The world is different now. We live in an age of silver screen superheroes. Pop culture fans of all kinds come together in dark theaters illuminated by tales of humor, tales of hardship, and tales of hope. No matter who we are or where we are, we’re all brought together by the magic of Marvel movies.

I know that sounds lofty, but it’s true. The world has changed immeasurably since Iron Man did his first three-point landing a decade ago, but there’s been one massive, resilient constant: the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man was presumably another run-of-the-mill superhero movie back when it arrived in 2008, but one line spoken by Samuel L. Jackson as a ripped-from-the-comics Nick Fury changed everything: “I’m here to talk to you about the Avenger initiative.”

The upstart Marvel Studios planted its flag. The same kind of shared universe comic book fans had lived in for decades would be attempted on the big screen. A small slate of solo movies–The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger–would culminate with a team-up on a scale unlike anything attempted in film. The risk paid off.

Not only are these movies record-breaking blockbusters, from 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers to this year’s unstoppable Black Panther, they’ve proven to be the one pop culture phenomenon that everyone–from your nephew in the Hulk shirt to your Chris Evans-loving grandma–can get behind. Comics have long been called our modern mythology, and now that mythology is enjoyed en masse by moviegoers.

But Marvel didn’t stop there. The universe expanded, growing to encompass 18 feature films, 10 television series, 5 short films, and dozens of tie-in comics and web-series. A franchise that began with began with Robert Downey Jr.’s career-defining turn as Tony Stark now includes nearly 300 heroes, villains, sidekicks, aliens, gods, demons, and one groovy lil’ tree.

To celebrate not only the 10th anniversary of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but also the release of Avengers: Infinity War, the 19th and biggest film so far, Decider set out to determine the definitive list of the top 50 characters in the MCU. We polled over 50 professional in the comic book and entertainment fields, ranging from comic book artists and screenwriters to journalists and actors and everyone in between, and collected lists of their ten favorite characters in this sprawling cinematic universe. Then characters were ranked according to how many lists they appeared on, with the #1 character appearing on the most lists and so on. You will find the results of that poll in the slideshow above, featuring the 50 characters that make us cheer and thirst, make us dance in our seat and lose our breath, and–most importantly–make us want to be better.

Decider’s Top 50 Marvel Cinematic Universe Characters

1. Captain America (Steve Rogers)

2. Peggy Carter

3. Spider-Man (Peter Parker)

4. Iron Man (Tony Stark)

5. Shuri

6. Loki

7. Jessica Jones

8. Thor

9. Killmonger (Erik Stevens)

10. Valkyrie

11. Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff)

12. Okoye

13. Winter Soldier (James “Bucky” Barnes)

14. Rocket

15. Phil Coulson

16. Hela

17. Kingpin (Wilson Fisk)

18. Hulk (Bruce Banner)

19. Daredevil (Matt Murdock)

20. Kilgrave (Kevin Thompson)

21. Falcon (Sam Wilson)

22. Black Panther (T’Challa)

23. Ant-Man (Scott Lang)

24. Vision

25. Vulture (Adrian Toomes)

26. Quake (Daisy Johnson)

27. Korg

28. Groot

29. Claire Temple

30. Melinda May

31. M’Baku

32. Grandmaster

33. Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff)

34. Pepper Potts

35. Nebula

36. Nick Fury

37. Star-Lord (Peter Quill)

38. Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange)

39. The Punisher (Frank Castle)

40. Misty Knight

41. Luke Cage

42. Heimdall

43. Nakia

44. Cottonmouth (Cornell Stokes)

45. Nico Minoru

46. Hawkeye (Clint Barton)

47. Lady Sif

48. Drax the Destroyer

49. Patricia “Trish” Walker

50. Mantis

Contributors

Mae Abdulbaki, Ladies with Gumption

Kris Anka, artist (Runaways, Star-Lord)

Heather Antos, editor (Star Wars, Despicable Deadpool)

Ben Blacker, Thrilling Adventure Hour

Jade Budowski, Decider

Cullen Bunn, writer (X-Men: Blue, Venomized)

Albert Ching, Comic Book Resources

Paul Cornell, writer (Saucer State, Doctor Who)

Meagan Damore, Comic Book Resources

Russell Dauterman, artist (Mighty Thor)

Kelly Sue DeConnick, writer (Bitch Planet, Captain Marvel)

Gerry Duggan, writer (Despicable Deadpool, Guardians of the Galaxy)

Courtney Enlow, SYFY Fangrrls

Lauren Gallaway, FANDOM

Jordan Gibson, colorist (Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, America)

Joe Glass, writer (The Pride)

Sina Grace, writer (Iceman)

Christopher Hastings, writer (The Unbelievable Gwenpool)

Tatiana Hullender, The Marvel Report

Karen Kemmerle, Decider

Daniel Kibblesmith, writer (Lockjaw, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)

Sam Maggs, BioWare

Takeia Marie, BlackSciFi.com

Brandon Montclare, writer (Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur)

Paul Montgomery, writer (The Margins)

Griffin Newman, actor (The Tick)

Fabian Nicieza, writer (X-Men, Cable & Deadpool)

Meghan O’Keefe, Decider

Lea Palmieri, Decider

Ryan Penagos, Marvel

Dillen Phelps, Decider

Kristy Puchko, Pajiba

Charles Pulliam-Moore, io9

Joe Quinones, artist (Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, America)

Amy Ratcliffe, Nerdist

Abraham Riesman, Vulture

Joe Reid, Decider

Chris Roberson, writer (iZombie, Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.)

Netta Robertson, FullBloom Illustrations

Matthew Rosenberg, writer (The Punisher, Secret Warriors)

Oliver Sava, The A.V. Club

Katie Schenkel, writer (Moonlighters, The Cardboard Kingdom)

Will Sliney, artist (Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider)

Christina “Steenz” Stewart, artist (Archival Quality)

Christina Strain, writer (Generation X, The Magicians)

Brian Truitt, USA Today

James Tynion IV, writer (The Immortal Men, Detective Comics)

Glen Weldon, NPR

Chuck Wendig, writer (Star Wars: Aftermath, Blackbirds)

Brett White, Decider

Josh Wigler, The Hollywood Reporter

Joshua Yehl, IGN

Christopher Yost, writer (Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok)

Alex Zalben, Decider