Question on superhero movies.

FearDark

I've been avoiding superhero movies for the last few years as I was never really into them as such. Apart from the three latest Batmans I've seen nothing, no X-men, no Avengers, no nothing. I went to see the second Thor movie last night despite not seeing the first and LOVED it. I now want to watch all of these types of movies and I know they're somehow intertwined? Where to start... Captain America first or Thor 1 first or Avengers??

Help!

SimonTemplar

The order of the Marvel "Avengers" series of movies is:

Iron Man 1
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 2
Thor
Captain America 1
The Avengers
Iron Man 3
Thor 2

To be honest, prior knowledge of the individual origin movies is not a real requirement for The Avengers because it is a story that is easy to follow without much information about the Marvel universe. A lot of people I know loved The Avengers despite not having seen the other movies. Having said that, it would be a good idea to watch Thor 1 first because (1) you enjoyed Thor 2 and (2) Loki is the villain for both Thor 1 and The Avengers.

Iron Man 1 is far better than Iron Man 2 and it is probably the best Marvel origin story. Iron Man 2 has some of scenes with Tony Stark and Nick Fury with Fury trying to convince Stark to join The Avengers. That movie also introduced Black Widow who is in The Avangers. Iron Man 3 deals with the emotional fallout for Tony after the events of The Avengers, so you'd need to see The Avengers before Iron Man 3 to appreciate that plot.

The Incredible Hulk is probably the least connected movie of the lot. Even the actor playing Bruce Banner is different.

So, I see two viewing options. In all cases, watch Thor 1 before Avengers. Either
(1) Watch The Avengers next and then start with the individual movies to flesh out the characters
(2) Watch them in chronological order.

In addition to this, the x-men series is a separate Marvel thread and not connected to the cinematic Avengers universe. The first one nicely sets up the characters, and the second x-men is considered by many to be one of the finest comic book movies ever made. The third x-men movie is a disappointment though saved only by some decent action scenes. The X-Men: First Class a few years ago is a prequel set in the 1960s and it is really great, in my opinion. The stand alone Wolverine films are of poor quality however.

Also, you have the Spider-man series which also is not connected to The Avengers cinematic universe. Sam Raimi (of Evil Dead fame) helmed the first 3 movies. The first two are really good (the second has an AMAZING fight scene on a train) but he dropped the ball with the third one. The Amazing Spider-Man a few years ago rebooted the series with a new cast and crew (its sequel is out next year).

So, you can watch the X-Men and Spider-man movies without worrying about them being intertwined with other characters.

Daredevil was made in 2003 and it also not connected to The Avengers. Avoid - it is not very good.

The Green Lantern was released a few years ago. It is not a Marvel character, it is DC. Avoid the movie - it is awful.

Enjoy!

Mickeroo

I'd watch them in chronological order if I were you, it's not necessary but I think Avengers is a lot more enjoyable if you've seen all the movies leading up to it. Lots of the little character moments in it work better if you know more about the backgrounds of the characters imo.

For my money, Spiderman 2 is one of the greatest Superhero movies, just for the villain that is in it - Doctor Octopus was just phenomenal, with some excellent fight sequences.

And while I'm at it, definitely check out the DC Animated movies, if you haven't so far. Been watching a few of them and the best ones I've seen are:

Flashpoint Paradox
Doom
Dark Knight Returns (Part One & Part Two, with the latter being incredible!)
Green Lantern: First Flight
Under the Red Hood (while I haven't seen all of it, I have seen a load of it through YouTube clips, with John Di Maggio, who voiced Bender from Futurama, helming the iconic voice of the Joker and being surprisingly amazing).

Be warned though, the likes of Dark Knight Returns, Flashpoint Paradox, and Under the Red Hood don't let up on the violence, but are definitely the better for it.

CastorTroy

I haven't seen any of the animated DC movies since Under the Red Hood, but I think the best of the ones I have seen is the Wonder Woman movie.

SimonTemplar

Deleted User wrote: »

For my money, Spiderman 2 is one of the greatest Superhero movies, just for the villain that is in it - Doctor Octopus was just phenomenal, with some excellent fight sequences.

I agree, Spider-Man 1 is good but I always found the Green Goblin to be a little too cartoony.

Doc Oc is amazing in Spidey 2 and Alfred Molina is perfectly cast. Fair play to Raimi for not casting a bigger name actor to try and attract a bigger audience.

Mickeroo

CastorTroy wrote: »

I haven't seen any of the animated DC movies since Under the Red Hood, but I think the best of the ones I have seen is the Wonder Woman movie.

Get your hands on Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox asap!

Skerries

SimonTemplar wrote: »

Daredevil was made in 2003 and it also not connected to The Avengers. Avoid - it is not very good.

I haven't watched it yet but the directors cut is supposed to be way better and actually watchable

Kick-Ass is great but haven't watched 2 yet

for a different perspective on the superhero movies you should definitely check out Defendor and Super which are a bit like Kick-Ass in that it is based on real people donning the cape, Super has a great character with Ellen Page

Superheroes is a documentary following real people that dress up and patrol the streets in America

brianregan09

This is how it goes and yes they are all interwined, They are all great standalone movies bu theres little pieces in each movie including the 1st Hulk movie with norton in it

Iron Man 1: (nick fury appears at the end to talk to tony about the avenger intiative
The Incredible Hulk (tony stark appears to ask General Ross about the Hulk joining)
Iron Man 2 (a part of the hulk attack in his movie can be seen as fury chats to stark, also one of the shield agent mentions something magical in new mexico, also black widow is introduced)
Thor: Loki, Thor and hawkeye all introduced, and the Tesseract the main weapon in Avengers and Captain America
Captain America (The Red Skull finds the tesseract in the 40's) Steve Rogers becomes Cap, Wakes up in present day
Avengers: Loki uses the tesseract to attack earth with aliens
IM3 deals with Tony starks anxiety from the alien attack and some one from his past

Thats the best way I describe it, Best thing is pick them all up some weekend and watch them all one after the other

Mickeroo

Mickeroo wrote: »

Get your hands on Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox asap!

Definitely. I was really unsure when I read the synopsis, but when you got into it, it was pretty excellent.

I especially loved the version of Superman in this!

CastorTroy

Mickeroo wrote: »

Get your hands on Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox asap!

I read the Flashpoint comics and their tie-ins when they came out so I will check it out.

wandatowell

Deleted User wrote: »

Doctor Octopus was just phenomenal, with some excellent fight sequences.

Ah I always loved doctor octopus from Spidey II, great baddy. Didnt like the movie much though

Daemos

SimonTemplar wrote: »

The order of the Marvel "Avengers" series of movies is:

Iron Man 1
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 2
Thor
Captain America 1
The Avengers
Iron Man 3
Thor 2

In addition to these, the TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. also takes place within the same universe as these films. It's on every Friday on Channel 4 and Sunday on RTE2, only a few days after it airs in the US

IncognitoMan

Mickeroo wrote: »

Get your hands on Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox asap!

Just watched this tonight after seeing your comment. Really enjoyed it. Id like to see more of the animated ones. Are there any other ones I should be checking out?

I've seen under the red hood, the dark knights returns and year one and superman doomsday.

Nervous Wreck

IncognitoMan wrote: »

Just watched this tonight after seeing your comment. Really enjoyed it. Id like to see more of the animated ones. Are there any other ones I should be checking out?

I've seen under the red hood, the dark knights returns and year one and superman doomsday.

Justice League: Doom
All Star Superman
Wonder Woman
Green Lantern: First Flight

There's more but those ones particularly are great.

CastorTroy

There are also 10-15 min shorts like Green Arrow and The Spectre.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Showcase#DC_Showcase

For Green Lantern First Flight, they just do the quick version of the origin story. If you want a longer origin story, go for Justice League: New Frontier as well.