IRON MAN

Billionaire industrialist and genius inventor Tony Stark is kidnapped in Afghanistan and forced to build a weapon of mass destruction. Instead, he engineers a suit of armor to escape, returning home changed. Determined to atone for the damage his company has caused, he refines the suit and takes on the persona of Iron Man — while his mentor Obadiah Stane plots to seize control of Stark Industries by building a weaponized armor of his own.

• The film that launched the entire MCU — and nearly wasn't made.
• Much of Downey Jr.'s dialogue was improvised on set.
• The post-credits Nick Fury cameo introduced the 'Avenger Initiative'.