10 Best Pre-MCU Superhero Films

For a while, Spider-Man 2 was the first word in quality when it came to superhero pictures; it was the standard to which other films in the genre would strive to reach. Even nearly two decades on, it's hard to find many examples of a superhero film that can match Raimi's second Spidey picture, superlative MCU fare notwithstanding.

Set two years after the first outing, this sequel follows Macquire's Peter Parker failing to balance his two lives, and doubting whether he should continue to be Spider-Man at all, whilst a new villain appears after Dr. Otto Octavius's experiment in fusion energy goes horribly wrong. It's got it all, to say the least.

This is the second Raimi film on this list. If there was an undisputed pre-MCU auteur, it was him. If the news hadn't excited you before, then the confirmation that Raimi is helming the Doctor Strange sequel should now be music to your ears. And of course, there's a reason why Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus made a comeback in Tom Holland's third MCU outing as Spidey - you can't replace the best.