10 Marvel Movies That Focused More on the Character than Saving the World

A major reason behind the success of Marvel stories is the characters, who audiences have fallen in love with over multiple comics. These magnificent heroes and villains have inspired several motion pictures, which have brought Marvel Comics to new generations of viewers. The latest Marvel film to release is Deadpool & Wolverine and according to Comicbook.com, its director Shawn Levy has stated the picture’s character stakes to be more important than the world-ending ones. This has prompted fans to discuss other Marvel projects where the characters took precedence over the saving-the-day narratives.

Great characters are needed to care about the world or the universe being saved. The best Marvel films understand this necessity and focus on making sure audiences care for the people who inhabit the franchise. Shifting the focus to the personalities of these protagonists and antagonists adds more dramatic weight to the movie narratives, resulting in a wholly satisfying release.

10 Captain America: The Winter Soldier Concerns Steve And Bucky’s Friendship

Captain America: The Winter Soldier plays with Steve’s unique perspective, having been frozen in ice since World War 2. He emerges into a world that’s both very different and unnervingly similar to the one he left behind. Captain America: The Winter Soldier shows Steve uncovering Hydra’s infiltration of SHIELD, while reuniting him with an old friend.

The main crux of Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s story concerns Steve and Bucky’s unbreakable friendship. Steve’s discovery that Hydra has turned Bucky into the Winter Soldier is an emotional watch, devastating Steve. He had previously presumed Bucky to have died during the war, only to discover he had been brainwashed by Hydra, becoming a shell of the person Steve once knew.

9 Logan Sees Wolverine And Professor X Coming To Terms With Their Mortality

Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine received a beautiful send-off in Logan, closing the chapter on his Wolverine before his eventual return in Deadpool And Wolverine. It depicts Logan coming out of retirement to help Professor X deliver young mutant Laura, otherwise known as X23, to safety.

Logan is a film with a strong message, seeing Logan grappling with his violent past while trying to keep Laura safe from some sinister scientists. Logan also places much of its focus on Wolverine and Professor X’s friendship, and the pair coming to terms with their mortality. It leads to some deeply emotional scenes involving Xavier and Logan’s deaths at the hands of the villainous X-24.

8 Spider-Man: Far From Home Deals Heavily With Tony Stark’s Death

The Spider-Man movies often see Peter dealing with the harsh realities of being a superhero. Spider-Man: Far From Home focuses largely on this aspect of the web-crawler, coming after Tony Stark’s sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame. It follows Peter traveling across Europe to battle elemental monsters, who turn out to be projections made by Mysterio.

This hugely entertaining Spider-Man film deals heavily with Tony Stark’s demise. While Peter is hit hard by Tony no longer being around, Quentin despises him, due to his harsh treatment by Tony while working at Stark Industries. Spider-Man: Far From Home highlights the major impact that Tony held on people’s lives, both positively and negatively, showing how his presence is still felt even after his death.

7 Family Is A Key Theme Throughout Ant-Man And The Wasp

Ant-Man And The Wasp may not be as highly regarded as other MCU films, but its smaller-scale approach is a breath of fresh air. Alongside featuring one of the best MCU themes, it also smartly keeps the focus on Hank Pym, Scott Lang, and Hope Van Dyne. “Family” is a key theme throughout this picture.

Ant-Man And The Wasp’s premise concerns Hank’s relationship with his missing wife, Janet. It follows Hank, Scott, and Hope’s attempts to rescue her from the Quantum Realm, after receiving a message hinting that she may be alive. Ant-Man And The Wasp’s Ghost is one of the most well-developed MCU villains, blaming her parents’ deaths on Hank’s unsafe experiments concerning the Quantum Tunnel.

The Guardians Of The Galaxy films feature some of themost interesting characters, like Peter Quill. Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2 explores his parentage, placing much of its focus on Peter and Ego’s father-and-son dynamic.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2’s battle showcases the rising tensions between father and son, with Peter’s anger being fueled partly by Ego being an absentee parent as much as it is by his evil plan to recreate the universe in his image. Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2 also paints Yondu as having been more of a father to Peter, suggesting that fatherhood is not always about biology but also the shared love between a man and his child.

5 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Focuses On The Stories Of Its Protagonists And Antagonists

Despite its unfavorable reputation, The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s character work is exemplary. The film follows Peter coming to blows with Electro and the Green Goblin. However, the most important elements of the plot concern the stories of its protagonists and its antagonists.

Electro’s descent into villainy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 comes from his feelings of neglect, believing himself to have been shunned from society and wishing for people to finally notice him. Meanwhile, a major emphasis in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the romance between Peter and Gwen, who discovers Peter is Spider-Man. Peter is left heartbroken when Gwen is killed in the ensuing battle with the Green Goblin, creating one of the most tragic movie couples.

4 Avengers: Endgame Smartly Explores The Emotional Fallout From Thanos’s Snap

Marvel’s spectacular Avengers movies offer some of the most awe-inspiring superhero fights. Avengers: Endgame is no exception, especially in its third act when the heroes team up against Thanos, but it’s the character moments that most stand out here.

Avengers Endgame explores the emotional fallout from Thanos’s snap in Avengers: Infinity War. It shows how the heroes have adjusted over five years to the loss of half of Earth’s population. Avengers: Endgame’s best-written scenes involve Steve Rogers at the support group, due to how it plays to Steve’s personality as a man motivated by a keen sense of duty. Steve feels lost and heartbroken in a world where he can do nothing to save the people he swore to protect.

3 Doctor Octopus’s Story In Spider-Man 2 Is Tragic

Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man remains a firm fan favorite and delivers some of Spider-Man 2’s best quotes.Spider-Man 2 highlights his difficulties in juggling his superhero life with his civilian lifestyle. It follows Peter taking on the clever scientist Doctor Octopus, whose dangerous fusion reactor device threatens to destroy the world.

Spider-Man 2 followsOtto’s tragic story. His mind is taken over by his robotic tentacles, before sacrificing his life to stop the fusion reactor. Peter, meanwhile, sees a scientist who he greatly admired become a shadow of the man he once was. Spider-Man 2 also shows Peter giving up being Spider-Man and losing his powers, depicting the emotional toll that Spider-Man places on Peter.

2 Captain America: Civil War Shows The Break Down Of Steve And Tony’s Friendship

Superheroes battling their supposed allies makes for a cinematic spectacle, but Captain America: Civil War gives a more nuanced take on heroes coming to blows. Captain America: Civil War shows Iron Man and Captain America clashing over the Sokovian Accords, following a disastrous mission to stop a terrorist attack in Nigeria.

Captain America: Civil War details the unfortunate breaking down of Steve and Tony’s friendship. They had previously established a strong working dynamic, but Tony’s discovery that Steve knew that Bucky had killed his parents changed their relationship forever. The trust between Tony and Steve is broken, and the resulting brawl in Captain America: Civil War is captivating to witness, due to how it’s driven by Tony’s feelings of betrayal.

1 Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3 Details Rocket’s Depressing Backstory

Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3’s plot is centered around one of the best Guardians members, Rocket, and his past with the High Evolutionary. The team’s efforts to stop the High Evolutionary from wiping out the Humanimal species tie in directly to Rocket Raccoon’s history.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3’s story revolves around Rocket’s emotional trauma from being cruelly experimented on by the High Evolutionary. Audiences learn how this malicious individual killed his friends, Lylla, Teef, and Floor. The Guardians’ battle against the High Evolutionary in Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3 is also spurred by their discovery that he installed a kill switch inside Rocket, making the group desperate to remove the chip and save their friend.