When Iron Man came out in 2007, it was relatively unremarkable. Several other superhero one-offs were in already in play including X-Men, Spider-Man, and Batman. Iron Man was definitely better than the average, but didn't stand out too much, except for one thing. The post credit scene gave audiences a promise: we're going somewhere with this, The Avengers are coming. Every Phase I film contributed to that goal. Each one was an opening act and The Avengers was the main event. The same cannot be said for Age of Ultron which has more in common with Iron Man 2.
