Once upon a time…oops, wrong franchise! Let’s start again – THIS media franchise is one that is based on the Comic Books of Marvel (all hail Stan Lee - “Excelsior!") and centres on an awesome series of Superhero films produced by Marvel Studios since 2008. 

Iron Man (2008) is the film that kicked off the entire MCU. Throughout the MCU, Iron Man helped to defeat some pretty mean hombres, such as Obadiah Stane, Whiplash, Aldrich Killian (with a fake Mandarin), Loki, Ultron and ultimately Thanos.

 As well as Iron Man 1, 2 and 3, plus The Avengers movies, Iron man appeared in other Marvel Superhero films, either offering a helping hand (Spiderman: Homecoming) or, as much as it pained me to see, as an adversary to Captain America and ‘Team Cap’ in Civil War.

In the fight against Thanos, Iron man sacrificed his potential future with Pepper Potts and his daughter Morgan (when dabbling with time travel and whole reverse finger snap stunt).

He then went on to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save the Universe by destroying Thanos and his formidable army. 

Easily one of the most iconic Iron Man moments for me is this awesome scene where Tony went on his first official mission as the Iron Man! After effortlessly beating up some goons and getting blown out of the sky by a tank, he fires an almost hilariously small missile at the tank and turns just before a giant explosion disables the it for good. Whenever I watch this epic action sequence I always have the "Cool guys don't look at explosions" song in my head. Surely I'm not the only one, right?

Thanks to the successful administration of Dr. Josef Reinstein’s Super Soldier Serum, followed by a short spell in the Vita-Ray Chamber, operated by Howard Stark, Steve Rogers transformed magnificently into Captain America. 

Although Captain America had fought a few villains in his time, his main antagonist throughout the MCU had not so much been a person but an organisation – Hydra!

After helping root out all Hydra agents (that we know of) in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, Cap went on to help lead The Avengers in battle against the likes of Ultron and Thanos. 

Now that Rogers has officially retired and, I’m assuming, applied for a bus pass, the Captain America mantle has passed to Sam Wilson (AKA Falcon).

My favourite Captain America moment has to be when he proves that he is indeed 'worthy' and lifts Mjolnir for the first time. We were first teased with this in Avengers: Age of Ultron where Cap managed to slightly move Mjolnir before giving up (much to Thor's relief). Steve's one on one fight with Thanos lived up to the hype as we saw Captain America use both his shield and Mjolnir to give Thanos a major beatdown. Ultimately however, the mad titan managed to get a few hits in himself and managed to break poor Cap's shield in half!

Black Panther has fought numerous foes and even other heroes during his time, to include Kilmonger, Klaue, Bucky (AKA The Winter Soldier), Captain America, Hawkeye (very briefly) and of course, Thanos. Chadwick Boseman certainly didn’t get the time he deserved with the character, but he helped to pave the way for other iconic superheroes to be introduced into the MCU. Now with Shuri taking up the Black Panther mantle we are more than excited to see what happens next in Wakanda.

Black Panther has had many iconic moments (thanks to Chadwick Boseman's stellar performance as the king of Wakanda) but my favourite would have to be his fight for the title of king with M'Baku. Not only did it show his strength and courage but his will to fight on and prove that he is indeed, the rightful protector of Wakanda. I may also be a bit of a sucker for 1v1 action sequences in movies, but that's just me!

First introduced in Iron Man 2 (2010), Black Widow was directed by Nick Fury to shadow Tony Stark and keep a watchful eye on him due to his self-destructive behaviour at the time. Towards the end of Iron Man 2, Black Widow helped Iron Man in his fight against Whiplash, whilst demonstrating some serious kick-ass ability of her own.

The only thing more powerful than Black Widow’s will to survive is her loyalty to the people she loves, whether that means helping Hulk to just chill, or taking one for the team at Vormir, in order to obtain the Soul Stone.

Natasha Romanoff’s presence throughout the MCU has reminded us continuously that you don’t have to be Super to be a Hero. Though she is pretty Super, too! 

Now THIS is how you do a fight scene! The scene is the first time we see the Black Widow in action and it did not disappoint. Together with Happy Hogan (although he only took out 1 grunt) she infiltrated Hammer Industries to try and stop Whiplash and take out his iron goons.

Now yes, Scarlet Witch may have started out as a villain (and she may be one at present, who knows… I’m confused!) but when she realised the destruction that Ultron would unleash on the world, Wanda and her brother, Pietro Maximoff (AKA Quicksilver), switched sides to support The Avengers.

Starring in her very own Disney+ show, Wandavision, the Scarlet Witch was used to her full potential as she not only battled against Agatha Harkness, but with her own grief at losing her love.

As we move forward in the MCU, the Scarlet Witch could be one of its greatest heroes or most terrifying villains.

Let’s wait and see, shall we!

Scarlet Witch has had her fair few iconic moments, such as her fight with Thanos - almost killing him in the process. For me though, her fight against the Illuminati was absolutely awesome. The way she dispatched them all with relative ease whilst inhabiting a different body than her own was equally epic and terrifying. I hope to see more of these types of scenes going forward.

Perhaps the most major shaping that Doctor Strange has done is to open up the MCU to the Multiverse, its vast potential and its many dangers. We have witnessed this already in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and in the fairly scary Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (2022), where we were given a mere sampling of the many different alternate universes and characters.

Doctor Strange has been involved in a fair few Marvel movies and he shines in all of them, however, I believe that he is at his best in his own films where he can showcase all of his mystical abilities to full effect. My favourite scene from his first film is his negotiation with Dormammu. The use of the time stone and some clever psychology allows him to best this powerful foe. 

Who knows where the multiverse will take us from this point forward, but we here at Retro Styler are buckled in and ready for the ride! So, that’s it folks – my take on how six awesome Marvel Superheroes Have Shaped the MCU thus far. I don’t know about you, but I am thoroughly looking forward to the upcoming Marvel movies, that will feature well-established supes as well as some new additions.