MCU: Every Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie Ranked Worst To Best

6. Iron Man 3 (2013)

Every critic of Iron Man 3 will always tell you that it was ruined by a twist that stuck a middle finger up at the comic book's history in its treatment of the Mandarin, but those people are fundamentally wrong. The twist in Shane Black's film is funny, unexpected and fittingly lampoons a character who is no more than a racist stereotype in the source. On reflection, the rage that met it is a little comical.

In Black's hands, Iron Man 3 becomes a nostalgic, swaggering buddy actioner with the chemistry between Iron Man and War Machine pushed far better than it had been before and Stark's struggles with PTSD adding an interesting, grown-up undercurrent.

The action is great, the story excellent (though the sidelining of Maya Hansen was a little unfair) and the writing as smart as you'd expect in a Black movie. And it also gave us our first look at a Hulkbuster armour, not to mention giving Pepper Potts something to do, which is something neither Jon Favreau nor Joss Whedon managed.