8 MCU Movies You Can Totally Avoid Watching
6. Iron Man 3
Iron Man 3 was undoubtedly one of the MCU's more divisive installments. Equally adored and despised, the 2013 film took a risk with its villain in a bid to subvert our expectations and, like or not, it definitely paid off. Unfortunately, however, the film also ended up becoming one of the franchise's most skippable installments.
It does make reference to the wider universe, given that Tony's character arc centres on the aftermath of The Avengers, but it's very much focused on the task-at-hand as opposed to setting up what comes next.
That's not to say that it's bad because, to be quite honest, it's a great film and, if you're one of the people who appreciate the twist, there is a strong chance that you might end up enjoying this one more than the admittedly-brilliant first film. Moreover, unlike its predecessor, it successfully managed to produce an engaging arc based on Tony's mental health, as Marvel's metal man suffered from PTSD and found unlikely assistance from a child - a storyline which provided fans with some of the finest work of Robert Downey Jr.'s career.
However, despite the great character building, Iron Man 3 has little to no relevance to the MCU's bigger picture.