Top Seven Marvel Movies Not Featuring an Avenger
Written by Natale Ryan
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is one of the most successful movie franchises to date. Though it may seem that Marvel Studios didn’t truly become successful until the release of Iron Man in 2008, Marvel movies have been in existence since the early 1980s. Since the recent release of Avengers: Infinity War, the world has had a new wave of superhero fever. Despite all the positive ratings from audiences and critics, we all have to admit that the constant wave of Avenger characters can be exhausting. To help with this, I’ve compiled a list of Marvel movies that don’t star an Avenger, yet may mention them.
1. Howard the Duck (1986) – Have you ever heard of this film? No? There’s probably a reason for that. Despite the reputation this film has, as a young child I loved this movie. It’s strange, nonsensical, and directed by George Lucas. The films centers around a duck man named “Howard” who lives on a planet inhabited by duck people. Things go awry when he’s somehow blasted into our human world by accident. The romance in this film is odd, the suspense is interesting, and the music will stay in your head for days. Give this film a try when you’re bored or just for a laugh.
2. Fantastic Four (2005) – I know that this movie comes with its stigmas, but in reality, Fantastic Four is a difficult comic to adapt to film. How easy can it be to make a movie about four different superheroes who get blasted by radiation? I think that the 2005 version is the best. It includes a lot of the corny, slapstick humor that’s featured in the comics and doesn’t skimp on the backstory. As a teenager, I loved this movie. I thought that Doctor Doom was an awesome villain, but I admit that the movie hasn’t held up very well. Despite how disliked this movie may be to some, to me it’s a guilty pleasure and far surpasses the most recent version.
3. Blade (1998) – Though not your typical superhero, and especially not one who’s child-friendly, 1998’s Blade is indeed a movie based on a Marvel character. The movie is centered around a man who’s a human with vampire-like strength as a result of his mother being bitten while he was still in utero. He spends his life believing it’s his duty to protect humans from vampires. In the film, he’s portrayed by action film star Wesley Snipes. I first saw this film when I was young and thought it was frightening. Now that I’m older, it seems mediocre. The action is pretty decent, but since it lacks some of the current annoying Marvel traits, I’m putting it on my list.
4. The Punisher (2004) – This movie is pretty solid, but honestly not one of my favorites. It made the list because of its serious tone and honest portrayal of grief. Stunning performances by John Travolta and Thomas Jane are also a plus for this movie. This film tells the story of an FBI agent whose family is murdered by a mafia boss. As an act of revenge, the FBI agent hunts down the man who murdered his loved ones in gruesome ways. Though this has been reimagined as a new Netflix series, I place this film in high regard.
5. Deadpool (2016) – Deadpool was supposed to be the most foul-mouthed, violent comic book antihero to be featured. Yet, when the film opened on Valentine’s Day as a joke, I found it to be mediocre compared to many other movies. Though the film’s antihero was portrayed exceptionally well by Ryan Reynolds and the humor was on point, I wasn’t very entertained by the movie. It wasn’t a bad movie by any means, but it was lacking a feature I can’t quite put my finger on. The movie centers around a man who’s experimented on in the hopes of finding a cure for his cancer. When he’s left with superhero powers, but a scarred appearance, he hunts down the man who ruined his life.
6. X-Men (2000) – In my opinion, the superhero craze started with X-Men. As a child, I loved the cartoon. As a pre-teen, having the characters of Wolverine, Rogue, and Storm all come to life on the silver screen was a treat. This was, in my opinion, the movie that put future Marvel films on the map and opened the door for MCU. The movie centers around Rouge, a teenage runaway who has the unfortunate mutant power of taking the life of whoever she touches. At a bar, she stows away in Wolverine’s truck, and the rest is history. Though many X-Men movies have come and gone, this was the first, and the one that started it all.
7. Logan (2017) – I absolutely loved Logan. This film is brutal, honest, and sad, and features a true departure of one the most beloved comic book characters of all time. The acting in this movie is amazing, and Hugh Jackman sends the character of Wolverine off in the best way possible, giving closure to the character. In this film, Wolverine meets a young mutant who seems to be cloned from his own DNA, which, by default, makes her his daughter. The bond the two develop is amazing. I’m looking forward to the release of The New Mutants this year!
So there you have it! This is my list of non-Avenger MCU movies. There are a few more in production that have yet to be released. For example, this year will see the release of The New Mutants, Venom, and Deadpool 2. Let’s hope they’re good!
The Author
Natale is an English teacher in Mokpo. She is from Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States. She attended college in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and majored in criminology and sociology. In her free time, she enjoys watching scary movies and writing short stories. Her favorite movies are To Kill a Mockingbird, E.T., and Memento. Her heroes are Snoopy and Audrey Hepburn.