10. Best Adapted Screenplay - Iron Man 3

In the literary world, comic books aren't all that stigmatised; in 2010, for instance, Time magazine gave a nod to the potency of the graphic novel by including Watchmen in its list of the 100 greatest novels of its lifetime. You won't find a comparative respect for comic books in the writing categories at the Oscars, where it's seemingly assumed turning an annotated picture book into a screenplay is a piece of piss compared to adapting a novel. Of course, that's not true at all - the only proof should be in how good the screenplay, and not the source, actually is. Drew Pearce and Shane Black's script for Iron Man 3 is a particularly good one, probably the best the MCU has had to date, respectfully addressing the history of Marvel comics while also investing enough personality that it stands out as its own thing. It's not that Iron Man 3's script is something the Academy doesn't typically go for: it's a witty script full of one-liners that focuses on characterisation and shows off some knowing meta smarts (an approach that worked out pretty well for the Birdman screenplay in 2015). Considering Shane Black is one of Hollywood's more distinct voices, the 2014 Academy Awards would've been a good opportunity to finally nominate him for something.