The Marvel Cinematic Universe has always openly found inspiration from other movies, and most recently, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was clearly influenced by the iconic comedy-horror Evil Dead II. However, as the second Doctor Strange movie is the 28th release in the MCU, there are clear DNA strands of classic films in all the previous 27 movies too.
From the very first MCU movie, Iron Man, Marvel Studios has used classic films as blueprints for their releases. And even if any of the superhero movies didn't have any outside influence, there are some fascinatingly unintentional parallels between them and decades-old classics. MCU's Phase One films are these classics in disguise, whether it's a classic war flick, a satirical action gorefest, or a spectacular alien invasion movie.
Iron Man (2008) - The Great Escape (1963)
Though Marvel would never make the choice today, as the studio didn't belong to Disney in 2008, Iron Man is essentially a war movie, and the current events at the time were a big inspiration for the screenplay. As Tony Stark is a prisoner of war for the first act of the first MCU movie and is secretly working on a way to escape while working for the enemy, there's no better counterpart than the classic war movie, The Great Escape.
The 1963 classic follows a group of soldiers situated in a German POW camp during World War II as they try to escape. The movie is a three-hour epic, and the first two hours see them coming up with meticulous (and sometimes hilarious) ways to keep the fact that they're digging a 330-foot tunnel a secret. The final hour follows the soldiers as they try to evade German police and flee the country.
The Incredible Hulk (2008) - King Kong (1933)
Before the MCU became a huge multiverse-spanning franchise full of space odyssey and time travel, there were a lot of deeper themes with simpler narratives. Along with Iron Man being a war movie at its core, The Incredible Hulk shares DNA with old-school monster movies where the titular characters feel ugly, unloved, and are unfairly outcast from society for the way they look.
The superhero movie could be related to any old monster movie, but King Kong shares many of the same themes. Most notably, just like Kong, Hulk knows the destruction he's capable of, and he's actively trying to flee from fights instead of jumping into them, unlike many other Avengers. The 2008 release is criminally underrated when it comes to the MCU, and the tragic take on the hero is what The Incredible Hulk got right.
Thor (2011) - Highlander (1986)
Though the Thor series didn't get off to a great start, as the first movie was criticized for being dull and drab both narratively and visually, it did some things well. Thor's (Chris Hemsworth) fish-out-of-water-like mannerisms presented in the film are hilarious and have been a part of his character ever since. And Hemsworth's commanding presence really drives the idea that he is a god able to summon thunder.
Highlander is an epic fantasy adventure movie that's full of formidable barbaric heroes and villains, just like Thor, and the immortal warriors resemble the God of Thunder himself. The movie will get a major update in the coming months too, as a Highlander reboot is currently in development and entering production this year. And while Chris Hemsworth would have made a great Connor MacLeod, Henry Cavill will be playing the 16th-century immortal, and he will no doubt do just as good of a job.
Iron Man 2 (2010) - RoboCop (1987)
On the face of it, the first Iron Man movie's classic counterpart would be the action blockbuster RoboCop, as both movies see a man in a metal super-suit protecting a city from robots. But satire is at the very core of RoboCop, and if director Paul Verhoeven was to make a movie today, it'd probably be a satire of superhero movies at large. However, more comedy and lower stakes perfectly sum up Iron Man 2, and the 2010 superhero movie has a lot more in common with the '80s action flick than its predecessor.
Though the movie introduces Black Widow, it's fairly inconsequential in the timeline and is a filler MCU movie that can be skipped, but it's still full of hilarious one-liners and explosive action sequences. And that's what the ultraviolent 1987 movie is all about.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Just like Thor's future movies, the Captain America series changed drastically, as the two sequels were thrilling political espionage action films. But based on Captain America: The First Avenger, nobody would have guessed the series' trajectory, as the 2011 film is a period war drama.
When he isn't entertaining soldiers with song-and-dance routines, the movie sees Steve Rogers in action during World War II. But he isn't alone, as he has a crew just as heroic as he is. Steve saving soldiers from the POW camp is one of the best action sequences in Phase One of the MCU, and it's extremely reminiscent of The Dirty Dozen. The 1967 movie follows 12 soldiers who form an unlikely team and are ordered to cross enemy lines by parachute, almost like a reverse The Great Escape.
The Avengers (2012) - Independence Day (1996)
The Avengers was unprecedented at the time, as it was an epic four-movie crossover with Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, and Hulk, along with introducing tons of new characters who would soon become fan favorites. But when all of that's stripped away, it's an alien invasion movie that massively resembles the popcorn fun of Independence Day.
The 1996 classic is one of the most rewatchable alien invasion movies, and like the 2012 superhero blockbuster, it sees famous American landmarks blown to smithereens and is full of sarcastic one-liners. The Avengers is one of the biggest event movies of all time, and when it was released, it was breaking box office records daily. Independence Day broke some records of its own, and was the highest-grossing movie in 1996, according to Box Office Mojo.