Every MCU Origin Story Ranked From Worst To Best

Guardians of the Galaxy was surely the origin movie most in danger of flying off the rails, given that it not only took the MCU to outer space and starred a talking raccoon and tree-monster, but it was also helmed by James Gunn, whose most expensive prior movie had just a fraction of this film's budget.

But Guardians turned out to be one of the series' most refreshingly irreverent and visually stunning origin stories, immersing audiences deeply in its far-flung world and making the absolute most of its central cast of anti-heroes.

Gunn proved here that he knew how to tell a sweet, hilarious, and stylish tale of an unconventional family's formation, enough that it's easy to forgive how utterly uninteresting its villain, Ronan (Lee Pace), truly is.

Selling so many out-there characters and concepts to mainstream audiences in just two hours isn't easy, but Gunn certainly makes it look so.