Using what they had left after selling rights to their famous characters to get out of bankruptcy in the 90s, Marvel’s brightest minds banded together independently to form Marvel Studios. In 2008, they debuted their grand plan for a shared universe with Iron Man.
10 years later, we reached the endgame with Infinity War. Well, the endgame to the first epic chapter. (2019 edit: Got the name right!) Because the end of these movies is not near, even if beloved arcs prepare to close.
What is truly marveling about this franchise is the consistency. From number one --which is my second-favorite movie of all-time (wedged between titans Revenge of the Sith and Spider-Man 2)-- almost all the way down, every single film delivers and the television shows hold their own.
(2021 edit: Well, they used to...)
Ranking these works of art is a tall task, with a great many of them worthy enough to lift Mjölnir. But I'm gonna do it. Because that's what heroes do.
46. She-Hulk
In the nicest way possible, because there are children reading this blog, this show is an absolute dumpster fire. As YouTuber The Critical Drinker put it, this show could be classified as a war crime.
I wanted it to work. She-Hulk, aka Jennifer Walters, aka Bruce Banner's cousin --a lawyer who was tragically turned into a superhero simply to save her life-- there's a recipe here for a quality show. The writers followed absolutely NONE of that.
Her origin story takes place over A SINGLE 30-minute episode. Powers received, powers mastered. Her cousin Bruce has spent almost 15 years simply trying to tame the beast within, meanwhile saving the world twice or thrice, but Jennifer can go through an entire character arc in half an hour because she has been catcalled.
This show is so far from quality that I'm not just angry at it for existing, I'm ticked off at Marvel for falling even further from grace than I ever thought possible. The creators of She-Hulk make it clear right from the get-go that this show exists only to humiliate established MALE characters, chastise any other MALE characters, and the only possible distraction from this blatant sexism and horrible writing is the unforgivable, blasphemous, outrageous, offensive CGI used to create She-Hulk.
This show is not good, like almost everything Marvel has put out in the last three years. But what's worse than the show stinking more than a pre-diarrhea fart is that it has ramifications on the whole MCU and important, previously beloved characters in it.
Instead of just ruining She-Hulk and whatever other characters there were in this show, it has a negative impact on Hulk, Wong, Daredevil and Abomination, who are all reduced to incompetent, bumbling, problematic idiots. I guess because they are MEN. This show isn't even kind to women! I officially gave up when Megan Stallone or whatever-her-name-is showed up.
I suppose, for a show about a Hulk, it's fitting that I'm angry. (And no longer looking forward to MCU projects like I used to.)
45. The Marvels
As a staunch defender of 2019's Captain Marvel (evidenced by its very favorable ranking way down below), it's been disheartening to see the direction of her character since. It's been the opposite of "Higher. Further. Faster."
She was out of place and awkward with the Avengers, a no-show in Secret Invasion, and poor Brie Larson is over it. So much for making her one of the faces of the post-Endgame MCU.
The Marvels attempts to be a sequel to not one, not two, not three, BUT FOUR MCU properties: Captain Marvel, WandaVision, Ms. Marvel and Secret Invasion, mixing in the characters of Monica Rambeau, Kamala Khan and Nick Fury, respectively.
It fails miserably across the board. It's never fun to see such a bad film, but the worst part of the MCU's landslide is the continued curb stomping of legacy characters like Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury. If the MCU is going to be this bad, leave the OG's out of it.
At one point in the movie, Kamala Khan incredulously asks a room full of cats, "What are we doing here?!" That about sums it up.
44. Ms. Marvel
My love affair with the MCU has been damaged over the last couple years. It's not me, it's you. Sure, I'm getting older and crankier, but I'm not outgrowing my interest in superheroes. The reality (stone) of the situation is that Marvel's quality is dropping across the board. It's a realization even the most casual fans are coming to.
I planned on skipping this series, but I felt it necessary to watch in anticipation of The Marvels movie that Kamala Khan will be a part of. The MCU doesn't feel connected anymore, especially Phase Four, but I figured I would give it a shot to at least continue my completionism. And unlike many, I really enjoyed Captain Marvel, as evidenced by that film's ranking below.
The move to Disney+ has not enhanced the "universe" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From a storytelling perspective, it's only made it more confusing. From a production standpoint, everything in the TV shows, save for perhaps the first couple to hit Disney's streaming service, have been mediocre across in the board in terms of directing, writing, visual effects, action, and the worst sin of all -- they lack heroism.
It's a rather vital part of the superhero game. There is almost nothing exciting about Ms. Marvel, which is not a good way to describe entertainment. The show isn't just boring, it is an incoherent wreck. Every episode jumps around --figuratively from plot beat to plot beat and literally from setting to setting. Nothing is developed and numerous new names and faces show up at every turn just to disappear until three episodes later and you're like, "oh yeah, they are in this show."
It's merely a six-episode run, like most MCU shows, yet it feels like the script barely has enough to say for one or two episodes. The injection of Pakistani culture gives it some life, but that doesn't overcompensate for the lack of an interesting story or compelling characters.
Iman Vellani does whatever she can to make the show a charming, coming-of-age tale. The first episode boasts a creative, comic book-y aesthetic. But that is quickly tossed aside in episode two and almost never shows up again, like my hope of this series being any good.
43. I Am Groot
I Am Groot is a five episode anthology with five minute episodes. Half of that time is spent on the extensive Disney+ credits. Given the format, it was difficult to envision how this "show" about a carefully worded tree could have more bark than bite. It's a cartoon made exclusively for a very young audience and is essentially Marvel's version of their Disney partner Pixar's shorts.
What I was hoping for, probably foolhartedly, was a glimpse into how Baby Groot grew to Teenage Groot between Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Avengers: Infinity War. That doesn't happen, nor does anything of substance or consequence. At this point, I feel like I get through these MCU shows just to fulfill my self-imposed contractual obligation to review them.
42. Eternals
When Eternals was first announced, my reaction was similar to when Marvel Studios said they would be making an Inhumans movie. That film was eventually cancelled and turned into a TV series nobody saw, but with the MCU's slate running thin post-Infinity Saga, there was now an opening for some new content.
Eternals got the nod, billed as a team-up of ultra-powered cosmic heroes that would change the playing field of the MCU. I was not familiar with this group, a passion project created by Marvel legend Jack Kirby, known mostly known for his drawing, not writing.
After reading the rebooted version of the Eternals, published in 2006, I was left unimpressed. It was ambitious, mythical, and has roots in the earliest days of Marvel's existence, but ultimately featured a slew (and I mean a slew) of lifeless characters, whether it be the many heroes, or the villainous "deviants."
The trailers for the cinematic version were equally stale, but this is the MCU we're talking about. They don't miss, though the post-Endgame world is putting this to the test.
For the first time in their 13-year history, Marvel Studios didn't just miss the mark. They made a BAD film. Eternals is a convoluted mess, full of dull characters, a gutless plot, lazy writing, and the final product is a movie with no heart, bad jokes (an emerging problem for this franchise and movies in general), and no drama despite supposed world-ending stakes.
41. Hawkeye
2021 was a year full of content for Marvel Studios. In fact, it was the most ever. With four movies and five TV shows, Hawkeye brought up the rear with its final episode coming just before Christmas.
I was hesitant about a Hawkeye show as I wanted his story to close after Avengers: Endgame. But if you're going to do this, then there's a lot to explore about his murderous alter ego Ronin, taken up after the snap (I refuse to call it the "blip"). Also, the show took direct inspiration from the very good Matt Fraction and David Aja Hawkeye comic.
That limited series thrived on its heart, humor, and was a fun introduction to Kate Bishop as Hawkeye's successor. It's low-level stakes and it owns that on the page. However, that doesn't translate to the screen, even if it's the small one.
A year that saw Marvel's unmatched level of quality stoop to Hollywood's lowering standards ended with a resounding dud. Hawkeye is perfectly "fine." It has a standard plot, basic characters, and TV budget effects. Most egregiously, it does nothing meaningful with Clint's Ronin past. Sorry Echo, you are boring.
Everything about this show is average, which is unacceptable --and worse, unexpected-- from this franchise. The show does more harm than good, sullying Clint's character, butchering Kate's introduction, making Yelena Belova flat-out annoying, wasting its late reveal, stuffing in countless unfunny jokes, and just not being fun or interesting, which is the biggest sin in entertainment.
40. Moon Knight
Every single Marvel TV show (and most shows in general) have "filler" episodes that contribute very little to the overall plot. Moon Knight has at least three of them, and as of now, it is a six episode limited series.
That's not a good ratio.
Ex Machina (A+ in 2015) star and reluctant Star Wars sequels participant Oscar Isaac is the reason I stuck with this show. He plays two versions of the same character battling DID -dissociative identity disorder- and the American-Guatemalan actor is equally convincing as a confident American mercenary and a bumbling English gift shop worker. His work in Moon Knight is award worthy, plain and simple, even if the show itself is unworthy of his talents.
On the bright (Knight?) side, episode five is wonderful. It gives us background with actual story and character development. Apart from this episode, the show is just decent. The plot isn't particularly interesting and the other characters are fairly cardboard. Ethan Hawke's villain is promising but ends up being one big, evil monologue.
The Egyptian lore is teased in mostly CGI fashion, and the Egyptian gods are done dirty. Their decision making is terrible and reflects a lazy script that moved as slow as the Nile. Then, not unlike Marvel's other TV entries, it tries to hastily wrap up several stories in a frantic finale.
It's nice to have a character that exists without any connections to the bigger MCU picture, which is as convoluted as ever. But it also works against Moon Knight, who is rarely interesting enough to carry his own show.
39. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
After the MCU officially introduced time travel and the multiverse in Avengers: Endgame, they had officially opened a can of worms that few entertainment mediums can survive. However, the MCU had been written so tightly and cohesively for more than a decade that I had faith they could enter this foggy storytelling area and come out of it unscathed.
I was wrong.
In the immediate aftermath of Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home danced with --but ultimately deked the audience-- with the possibilities of the multiverse. The TV series Loki delved deeper into alternate timelines, but only posed more questions than answers, as the review for that show below states. Spider-Man: No Way Home had a multiverse angle, but it was for fan service rather than storytelling purposes.
So that left Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Since the title was announced in 2019, it was thought that this film would be the one to start making sense out of all the, well, madness, that the MCU had created in its overall narrative.
Well... wrong again.
Multiverse of Madness has zero interest in trying to establish a through line to Marvel's Phase Four. Outside of a cool montage scene, it doesn't even explore the multiverse. We really only spend time in two universes, our own and another that looks just like it, only with CGI shrubbery and a conveniently placed machine that reads memories and attempts character development.
I've been disappointed over and over with recent MCU efforts, but I really thought this movie would make things right. With Sam Raimi at the helm, a main Avenger as the star, and the proper focus on making the multiverse make sense, this was the movie to set things right.
Wrong again!
Instead, it only adds more questions, like the idea of incursions, unexplained magic, new random abilities, and now things are even more messed up than before. Nothing from Endgame, Loki, or even the previous MCU installment No Way Home which literally featured Doctor Strange himself has been addressed.
It's bad storytelling, and as an MCU lifer who has passionately loved these movies for so long, and gotten so much real life joy out of them, it's really starting to really tick me off. It's making me angrier than the Hulk, who hasn't gotten angry since 2015 anyway.
Any connection whatsoever to other films comes in the form of inconsequential dialogue. A new face who is more a plot device than an actual character laughs about this so-called "Spider-Man" that Strange has a recent encounter with. Really? You almost broke space and time while erasing a whole population's memory and we're just going to make it a joke?
Strange briefly references his actions in Endgame to Michael Stuhlbarg, who is in the film for one scene to remind you that this is indeed a sequel to the first Doctor Strange from six years ago. He also discusses his actions with Wanda Maximoff, which brings me to the film's most egregious sin: it's handling of the Scarlet Witch.
I know that there is a basis to these decisions in the literature. Wanda has always battled her all-powerful alter ego in the comics, but this film does not tackle that duality at all despite having precedent to do so after the events of WandaVision.
Multiverse of Madness simply turns her into a psychopathic boogeywoman who murders everything in her path. It's a betrayal of the character and HERO we've come to know over four movies and a Disney+ show since her debut in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
I realize the Scarlet Witch has a very, very dark side. But Wanda in the MCU is a HERO. You can't blatantly retcon her character arc for the sake of an adaptation. Don't turn her into the villain for fan service or misguided storytelling.
Speaking of fan service, there's an attempt at No Way Home level cameos, but they come across as hollow given their ugly roles in the film and the lacking quality of the film itself to make me care about these "surprise" appearances. Appearances that were spoiled in the trailers and numerous TV spots anyway.
This is one of my longest reviews on this page to date, and it's not for good reasons. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was supposed to restore my faith in the MCU. Instead, it just made me realize more than ever than the golden age of cinema I was lucky to grow up with -especially within the MCU- is absolutely over.
38. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Don't judge a book by its cover, right? But can you judge a movie by its trailer? The trailers for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania left me feeling empty inside. It looked cool because CGI is certainly appreciated at CGI Fridays, but the story felt completely skippable save for the set up of Kang the Conqueror as the villain for the MCU's Phase Five. Phase Four destroyed over a decade and 23 films of goodwill, so here comes Phase Five to avenge Phase Four.
Well - these aren't your Avengers anymore. Who even are the Avengers at this point? Nothing says that more clearly than using the Ant-Man franchise to launch Thanos's replacement Kang into the spotlight. I guess they couldn't resist "Lang v Kang: Dawn of the Multiverse."
Quantumania starts off on the wrong foot and never recovers. After saving the world --this after being left for dead in the quantum realm-- Scott Lang just wants to live his life. He writes a book, walks down the street pointing at people like Peter Parker in Spider-Man 3, and bashfully accepts his celebrity status.
He's reunited with his daughter Cassie, which outside of Hope Van Dyne aka the Wasp has essentially been Ant-Man's purpose. His motivation has always revolved around his daughter. Being a superhero was more or less something he shrank into.
Scott wants to take some time off after literally saving humanity, but Cassie is not happy with 'ol dad because he's not helping the homeless like her (they live in San Francisco...) or running a company like Hope. She gets arrested and then chastises Scott in front of all the Pym's for trying to tell her there is more to life than going to jail. What a bad father.
Widen to reveal that she's been working with Hope and Hank Pym on what Hank calls the "Hubble Telescope of the Quantum Realm" or something. You know, everyday teenage girl stuff. Janet Van Dyne is not happy with this as she knows the dangers of the Quantum Realm after being stranded there for decades. Problem is she doesn't tell anyone about it, which brings me to one of my pet peeves in writing.
You know what really grinds my gears? When characters withhold vital information for "plot reasons." Janet does this constantly in the film, with sloppily edited cuts leaving the viewer waiting (impatiently) for resolution. Because if Janet would have opened up about the secret murderous madman patrolling the Quantum Realm, then the entire plot of this movie can't happen.
An entire narrative built on idiocy leads to a plot that bores you as much as it frustrates you. All the crazy CGI flying colors of the world down under can't overcome a script this heartless. It's like if you loved chocolate but hated strawberries and ate a chocolate covered strawberry. There's a moment of joy followed by confusion before an overwhelming sense of disgust.
The writing in this film is as lazy as that metaphor. But Kang is awesome at least, right?
Jonathan Majors --and for that matter Paul Rudd-- are not the issue. They are fine actors. Rudd does his best with a script that thinks the word dick is hilarious. Majors tries to inject Kang the Conquerer with power and intrigue, but at the end of the day he's not much of a threat.
If he's fighting a nameless character, he flexes his strength and disintegrates them with ease. But put a top billed star in front of him and he's simply a strong fighter. This is your new Thanos?
The first Ant-Man was a nice palate cleanser at the tail end of Phase One. The sequel was tucked in-between Infinity War and Endgame. This was supposed to launch Phase Five. The stakes tried to be big while also retaining the whimsy innocence of the first two. It failed.
I didn't think I'd miss the X-Con's this much.
37. Secret Invasion
One of the many popular Brian Michael Bendis comics in the 2000s was the massive crossover event Secret Invasion. That worked so well on the page in the comics because Skrulls were evil shape-shifting aliens who invade and conquer civilizations. In the MCU, all we've seen of them are the refugees from Captain Marvel.
To justify the show, they needed to write bad Skrulls into the story. They did it very poorly. I was excited about this adaptation but I thought it should have been a movie. In fact, Phase Four or Phase Five could have revolved entirely around a secret invasion. Instead, Marvel delivers a half-hearted attempt in the form of a six episode limited series that is Secret Invasion in name only.
Truthfully, I found the show mildly engaging (until the embarrassing finale) because of Samuel L. Jackson. My problem with Secret Invasion isn't necessarily the show itself, but the missing pieces between Captain Marvel and this show which is supposed to serve as a follow-up to the 2019 movie.
A lot has changed for these characters and the show intends to bridge the gap through many long dialogue scenes. Even the acting chops of Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn can't disguise these obvious exposition dumps.
Speaking of Nick Fury, he becomes the next victim in Disney Marvel's male hero deconstruction. Everyone in this show hates Fury -- including Fury -- and it gets old quick. Gone is the mastermind of SHIELD, replaced by an old man who abandoned Earth, lets everyone walk over him and steals the DNA of his closest friends. In fact, he was never a mastermind at all because apparently he had Skrulls manipulate his way to the top!
Just a dreadful retcon in a show that makes many mistakes trying to fit into the grander MCU picture. The climax discards a horribly written villain whose entire mission is explained so lazily, hastily and sloppily that you never care about him or any of the conflict in this very disappointing series.
His mission? Get revenge on Fury who promised the Skrulls a new home decades ago. Not only is it another chance to show that Nick Fury is now a pathetic hermit, but you're telling me there's not a a planet in the entire galaxy that they could inhabit? NOT A SINGLE ONE?!
36. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Do you remember in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, right before the climactic final battle, when this ragtag, freshman team made light of how they had merely 12 percent of a plan? It was funny, it was endearing, it was earnest... and it worked. Nearly a decade later, it is none of those things.
When it comes to executing a mission for these veteran Guardians, who have saved the galaxy at least *counts in head* three times by now, their lack of competence is annoying at best and horrible writing at worst. It's played off for jokes in the film, just like everything else, and it's a trend that has only served to frustrate this once loyal viewer. They do not work together, they shout at one another, they don't listen to their teammates, and then they try to excuse all this juvenile decision-making by cracking fart jokes. OMG A CUSS WORD! THESE HOOLIGANS!
Vol. 1 was a breath of fresh air and a welcome change of pace; it's jaunty, nostalgic tunes combined with an unapologetically likable cast and a feel-good story. Vol. 2 pushed the limits of how many forced jokes and gratuitous cameos a writer-director without any oversight could put on a seesaw of content.
Vol. 3 arrives six years after its predecessor, in part due to the pandemic but also said writer-director's firing and immediate re-hiring. It's a limp to the finish line, a damaged relic from the MCU's past that is trying to exist and make sense in a new cinematic universe that stopped caring about five movies and six Disney+ shows ago.
The plot revolves entirely around Rocket Raccoon's origin story. It's probably the most effective element of the film because the rest is complete and utter nonsense. The first hour could have been entirely omitted but hey! Nathan Fillion cameo. And hey! Adam Warlock. And hey! They made him an idiot just like 85 percent of the current Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The only thing I found myself really wanting out of this Guardians trilogy capper was closure for Peter and Gamora. (Or at least the best closure a franchise that has zero plan and a universe without a true endgame could offer.) (Yes, I see what I did there.) (And no, I'm not happy about it.)
That would be too much to ask. Any moment of true emotion is immediately drained out by one of Gunn's inclusions for Awesome Mix Vol. 3, which is far and away the least inspired of the trilogy's signature music albums. The editing and pacing feels off, like we're checking boxes (song, bad joke, action, song, bad joke, action, song, bad joke, action...) and not actually trying to make a movie.
Which is understandable because there is no structure to Marvel's movies (and shows if I must include them) anymore. There is no plan... not even 12 percent of one.
35. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Marvel and director-writer Ryan Coogler were dealt an impossible hand for the Black Panther sequel when beloved star Chadwick Boseman passed away from colon cancer in 2020. Like many I asked, “Should a sequel even be made?”
After a string of uninspiring films from the MCU, including several sequels that are ruining previously beloved characters –examples in 2022 alone include Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, Hulk and Thor– I got to the point where I would rather Marvel just hang up the claws and leave the Black Panther legacy with Boseman in the ancestral plane.
For reasons mostly financial, that was never an option. So a sequel was made, and without the titular star from the previous film, Wakanda Forever is a hodgepodge of ideas and characters that does not result in a competent piece of art.
Despite the tragic loss of Boseman, I remained optimistic because of Coogler, who I respect greatly as a filmmaker (see #10 in 2013). He can use the excuse that re-writing the story without the King of Wakanda was a task too great -- and I’d accept that. But that doesn't excuse the eventual final product, which is beneath his capabilities as both a director and writer.
Stepping into the sneakers of the late Boseman as the film’s star is T’Challa’s sister Shuri. Letitia Wright is a fine actress and she was likable enough as the sister sidekick tech genius. While moderately funny, I mostly found her arrogant, especially in Infinity War, and went into Wakanda Forever hoping the mantle of the Black Panther would fall to someone else, preferably Okoye or Winston Duke’s M’Baku.
The fact is none of those characters are played by Chadwick Boseman, and this franchise had its biggest selling point stripped away in heartbreak fashion. So what did we get in his absence?
Wakanda Forever is nearly three hours of no plot. Things eventually happen, characters grieve, more people die, there’s a fight with the villain and then the movie’s over. It’s that bland (and somehow that long), which is a massive disservice to the world of Wakanda and our brand new setting, Namor’s home world of Atlantis Talokan.
For two fictional places of such visual potential, both of them feel tiny and hollow in this movie. The worlds are barely explored and each of these massive utopias feel small and empty. If Wakanda is this massive paradise capable of defending themselves against any world power due to its Vibranium, resources and military… where are they?
Outside of an overhead shot of the underwater world, there’s a changing room for Shuri, Nakia and why-is-she-in-this-movie Riri Williams (not to mention why-is-he-in-this-movie Martin Freeman), and with Namor’s quarters, that's all we see of Talokan. Namor, the first mutant from Marvel comics and a character who predates even Captain America, makes his long-awaited cinematic debut here.
Namor’s motives change almost as quickly as the wings on his feet flutter. One minute he’s about peace, then he's determined to kill a teenager (which would have accomplished nothing), then he wants Shuri to help him burn the whole world down (...) and then he’s content to just throw in the towel (which accomplishes him appearing in a future Marvel project).
He’s shown to be basically omnipotent until the final act when he goes from super villain to super useless. So many characters in this movie are hard to root for, and the one who eventually drinks the heart-shaped herb and becomes the new Black Panther is right in that same category.
Wakanda Forever is not insultingly bad like other MCU nonsense we’ve had this year, but it’s still not good. With the pieces in play, even without Boseman, there’s no excuse not to do better than this. Sadly, I'm beginning to wonder if it even matters anymore.
34. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
I am not a political person, but I wasn't born yesterday. I recognize the very tragic and very true history that this world is built upon. America included. So, when it became evident early on that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was going to chart these historical, racially relevant waters, I was excited. But I was cautious.
Anyone living out from under a rock knows the world is as hostile as ever. As a character in the show plainly states, "the world is broken." We all know it. And Marvel has a huge platform to educate and illuminate a still very ignorant, uneducated world.
Here comes the but... BUT if you are going to go this route, you cannot sacrifice quality. TFatWS sacrificed a show so the creative team could lecture us about how a Black man could never be Captain America. They also introduce a character who was betrayed and tortured by his own country because he was a Black super soldier. These are big ideas. But they don't go anywhere.
I get it - this is real history. But this plot, along with pretty much every plot thread in the show, is all talk and no substance. Don't even get me started on what the show did with Sharon Carter. Do not. Even. Get me. Started.
Ultimately, the MCU's second Disney+ series tries to send a message. In the climactic episode, with literally half a dozen stories closing in a bloated finale, one of our heroes publicly scolds government officials on their behavior. Is it legitimate? Sure. But is it good television? No.
This show stars two of my favorite characters from the MCU, Sam and Bucky. Three counting Sharon although her role in the comics is far more prevalent than the movies. The premise of the show should be to honor and build on Steve Rogers' legacy as the ultimate hero. Instead, we are told to hate everything Steve, Peggy Carter, Howard Stark, and SHIELD stood for. Really, it's insulting.
In the closing moments of Avengers: Endgame, when Steve hands the shield to Sam, Sam promises the elder Cap: "I'll do my best." His next move is to give the thing up and what happens next... I don't even care anymore.
This isn't a TV show. It is a lecture. Our heroes are not fighting bad guys and protecting innocents, they are all simply pawns in a manipulative game being played by the show's writers.
33. Thor: Love and Thunder
Sigh. We've reached the point in the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe where I'm no longer counting down to the next installment. For the first time since 2013, when I was but a wee child, I did not see a new MCU movie on opening night. I mean, I went the next night because what else does a teacher do during the summer? But still. Marvel opening nights were as part of my life as a Lover's Egg Roll coupon. It was a good run.
Love and Thunder is not a good MCU movie. But --and there is a big butt in this film-- it's a good 2022 movie. The bar has dropped, both in and out of the crowded, convoluted, officially senseless Marvel universe of movies and Disney+ shows, that I'm willing to settle for a simply fun ride at the theater instead of a meaningful cinematic experience.
Taika Waititi's sequel to Thor: Ragnarok has the same problems as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The jokes aren't as funny, the gags aren't as fresh, and without the overall connective arc of the "Infinity Saga", the story has no direction or, even worse, meaning.
When the movie ends, nothing has really changed. The MCU's Phase Four has been an aimless, nauseating journey so far. I didn't expect the momentum to keep up after Endgame, but I also didn't expect Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios to just mail it in.
The marketing for Love and Thunder advertised it as pure comedy. But surely that wouldn't be the case, I ask into the still nothingness. With Jane Foster becoming the Mighty Thor, and Christian Bale on board as Gorr the God Butcher, surely there would be more meat on this bone.
Sadly, there isn't. Bale's appearance as Gorr is the best thing about this movie, he's just acting in the wrong one. He gives a magnetic, slimy, legitimately scary performance that the actor admits was toned way down for the film's final product because this is a comedy through-and-through you see.
Even with his villainous exploits censored to meet Disney's "standards," he has a lot of fun with the role. His screen time is so scarce you kind of forget why he's doing what he's doing and a familial attempt to connect with him at the eleventh hour feels hollow and, honestly, stupid. You could say they... butchered his character's potential.
Jane herself is fine, and it's fun to see Natalie Portman back. She and Bale attempt to give the film some value, but Waititi interrupts any possible moment of emotion or purpose with a joke. Sadly, and most egregiously, this comes at Chris Hemsworth's expense.
I didn't love Fat Thor in Endgame, but I thought he still rebounded enough at the end of that movie to become a hero once more. However, this movie turns him into a complete and utter joke. He's constantly making a fool of himself, blowing **** up, smiling at the camera, flirting with his hammer, he can't fight any of his own battles, and is just overall incompetent and an embarrassment to the character's history. He even needs an army of children to bail him out. (Also - where the Hel did that power come from? Can he also heal people like Rey Skywalker Palpatine?)
I liked how Thor's spirit was reinvigorated in Ragnarok, but now he's gone off the deep end. He's impossible to take seriously, as are Valkyrie, Zeus, Korg, and everyone involved in this franchise which has gone from serious shakespearean tragedy to complete loony tune parody.
The biggest irony of all is that somewhere along the way, Darcy Lewis went from the comedic relief to the one providing a slight reprieve from the onslaught of jokes.
With that said, and I said a lot, Thor: Love and Thunder, while not a good MCU movie, still passes for decent fun in the modern era of cinema.
32. Werewolf by Night
Usually when a project is announced mere weeks before its release date, that isn't a good thing. Or maybe it's because Marvel has legitimately lost track of their release date schedule. Or perhaps Werewolf by Night, composed and directed by legendary music man Michael Giacchino, is a deliberate passion project that the studio buried in its schedule in case it flopped.
This is no flop. This is a competently directed, written, and produced short film that pays homage to all the black and white horror films of generation's past. There is clearly a lot of love and effort on display here, and I appreciate that it is short and sweet. It's also surprisingly violent and gory for a Disney Marvel product.
It's entertaining and then it's over. And that's okay. Calling Elsa Bloodstone and Man-Thing C-List heroes might be generous, but Giacchino injects them with genuine character and puts together a 50-minute movie that, if anything, has some great visuals and gets the job done.
31. WandaVision
The first MCU television series faced an uphill battle in my heart as I much prefer movies to TV, as evidenced by this blog's existence. Maybe I was trapped in the "Hex," but all of my worst fears about the episodic format came true.
WandaVision is a good show, don't make that mistake, but there was massive potential here. Instead of rewarding moments and universe-changing payoffs, the series settles for red herrings, fake outs, and squandered opportunities.
The first few episodes are quite clearly love letters to classic TV sitcoms. A later episode tells us the why - and that emotionally charged episode is my favorite of the series - but it doesn't change the fact that these episodes exist without much narrative meaning, a primary reason I don't love a serial format.
It was a real treat to see Kat Dennings and Randall Park reprise their roles of Darcy and Jimmy Woo, but their character arc comes rushing to an extremely unsatisfying end in a rushed finale. That became a common theme in WandaVision, as the show set up tease after tease after even more teases, just to pull the rug out by the end of the show. (SWORD and Director Hayward perhaps the most obvious offense.)
Despite an underwhelming finish, we cannot ignore the brilliance of Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany. I've talked time and time again about MCU casting, and Olsen's performance is the heart of the show. Even when the story disappoints, she and Bettany's Vision absolutely do not.
30. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
The pandemic caused a lot of mayhem in the MCU schedule, but what really threw a wrench in things was the firing (and eventual re-hiring) of director James Gunn. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was originally slated for 2020 at the onset of Phase Four. It ended up being pushed all the way to 2023 and into Phase Five.
The MCU's first three phases are a beautiful cinematic tapestry. Phase Four has been a colossal mess that threatens to burn it all. The delay of Guardians 3 was no help, since their story picks up post-Endgame and also affected Thor 4. Similar chaos ensued with the release date swaps of Doctor Strange 2 and Spider-Man 3.
While theatrical releases were thrown for a loop, the plan forThe Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was affected by absolutely none of this. Gunn floated the idea to MCU overlord Kevin Feige on the set of Guardians 2 and if Gunn was never fired, the holiday special might have been the very first Marvel content to premiere on Disney+ way back in 2020.
Alas it wasn't but it does arrive in 2022 and it's... fine. It's short, sweet, silly, perhaps even stupid, but it knows this. Most of the story centers on the juvenile banter from the Drax-Mantis pair and that stuff is probably the weakest the special has to offer. Kevin Bacon is in it, but the real reason I view this holiday affair as more than pure filler is how it expands on the relationship between Peter Quill and his surrogate father Yondu.
Other than that, it's like a Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanza present you'll play with once and then put in the attic. And then throw it away 20 years later when you clean out said attic.
29. Black Widow
My love for the MCU is no secret, but here's a neat-o stat: Of the first 23 Marvel Studios movies, every single one received an A+ grade. Not only that, only two didn't score a perfect "100/100": Ant-Man & the Wasp and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which both went for 99's.
That's quite the feat, and that streak of A+'s endured for more than a decade. So consider my disappointment when Black Widow broke that streak after making its long-awaited, (hopefully) post-pandemic debut in 2021.
Fans like myself had waited years for Natasha Romanoff's origin story. The film opens with a flashback, a promising indication that this is indeed what we will get.
The movie then jumps 21 years right after Captain America: Civil War, and never goes back. Avengers: Age of Ultron had more of Black Widow's origin than the actual Black Widow film. That movie didn't just talk about the Red Room, her training, and her tortured past, it showed us. And that was in 2015.
Six years and the character's death in Avengers: Endgame later, we "settle" for a spy thriller and a family reunion. It's a good movie, but it's not signature MCU great. It boasts some of the best action of the entire franchise, but as far as story, it aims low and lands even lower.
The first half of the film embraces that dark, gritty aesthetic that Civil War possessed, even using the same font for the title cards of the film's many locations. But it quickly erupts into a punch-line fest, which only works in any shape or form because of the acting abilities of Florence Pugh and David Harbour. But it's non-stop and the serious tone is thrown out the window, just like the story.
People claim that the MCU has a "villain problem," which I've always disagreed with. There have been rare misses like Malekith in Thor: The Dark World and Ghost in Ant-Man and the Wasp, but there has been no bigger letdown in that department than Taskmaster.
Black Widow, produced in part by Scarlett Johansson herself --a small consolation for making her inexplicably wait for her solo act-- isn't the Black Widow story I wanted. It's not the Black Widow story fans wanted, either. And it's not the sendoff the character deserved. To add insult to injury, it has the worst post credits scene in MCU history.
28. Loki
When Marvel announced their first slate of streaming shows, Loki seemed to hold the most potential. Not just because the leading power of Tom Hiddleston, but after Avengers: Endgame, there are so many questions about the MCU's timeline. This show felt like an opportunity to try and start addressing some of these pressing questions.
Hiddleston effortlessly steps back into the role, enjoying his mischievous self just as much as he did a decade ago in Thor. He's as charismatic (and irresponsible) as ever, literally playing his former, post-Avengers self.
The show rides on his performance, and supporting acts from Owen Wilson and Sophia Di Martino add layers to the titular character's showcase. The show is cast well, and written well until it is forced to make serious narrative decisions.
Like the two MCU shows before it, it struggles with telling a complete story. A season two wasn't confirmed until the finale's credits, but the show clearly plays setup for other MCU properties, as evidenced by an incomplete finale that made little effort to put a bow on season one.
The MCU is a never-ending, all-connected universe, but Loki's first season deserved more of a finish. Some questions about the ("sacred") timeline were answered, but countless more were brought forward to be addressed at a later time.
Natalie Holt's wonderfully mystical score is a great addition to Loki's lore, but season two somehow made things even more confusing and jumbles up the ridiculous MCU timeline further beyond repair. A solid ending saves this disjointed, uneventful, unintentionally comical season from dropping too far down this list from its previous number 24 spot.
27. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
The MCU has thrived on taking lesser known Marvel Comics characters to the big screen. With the hero roster growing thin after 24 movies, the next character to get called up to the big leagues would be martial arts master Shang-Chi.
The movie succeeds as an action film with flying colors. The big set pieces impress, as does the hand-to-hand combat. Marvel hired longtime Jackie Chan collaborator Brad Allan for the film, and it shows. Allan, who also worked on my favorite Kingsman films, sadly passed away in August just before the film's release.
As stunning as the action is, Marvel aims low for Shang-Chi's story. It's not much of an origin, as our main character has almost all of his skills when the movie starts. The plot is one of the MCU's weakest, with inconsistently paced flashbacks used to flesh our the story.
The movie's biggest weakness, at least for me, is the same problem that plagued Black Widow. Too. Many. Bad. Jokes.
Akwafina is there for comic relief, but it's too much and too often. So many scenes that should have been epic or emotional are interrupted by comedic bits that are frankly becoming a troubling pattern in recent MCU films. The audiences seem to appreciate these jokes, so I'm in a silent but annoyed minority here.
Her character also makes a big impact on the final act, which makes no sense. The movie dismisses any Iron Man Ten Rings connection by turning it into another joke and pretending it doesn't exist, which was a disappointment.
Shang-Chi is a fun, beautiful, and exciting movie. It's just not very interesting.
26. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The relationship between the MCU movies and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is, it's safe to say, complicated. I hesitated even putting it on this list, as the show is technically not canon in the greater MCU story.
However, it's impossible to ignore the connective tissue that the movies and show share: that being Phil "Son of Coul" Coulson. Reviving Coulson for the show was always the selling point, and it wasn't necessarily done with Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige's consent.
Unlike the Disney+ shows, AoS and the Marvel Netflix shows were not produced by Marvel Studios. So, while there were connections, and the shows literally lived off the "It's All Connected" tagline, it wasn't a team effort and the effect came apparent as S.H.I.E.L.D. matured.
The show really does shine in the first couple seasons. When S.H.I.E.L.D. was dismantled in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the cast of the show thought they were out of a job. Ironically, the series's best content came from the fallout of The Winter Soldier.
Strong episodes decorate the first couple seasons, but it was soon evident that the show could only go so far without the narrative support of the MCU's movies, which no longer needed a television series to support it.
25. What If...?
As much as I love the MCU's connected universe, I was excited for What If...? due to its vast potential to stand on its own. Not just as a series of alternate realities, but also as the franchise's fist entry into animation, a ground well covered in comic book media but not yet touched in the MCU.
For most of its episodes, What If...? is an absolute thrill ride. Some episodes stand on the shoulders of others, but the great far outweighs the good, and everything here is at least very good.
From the start, the show fulfills its otherwordly promises with a very strong episode about Peggy Carter. Not only does the quality measure up to the band, pretty much all the franchise's A-list voice actors reprise their roles as their cartoon counterparts, including the late Chadwick Boseman.
Episodes range from pure bliss to silly to surprisingly dark, especially the Doctor Strange, Killmonger, and zombie episodes. Heroes fall left and right in different worlds that can tell whatever stories they went without answering to the main timeline.
What If...? ultimately feels the need to wrap up with some sort of team-up, which doesn't really fit. But it afforded the opportunity to bring back Ultron, so I'm here for it.
24. Ant-Man and the Wasp
After being unceremoniously shafted in 2015's Ant-Man, we now have the Wasp taking center stage. I would have liked to see more of this dynamic duo taking names and kicking butt together, and while we get some of them side-by-side, early in the movie and then late, I felt myself wanting more.
The main plot thread involved retrieving 1992 Catwoman from Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, and while it’s interesting, it almost feels like a checklist item rather than an important main plot thread of a superhero sequel, certainly affected by the serial format of the MCU and the bigger story going on elsewhere.
Ant-Man & the Wasp is happy to aim for just this. It’s visually astonishing just like its predecessor. Ghost’s action scenes are super cool, but Ghost is not an MCU baddie to remember. One of the MCU’s best themes is back and we now have a Wasp theme, which sounds sort of similar to the awesome Iron Man 3 score. Anyone else?
23. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Following the unexpected success of Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014, the sequel following the unlikely team-up took center stage as Marvel's summer opener in 2017. Dubbed "Vol. 2," James Gunn's sequel stays to the whimsical, out-of-this-world tone that made the first one such a hit.
Which is fine. That's not why the sequel failed to live up to (my admittedly lofty) expectations. I'm more invested in emotional weight and characters than I am to jokes, and the first GOTG balanced them perfectly. And when it joked, it was funny. Like funny funny. Volume two tried waaaaaaay too hard to earn those laughs.
Whether it was Rocket winking with the wrong eye, or Drax joking about turds and his irritated nipples in between savage verbal beatings to new Guardian Mantis, there were more eye-rolls than smiles when it came to the movie's dialogue. And there was quite a bit of dialogue, as the movie was heavy on exposition and semi-gratuitous character moments over telling a story.
This may sound like a negative review, but I want to stress that I really enjoyed the film. The soundtrack, just like the first, is absolutely fantastic. Tyler Bates' triumphant Guardians score is back and just as good, to accompany more Awesome Mix additions like "My Sweet Lord," "Lake Shore Drive," and the narratively woven "Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)."
Star-Lord and Gamora's romance grows, the insanely adorable Baby Groot shrinks, but Ego is meh and Kurt Russell does a lot of explaining. Perhaps Guardians Inferno makes up for that.
22. The Incredible Hulk
When Marvel sold off character rights, Universal got big jolly green. When Marvel Studios wanted to relaunch the Hulk in 2008, they did it in conjunction with Universal, who still controlled distributing rights.
Edward Norton's Hulk is far more serious than Ruffalo's, especially post-Age of Ultron Hulk when the studio's shared property compromised the character's arc. William Hurt as General Ross and Tim Roth as the villainous Emil Blonsky/Abomination are the best things about the movie and thankfully Ross was brought back in Captain America: Civil War, while we can only hope for the return of Blonsky and the Thunderbolts.
With the Hulk, you need epic action, personified by the smashing power of the man himself. The movie delivers that, especially in the climactic showdown between our similarly talented hero and villain. I can't help but wonder what future Hulk movies with Norton at the center would've looked like, but most people aren't.
In a continuing effort to be as different as possible from the previous Spider-Man entries, director Jon Watts continues to channel his inner John Hughes and doubles down on the high school life. It mostly works but some of the gags are ham-fisted, especially from Tony Revolori's all-new, all-different Flash Thompson, J.B. Smoove's teacher, and everything Brad Davis.
The main core of Tom Holland, Jacob Batalon and Zendaya are perfect again. When we figure out in 100 years that Holland is actually a laboratory experiment of peak human likability, I won't be surprised.
My big gripe with FFH is the story. Many sharks were jumped in the making of this motion picture. I was pumped when Sam Jackson and Cobie Smulders were announced in the highly anticipated return of Nick Fury, Maria Hill and presumably S.H.I.E.L.D. It was the perfect opportunity to "restart" the MCU's flagship narrative through Spider-Man. (Though the revelation of Sony-Disney trouble makes this choice an impractical risk.)
One of the movie's many ambitious plot twists renders my prediction horribly inaccurate but also seems like a missed opportunity in lieu of a home run swing for shock value. Going forward, the twist can work, but the logic behind it (obviously treading spoiler-free teuriritoy here, you're welcome) and the characters affected by it is poor writing.
As is the entire movie's premise of Tony Stark's legacy being so very carelessly passed to a 16-year old. The idea that Tony, of post-Avengers wisdom, would make reckless life choices a la his pre-Iron Man self, is disingenuous and unfaithful to his growth as the MCU's central character. Far From Home is far from logical, but that doesn't mean it isn't great fun.
20. Thor: The Dark World
There's a Thor movie here just as good as its predecessor and successor, but it gets jumbled up in the rare love interest narrative exploration in the MCU. Not that we're opposed to a good, complimenting narrative following the hero's better half.
Before cameras even starting rolling, there were problems with Thor 2. They couldn't find a director (and almost had Wonder Woman helmer Patty Jenkins on board), Natalie Portman was upset, they replaced the composer, and other noise persisted. What we ended up with is a movie divided narratively and emotionally by Earth and space.
There is the cosmic Thor-Loki tale, which is a winner in my eyes. After the events of The Avengers, you knew there was some 'splainin to do by Loki, and Thor had officially become a card-carrying, certified hero.
Then there is the Jane-Darcy-Selvig Earth plot. That one falls pretty flat. MCU movies are what they are for focusing on their heroes. That often comes at the sacrifice of fleshing out the villain (a very popular MCU complaint) or secondary characters. And on the topic of villains, Malekith is admittedly a miss, drowned out by his own elvish language.
While I enjoyed The Dark World, and Brian Tyler's score is one of the very best in the franchise, the movie proved to be a more of a cautionary tale due to its drawbacks than a film to remember for Marvel going forward.
19. Ant-Man
Ant-Man is positively remembered, but largely forgotten. If Paul Rudd's hero didn't return for a gargantuan cameo in Captain America: Civil War, I fret to think how little this movie would be appreciated.
Marvel had been discussing Ant-Man for many years, with Edgar Wright set to direct, but those darn "creative differences" sent him packing and Peyton Reed (Yes Man) stepped in. This actually happened very late in the game, and the fact that it pretty much went unnoticed is a testament to the creative team at Marvel Studios. They truly are a machine to constantly produce these blockbuster, pre and post-production reliant movies.
Rudd starred and also contributed to the script of Ant-Man, which was released in between the impactful Age of Ultron and Civil War. It gets lost in the fold a bit, fitting for the blink-and-you-miss-him hero that Ant-Man is.
A focused origin story with a universe already developed around him, most moviegoers at this point really just want to see sequels, or at the very least, multiple heroes in each movie. I am a big fan of origin stories and they are obviously vital to building emotional connections to characters. Marvel did that with Ant-Man and put together an extremely funny movie, with big ups to Michael Peña and Scott Lang's crew, that also offers tantalizing action sequences that utilize the titular hero's abilities.
18. Captain Marvel
I overheard somebody reveal a comic book movie plot point many years ago (shame shame shame!) and I, as the gentleman that I am, politely called him out on it. His justification? “Comic book movies are spoiled already by the books.”
What makes the comic book movie revolution so incredible —started in 2002 by Spider-Man— is that these new movies are anything but formulaic. Captain Marvel is a perfect example of a movie taking inspiration from multiple comic writers and stories and seamlessly weaving various plots and characters into an absolute Infinity Gem of a movie.
Heavy inspiration was taken from Roy Thomas’ 1971-1972 Kree-Skrull War arc, but the Kree and Skrulls of the MCU are completely different from the comics. What they did with the Skrulls was genius and perfectly supplements the already-established ground of the Kree from Guardians of the Galaxy.
The primary source material was the Captain Marvel comic “reboot” in 2012, which firmly entrenched Carol Danvers, a minor player in the original Kree-Skrull War who later became Ms. Marvel, as the new Captain Marvel. The first issue from Kelly Sue DeConnick sold out instantly.
As for the film (why we’re here) it’s a literal blast, also mixing in a sorta-kinda origin story for Nicholas Joseph Fury and his brainchild Avengers project. It’s full of twists and turns that don’t disappoint —except, wait, that’s how he lost his eye?!?!— and, as usual, the MCU nails its casting with Brie Larson, Ben Mendelsohn and the returning Samuel L. Jackson.
17. Spider-Man: No Way Home
If there's something a tinge tragic about Tom Holland's Spider-Man "Homecoming Trilogy," it's that the films never really belong to him. All three movies are great, but Spidey is forced to share the spotlight not one, not two, but three times in his own trilogy.
In the first two outings, he's fighting Tony Stark's battles, which I was okay with in Homecoming but thought totally unnecessary in Far From Home. In No Way Home, Peter is quite literally fighting other people's battles.
It makes for thrills that are as good as any in the MCU, with Marvel Studios and Sony fully flexing their crossover muscles. However, Holland's trilogy capper doesn't really belong to him. The fan service is done brilliantly, and the moments we were all hoping to see bring well-deserved cheers and tears from the audience.
No Way Home, like Far From Home, is an incredible experience. It's also a remarkable accomplishment, one that almost didn't happen. But, like Far From Home, I think this deliciously enjoyable film is not quite top-tier because the story makes absolutely no sense.
I'm happy to go along for the ride when the ride is this fun, but the how it happens simply doesn't work. First, the world believing Spider-Man to be a mass murderer because Mysterio says so is ridiculous. He's a hero, an Avenger, who has been publicly saving lives, not to mention the universe - for several years now. There has never been any speculation that he was anything else until the buzzer-beating J. Jonah Jameson appearance at the end of Far From Home.
Also, the film's entire plot hinges on Doctor Strange, a fellow Avenger who sacrificed himself and countless others in Avengers: Infinity War when he gave Thanos the Time Stone, casting and then botching a reckless spell that not only has galactic but multiversal ramifications. It's not even his call to make, as we find out he isn't even the Sorcercer Supreme.
It just doesn't work, and is so out of character that the speculation when the trailer released was that this wasn't even the real Stephen Strange. Well, it is, and things go wrong because of him. And then things get even worse because of more stupid-@$$ decisions (as Nick Fury would say) by Peter, who learned absolutely nothing from his Mysterio encounter that took place literally days before.
In all, this is as fun and crazy and bold as movies get. But that doesn't mean it makes sense. And while No Way Home deserves heaps of praise, nostalgia and fan service does not make up for an irresponsible script.
16. Thor: Ragnarok
I get why they completely changed the Thor character. Despite four appearances across two solo and two Avengers films, the God of Thunder was arguably the least popular MCU character. Even less popular than Hulk, who wasn't getting a solo film after 2008 for a long time. Because Marvel can use the Hulk in movies that aren't his by name, they went ahead and made Thor 3 a shared Hulk experience.
The storyline pretty much everyone wanted from a Hulk sequel, especially after he was jettisoned off to space at the end of Age of Ultron, was Planet Hulk. The events of the popular Hulk comic, as well as the planet Sakaar, are incorporated into Thor: Ragnarok, with the titular events of Ragnarok put on the back-burner.
While I recognize Thor isn't as popular as Iron Man or Spider-Man or now Captain America, I think that's the ageless "Superman problem." It's hard to relate to someone so powerful. It's not for lack of trying, because Chris Hemsworth plays him as well as anyone in the massive Marvel universe.
Alas, "old" Thor wasn't registering with fans, who were ready to laugh. The epic Loki cliffhanger at the end of Thor: The Dark World is abandoned, but comedy genius Taika Waititi makes every radical change work. Ragnarok is arguably the MCU's funniest movie (it's this, Ant-Man or Guardians 1) and Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo are natural comics.
15. Iron Man 2
The risk when putting together a shared universe is that sometimes a single movie struggles to stand on its own. Marvel has largely avoided what critics call "sequel-itis," making every movie stand on its own while also pushing forward the overall narrative. If any film has been bogged down by world-building, it is perhaps Iron Man 2.
Though the franchise has mostly dodged the studio interference plague, in its infancy there was drama behind Iron Man 2. Obviously, it's common in Hollywood for many voices to form a regrettable product. Especially in the superhero business. That is what makes the MCU so extraordinary, in that it has triumphed past the usual studio interference curse.
For the sequel to the golden child Iron Man, Jon Favreau returned to direct, but his creative freedom from the first, despite the unprecedented success, ran into trouble. Mickey Rourke was brought in to play the main antagonist, and he is a solid addition, but was problematic off camera. He is also thinly developed in lieu of another antagonist, Justin Hammer. Played by Sam Rockwell, Hammer is the yin to Tony Stark's yang, a snobby weapons manufacturer out for himself. Both he and Rourke are good, but there's not enough screen time to go around.
It's considered a weak link in the MCU chain, but I'll politely disagree. There's just so much great stuff to take away from Robert Downey Jr.'s fascinating portrayal of Stark and Iron Man. Also, we get a lot more of Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury, Clark Gregg's Phillip J. "Agent" Coulson, and are introduced to Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow.
14. Thor
Contrary to popular sentiment, the first Thor is my favorite Thor. Again, I love a good origin story and I really appreciate my lord and savior Kevin Feige and the studio's brainpower for not skipping over, or rushing the introduction and creation of the heroes. I wish DC took that approach, but I'm not currently here to pick on DC. That comes later. (And it's here.)
The first Thor is the truest Thor to Asgard, which the MCU has sadly failed to take advantage of. Wakanda was rich and full of life in Black Panther, but the Planet of the Gods hasn't gotten the star treatment. That befuddles me.
The first Thor at least gives us some of it, although still devotes a little too much time to Earth, but luckily Chris Hemsworth's baby-faced, bright-eyed, sandy blonde mug is in those scenes. Two other earthlings, Stellan Skarsgård's Erik Selvig and Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson, also get a lot to do in anticipation of their pivotal roles in The Avengers.
The moment when Thor finally becomes Thor is one of the best moments in the MCU, enhanced with Patrick Doyle's booming score. The movie's hidden strength is Tom Hiddleston's Loki. Thor is just as much his origin story as it is Thor's, and sets the stage for his future in The Avengers and beyond.
13. Doctor Strange
On the topic of scores, Michael Giacchino is one of the greatest composers going today, musically enhancing blockbusters at every corner of the galaxy, like Rogue One, Dawn and War for the Planet of the Apes, and the underappreciated modern Star Trek trilogy.
Anyway, it's not just Giacchino's trippy tunes that make Doctor Strange a bonafide hit. Casting, once again, is paramount to the success of any film. Production actually delayed altogether to ensure Benedict Cumberbatch could play the good doctor, and beyond him are acting titans like Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mordo, Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One, Mads Mikkelsen as Kaecilius, and Benedict Wong as, well, Wong.
Rachel McAdams doesn't have a whole lot to do as a prototypical MCU love interest (despite the implications behind her character), but you get the idea here. Marvel can cast anyone they want and they sure take advantage of the fact on a comparatively lesser-known product like Doctor Strange.
Before there was ever Inception, there were Jack Kirby's Doctor Strange comic book illustrations. With modern technology being at the unprecedented place it is, we can actually put these things to film. That, and one the MCU's fastest-paced and hardest-hitting stories, turns this smaller hero's story into a spellbinding movie experience.
12. Iron Man 3
Iron Man 3, coming on the heels of the Earth-shattering Avengers, was polarizing upon arrival. It takes a twist with the villainous Mandarin that tentpole films just do not do. For that, I applaud director Shane Black, reuniting with RDJ after Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang. I think it is a twist not just taken for face shock value, but a prudent and meaningful narrative twist. That and Guy Pearce's menacing jawline make it all work.
The movie is mostly Tony Stark and not Iron Man, which I liked. Iron Man 3 belongs to Downey, as does the entire cinematic universe. The story has holes, namely stemming from Tony's reckless, wildly irresponsible behavior that he supposedly had a reality check on in The Avengers. That bummed me out. But I was particularly glad to see Don Cheadle get to play a big role in Iron Man 3 before being almost completely cast aside in Age of Ultron.
Overall, fans weren't crazy about the villain twist, trading AC/DC for Eiffel 65, or the somewhat repetitive self-discovery arc Tony goes on after Iron Man 2. But with stellar acting, a compelling story, a triumphant and exquisitely choreographed final act and a fantastic Brian Tyler theme, the third and final Iron Man solo movie stands favorable on my MCU list.
11. Spider-Man: Homecoming
Spider-Man as part of the MCU seemed like a Peter Parker pipe dream. Sony wasn't going to give away their prized possession. I mean, it would take an inexplicable reboot, a divisive sequel (even if I loved both), disgruntled crew and backstage turmoil to wrestle away the web-slinger from Sony's exclusive clutches. It may take even more than that. There would have to be some sort of scandal bigger than the movie, at the production company itself. Perhaps an embarrassing and implicating massive document leak.
Well...we got all that! And in 2015, Marvel and Sony cut a deal to get Spider-Man involved in the industry-dominating MCU. After his spectacular re-debut in Captain America: Civil War, it was time for the solo vehicle.
Steering way clear of Uncle Ben and the Green Goblin, we meet more of the endless Spider-Man universe with a new villain, the Vulture; a new BFF, Ned Leeds; a new love interest, Liz Allen; and a new interpretation of Aunt May. WHICH IS OKAY!
Beyond all that is different and all that might be the same, Marvel once again flexes its casting brilliance (shoutout to Sarah Finn) in picking Tom Holland to play the teenage Peter Parker. My god, is he brilliant. Holland is just as good a Spider-Man as Tobey Maguire (though that interpretation remains my favorite) and the truest to his human alter ego Peter.
It isn't the most dramatic of movies, with rather predictable plot elements and pretty much everything stuffed in its 11 trailers, 22 sponsor partnerships and 51 TV spots (that falls under distributing and is Sony's fault), but you can't dispute the fun this movie is and the heart Holland plays Spidey with. Michael Giacchino returns to score another MCU movie, and gives us one its most dynamic hero themes to date.
10. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Where Iron Man 3 appears less popular to its divisive nature, Age of Ultron has similarly fallen by the wayside, and has pretty much been outright replaced by Civil War as the official sequel to 2012's The Avengers. I don't like believing that, even though Civil War absolutely deserves its place in the hierarchy.
Age of Ultron, kind of like Iron Man 2, seemed to inflict its own wounds. It put way too much on its own plate, much to the (public) dismay of director Joss Whedon, who returned for the sequel.
Considering what Marvel accomplished with Civil War a year later, it's almost hard to believe the difficulties they had juggling screen time for their heroes in AoU. The Thor subplot with the all-important Infinity Stones needed more air, and characters like War Machine and Falcon were inexplicably left off the table for much of the plot. But in an era when blockbusters face customary turbulence, this movie still resides as an incredible accomplishment.
Avengers: Age of Ultron is truly a remarkable film for me. I am not numb to Ultron's plan being rather generic, when his capabilities and powers could have been far better utilized. With Infinity War hours away and Thanos expected to wreak serious havoc, Ultron's threat level was unfortunately compromised.
But like I said, nothing about my opinion on this movie makes sense. Ultron should have been stronger, but he's still an amazing, charismatic villain, enhanced by James Spader's addicting performance. I would put Ultron near the top of my MCU villain list, which I'm sure many think is an outrageous claim.
Through Spader and the best visual effects work hundreds of millions can buy, the murder bot-come-to-life is all you want to see on screen at any given moment. He's witty, he's entertaining, he's beautifully rendered, and you just want more of him. Isn't that how you define good cinema? I want more!
On top of that, we get more Hawkeye development (yay!), dive deeper into the genuine friendship and tension between Cap and Tony, and I'm here to say I didn't hate the Black Widow-Hulk relationship. Maria Hill gets more to do, Nick Fury is back and Thor’s role is critical though largely cut from the final product. Also, the introductions to Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and especially Vision are highlights in the film.
9. Black Panther
Glory to Bast! And the(n the) highest-grossing superhero movie of all time! Black Panther was expected to be a huge hit, but becoming the number one superhero movie ever (if not for just a few months) was a surprise.
If Doctor Strange had an all-star cast, Black Panther had the Hollywood kitchen sink. There's also the political and topical relevance, the relentless hype surrounding Marvel movies nowadays, and the fact that Black Panther's introduction in Captain America: Civil War was not just fantastic, but a critical element to that movie.
As I said about the Thor films never really embracing and developing Asgard, Black Panther goes all-out developing Wakanda. Hinted at in Avengers: Age of Ultron via Andy Serkis' charming Ulysses Klaue and the existence of Vibranium, we get the full course now.
Which means we get to meet Wakanda's citizens. And that was a big opportunity for Marvel to flex their casting muscles. Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira Winston Duke, Letitia Wright, and Daniel Kaluuya among so, so many others depict the fictional African nation in all its glory.
Chadwick Boseman plays T'Challa with the heart and passion that all of Marvel's franchise heroes bring, and it makes for a compelling lead that you fall in love with. Then there's Michael B. Jordan's Erik Killmonger, who becomes an instant classic villain due to his pure motivations and hauntingly relevant personal story. Perhaps too relevant, and depicts former T'Challa's father T'Chaka as quite the ruthless king. But monarchs, and the history of our world, is indeed brutal.
Killmonger's means to the end are obviously drastic and make him the bad guy here, but his past presents the movie with an incredible contrasting story to the privileged upbringing of Prince-turned-King T'Challa and the parallels to the current world are impossible to ignore.
8. Captain America: The First Avenger
Ah, Captain America. My favorite Avenger. I always found Cap's comic self to be pretty dry, intentionally written to be the straight arrow of the bunch. It wasn't until the early 2000s when writer Ed Brubaker reinvented the character as a gritty, contemporary, not blindly patriotic character that he became as well-rounded and deep as he could be. Not only that, Brubaker brought a character thought dead forever back into the fold: Cap's former sidekick and best friend James Buchanan Barnes. More on that in a little bit.
Brubaker's new take on the character took advantage of the real-world scenario Steve Rogers had found himself planted in after the defrosting, as Sam Wilson eloquently puts it in the Cap sequel. That wasn't available to the story that was The First Avenger. Cap's origin story obviously had to be set in the war-driven, star spangled days of the 40s.
When casting Captain America, Marvel Studios made arguably their best choice across any department and anything they have ever done. As I've said over and over, they hit it out of the park every time they put a real-life face to a beloved fictional hero. Making Chris Evans Captain America has been nothing short of historical, and one wonders where the franchise would be without Evans and the skyrocketed popularity of the Captain America character. Especially since he almost didn't do it.
InThe First Avenger, we see one of the most iconic comic book origin stories ever put to screen. Period pictures run the risk of feeling (literally) out of place, or even too corny for accuracy's sake. But director Joe Johnston make it all work, and future Avengers composer Alan Silvestri gives Cap a triumphant sound that would follow him all the way to the end in 2019.
The seeds are planted for superheroes to exist in our world, our actual universe that would become the MCU's playground. The introduction to the first Avenger, though released theatrically after Iron Man, Hulk and Thor, truly lays the groundwork for what superhero movies can be, and have become.
7. Avengers: Endgame
The end of the path Kevin Feige started us on. The 22nd movie in the massive MCU is the culmination of the “Infinity Saga.” And oh boy was it as epic as advertised. In the best of ways, Avengers: Endgame is a tonal smorgasbord. Where Infinity War is, for my money, arguably the greatest comic book space opera film ever, Endgame is all sorts of emotional, funny, mystery, surprising, brave and, well, confusing.
All signs pointed to time travel via Ant-Man’s Quantum Realm capabilities and that turned out to be the case. Time travel is just about the riskiest storytelling device in the book and not even the Marvel Studios team could tackle it without narrative casualties.
Even though Endgame is, without question, a cinematic treasure for all of its three-hour run time, the film jokes about the “rules” of time travel, sets their own, and then kind of breaks them anyway. The MCU has been the Hollywood exception in terms of storytelling plus action, so we kind of just let them get away with “smaller” things that don’t affect the overall arc too much. For example, wildly inconsistent hero power levels.
When it was all said and done (or not done because the MCU will go on forever), a grand finale that had expectations as high as its eventual, record-breaking gross, met them and beyond. Here’s to the next chapter(s)…
6. Guardians of the Galaxy
It's rather surprising that the sequel is at the bottom of my MCU list, while its predecessor is of guardi-gantuic importance. Especially considering the movies are cut from the same cloth, with the same cast and director.
But the big difference between the two, at least for me, is that the first Guardians of the Galaxy was full of heart, laughs and emotion. The second tried to force those three crucial components on you, rather than letting it come naturally and organically from the script, the characters and the story.
In that sense, the first GOTG is an absolute home run. I'll always remember seeing this movie in theaters, being blown away by the visual effects, the dynamite lead performance of Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana going from blue to green, and obviously the incredible Awesome Mix soundtrack.
Music is such a key part of a movie. George Lucas jokes that after he finished cutting together a Star Wars film, he then instructed legendary composer John Williams to "save" the film with his music. Guardians of the Galaxy --both of them-- have had incredible music, both from existing hits to Tyler Bates' score.
At the heart of any film is its music, and the heart of Guardians of the Galaxy is undeniable.
The cinematic event of a lifetime! Volume one. The movie that truly changed the game. Who could have ever though enough rich people in Hollywood could get together and make a superhero team-up movie that was actually great? It's hard enough to make a Spider-Man movie great, or an X-Men movie good, or a Fantastic Four movie at all.
Alas, they done did it. The Avengers beautifully strings together our existing heroes and weaves in new players, while having a villain we've already met with a sympathetic eye, meanwhile serving a bigger player still to come. And he's coming very, very soon.
It's not just enough to throw cool CGI action scenes on screen. It was in the 90s. Incredible visual, audio and special effects aren't a novelty anymore, and you actually need a good story, good characters and a good movie to go along with your product.
The Avengers is that, anchored by Downey Jr.'s Stark, Chris Evans' Captain America and Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury. It's so true and so faithful to the Avengers comic books and the creations from the legendary minds like Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and of course the man himself, Stan Lee.
I still can't believe this movie exists. And really can't believe we are where we are now. And I am glad they changed Cap's suit. Assemble!
4. Iron Man
Let's go back to where it all began. The summer shadow to The Dark Knight when released in 2008, the Marvel underdog that Sony didn't want with Spider-Man, Fox didn't need with the X-Men or Fantastic Four, and whose rights were of little consideration to any big studio.
Everything about this movie was a risk. Its very existence was thought unnecessary and inconsequential to the movie industry. With that said, why not cast someone like Robert Downey Jr.? To think it was almost Tom Cruise.
After the dust settled and Downey Jr. was named Iron Man, Jon Favreau hired to direct, and Kevin Feige implanted as President of Marvel Studios, they had a movie to make. Oh boy, did they.
With computer technology now caught up to the genre's potential, Iron Man looked like a million bucks. A "C-list" comic character was brought to life on the big screen with care and detail that showed how precious this character was to the comic book filmmakers attempting to boldly launch a new wave of comic book films, and thus a universe.
The solo outing that started it all is RDJ's thrill ride, but let's not forget the great villain Obadiah Stane, played with snarling precision by a very bald Jeff Bridges. Cue the AC/DC, because Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man.
3. Avengers: Infinity War
Where Age of Ultron limped to meet otherworldly expectations, I feel like there was a more confident approach for Infinity War. This is born out of the fact that the third (and fourth) Avengers movies have the Winter Soldier/Civil War quartet of directors Anthony and Joe Russo, and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
For all the team-ups that have come before, it was all truly leading to this. Teasing your big bad six years prior is a bold move. Well, the wait was worth it. Infinity War doesn't just drop even Thanos's jaw, it is an accomplishment that makes the first Avengers look like small shawarma. (Like potatoes? Nevermind.)
Over 20 heroes are brought together —and Thanos meets the hype and then some— once again setting the bar to another level and showing that nobody is even close to achieving what Marvel Studios is doing right now.
Alan Silvestri returns from the first Avengers, bringing his triumphant theme with him, giving us some huge moments like this, this, this, and so many more. Plus, yours truly kind of likes when the heroes lose.
2. Captain America: Civil War
If Iron Man started the train, and The Avengers put it on the tracks, then Captain America: Civil War is the engine to the comic book movie craze. Coupled with DC's trial universe and the return of Star Wars, "nerd" films (used endearingly, as I am one) were exploding in 2016.
What happens when you properly develop a cinematic universe with fleshed out characters at your disposal and a production team willing to spend money? You can literally do anything. Then again, it's a formula yet to be recreated outside of Marvel Studios.
Around 2015, Marvel boss Kevin Feige danced around fickle superiors and went right to the heart of Disney's higher-ups, convincing them to invest as much financially and publicly that he and his team were committing physically and emotionally. Thus, the third Captain America movie was able to become "Avengers 2.5," and turned the MCU from the industry's frontrunner to pop culture's indisputable powerhouse.
Going into Civil War, I wasn't quite sure how they could possibly pull it off in 150 minutes. Even after the incredible success of The Winter Soldier, could directors Joe and Anthony Russo and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely manage to:
a. round out the Captain America trilogy
b. while also telling a story with more characters in any Marvel movie to date
c. that included the introductions of pivotal heroes Spider-Man and Black Panther
d. and fleshed out Vision, Scarlet Witch and others
e. while properly focusing on Iron Man's part in the Civil War arc
Well, they did.
a. the trilogy rounds out with a heavy emphasis on Bucky Barnes and Steve's internal and external battles, continuing the story from the previous Captain America movie, while
b. seamlessly meshing the events of Age of Ultron and introducing the Sokovia Accords
c. with Spider-Man and Black Panther flawlessly entering the narrative and playing key parts in the story
d. while Falcon and War Machine get more screen time, Vision and Wanda spark their romance and Black Widow becomes a crucial middle ground voice of the Avengers, also
e. the story impeccably balances and intertwines the Bucky Barnes conflict with Tony Stark's arc, the Sokovia Accords and its consequences, and the impactful effect on the relationship between the two titans of the MCU, Captain America and Iron Man.
Wow. If there is a complaint here, there was an opportunity to kill off War Machine and have a meaningful death to a previously developed character, giving stakes to an MCU movie that these films can sometime lack. My theory? I think they wanted every single face on the board for Infinity War, so they could drop any as they please like flies. We will see... (2019 edit: we saw.)
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Before Captain America: The Winter Soldier hit theaters on April 4th of 2014 (ironically Robert Downey Jr.'s birthday), the Marvel Cinematic Universe was popular, but wasn't quite treated with the reverence in the film community or pop culture environment that it is today.
Iron Man was treasured, as was The Avengers, and the studio's other five films were treated with respect, but not outright admiration. Then The Winter Soldier came along and absolutely shattered that notion.
Because the second Captain America movie isn't just a great comic book movie. The Russo brothers pitched their desire to tackle the Winter Soldier arc, and Marvel got onboard. From there, the story incorporated the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D, the organization that tied the movies together in the first place, and set ablaze an entirely new path for not just Captain America, but everything about the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, formerly Cap's best friend, became the enemy, brainwashed by those jerks at Hydra to be a masterclass assassin. The movie was so good, and so popular, that Barnes and his superhero identity, The Winter Soldier, became the main plot point for Captain America: Civil War, which put the whole MCU on new footing and laid expanded groundwork for the monumental Infinity War.
After The Winter Soldier made Captain America a modern b*d*ss with a sexy stealth suit and boasted hand-to-hand combat even Keanu Reeves would love to learn, the Russo brothers directed Civil War and then earned the nod to direct both Avengers: Infinity War and the eventually-titled Avengers: Endgame, arriving in 2018 and 2019.
This movie seriously changed the game, and it deserves the praise. It's my favorite MCU movie with my favorite MCU character, favorite MCU antagonist, favorite Black Widow performance, favorite Robert Redford, and my favorite ending to an MCU movie.
Which is why it ends this impressive, historical list at the top.
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