The Winter Soldier is the most important Marvel film ever made

Marvel Studios' Captain America: The Winter Soldier Not only is it one of the best MCU films ever made, but it also marks a turning point in Marvel's dominance in the realm of superhero films, officially overtaking DC. Much has been made about the rivalry between Marvel and DC films, which stems from the comic book companies the films are based on, but when it comes to Hollywood there is no real animosity. Except occasionally among fans. For the most part, though, fans of superhero movies are fans of both.

That being said, there's no doubt that DC films dominated the cinematic landscape in the decades leading up to the 2000s. X-Men and 2002 Spider-Man launched comic book movie franchises that were precursors to the MCU phenomenon. There was Adam West Batman film and series from the 60s, Christopher Reeve Superman films from the 70s and 80s, and then Michael Keaton Batman films from the 80s and 90s. Meanwhile, Marvel had the disaster that was Howard the Duck.

Although Marvel has had some success with Wesley Snipes, Blade films, they were a far cry from the familiar fare of the DC films. As a result, DC films have had a much greater cultural impact on audiences throughout most of Hollywood's history. However, Marvel has arguably surpassed DC over the past two decades, and I think I've figured out the exact moment that happened – with Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

I can prove that Captain America: The Winter Soldier was a turning point for the MCU

Using data, I determined that Marvel's 2014 launch marked a major shift

I recently became curious about the changing tides of Marvel versus DC films and decided to use the Google Trends comparison tool to see how searches for “DC movie” compared to “Marvel movie” go back as far as they allow. In this case, it was until 2004. Because of this, I should note that the data doesn't show the entire history of Hollywood, but there are still some interesting things we can determine from it.

The biggest takeaway is that Marvel has already surpassed DC for some time now, with the highest peak occurring in April 2019, the month in which Avengers: Endgame released and became the biggest film in the MCU. However, I can't help but notice that before 2012, DC films have consistently had higher search volume, with the line remaining above Marvel films. There are some Marvel peaks that reach or surpass DC – in 2008, when Iron Man was released, and in 2012, when The Avengers hit theaters – but then dropped again.

It was only in the spring of 2014 that Marvel finally surpasses DC and remains above it to this day, which makes it Captain America: The Winter Soldier April 2014 launches the most significant of Marvel's entire cinematic legacy. Marvel and the MCU's dominance has been a long time coming, and there's no doubt that Iron Man and The Avengers contributed to this, but Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the exact release where we can identify the cultural shift from DC films to Marvel films.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is still one of, if not the best film in the MCU

The film's quality helped drive Marvel's cultural shift

I don't think it can be stated enough how much the quality of Captain America: The Winter Soldier contributed to it being the most important Marvel film of all time. Before this, much about the MCU was still unproven. Of course, Robert Downey Jr. Iron Man the movies were good, and Marvel held a movie event in The Avengersbut The Winter Soldier demonstrated Marvel's ability to tell excellent stories with individual characters beyond Tony Stark. It showed what Marvel was truly capable of when they were at their best.

More, Captain America: The Winter Soldier It's a very, very good film. It's part of the MCU, but it's also independent. It tells a compelling story about Chris Evans' Steve Rogers and how a man like him can exist in a modern world of superheroes and superspies. It has fantastic action scenes and a moving deconstruction of government oversight, all while still telling the very human story of a man whose only connection to the past turned against him. Captain America: The Winter Soldier It's Marvel at its best.

Forget Avengers: Endgame, Marvel should be chasing the success of CATWS

Audiences want good superhero movies

In the years since Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released, the MCU grew enormously, with the first three phases culminating in the huge cultural moment that was Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Since then, it appears that Marvel has been chasing this level, rather than the success of The Winter Soldier. What I mean by this is End of the game honored Marvel's past, rather than telling a story more rooted in the present that builds up the characters who will be important in the future.

Of course, The Winter Soldier worked well because Captain America: The First Avengerand the foundations laid by some other early MCU films, but the second Captain America the film used these elements to tell its own story. On the other hand, it seems very post-End of the game MCU releases are less concerned with their own story and more about fitting into the franchise's larger tapestry. Even films like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool and Wolverine they rely heavily on the past, even telling decently convincing stories with their main characters.

But eventually Marvel will run out of characters they can bring back and references they can make to previous films. When this happens, they should look to Captain America: The Winter Soldier for guidance in order to maintain their cultural status. I hope that's what they did with the 2025 Marvel movies Captain America: Brave New World and Rays*but that remains to be seen. Still, at least the data on Captain America: The Winter Soldier proves that Marvel has been on top for a decade; Time will tell if they stay on top.

• Release date

  February 14, 2025
  

• Release date

  July 25, 2025
  

• Release date

  July 24, 2026