5 Marvel Movies That Surpassed Expectations

Whether you like it or not, superhero movies run the world right now. Ever since the turn of the century, they have been getting more and more popular, and this all came to a culmination last year when Avengers: Endgame became the most successful movie of all time.

In particular, Marvel movies have become hugely popular. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been one of the most ambitious projects in the film industry over the past decade. The franchise have spanned 23 films and 11 years, crossing over characters and plot-lines, re-introducing us to some iconic comic superheroes, including Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk and Black Panther.

Of course, Marvel Studios aren't the only ones to have made movies about the Marvel Universe. Before they were bought by Disney, Fox were behind a massively successful X-Men franchise (and a few not so successful efforts in Daredevil, Elektra, and three Fantastic Four movies). Also, in 2018, Sony began an animated Spider-Man franchise, with the release of Into the Spider-Verse.

Ever since The Avengers was released in 2012, Marvel movies have been box office behemoths - even more-so than before - and received pretty much steady acclaim (with the obvious exception of some films, including Venom and Dark Phoenix). But not every film is hyped up quite the same. Some end up completely surpassing fan expectations...

The MCU had a great running streak in 2017 (with Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok), and it seemed like they couldn’t be stopped. However, no-one could have predicted that their next movie, Black Panther, would have made such an impact.

Based off the superhero of the title, the film boasts an all-star cast and crew, including director, Ryan Coogler, and actors, Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan, and was the first MCU film to have a predominately Black cast and crew.

Not only was the film really well-made, benefiting from fantastic performances and steady direction by Coogler, but the film made such a spell-binding social impact.

The film, along with DC’s big screen treatment of Wonder Woman, became a huge stepping stone for representation on screen. Becoming a big box office success, the film became the highest-grossing film with a predominantly Black cast. And, along with many films released in the late 2010s (including Get Out and Moonlight), it was an undeniable reminder that Black films can indeed generate huge audiences. Its impact was so far-reaching that it actually won three Oscars, and was nominated for Best Picture.

And this all stemmed from a superhero film. Who would have thought it?