A Comprehensive Marvel Movie Ranking
By Chieko Imamura
Courtesy of Google Images
BEFORE YOU READ HERE IS A SPOILER ALERT. THIS SPOILER ALERT SHOULD BE PRINTED BECAUSE PEOPLE GET REALLY PISSED WHEN MARVEL IS SPOILED. OK COOL.
What started with the first Iron Man movie in 2008 has grown into one of the largest movie franchises. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has grown a massive following, totaling three phases, 23 different films, and just about 50 hours of content. Through these films, we’ve met our fair share of different worlds, heroes and life-destroying forces.
When I was young, I didn’t care much for the MCU. I watched the big record setting films but was never interested enough to see everything that Marvel produced. But this led to a lot of confusion and plot holes for me when I first watched Avengers: Infinity War, so I decided to watch all of the MCU films during quarantine. Since Disney came out with its streaming service, most of the 22 films were available. The only movie that I missed was Hulk’s independent film, but if I were to miss one movie, I’m glad it’s that one. (Sidenote: I didn’t include Spiderman: Far From Home because it was an independent film. Endgame isn’t on here because I’m still emotionally recovering.)
After watching all the movies, I had come up with my own best to worst list of the movies. This ranking takes into account the plot, character development, and impact on the MCU as a whole. A lot of the movies towards the middle are pretty interchangeable and if you have a different order, let me know! Now, without further ado, here is my list of the MCU movies from best to worst:
INFINITY WAR - Infinity War takes first place for my best Marvel movie and I’m sure many fans would agree. Apart from being the third Avengers crossover, Infinity War takes the classic superhero movie structure and flips it on its head. Where almost all MCU movies end with the heroes coming out on top, this one ends with one of the biggest failures of all the heroes might combined and with it, a greater look into the emotional weight and responsibility these idolized heroes deal with because of their jobs. Additionally, we get to see just the heroes’ very real motives for saving the world apart from “that’s just what they do,” particularly when the dusting starts. At the battle of Titan we see the Guardians’ commitment to their new found family and the rage Starlord felt at Gamora’s death. We see Tony’s love for Peter as he’s about to dust away. Back in Wakanda, fans grow a greater respect for Wanda's Power and we witness her character arc as she is forced to kill Vision. We even got to see the commitment of smaller characters like Groot and Shuri. I’m no special effects expert, but I’m sure that doing the visuals for a movie like Infinity War was no simple task. For a movie that is over 90% special effects, it does an amazing job in communicating worlds to the audience from Tony's cutting edge technology to the destruction of NYC.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR - This should really be considered another Avengers movie because all of our favorite heroes make big appearances. Civil War’s plot is also pretty unique in comparison to other MCU films. After the destruction left by the battle of Sakovia, Avengers are split on how to continue as an organization and if they should submit to government control. This creates a rift between the two leaders of the Avengers, Iron Man and Captain America. Tony feels the guilty for the destruction he’s created, and his role in the movie is a deeper dive into his journey in wanting to make up for all the pain he’s caused (This theme is first introduced as early as the first Iron Man when he realized that his weapons that Stark Industries made were killing innocent people). Steve on the other hand is convinced that the Avengers can only do good when they can make their own calls, likely due to his experience in the First Avenger where he wasn’t allowed to make his own choices and he was essentially the mascot for the military. This movie and the conflict is also surprisingly representative of a lot of real world scenarios, especially in the US, albeit without the super suits, flying androids, and Hydra manipulated Bucky. At its core, both Iron Man and Cap want the same thing. We also get introduced to Spider-Man, and Black Panther, two huge characters in the MCU.
BLACK PANTHER - This movie needs no introduction. Black Panther made history as the first Black superhero movie, taking home three Oscar wins, the first ones ever awarded to Marvel. The awards themselves also made Oscar history with the first Black woman to win Best Costume Design and first woman POC to be nominated and win the Oscar for Best Production Design. What I absolutely LOVE about the plot of the movie though is the role of women in the film. In a lot of MCU movies, women are always the love interest with very little dimension. Even Black Widow, the most prominent MCU female character is kind of flat. But in Black Panther, T'Challa is really only able to be great because of the work of Shuri, Okoye, and Nakia. That’s not to say that T’Challa is a bad lead. In fact I think that what makes him so interesting to watch is his character arc; from a prince with little responsibility to becoming the King of Wakanda and having to navigate what it means to have the lives of all Wakandans on his shoulders. His acceptance of help shows his strength and willingness to work together towards protecting Wakanda. Fans of Black Panther worldwide were incredibly saddened by the news of lead actor Chadwick Boseman’s passing after a long battle with colon cancer. I am incredibly relieved to hear that the MCU are not seeking a replacement for future Black Panther movies and will let Boseman’s legacy live on in King T’Challa.
IRON MAN - The Original Film in the MCU, which alone bumps it up pretty high. Here we get to see the beginnings of one of the most intriguing characters of the franchise. We see an arrogant naive multimillionaire CEO of a weapons company change into a (still arrogant) multimillionaire superhero who has a new understanding of the evils in the world. For people that are not comic book fans, this is the first time viewers experience Tony’s hard work, knack for technology and his humility when he has to leave Ho Yinsen in the cave. It also sets up a bunch of references that the franchise loves to reference in later movies.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER - This movie introduces a hefty plot line of SHIELD and the Hydra infiltration that roots deep in its history. We also get introduced to Falcon and Bucky as the Winter Soldier skyrocketing Marvel’s teenage girl fanbase (IDK why though, Bucky has a big forehead). The introduction of Bucky as the Winter Soldier starts off this long relationship between the two that has so many ups and downs. You also get to see Cap's transition to living in the 21st century and developments in his romantic life since Peggy is no longer an option. I think the movie is also very unpredictable, especially with the Hydra storyline, and I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat even after rewatching it. BTW, the effects are crazy. The scene that really stuck with me is in the meeting with the senators where Natasha uses that face thing. SO COOL.
DOCTOR STRANGE - I feel like this movie is a bit of a controversial pick and I’ll admit that I can see why some people love it and others hate it. Personally, I’m on the ‘love it’ side. This movie introduced us to a character that had nothing to do with the hero world and magical forces (although the Ancient One will say that she predicted it and Winter Soldier name drops Stephen Strange as a future threat to Hydra). This movie also introduced us to a whole other concept and world with time which would become one of the greatest tools the Avengers have later on. I will admit that some of the scenes are really trippy and make me a little nauseous. All in all, I think this was a great movie with an interesting take on a superhero as Doc Strange relied much more on brains than brawn.
THE AVENGERS - First collaboration movie of the MCU definitely made history in the franchise and in the whole industry in general. We see how all these heroes with different motives, causes, powers, and even home planets work together. The movie also had a really good villain, Loki, who in himself is a fascinating character to watch because of his past as Thor’s brother, and his ambition to prove himself. To me, some of the funniest moments in the MCU also occurred in this movie including but not limited to “puny god,” “He’s adopted,” and “Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?”
ANT MAN - Marvel has a couple of sub-genres of movies under the big umbrella of action, but comedy is certainly the one they do best. Ant Man is such a light hearted movie and execution was great because of how realistically clueless Scott Lang and his friends are throughout the movie. However, I think people with entomophobia (such as myself) would agree that the continual use of ant closeups made for a very unpleasant watching experience at times.
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING - Growing up, my whole family’s favorite superhero was Spider-man (the one played by Toby MaGuire), so I was really excited to see that Peter Parker was joining the MCU. I thought Marvel took a really interesting approach with this movie. As opposed to many other intro hero movies, Homecoming picks up after Civil War where Spider-man is already established as a hero. We don’t get a backstory with the radioactive spider or any of it. This was a really smart move by Marvel because I think viewers would’ve been really disappointed with a movie that spent half the time developing a character we already knew from other story lines. Making Peter a teenager also gave the MCU a bit of charm that wasn’t there with the older, more intense superheroes.
ANT MAN AND THE WASP - Original solo movies are generally better than their sequels, but for the Ant Man franchise, this one was not far behind. Hope, Ant man’s love interest and the new Wasp, complements Scott Lang’s haphazardness with a colder, more hardened persona. What really propelled this movie towards the top of this list is its role in the franchise. In this movie, they discover the quantum realm where Hope’s mom was trapped for 30 years and Scott Lang had been trapped in when Hope and Hank were dusted by Thanos. This set up the whole premise of time travel used in Endgame.
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON - The second Avengers movie but now they’re battling a droid that Iron Man created. This movie came out at the height of Avengers fame and one of the few movies that I saw in theaters (granted I was ten and don’t remember much). In Age of Ultron we get introduced to the Maximoff twins who change a lot over the course of the movie, as well as Vision, who is arguably one of the strongest characters of the MCU. Other than character introductions and Sokovia setting up conflict for the rest of the movies, the actual plot and construction just felt like another shiny superhero movie where they just slapped a mediocre script together with eye-catching CGI and called it a day.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: FIRST AVENGER - As the first Cap America movie, we got the whole backstory and then a battle with Hydra where Cap America flew himself into the ice. I mainly say that because the second half of the movie is not all that memorable to me. With that said, I thought that Cap’s backstory was a really wholesome way to start off his journey. The idea that Cap was chosen because of his big heart and not how strong or fast he was ends up becoming one of his greatest assets later in the franchise. As cheesy as it sounds, his heart’s drive to do good is what propels him to be so successful on-screen as a hero and off-screen as a fan favorite.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: VOL 2 - Another comedy styled movie, this one is the first on this list to be set completely on other worlds and in space. The main problem I have with this movie (and all non-Earth based movies) is that it’s really hard to get immersed in the world when you don’t even know how that world functions. It gave Marvel excuses to put weird systems and objects into the movie and offered no explanation because viewers were just supposed to understand that in space, things worked differently (duhhhh). With that said, in Vol. 2, viewers get to understand the group dynamic further and laugh about their friendship. When Peter Quill was taken in by his creepy iwillplantmyseedacrossthegalaxy father, you get to see the group in action to save their new found family. One of the most touching moments in this franchise is when Yondu sacrifices himself for Peter. I think viewers really connected with the found family storyline that these movies are heavily based upon. The colors used in the movie and the 90’s top hits in the soundtrack give the movie a really playful vibe that I feel like would appeal to a younger audience than Iron Man or Captain America. Sean Gunn is hilarious. I’m still not really sold on space movies though.
THOR: RAGNAROK - By FAR the best Thor movie in the MCU. If we learned anything from the Thor franchise, it is that a humorous angle does nothing but magic. Thor is such a thick and naive character that I feel that his story was begging for the humor that Ragnarok delivers. This movie also finally redeems Loki as a protagonist which many fans (myself included) were looking forward to. However, with Loki as a good guy now, the new villain became Hela, their goddess evil half-sister. Something about her as a villain was very annoying, and the outcome was predictable and rushed. The movie could’ve been good if they delved deeper with the Thor and Hulk dynamic on Sakaar and his relationship with Loki.
IRON MAN 3 - Here you get an interesting take on a superhero movie, especially in the first part where Tony is battling paranoia and trauma from the battle of New York. At some point, he is stuck in the middle of nowhere, fixing his suit in a tool shed with the help of the cutest little boy I’ve ever seen. This movie relies heavily on Tony and Pepper’s relationship which is one of my favorite ships in the MCU. Also the last scene where Tony blew up all of his Iron Man suits was pretty cool. Other than that, Iron Man 3 was another predictable movie, and it was probably a good thing that no more independent Iron Man movies were filmed.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY - Honestly the specifics aren’t incredibly memorable, but the general plot consists of intergalactic criminals who end up getting locked away trying to steal the same thing, but eventually get to the whole mushy gushy comradery bond with each other. I think the ending scene of the Guardians overcoming the power stone opened up a lot of questions and plot holes that were left unanswered.
CAPTAIN MARVEL - Captain Marvel is one of the most powerful superheroes we’ve ever encountered. The story was actually pretty entertaining with (in my opinion) a great plot twist. BUT MY GOD was Carol Danvers HORRIBLY miscast. Brie Larson plays Danvers with the personality of my last history paper. And I think that most people would agree. If there was a different lead (JLaw, anyone?), this movie would be higher on my list.
IRON MAN 2 - Just another basic Iron Man. The only thing redeeming this film is the introduction where Natasha Romanoff incapacitates some bad guys while strapped to a chair. Also, the villain had cool electric whips.
THOR - As the first movie in the Thor franchise, it spends the entire first half of the movie just informing viewers that he’s a demi-god with a dry sense of humor and abs. Thor later engages in battle with a weird breed of ice monster that Odin apparently adopted Loki from. (Sidenote: What?) The whole movie felt like it was making fun of Thor’s inability to understand humans. I’m already yawning.
THOR: THE DARK WORLD - Do I even have to justify this? The plot of the Ether in Jane was a huge miss, and the serious tone was too much for this movie. Honestly I don’t remember watching it.