Every Marvel Comic Book Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

12. Doctor Strange

Having wanted to get the cosmic arm of the MCU off the ground, Kevin Feige finally got his desire in 2016, thanks to the discovery of the perfect jigsaw pieces for his vision in director Scott Derrickson and star Benedict Cumberbatch.

The film is easily the bravest Marvel film to date, with a huge weight of expectation on its shoulders to perform (given the potential doors it could have opened), but instead of being crushed by that, Derrickson used it as an invitation to innovate. And the result is Marvel's most impressive visual film.

The visual effects and action sequences are absolutely jaw-dropping, taking in the iconic, mind-boggling work of Steve Ditko and pushing the limits of technology that had made Christopher Nolan's Inception so stunning. And on that background, Benedict Cumberbatch is brilliant, offering a performance that vindicates the decision to push for him and mess with the film's schedule to accommodate him.

It's a stand-alone story, but one which ties to the wider MCU in clever ways, establishing boundaries between the physical and metaphysical planes that should mean the franchise's future is as exciting as it is weird.