Excelsior! Stan Lee will be very pleased with how you voted in our recent poll to determine the 100 greatest movie characters of all time, the full results of which are detailed in this month's Total Film magazine - out now!
There's 100 different limited edition covers of Total Film to discover right now, and each one showcases one of the characters who made the list, with magazine subscribers treated to a special bonus exclusive cover which you won't be able to find anywhere else.
If you're wondering what the Stan Lee reference is about though, it's because today we're revealing where your favourite heroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe ranked in the list, the results of which are rather surprising.
Take Groot, for example. His rebirth as an adorable infant clearly captured the hearts of moviegoers everywhere this year in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, since he came 32nd overall and 3rd(!) in the MCU rankings, which is quite the feat for a sentient tree toddler.
I also imagine Star-Lord would start giggling with glee if he heard which number he came in at, but the galactic mercenary actually comes in last next to the rest of the MCU contenders.
Regardless, let's lift the lid on the official run-down of your favourite Marvel characters in reverse order, beginning with...
69. Star-Lord
I told you he would laugh. Jokes aside, you can understand why Star-Lord lands in at such a strong ranking. He's charming, irreverent, empathetic, and a fantastic dancer, all of which is embodied perfectly by Chris Pratt's charismatic performance. What's more, his dance-off scene against Ronan makes for one of the best MCU last stands of all time.
54. Captain America
It's been a long road for Chris Evans' Cap. He started off with a middling origin story, before slowly winning over everyone's hearts in The Avengers, and going on to be responsible for two of the best flicks in the MCU to date (Winter Soldier and Civil War). Captain America is right at the centre of Marvel's grand cinematic project, and its fictional universe of superheroes just wouldn't feel the same without him.
32. Groot
It's almost impossible to imagine Groot being this high up the list without his appearance as Baby Groot in this year's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but his previous, elderly form from the first Guardians movie wasn't without its instant crowd-pleasing appeal either.
With only three words in his vocabulistics, Groot manages to say so much with so little, while his sage, virtuous heart is paired perfectly against his penchant for slapstick cheek. It's a winning formula, especially when you remember that it's Vin Diesel providing all those different tonal variations of "I am Groot."
22. Loki
Marvel has infamously struggled with creating interesting and charismatic villains to match the star power of its on-screen superheroes, but Loki is the age-old exception. Played with dazzlingly theatrical suave by Tom Hiddleston, Thor's brother takes all the right inspirational cues from the character's Nordic origins, as a sly and smarmy deviant who is as impressive to watch as he is easy to despise. His character arc since the original Thor movie has secretly been one of the best reasons to keep up with the MCU, and he's an absolute delight in Thor: Ragnorok.
21. Iron Man
Coming in just after Loki, Tony Stark is the man who kicked off the MCU in earnest back in 2008, and has remained the beating heart of the cinematic franchise ever since. And it really is Stark himself, not the Iron Man, that has appealed so strongly to audiences for the last nine years.
Robert Downey Jr. plays Robert Downey Jr. turned up to 11 to both deploy Stark's sarcastic sass and expose his insecure soul, establishing a character with far more dimensions than we first assumed. It doesn't look like we'll be having another Iron Man solo movie anytime soon, but his recent supporting roles in Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming have made for some of Downey Jr.'s best performances in the role yet.
18. Spider-Man
It's a testament to Tom Holland that, after only appearing in two MCU films so far (one of which took the form of a brief cameo), he's confidently beat every other hero to the top of this list. There's also the fact that this year's Spider-Man: Homecoming was such a belter of a film, too.
Previous cinematic interpretations of Spider-Man all had their merits, but the MCU's rendition succeeds in its understanding of the character's vulnerability. Holland's Spider-Man is hardly a man at all; in fact, he's just a boy dealing with all the same angst-ridden struggles as your average high-school teenager. Those character flaws, though, are precisely what makes this Peter Parker so easy to love, and his journey of self-discovery over the events of Homecoming made for a endearing coming of age story neatly wrapped up in superhero garb.
Want to find out who the rest of the 100 greatest movie characters are? Pick up Total Film magazine now or subscribe so you never miss any issue.
