Marvel movies and heroes into one big, blockbuster movie which shattered records and expectations. Avengers granted us the opportunity to finally see Thor and Cap interact, it showed us a fight between Thor and Hulk and it laid the groundwork for the friendship and later destruction of Cap’s and Tony’s relationship. Avengers brought so many of our favorite heroes together onto the big-screen, together as a team, to save the world.

#5. Iron Man (2008)

“Iron Man” was one of the first very successful superhero movies and it’s what first jumpstarted the blockbuster studio of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man was a new standard for superhero movies, it deviated from the storyline of the comics slightly to ground the movie more in reality, and it helped to find a balance between laughs and a serious tone. Iron Man introduced us to the first major hero of the MCU, Tony Stark. It’s one of those movies that, the first time you see it, you will always remember some little part of the movie. Iron Man delivered to us a stunning performance from Robert Downey Jr., who had now been playing Tony Stark for ten years.

#4. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

I’ve never really seen a Spider-Man movie or read any of the Spider-Man comics, so I didn’t have much to go off of when seeing Homecoming. To be honest, I never actually had any interest in seeing Homecoming. Though, I was glad that I did see “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” The movie picks up roughly six months after Civil War with Tom Holland as Peter Parker. Homecoming, like Black Panther, tells it’s own self-contained story. It’s more of a personal story, a smaller scale story told through the eyes of a friendly neighborhood Spiderman. Homecoming was a very enjoyable high-school drama esque story mixed with the action and visuals of a superhero thriller.

#3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

The first “Captain America” movie was not the best, it was mediocre at best. At the time, I didn’t really like Cap as a character and didn’t know what to think of him. However, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was different. It didn’t just feel like a superhero movie, it had elements of a political drama and felt like it was a spy movie. Winter Soldier dealt with the issues of freedom and security, on whether it would be better to take away people’s freedoms and security to neutralize threats before they happened, thus saving thousands at the cost of freedom. Winter Soldier re-introduced us to a cast of old characters made new, such as Bucky Barnes and the infamous organization of Hydra.

#2. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Civil War pits the avengers against one another, specifically the conflicting ideologies of Tony Stark and Captain America. The movie takes place after the events of Age of Ultron, with the emergence of a victim of what the avengers had done in Sokovia. Civil War looks like an avengers movie, but tackles with the complex motives and messages behind the Captain America movies. Civil War deals with the issue of government oversight and the issue of being ‘free’ from the government. It talks about the issue of superheroes with no supervision who could become villains. It puts the avengers against their greatest villains, themselves and helps to cement each heroes beliefs and reason for doing what they do.

#1. Black Panther (2018)

“Black Panther” has broken many records, one of which is throwing Titanic out of the number two spot for highest grossing movies of all time. Black Panther is a very unique Marvel movie in the way that it is contained in it’s own world. It doesn’t feel like a Marvel movie, it feels like it’s own standalone thing. Culturally, Black Panther takes on many aspects of African Culture. When I first heard about Black Panther coming out, I wasn’t really interested. The movie just wasn’t my type. However, after I saw the movie, I was blown away by how good it was and the subliminal story it told subtley to the viewer. Black Panther will, most likely, remain one of my top Marvel movies- especially with the soundtrack of the movie.