Every Avenger’s Best Non-Marvel Movie

No matter what else he does, no matter who else he plays, Robert Downey Jr. will always be Iron Man. Generations of kids are going to see Chris Evans’ picture and think “That’s Captain America.” If Chris Hemsworth plays 50 honorable thieves who live according to their own moral code, he’ll forever be known as the God of Thunder. Their tenures as these famous characters may be temporary, but actors’ associations with their Marvel counterparts will last the rest of their lifetimes and beyond.

But Robert Downey Jr. had a long career before he played Iron Man. He was Charlie Chaplin in a prestige-y biopic. He worked with directors like Robert Altman and Oliver Stone. He teamed with actors ranging from Ian McKellan to Rodney Dangerfield. And after his Marvel retirement (his first Marvel retirement, anyway), he piled on more impressive roles, including an Oscar-winning turn in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

This suggests a fun thought experiment: Pick the best non-Marvel movie from the members of the MCU’s central group, the Avengers. In some cases, it’s not too tricky; Marvel keeps some of its actors so busy they barely have time to do anything else. But some of Marvel’s core cast has made some amazing films. Have you ever thought about how many great movies Samuel L. Jackson has been in? The dude was in Jurassic Park, and that might not even crack the top five best movies he’s made in the 1990s.

It’s basically impossible to pick just one best Sam Jackson film, but I tried my best. Oh, and they don’t hand out actual Avengers membership cards like they do in the comics, so who is or isn’t technically a member of the group, especially in team-up films like Avengers: Endgame, gets a little confusing. I just used my best judgment. (Go easy on me; I’m a mere mortal who has never been bitten by a radioactive spider or injected with Super Soldier serum.)