Doctor Strange
Bringing Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange into the MCU gave Marvel an easy magical out it’s overrelied on in situations that followed, but on its own, Doctor Strange is one of the strongest origin stories in the series. Cumberbatch, coming off of his stint as Sherlock Holmes, can sell the insufferable genius humbled by those wiser than he, and watching him go from a selfish bastard to a selfless one is satisfying. This was also the first time the MCU had really delved into the sorcery side of the comics, which leads to some of the most compelling special effects and setpieces the series had up to that point. Doctor Strange may have become a party trick the MCU would whip out in future installments, but his first movie was a breath of fresh air that opened the universe to new possibilities. — Kenneth Shepard
