Marvel’s superheroes have had some banger movies. But it’s one thing to have an overall banger movie, and a whole other thing to have a movie that’s a banger the entire way through its runtime. Oftentimes, movies have parts of the story that falter a little bit, and while it doesn’t ruin the movie, it keeps it from being awesome the entire way through, even if it’s an overall great film.
Marvel, thankfully, has a good handful of movies that are truly bangers the entire way through. Whether a film comes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, 20th Century Fox’s old universe, or Sony Pictures Entertainment, the heroes of the Marvel universe are no strangers to having banger movies. But which are the best of the best? It’s a hard question to answer, but some definitely stand out among the rest. It should be noted that these aren’t being ranked, but merely appreciated for how great they are.
15
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ (2024)
Being the first 21st Century Fox universe franchise to make its way over to the Marvel Studios universe of films, the Deadpool franchise had to set a precedent: the X-Men characters can work in the MCU, and Marvel Studios knows how to handle them. Thankfully for them, this third Deadpool movie, Deadpool & Wolverine, turned out pretty dang good. While it’s not perfect by any means, it is an absolute joy to watch from beginning to end.
Not only does it bring Hugh Jackman back as Wolverine, giving him the suit and cowl everyone’s always wanted, but it also manages to tell a compelling story amongst the goofiness at hand. Wolverine and Deadpool’s (Ryan Reynolds) character arcs actually work very well, and it makes for a fun yet emotional journey. Filled with awesome moments, like the opening scene where Deadpool kills TVA Agents with a dead Logan’s adamantium skeleton set to “Bye Bye Bye” by NSYNC, this movie is pretty unforgettable.
14
‘Spider-Man’ (2002)
Sam Raimi‘s first Spider-Man film is one of the best superhero origin movies, being a film that helped usher in the new age of superhero films and define everything that they would become today. So, not only is it great, but it’s pretty important to cape flick history. Tobey Maguire quickly solidified himself as a fan favorite Spider-Man for many, and Willem Dafoe most certainly became one of the most beloved and badass Spider-Man villains to hit the big screen.
The pacing is also excellent, getting the basic things people already knew about the character out of the way (but well done) in the first ten minutes, and giving more time for acts two and three to really shine. The plot is basic and straightforward in the best ways, because it opens up room for the characters to be more complex and compelling.
13
‘Thunderbolts*’ (2025)
This year’s Thunderbolts* marked a turning point in the MCU’s reputation among audiences everywhere. After the era of films made under Bob Chapek‘s reign as Disney CEO, Thunderbolts* was the first project to be released that was made after Bob Iger stepped back in as CEO. It was met with a very positive reception and is one of the most emotionally complex Marvel flicks in quite some time.
With great leading performances from the likes of Florence Pugh, Lewis Pullman, Sebastian Stan, and plenty of others who rocked the house for the entire runtime. The character of Bob/The Sentry/The Void is very layered, being a hero and villain all at once. He’s a phenomenal and moving commentary on mental health, which makes this movie wonderfully relatable and compelling.
12
‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)
Fans definitely have quite the soft spot for Avengers: Endgame, thanks to a good handful of reasons. Not only did it excellently wrap up all of the storylines from across the iconic Infinity Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it was filled with moments and action sequences that are some of the most memorable in Marvel films.
While the first two acts are incredibly solid and hold a great, intimate story for all of the original six Avengers, it’s the third act of this film that finds itself being the most memorable and holding the most recognizable moments. The entire final battle is one of the greatest final battles in all superhero films.
11
‘Black Panther’ (2018)
When Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) made his big debut in Captain America: Civil War, people were down for him immediately. So, when he got his very own solo film only two years later, people were pretty excited. Upon release, Black Panther was incredibly important and impactful for society. But in simplicity, it was also simply a total banger.
The awesome prowess that T’Challa showed off in Captain America: Civil War was featured very well here and made for some super-exciting fight and action sequences. It also managed to debut one of the greatest Marvel movie villains of all time in Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan). It not only delivered a very important message, but it was wildly exciting the entire way through.
10
‘Blade’ (1998)
If it hasn’t been sung to the heavens by everyone already, Wesley Snipes is one of the founding fathers of Marvel cinema. Coming together with Stephen Norrington to make Blade in 1998, they delivered one of the most violent and thrilling superhero movies of all time. Watching as Blade rips through vampires left and right is a great experience for pretty much anyone.
The classic movie about this vampire hunter is fast-paced, while still taking time to slow down when it needs to, so these speedy fight sequences hit even harder when they come on screen. It’s one of the original R-rated superhero films, which can be seen through the gritty action that keeps audiences engrossed throughout the entire flick. Safe to say, Snipes knows how to deliver a banger.
9
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (2014)
What can be said about Guardians of the Galaxy that hasn’t been said one million times over already? It’s genuinely one of the best Marvel films out there and is the kickstart to one of the best superhero trilogies there is. Guardians of the Galaxy not only manages to have fun the entire way through, but is heartfelt in so many ways.
Director James Gunn stepped into the director’s chair and absolutely shook the ground beneath the MCU, and blew audiences away. He was somehow able to make a bunch of misfits from the Marvel Comics universe into household names, and if that isn’t proof of how much of a banger Guardians of the Galaxy still is, even to this day, what else could be?
8
‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ (2014)
While most of the X-Men movies past X2: X-Men United don’t have an amazing batting average when it comes to quality, a massive exception to that is Bryan Singer‘s X-Men: Days of Future Past. The film adapts the famous Marvel Comics storyline of the same name and does it exceptionally well. Hugh Jackman brings another wonderful performance as Wolverine, and while the movies with them to come after weren’t great, this was a great introduction to the younger cast that would be taking over the X-Men franchise.
X-Men: Days of Future Past is a thrilling ride the whole way through, and watching as Wolverine has to go through a “fish out of water” storyline is very entertaining. The plot is a classic type of X-Men plot as they face societal struggles and have moral disagreements over it. The movie served as a major light of hope for the franchise moving forward.
7
‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)
There is no superhero movie out there that manages to do as much as Avengers: Infinity War does in its runtime, and does it well. It had to manage an entire cinematic universe full of characters, give them all arcs of some sort, follow the stories of four different groups, and still keep Thanos (Josh Brolin) as the main protagonist. The fact that Joe Russo and Anthony Russo somehow managed to pull it off is proof of how good this movie is for every bit of its runtime.
It’s fast-paced and, somehow, still slow enough to keep things emotionally compelling for each of the main players. Avengers: Infinity War does so much while making it feel like a normal number of things for a movie. It’s because of this that every second of this flick has something engaging going on to keep things interesting for the audience.
6
‘X-Men: First Class’ (2011)
One of the best X-Men movies of all time comes in the form of an origin prequel titled X-Men: First Class. Brought to life by renowned director Matthew Vaughn (also known for Kick-Ass), this flick not only introduced the younger cast of X-Men that would have the franchise center around them later, but it also simply told an incredible story about the friendship fallout between Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Michael Fassbender
The screenplay of X-Men: First Class is excellently written, layered with complex emotions that comment on discrimination, survivor’s guilt, and the balance between peace and violence in response to hate. With the aforementioned best friends representing both sides of this, their fallout feels important and impactful, truly moving people.
