Marvel Studios released the ground-breaking Iron Man in 2008, ushering in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The shared universe spent a little over a decade exploring a storyline known as the Infinity Saga that brought several Marvel characters to the big screen for the first time.

The MCU films have garnered plenty of fame, but they aren't Marvel's only movies. Well over a dozen films were released before the MCU debuted in 2008, and fans continue to celebrate them to this day. While some of them have been forgotten, other films remain universally beloved.

Updated on March 24, 2024 by Jordan Iacobucci: The Marvel Cinematic Universe is beginning to revisit some of the movies before 2008's Iron Man, grafting them into a larger multiverse. With heavy rumors that certain pre-MCU characters may appear in titles like Avengers: Secret Wars, the Marvel films before 2008 are now more important than ever.

21 Howard The Duck Is One Of The Worst Comic Book Movies Ever

Marvel's first foray into live-action adaptations was also its first bomb. Howard The Duck flopped into theaters in 1986. George Lucas produced the film that adapted the popular comic series. Unfortunately, it lost much of the surrealism from Howard the Duck's best comic storylines.

Howard the Duck starred Lea Thompson, Tim Robbins, and Jeffrey Jones, and Chip Zien voiced Howard. A team of puppeteers combined with several people in an (sometimes) animatronic suit to bring the character to life on the big screen. Despite being the first Marvel movie, Howard the Duck's failure kept Marvel away from theaters for a few years.

20 The Punisher Didn't Capture Audience Interest

1980s action superstar Dolph Lundgren starred as Frank Castle in Marvel's first live-action take on The Punisher in 1989 alongside Lou Gossett Jr. However, it was easily missed by Marvel fans on video store shelves since the character lacked his recognizable iconography.

After the murder of his wife and children, Frank Castle launched his one-man war on crime. He quickly fell into a confrontation with both the Mafia and the Japanese Yakuza, and he allied with his greatest enemy to take on the deadly new threat. The Punisher joined Howard The Duck as one of Marvel's early cinematic failures after a very limited release.

19 Captain America Isn't Worth Watching

Albert Pyun directed the first cinematic Captain America in 1990. It went unreleased for a couple of years before finally hitting shelves as a direct-to-video release. Captain America cost $3 million and only brought in a few thousand dollars after fans and critics panned the film.

Several changes were made to the characters for the live-action adaptation. Notably, the reimagined Red Skull (Scott Paulin) was Italian instead of German. The underdeveloped Steve Rogers (Matt Salinger) also wore a cheap costume that keeps this adaptation in the forgotten VHS bin.

18 The Fantastic Four Is An Unreleased Take On Marvel's First Family

While it wasn't officially released, Roger Corman's 1994 live-action adaptation of Marvel's First Family earned its own place in history. The Fantastic Four featured actors working on a low budget who were unaware of the producers' ultimate goals.

The Fantastic Four only went into production to keep hold of the film rights for a later adaptation. Producers shelved the film as intended, but demand briefly brought it to light. This eventually led to a leaked bootleg version that finally revealed the unofficial Fantastic Four movie. 20th Century Fox producer Avi Arad purchased the film and destroyed almost all the copies to protect later adaptations of Marvel's First Family.

17 Blade Proved Comic Book Movies Can Be Great

It wasn't until 1998's Blade film that Marvel finally saw success with a live-action adaptation. Wesley Snipes impressed fans as the vampire hunter in the R-rated action/horror movie. Some viewers didn't even realize Blade was a comic book movie when it was released. Blade introduced the character and his ally Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) as they waged war against vampires.

The film also featured Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), one of Marvel's most powerful Blade villains. Similar to the comics, Deacon appears as the vampire who turns Blade into a human/vampire hybrid, leads the vampiric uprising, and attempts to carry out an ancient blood ritual. Over twenty-five years later, Mahershala Ali is set to star in the MCU's Blade reboot.

16 X-Men Kicked Off One Of Marvel's Most Successful Franchises

Director Bryan Singer kicked off 20th Century Fox's blockbuster franchise with 2000's X-Men. The first live-action adaptation of the hit Marvel comic featured a small roster of mutants as Professor Xavier's (Patrick Stewart) X-Men and Magneto's (Ian McKellan) Brotherhood faced off for the first time.

X-Men also introduced fans to Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). The X-Men welcomed this iconic character into their organization following a battle with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, who attempted to kidnap young Rogue (Anna Paquin). Wolverine later received his own spin-off franchise which launched in 2009 after the MCU's debut. Over two decades after its beginning, the X-Men franchise is getting rebooted in the MCU.

15 Blade II Improved On The Original

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The success of 1998's Blade launched a hit franchise. Visionary director Guillermo del Toro took over the series for 2002's Blade II, where future The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus joined Snipes and frequent del Toro collaborator Ron Perlman. Blade worked with an elite vampire death squad known as the Bloodpack to take on a new strain of vampires.

The deadly vampires fed on their own kind to transform them into even more terrifying monsters. The film fit in well with other Guillermo del Toro projects and the new strain of vampires inspired his later take on the undead in The Strain​​​​​.

14 Spider-Man Is An All-Time Classic

Sam Raimi launched the successful live-action Spider-Man franchise for Sony Pictures in 2002. The film starred Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane, and James Franco as Harry Osborn. Willem Dafoe also appeared as Norman Osborn, who transformed into the villainous Green Goblin when Peter became Spider-Man.

Spider-Man quickly became a fan favorite and remained the standard for all other adaptations. Tobey Maguire and Dafoe reprised their roles from 2021's hit MUC film Spider-Man: No Way Home, officially bringing the characters into the shared universe.

13 Daredevil Was A False Start For The Man Without Fear

20th Century Fox brought the first big-screen Daredevil to theaters in 2003. Ben Affleck starred as blind attorney-turned-vigilante Matt Murdock. Daredevil also featured Jennifer Garner as Matt Murdock's love interest, Elektra.

Michael Clarke Duncan and Colin Farrell starred as two of the strongest Daredevil villains, Kingpin and Bullseye. Daredevil adapted several classic comic storylines focusing on Frank Miller's work. Unfortunately, the adaptation failed to bring the character's depth to the big screen. However, it did feature future MCU director Jon Favreau as Foggy Nelson.

12 X2: X-Men United Brought The Franchise To New Heights

The X-Men returned with a bigger roster in 2003's X2: X-Men United. The sequel featured one of the franchise's best action scenes, where Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) attempted to attack the president. This scene went unmatched in the franchise for years until Quicksilver appeared in the prequel series.

An enemy from Wolverine's past launched an attack on the Xavier Institute and left the X-Men divided after anti-mutant government forces captured their students. Dire circumstances led the X-Men to join forces with the Brotherhood to save mutantkind from those that hated and feared them. The sequel attempted to kick off the "Dark Phoenix Saga" but failed in the execution.

11 Hulk Got Smashed At The Box Office

Visionary director Ang Lee brought Hulk to the big screen for the first time in 2003's Hulk. The adaptation reimagined the experiment that transformed Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) into the Hulk and merged a few villains, like Absorbing Man and Zzzax, into his father, David Banner (Nick Nolte).

Lee used interesting comic transitions that stood out to fans along with the dynamic battle scenes. However, other unusual creative decisions made this adaptation fall behind later cinematic versions. The MCU's Hulk starred in his own reboot before returning for a recurring role in The Infinity Saga and The Multiverse Saga.

10 The Punisher Still Couldn't Get Its Antihero Right

Thomas Jane starred in 2004's reboot of The Punisher. The movie was loosely based on The Punisher: Year One and the "Welcome Home, Frank" comic storyline. The reboot explored the death of his entire family at a tropical reunion getaway.

He survived and returned to find a new home while preparing for his mission as the Punisher. John Travolta starred as gangster Howard Saint, although the movie suffered from its focus on the villain and his various family problems. Fans hoped to see the Punisher do what he did best, which later adaptations achieved.

9 Spider-Man 2 Is One Of The Best Superhero Movies Ever Made

Tobey Maguire and the rest of the cast reprised their roles for Sam Raimi's 2004 sequel Spider-Man 2. The sequel also starred Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus in a fan-favorite role. Many fans considered Spider-Man 2 the franchise's best, but to some, it became one of the best sequels in cinematic history.

Peter Parker's troubled relationship with Mary Jane and Harry Osborn was further explored, along with Otto's transformation into Doctor Octopus. Molina's portrayal of the character brought new depth to Doc Ock and led to his return in Spider-Man: No Way Home​​​​.

8 Blade: Trinity Killed A Beloved Marvel Franchise

Wesley Snipes returned for a third and final outing as Marvel's vampire hunter in 2004's Blade: Trinity. It also introduced Hannibal King (Ryan Reynolds) and Abigail Whistler (Jessica Biel) as members of the vampire-hunting group known as the Nightstalkers.

Blade: Trinity presented a new take on Dracula (Dominic Purcell) known as Drake, who planned to wipe out all inferior species, including humans and vampires. Trouble behind the scenes ended the franchise and Snipe's time with the character, which set the stage for Mahershala Ali's Blade reboot.

7 Elektra Is One Of Marvel's Worst Films

While 2003's Daredevil wasn't highly regarded among fans, it proved enough of a success that Jennifer Garner returned for the 2005 Elektra spinoff. The movie explored some of Elektra's training under The Chaste and the mystical organizations like The Hand that opposed them.

While the movie introduced a few other Marvel villains and developed an interesting backstory for the character, Elektra fared even worse than Daredevil among both fans and critics. Unfortunately, it failed to capture the essence of Marvel's tortured assassin, delivering a watered-down take on the character instead.

6 Man-Thing Is A Little-Known Monster Movie

One of Marvel's least-known projects before the MCU was the made-for-television film Man-Thing. The film follows the strange happenings in a local town when employees of a major oil company begin to go missing. Eventually, it is revealed that a massive beast is killing those who endanger his swamp, leaving a few locals to fight for their own survival.

With a low budget and little to show for it, Marvel quietly swept Man-Thing under the rug, leaving little traces of its existence behind. Even so, the MCU would go on to adapt the character in the 2022 Special Presentation, Werewolf by Night.

5 Fantastic Four Wasn't A Success

Director Tim Story brought the first official live-action Fantastic Four to the big screen in 2005. The movie starred Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, and Chris Evans as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Susan Storm/Invisible Woman, Ben Grimm/The Thing, and Johnny Storm/Human Torch, respectively.

Julian McMahon played the villainous Doctor Doom, and his reworked origins fit with The Fantastic Four's new cinematic transformation. The film was incredibly light-hearted, and the extreme differences in characters, such as Doctor Doom, didn't sit well with fans. However, the movie proved a financial success for 20th Century Fox and led to a sequel.

4 X-Men: The Last Stand Was A Disappointment

The original X-Men trilogy came to its first conclusion in 2006 with Brett Ratner's X-Men: The Last Stand. The third entry in 20th Century Fox's franchise loosely adapted the iconic "Dark Phoenix Saga" alongside Astonishing X-Men's "Gifted" storyline about a mutant cure.

X-Men: The Last Stand introduced quite a few new mutants, further cluttering up the trilogy's finale. The movie also featured the deaths of established characters, making it one of the least successful entries in the long-running franchise.

3 Ghost Rider Was A Wild Ride

Daredevil director Mark Steven Johnson returned to the Marvel universe for 2007's Ghost Rider. The adaptation starred Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze alongside Eva Mendes, Sam Elliot, Peter Fonda, Wes Bentley, and others.

Ghost Rider followed the titular hero's transformative deal with the devil, which led to his service as the Spirit of Vengeance. This brought him into conflict with Bentley's demonic Blackheart as Blaze learned more about his multi-generational curse. While not a critical favorite, the film did well enough for a sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, which was released in 2011.

2 Spider-Man 3 Ended Sam Raimi's Trilogy

Sam Raimi's original web-slinging franchise concluded with Spider-Man 3 in 2007. The finale added Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko/Sandman, Topher Grace as Eddie Brock/Venom, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy.

Spider-Man 3 explored the "Alien Costume Saga" from the comics, but it was heavily influenced by Spider-Man: The Animated Series' take on the symbiote's origin. It also featured Harry Osborn's transformation into the New Goblin and reworked Uncle Ben's death to include Sandman. It made for a packed ending to the fan-favorite series, leaving viewers wanting more.