Marvel Studios hasn’t always stuck to the predictable “Marvel Formula”, as many MCU projects have proven that breaking the mould can lead to success.

Over the years, many projects in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have broken the “Marvel Formula”, and this has allowed Marvel Studios to deliver some of the franchise’s most powerful moments. Since the release of 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel Studios has crafted the most expansive and successful live-action superhero franchise in history, comprising over forty projects across film, TV and animation, and bringing dozens of characters from Marvel Comics to life. Developing so many stories and characters has sometimes limited storytelling ability, however, which has ultimately contributed to the effective but predictable Marvel Formula that many MCU projects have previously followed.

In more recent years, Marvel Studios has come under scrutiny for producing projects which many argue follow the same storyline. The Marvel Formula may have been easy to ignore in the MCU’s early days, but as more stories are produced using this system, it becomes much more obvious. However, these concerns may have been unfounded, as many previous MCU projects have broken the Marvel Formula over the years, and this has often led to these projects achieving huge levels of success, which proves that Marvel Studios is still willing to take risks, even though new restrictions may be in place.

Note: Disney CEO Bob Iger recently suggested Marvel Studios would be taking less risks in the future, but the MCU can still experiment by breaking the Marvel Formula.

10. Doctor Strange Cleverly Defeats Dormammu With A Time Loop

Doctor Strange (2016)

One of the best examples of Marvel Studios breaking the Formula was delivered in 2016’s Doctor Strange, which introduced a new way to engage in battle with a supervillain. Realizing that his physical strength wasn’t enough to take on Kaecilius and the Dark Dimension’s Dormammu, Benedict Cumberbatch’s titular Master of the Mystic Arts used the Time Stone to trap Dormammu in a time loop until the pair could reach an accord. This put a clever spin on the MCU’s typical all-out battles between heroes and villains, as Strange instead used his intelligence and patience to bring Dormammu to his knees.

Note: Dormammu has been speculated to return in Doctor Strange 3, as Doctor Strange and Clea entered the Dark Dimension at the end of Multiverse of Madness.

9. Vision Convinces White Vision To Stop Fighting In The MCU’s Phase 4

WandaVision (2021)

2021’s WandaVision broke the Marvel Formula on many occasions, most notably through its sitcom-style and episodic storytelling, making the most of the fact that it was Marvel Studios’ first TV series. Despite this, WandaVision’s strongest moment of breaking the Marvel Formula is rather similar to Doctor Strange’s, as the final battle between Vision and White Vision didn’t end in an all-out physical match, but with an intelligent conversation. After discussing the Ship of Theseus, Vision helped restore White Vision’s memories, ending their battle and allowing White Vision to disappear, set to make his next appearance in Marvel Studios’ Vision Quest.

8. America Chavez Defeats The Scarlet Witch By Letting Her Win

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)

Wanda Maximoff’s Scarlet Witch truly became a villain in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as she hunted the young America Chavez across the multiverse in an effort to steal her power. While Multiverse of Madness could have ended with the Scarlet Witch being defeated in battle, the latter actually gave Wanda exactly what she wanted, thrusting her into a universe where her kids, Billy and Tommy, were still alive. Unfortunately for her, this only proved how twisted and corrupted she’d become, leading to her self-sacrifice, but this was an ingenious way of bringing down the powerful witch.

7. Eternals’ Impact On The MCU Is Underrated

Eternals (2021)

While 2021’s Eternals became one of the MCU’s most divisive projects following its release Chloé Zhao’s MCU debut actually broke the mold in pretty extreme ways. Eternals barely followed the Marvel Formula, which perhaps contributed to confusion among audiences, but the introduction of a superhero team who’d been living on Earth for millennia, as well as the development of the otherworldly Celestials, helped Eternals to leave its mark on the MCU. Eternals is one of the MCU’s most visually-striking projects, and one of the franchise’s most underrated stories, so hopefully a potential Eternals 2 can continue to break new ground.

6. Werewolf By Night Experimented With A Completely Different Genre For The MCU

Werewolf By Night (2022)

Similarly to Eternals, 2022’s Werewolf by Night was a complete experiment for Marvel Studios, deviating massively from the Marvel Formula, and achieving great success because of it. Michael Giacchino’s directorial debut saw him produce the MCU’s first Special Presentation, which told its story from the perspective of a monster in the MCU, Gael García Bernal’s Jack Russell, a.k.a. Werewolf by Night. Inspired by old Hollywood horror movies, Werewolf by Night was originally released in black and white, and saw Russell and Man-Thing fight to simply run away from danger, rather than actually wanting to take on their monster hunting foes.

5. Star-Lord’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Dance-Off Changed The MCU’s Final Battles

Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)

James Gunn’s MCU directorial debut also altered what final battles between heroes and villains could be. 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy saw Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill engage Ronan the Accuser in a dance-off, distracting him long enough for Rocket to build his Hadron Enforcer and destroy Ronan’s Universal Weapon. This moment put Pratt’s natural charisma front-and-center, and utilized Guardians of the Galaxy’s brilliant musical trick to show the quick-thinking and courage of the newly-formed team. The Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is still one of the MCU’s most popular, and Quill’s dance-off is considered one of the franchise’s strongest moments.

4. Spider-Man Cures His Greatest Foe In No Way Home

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Often, the MCU’s final battles end with the villain being killed off, but 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home changed the game yet again. Tom Holland’s third solo movie as Peter Parker’s Spider-Man saw the wall-crawler fight Doctor Strange to spare the lives of his multiversal enemies. This included curing Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn of the Green Goblin, even after he’d caused the death of Aunt May. With the help of his variants, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, Holland’s Spider-Man refused to sacrifice his villains, but paid the price himself, telling a story that had never before been seen in live-action.

Spider-Man also cured Dr. Otto Octavius, Dr. Curt Connors’ Lizard, Max Dillon’s Electro and Flint Marko’s Sandman in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

3. Thor Sacrifices Asgard To Defeat Hela

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

While Spider-Man sacrificed his own wellbeing in No Way Home, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor underwent a similar shift in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok. Taika Waititi’s MCU directorial debut broke the Marvel Formula significantly, bringing humor and levity to the God of Thunder, who’d been serious and frankly dull until then. Ragnarok ended with Thor sacrificing his home of Asgard to defeat his evil half-sister, Cate Blanchett’s Hela. Asgard’s destruction led to its inhabitants relocating to Earth, perfectly setting the stage for Avengers: Infinity War, and proved that Thor was willing to lose everything just to spare the lives of his new subjects.

2. She-Hulk Writes Her Own Ending

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (2022)

2022’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law marked a huge change for Marvel Studios, as the MCU’s first legal comedy series on Disney+. The series also introduced the idea of fourth wall breaks in the MCU, with Jennifer Walters’ She-Hulk being the first character to do this, just as she was in Marvel Comics. While this alone broke the Marvel Formula, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’s finale saw Walters jump out of her show and rewrite the ending, stripping the series of its CGI-filled final battle, and crafting her own version of events, deviating massively from the typical final acts of MCU projects.

1. The Avengers Lose To The Mad Titan Thanos

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

No other project broke the Marvel Formula more than 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, as the Mad Titan, Thanos, succeeded in his mission of wiping out half the population of the universe, after collecting the six Infinity Stones. Watching the Avengers lose to Thanos was a moment that will go down in cinema history, and this proved that Marvel Studios wouldn’t shy away from showing its heroes’ flaws, failures and missteps. Infinity War is considered one of the strongest projects in the entire history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thanks to its willingness to throw the Marvel Formula out the window.