MCU: Every Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie Ranked Worst To Best

4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

While it was a little disappointing that the end of The First Avengers meant that we'd never see more of The Howling Commandoes in a Cap film, the Russos turned The Winter Soldier into a political period movie of a different type, without even needing any time travel.

The comedy directors - best known for You, Me & Dupree - turned the sequel into a 1970s-like political intrigue movie dealing in espionage and surveillance state anxiety and introducing the definitive idea of superhero registration to the MCU in a big way.

And even with those big ideas on show, the success of the sequel boils down to something much more personal - the conflict between two childhood best friends - and the confidence to bring in a world-altering SHIELD twist without it ever feeling like the Russos jumped any sharks.