Top 10 Best Decisions Made by Marvel

Talk about marvelous! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 10 best decisions made by Marvel Studios. For this list, we’re looking at Marvel Studios’ smartest, most successful decisions. To be clear, this means we’ll be discussing all Marvel movies, not just the MCU.

Before “Guardians of the Galaxy” came out in 2014, the interplanetary superhero team were far from a household name. And James Gunn wasn’t exactly a big name director either, best known for his films “Slither” and “Super”. Yet Marvel’s decision to take a risk on lesser known Marvel characters and an indie director paid off BIG time! The “Guardians” movies are some of the MCU’s most memorable, boasting plenty of humor, heart, action, and killer soundtracks. They catapulted Chris Pratt to super-stardom, made audiences fall in love with a talking tree, and there isn’t enough time in the day to discuss how hilarious Dave Bautista is as Dax.

Most superhero movies are limited to a PG-13 rating in order to broaden their audiences and take in a larger profit. Yet, surprising few fans (but probably a few executives), some of Marvel’s first big R-rated movies, “Deadpool” and “Logan” did huge business! The hard R-rating gave them the maturity, and immaturity, that they needed to do the source material justice. While a PG-13 version of “Deadpool” was subsequently released, reviews were decidedly mixed. Sure, violence and adult language aren’t requirements when catering to adult audiences . . . but they certainly didn’t hurt in these films!

It’s no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had something of a villain problem. And so with their first big crossover film, it was crucial that they find a big bad worthy of bringing Earth’s Mightiest Heroes together. Thankfully, with Loki… they got that and more! Although he began as Thor’s nemesis, Loki is charismatic enough to stand toe to toe with any of the Avengers. His wide appeal owes more than a little to actor Tom Hiddleston, whose performance has made Loki a fan favorite. Witty, sarcastic, ambitious, but also sympathetic, Loki broke the two-dimensional villain mold and helped make ”The Avengers” an incredible film.

“The Incredible Hulk” may not have been the massive hit that “Iron Man” was, but it was still reasonably well-received, and Edward Norton made for a memorable Bruce Banner/Hulk. Considering these facts, it was surprising (and a little worrying) at the time to hear that the role was being recast. Thankfully, Mark Ruffalo did a wonderful job of filling Norton’s shoes, arguably bringing even more nuance to Banner while making the Hulk much more relatable than in the 2008 film. Like Chris Evans as Captain America, he fits the role so well that, in hindsight, it’s difficult to imagine anyone else playing the character.

As brilliant as it was to cast acclaimed thespians like Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in “X-Men”, we’d argue that it was even smarter to take a chance on then little known Autralian actor Hugh Jackman. Jackman may not have had Wolverine's comic book build, at least in his first outings, but he has the attitude, able to embody Logan’s rage and regret in equal measure - as well as great comic timing when needed. Jackman went on to play the character for 17 years, showing a level of commitment and dedication to the role that few actors are willing to give. For fans, this translated into countless great moments, plus a level of slow-building character development rarely seen in an action franchise.

Given how many studios have attempted to emulate the concept since, it can be easy to forget just how revolutionary a superhero team-up movie was back in 2012. “The Avengers” blew audiences away, and multiple crossover films later, it still holds up. Part of what makes the film so successful, however, is the foundation that the MCU laid before it. Marvel released carefully crafted films for its individual heroes before attempting to bring them together. Not only did this create hype, but it also helped us get to know these versions of the characters in their own respective worlds before seeing them play off of one another. If only Marvel’s imitators had learned from their example…

There have been a lot of Spider-Men over the last couple of decades. That brings with it a risk of burnout and a whole lot of pressure for any newcomer to don the iconic outfit. But thankfully Marvel got it just right when they cast Tom Holland. Holland brings a wonderful, youthful enthusiasm to the role, and it’s infectious. His Peter Parker and Spider-Man are a pleasure to see in action, with an ideal balance between the character’s humorous and vulnerable sides. Holland’s casting also worked well for Marvel, since many of its male leads tend to be around the same age, and Holland’s youth gave younger audiences a hero to relate to.

Marvel Studios has kept a pretty tight leash on their directors, at least in the MCU. Their stringent set of guidelines and restrictions reportedly played a part in what drove Joss Whedon away after “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Therefore, it’s great to see that they’ve lessened their hardline stance and have started allowing directors to have more input. James Gunn’s vision for “Guardians of the Galaxy” was mentioned earlier, but directors Taika Waititi and Ryan Coogler imprinted “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Black Panther” respectively with their own inimitable styles. And given that all three of these directors are slated to return for more, Marvel seems to realize they’ve got a good thing going.

Spider-Man is unequivocally Marvel’s biggest name hero … or at least he was before the MCU. But in the 1990s, Marvel sold off the movie rights to the character, along with many others. Fortunately, Marvel was able to achieve a deal with Sony that got us Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in their cinematic universe. In 2019, Marvel and Sony had a falling out over the future of the character, giving Marvel fans a collective heart attack; however, the companies were soon able to reach a new, rather secretive deal. What we do know is that there’ll be at least two more Spider-Man movies in the MCU… before we may have to panic again. Please don’t leave us Spidey!

Marvel Studios has made a lot of good decisions to get them where they are now, but none have paid quite as much as casting Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. RDJ’s compelling and charismatic performance fit like a glove and was the perfect choice to kick off and often lead the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It doesn’t hurt that Downey’s personal journey paralleled Marvel’s own - both having fallen on hard times, but managing to dramatically turn their fortunes around. It’s fair to say that without Downey, we wouldn’t have the MCU as we know it. Thank you sir – you ARE Iron Man.