In 2000, effectively changed Hollywood forever. While the film wasn’t the first live-action adaptation of a Marvel Comic (titles including Howard The Duck and Blade beat it to the punch), it was the first to be made as an all-audiences action blockbuster with a tentpole budget, and its success ushered in the cinematic age of superheroes in which we are presently still living today. Over the course of 20 years, sequels and spin-offs inarguably turned it into one of the most influential franchises in movie history.
The canon officially came to an end in 2020 as a result of the Disney-Fox merger, and before long the Marvel Cinematic Universe will begin to feature its own version of the various mutant characters – but as a complete entity the franchise will forever have a special place in the hearts of comic book fans, and repeatedly discovered and rewatched.