Since the release of Iron Man in 2008, Marvel's Cinematic Universe has gone from strength to strength and now Superheroes are again popular. No longer are superhero movies just for the cult following of the comic book lover and no longer are they just there to be scrutinised - as the stories fail to live up to expectations set on the page.
Part of the credit should go to the DC Cinematic Universe too, but that's for a different list on a different day. The first "Batman" movie (I know he's from DC) was released in the 1960s and in the 1970s "Superman" came along in movie form
Barring their own sequels, the DC movies didn't start a trend in pop culture - we had to wait roughly 40 years for Marvel to introduce Iron Man to the silver screen.
This introduction began a series of superhero movies - which their biggest rivals have cashed in on - which has seen roughly three movies per year featuring our favourite Marvel caped crusaders.
'The Top Five'
Give it a little bit of time and we're sure "Deadpool" and "Doctor Strange" will feature but here are the best Marvel movies to be released in the past ten years...
'Spider-Man 2'
A - pardon the pun - absolutely heroic movie. For me, "Spider-Man 2" was a near-perfect film and scene when Peter lowers himself to kiss Mary Jane (as Spider-Man) ... cinematic gold.
'X-Men: Days of Future Past'
Probably the greatest movie featuring everybody's favourite mutants, "Days of Future Past" is a brilliantly paced movie.
The story follows the survival fight of the species across two time periods.
'Guardians of the Galaxy'
Chris Pratt. I could probably leave it there and move on but that wouldn't do justice to the brilliant cast around him. The movie is everything you'd expect from Marvel, a brilliant action-packed story line that has a great deal of Pratt-inspired comedy.
'The Avengers'
A bar was set very, very high in this movie - never before has a superhero movie featuring so many characters, been so successful. The script was written to show the humanity of our favourite superheroes and seeing that was simply wonderful.
'Iron Man'
Robert Downey Jr. might be the best thing happen to superhero movies. Ever. His portrayal as "Iron Man" in the original story is sublime, as Tony Stark needs to use his intelligence and wealth to transform himself into a hero.
