female director, Patty Jenkins, and featuring a female protagonist, the titular Wonder Woman. While "Deadpool" lacks the historical significance of "Wonder Woman," it stands out simply because it managed to hilariously take the piss out of the superhero genre in general while simultaneously managing to be an engaging and memorable romp within that same format.

Finally, there's reason to believe that the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies are going to stand out, despite being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They alone among the MCU films seem to have a distinct voice of their own. It's become impossible to conceptualize of, say, an "Iron Man" or "Thor" or "Ant Man" movie outside of the paradigm of the larger cinematic universe. The first two "Guardians" movies, however, often feel likewe are ready for new and different types of myths to enter the playground of American cinema.

Matthew Rozsa

Matthew Rozsa is a breaking news writer for Salon. He holds an MA in History from Rutgers University-Newark and is ABD in his PhD program in History at Lehigh University. His work has appeared in Mic, Quartz and MSNBC.