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Top 10 superhero movie directors of the decade

By Josh Baggins

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 07: (front L-R) Danai Gurira, Jeremy Renner, Director Anthony Russo, Chris Evans, Director Joe Russo, Brie Larson and Mark Ruffalo, (back L-R) Karen Gillan, Paul Rudd, Scarlett Johansson, President of Marvel Studios/Producer Kevin Feige, Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle and Chris Hemsworth onstage during Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Endgame" Global Junket Press Conference at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown on April 7, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 07: (front L-R) Danai Gurira, Jeremy Renner, Director Anthony Russo, Chris Evans, Director Joe Russo, Brie Larson and Mark Ruffalo, (back L-R) Karen Gillan, Paul Rudd, Scarlett Johansson, President of Marvel Studios/Producer Kevin Feige, Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle and Chris Hemsworth onstage during Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Endgame" Global Junket Press Conference at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown on April 7, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney) /
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SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 22: Writer/director Joss Whedon attends Dark Horse: Conversations With Joss Whedon during Comic-Con International 2016 at San Diego Convention Center on July 22, 2016 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 22: Writer/director Joss Whedon attends Dark Horse: Conversations With Joss Whedon during Comic-Con International 2016 at San Diego Convention Center on July 22, 2016 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) /

2. Joss Whedon

Directed: The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

We may take it for granted now, but back in 2012 when the Avengers were first assembled, that movie was an unheard of, unprecedented miracle. Unless you were a first-hand witness, who opening weekended the preceding Marvel Cinematic Universe features, it would be difficult to comprehend how much The Avengers meant as a movie event. X-Men had already been a successful superhero team franchise. However, no series had consisted of four singular leading protagonists that would then go on to co-lead a team-up extravaganza.

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Joss Whedon couldn’t simply take the four superheroes, not to mention several important supporting super characters, and throw them in just any story. The MCU would have fallen apart if The Avengers was a giant mess. Whedon made every decision intelligently with poise and his super-nerd instincts. He snatched up the best villain from the first five films and gave every hero the right amount of screen time… not necessarily the same amount of time. Each scene appropriately and adeptly leads into the next and, if that meant that Thor would not show up toward the beginning of the movie, then that was okay, because that was best move for the continuity and natural progression of the plot.

The character interactions couldn’t have been any better written and carried out on screen. Tony Stark butted heads with Steve Rogers, yet Stark and Bruce Banner quickly became science buddies, while Hulk and Thor began the debate on who is the strongest Avenger. And when it came to the action sequences, Whedon knew exactly how to make fanboys’ dreams come true. There was Thor uppercutting Hulk in the chin with his hammer in slow motion, Iron Man shooting his repulsor beam off of Captain America’s shield, and of course, the most famous 360 degree shot in movie history.

The action beats are equally as impressive in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where the superhero team fights side-by-side for a majority of the film. And whereas The Avengers had many great comedic moments throughout, Age of Ultron’s party scene is one big laugh after another. In Age of Ultron, Whedon phenomenally juggled even more characters, with the addition of Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver, while handing Hawkeye a nice subplot. Whedon also made the inspired and genius choice to cast James Spader as the manipulative robot villain Ultron. Whedon’s stamp on the MCU will never fade.

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