For the past eight years, the powers that be have created a giant tapestry using the beloved characters of the Marvel Universe to create the first (and best) shared cinematic universe – THE MCU.

Of course, it didn’t happen all at once. No, each successive movie has added more color and shape to the MCU. You see, to paraphrase a certain green ogre, the MCU is like an onion. It has layers. Some of these layers have proven to be more important than others. Here, now, is our list of the Five Greatest Moments (Layers) in the History of the MCU.

LAYER 1

IRON MAN – Every good story begins with a first chapter, and Iron Man was that first chapter for the MCU. Marvel Studios took a huge chance with Robert Downey Jr. and it has paid off in spades. Everything we know and love about the MCU was laid out in Iron Man. The franchise’s flawed heroes, sense of humor and, of course, post-credit stingers were all there in Iron Man. The first layer was a long shot, but without it we wouldn’t be where we are now.

LAYER 2

THE AVENGERS – After five solo films introducing us (well, maybe not us) to the characters who would make up the core of the MCU, The Avengers put them all together for the first time. That moment when the camera panned around the team as they prepared to face off with the Chitauri gave me goosebumps. That was the moment every fanboy had been waiting for. The Avengers, fully assembled, peeled back the second layer of the MCU.

LAYER 3

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY – With the exception of an occasional glimpse of Asgard, all of the action in the MCU took place on Earth. Guardians of the Galaxy changed all of that. Guardians moved the action to deep space and introduced us to the Nova Corps, the Ravagers, the Kree and the Collector. It gave us Groot and Rocket Raccoon. In short, it gave us (okay, maybe not us) space (i.e., the entire universe) as a place that the action could and would take place in.

LAYER 4

DAREDEVIL – The actions of the Avengers, individually and collectively, always seemed to take place in the shiny spires of New York City. No thought was ever given to the fallout these actions had on the folks that lived outside of Manhattan. The first installment of the MCU on Netflix changed all that. Daredevil showed the fallout in Hell’s Kitchen. It also reclaimed Daredevil from the cinematic scrapheap. Daredevil set the table for Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and the Defenders to join the MCU. Layer 4 did a lot of heavy lifting.

LAYER 5

DOCTOR STRANGE – The latest entry in the MCU peels back yet another layer for the loyal viewer. Up until the release of Doctor Strange, magic in the MCU was treated as “science we don’t understand.” In Doctor Strange, a man of science learns that magic exists and it can be harnessed by man for good or evil. With magic joining science and street, the Marvel Cinematic Universe now has all the elements in place to tell stories of any kind.

So, there you have it. Do you agree with our assessment? Tell us below.