The genre that ate the box office, from sincerity to saturation, in order.
made audiences believe the genre could carry sincerity
made comic properties a studio strategy
the superhero film before superhero films
the film that started the whole modern genre
the blockbuster template for the next 20 years
widely mocked, and the comic-panel editing is genuinely radical
the sequel that made the genre respectable
still the high-water mark for the genre
the reboot that made reboots the default
the film that built the MCU
the blockbuster that raised the ceiling
divisive then and now; nothing else looks like it
the setup *The Winter Soldier* answers
the prequel that rebuilt the franchise, and *Days of Future Past*'s other cast
the crossover nobody had proven could work
the ending Nolan's trilogy earned
the MCU's best-directed film
the MCU allowed to be strange
two casts, one film, and it holds
the weakest Avengers film, and the one *Civil War* stands on
the crossover that actually costs something
the R-rated superhero film that proved the market existed
the visual high point of the middle MCU
the saddest of the MCU comedies
the superhero film as a western
the John Hughes Spider-Man
Waititi rescuing a franchise
the first one that landed
the villain wins
the first superhero Best Picture nominee
funnier and better built than the first
the largest narrative payoff ever attempted
the aftermath film
the crossover as event
three hours of rain and detective work
the trilogy's proper close
Jackman's return, and the cultural event of its year
$1.67 billion, and the fastest overseas billion but one
