Ranking the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films (So Far) - The Road to 'Infinity War'
With Avengers: Infinity War out tomorrow, the ten-year culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally compelled me to set out and rank the eighteen feature films of the massive blockbuster franchise. From iconic superhero debuts and sensational genre films, to follow-ups that vary from the ambitious to the aggravating, the MCU has garnered more fame than any other franchise in the past decade. While not every film spelled greatness for the ever-growing universe, there's no doubt that Marvel Studios is the best in the superhero business right now. With that, I'm here to break down the best and worst of the MCU, from Iron Man to Black Panther!
18. Thor: The Dark World - If one thing can be said about the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its films, it's probably that their direct sequels tend to not be nearly as good as the originals. While there are of course some exceptions to this, the sequel feature in one of the franchise's weakest points is a clear example of a lackluster follow-up. While the Thor films do end in phenomenal fashion, namely through director changes and overall tone alterations found in Thor: Ragnarok, the second film in The Dark World presented a rather bleak outing for the God of Thunder, one far too forgettable to make any noise.
17. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - With James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy making for one of the more iconic debuts of the MCU, there was no doubt that its highly-anticipated follow-up would be able to draw in an even greater crowd for yet another intergalactic adventure. Managing to expand, slightly, on its ensemble of aliens and outlaws, mostly through exploring Peter Quill's parentage in Ego the Living Planet, Volume 2 of the space-dwelling protectors' explosive adventures ended up being just what you'd expect in a superhero sequel. While not entirely lasting as its predecessor, the film was still great fun.
16. The Incredible Hulk - While some might not technically consider The Incredible Hulk as truly belonging within the MCU timeline, especially after Avengers director Joss Whedon traded Edward Norton for the more "adorkable" Mark Ruffalo in his film, the early project in the Marvel Universe still holds some merit in my book. Despite a rather retreaded premise detailing Bruce Banner's origins in becoming the infamous Green Rage Monster, the post-Iron Man debut still works as a decent and action-heavy refresher on one of the strongest Avengers out there.
15. Ant-Man - Even while the MCU continues to lean on its more established heroes for the majority of their line-up, like the Guardians of the Galaxy, it's always interesting to see how they'll bring the more bizarre characters to the big screen. While Ant-Man might not have been the most bankable name from the comics to choose from, the prospects of a thief able to shrink to the size of an insect presented the perfect opportunity for the franchise to dive into a more genre-focused feature. Becoming more of a classic heist film beyond its superhero origins, the film blended comedy and enthralling action to give fantastic potential to one of its more unlikely heroes.
14. Iron Man 2 - Following up a film like Iron Man is either the easiest thing to do, or the hardest job in the world. With director Jon Favreau returning after a solid opening number for the franchise, it didn't take much more than the star appeal of Robert Downey Jr. as billionaire industrialist Tony Stark to sustain hype for a sequel. While the film surely doesn't add anything to the still-mediocre villain problem of the franchise, nor does it expand that much on Downey Jr.'s leading man beyond his relationship with his father, Iron Man 2 still packed stellar performances in its supporting cast, primarily in Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer.
13. Thor - While director Kenneth Branagh might have quickly moved onto other projects like adaptations of Cinderella and Murder on the Orient Express, his input into the fourth feature in the MCU imbued the film with just the right amount of thrills and Norse lore to make for a compelling debut. While the Thor films evolved quickly into a mixed bag of lengthy expositions and stale love stories, albeit a psychedelic trilogy closer, the first film explored the Norse god and his counterparts in a visually-pleasing appetizer to 2012's grand team-up affair in The Avengers.
12. Avengers: Age of Ultron - Despite there being a number of fantastic films that immediately followed 2015's bigger, badder Avengers sequel, the Joss Whedon-directed extravaganza set out to ditch at least some of its campy banter for an ounce of stellar character-focused drama. Expanding on its thorough chemistry from the first film, while adding a mild layer of depth to its superhero team, the second Avengers effort maintained an entertaining premise, anchored by an effectively devious villain in James Spader's Ultron.
11. Doctor Strange - Despite being an obvious Iron Man lookalike, the origin tale of surgeon Stephen Strange retains a fulfilling middle-ground within the ranks of the MCU. With a likable-enough cast led by Benedict Cumberbatch's cunning and arrogant Strange, and a slew of spectacular visuals that worked to introduce fans to the more mystical side of the Marvel universe, the 2016 film from horror director Scott Derrickson ended up being a worthwhile adventure with a healthy balance of mystical thrills and charming performances.
10. Iron Man 3 - After a slight misstep in Iron Man 2, which delivered on propelling the action and charisma of its predecessor, but lost much of its story to an underwhelming premise, Marvel Studios sought out a new direction in filmmaker Shane Black for its trilogy closer. With 2013's Iron Man 3 pitching a post-Avengers Tony Stark into the recesses of his past, the film explored how the industrialist's misdeeds could spell his demise at the hands of "The Mandarin". In a stylized buddy-cop-esque feature that only the Lethal Weapon screenwriter could concoct, the third Iron Man was ultimately one of the MCU's boldest early endeavors. While most might not love its twist-and-turn plot, which rebranded one of Stark's biggest foes in a whole new light, the film still holds value for taking a leap in its final solo chapter for the character.
9. Spider-Man: Homecoming - Another leap the MCU took a few years after Iron Man 3 was striking an ambitious deal with Sony Pictures for the rights of famed teenager hero Spider-Man. After 2016 showed us just how prosperous Tom Holland's new interpretation of Peter Parker could be on his own, the franchise took a turn at spinning out another Spidey story for the big screen. While there are certainly a number of positive remarks I still have for past incarnations of the wall-crawler in both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, it was Holland's wide-eyed nuance to the character that really made Homecoming something special. Working to subtly inject the young hero into the universe before Infinity War came round, the film worked as a tightly-wound adventure worthy of its name.
8. Captain America: Civil War - Before Infinity War built up its hype to merge the starring heroes of the MCU into one cohesive story, another duel of fates at a much smaller scale existed in Captain America: Civil War. Rounding out a spectacular trilogy for the star-spangled man with a plan, Civil War acted superbly as not only a closer-of-sorts to Steve Rogers' story, but as a thorough dissection of the consequences left behind by the Avengers as a team. With phenomenal performances all around, from Chris Evans' central hero to Robert Downey Jr.'s head-strong Tony Stark, Civil War remains near the pinnacle of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
7. Thor: Ragnarok - In one of the more surprising moves by the franchise, the third Thor chapter that sought to spell ultimate doom for its Norse god ended up being less of another gloomy end-of-the-world scenario, and more of a ballsy and psychedelic adventure like no other. Enlisting in What We Do in the Shadows filmmaker Taika Waititi to paint the God of Thunder in a more compelling light than the middling Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok took its idea of a zany space adventure and ran with it. Injecting some much-needed Mark Ruffalo/Hulk action as well, the film won me over with its obscure and delightful presence.
6. Captain America: The First Avenger - Whenever I look at the MCU as a whole, I always harken back to the origin stories around the time of its inception. Before reaching its first peak with the first Avengers, the franchise yearned to establish its primary characters within their own atmospheres and stories. One of the best examples of this found itself in 2011's The First Avenger, which managed to spin a fantastic World War II adventure, all while impeding super-soldier Steve Rogers into the lore of the franchise as it shifted towards the future. Ever-compelling in its war-time premise that pitched Chris Evan's Rogers against Hugo Weaving's Red Skull, the film merged campiness with a level of mature filmmaking to make it one of my favorites.
4. Guardians of the Galaxy - The origins of one of the Marvel Universe's most outlandish teams from the comics came to vibrant life in James Gunn's dynamic MCU debut. Moving away from the predominantly Earth-bound set of heroes already introduced, the 2014 film blended the charisma of its cast with a fluent visual palette of cosmic proportions to give the franchise great potential to explore its more unlikely characters. Still holding up today as a thoroughly-entertaining ensemble film in the vein of Avengers, the first Guardians film still kicks ass.
4. Black Panther - In a realm of predominantly white superheroes, mostly due to the early period they actually first appeared in comics, one character changed the game like no other before him. While the MCU itself already contained a number of favorable African-American names, from Falcon to James Rhodes, the highly-anticipated entry of Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa managed to make waves within the ever-growing franchise. Aside from its bold statement of representation, the Ryan Coogler film propelled one of the most fascinating stories in the franchise so far. In a Shakespearean epic that explored everything from racial divide to family values, Black Panther stands as one of the best the MCU has to offer.
3. Marvel's The Avengers - Despite its numerous wins at the origin story level in many of its films, nothing comes quite close to the anticipation of seeing a handful of heroes from different stories converge in a film such as 2012's The Avengers. While it might not be the most sophisticated premise the franchise has explored in the past decade, the closer of the MCU's first phase of films is still regarded as a monumental endeavor. While I've enjoyed the Avengers films subtly moving beyond the simple quips of its cast during their end-of-the-world catastrophes, Joss Whedon's grand team-up event worked also in establishing its characters in the same world and pushing them to new limits.
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Exploring distinct genre films within such a large franchise such as the MCU can work towards either its continued success or its detriment. In one of the MCU's strongest examples of leaping between genres from a first outing, the second chapter in the Captain America trilogy brought the likeness of a 1970s conspiracy thriller into the still-emerging voice of the MCU. With seedy characters around every turn, from Robert Redford's government head to Sebastian Stan's shadowy Winter Soldier, the story of Steve Rogers progressed in elegant and grounded fashion to make for an exciting and unforgettable sequel.
1. Iron Man - In all of its ten years on the big screen, one film has remained the OG feature of the MCU, and the one that kicked off a decade of superheroes with one simple idea. With director Jon Favreau's first outing in the franchise finding the majority of its appeal in star Robert Downey Jr., the origins of billionaire industrialist Tony Stark seemed to be the ideal place to start. Prospering not only on Downey Jr.'s aptness to make the character his own, in essence becoming Stark himself, but also the grounded and emotional roots of its story, 2008's ground-breaking debut situated itself with enough potential to construct a genre-defining cinematic universe like no other.
From gods and aliens, conspiracy thrillers and psychedelic space adventures, grounded origins and long-awaited team-ups, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has defined the past decade of superhero films in a path that shows no signs of slowing down. With Infinity War just around the corner (nearly seven hours from now for me and billions of others), the question remains -- what is your all-time favorite film within the MCU? Let me know in the comments below, and stay tuned tomorrow for my review of Avengers: Infinity War!
18. Thor: The Dark World - If one thing can be said about the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its films, it's probably that their direct sequels tend to not be nearly as good as the originals. While there are of course some exceptions to this, the sequel feature in one of the franchise's weakest points is a clear example of a lackluster follow-up. While the Thor films do end in phenomenal fashion, namely through director changes and overall tone alterations found in Thor: Ragnarok, the second film in The Dark World presented a rather bleak outing for the God of Thunder, one far too forgettable to make any noise.
17. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - With James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy making for one of the more iconic debuts of the MCU, there was no doubt that its highly-anticipated follow-up would be able to draw in an even greater crowd for yet another intergalactic adventure. Managing to expand, slightly, on its ensemble of aliens and outlaws, mostly through exploring Peter Quill's parentage in Ego the Living Planet, Volume 2 of the space-dwelling protectors' explosive adventures ended up being just what you'd expect in a superhero sequel. While not entirely lasting as its predecessor, the film was still great fun.
16. The Incredible Hulk - While some might not technically consider The Incredible Hulk as truly belonging within the MCU timeline, especially after Avengers director Joss Whedon traded Edward Norton for the more "adorkable" Mark Ruffalo in his film, the early project in the Marvel Universe still holds some merit in my book. Despite a rather retreaded premise detailing Bruce Banner's origins in becoming the infamous Green Rage Monster, the post-Iron Man debut still works as a decent and action-heavy refresher on one of the strongest Avengers out there.
15. Ant-Man - Even while the MCU continues to lean on its more established heroes for the majority of their line-up, like the Guardians of the Galaxy, it's always interesting to see how they'll bring the more bizarre characters to the big screen. While Ant-Man might not have been the most bankable name from the comics to choose from, the prospects of a thief able to shrink to the size of an insect presented the perfect opportunity for the franchise to dive into a more genre-focused feature. Becoming more of a classic heist film beyond its superhero origins, the film blended comedy and enthralling action to give fantastic potential to one of its more unlikely heroes.
14. Iron Man 2 - Following up a film like Iron Man is either the easiest thing to do, or the hardest job in the world. With director Jon Favreau returning after a solid opening number for the franchise, it didn't take much more than the star appeal of Robert Downey Jr. as billionaire industrialist Tony Stark to sustain hype for a sequel. While the film surely doesn't add anything to the still-mediocre villain problem of the franchise, nor does it expand that much on Downey Jr.'s leading man beyond his relationship with his father, Iron Man 2 still packed stellar performances in its supporting cast, primarily in Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer.
13. Thor - While director Kenneth Branagh might have quickly moved onto other projects like adaptations of Cinderella and Murder on the Orient Express, his input into the fourth feature in the MCU imbued the film with just the right amount of thrills and Norse lore to make for a compelling debut. While the Thor films evolved quickly into a mixed bag of lengthy expositions and stale love stories, albeit a psychedelic trilogy closer, the first film explored the Norse god and his counterparts in a visually-pleasing appetizer to 2012's grand team-up affair in The Avengers.
12. Avengers: Age of Ultron - Despite there being a number of fantastic films that immediately followed 2015's bigger, badder Avengers sequel, the Joss Whedon-directed extravaganza set out to ditch at least some of its campy banter for an ounce of stellar character-focused drama. Expanding on its thorough chemistry from the first film, while adding a mild layer of depth to its superhero team, the second Avengers effort maintained an entertaining premise, anchored by an effectively devious villain in James Spader's Ultron.
11. Doctor Strange - Despite being an obvious Iron Man lookalike, the origin tale of surgeon Stephen Strange retains a fulfilling middle-ground within the ranks of the MCU. With a likable-enough cast led by Benedict Cumberbatch's cunning and arrogant Strange, and a slew of spectacular visuals that worked to introduce fans to the more mystical side of the Marvel universe, the 2016 film from horror director Scott Derrickson ended up being a worthwhile adventure with a healthy balance of mystical thrills and charming performances.
10. Iron Man 3 - After a slight misstep in Iron Man 2, which delivered on propelling the action and charisma of its predecessor, but lost much of its story to an underwhelming premise, Marvel Studios sought out a new direction in filmmaker Shane Black for its trilogy closer. With 2013's Iron Man 3 pitching a post-Avengers Tony Stark into the recesses of his past, the film explored how the industrialist's misdeeds could spell his demise at the hands of "The Mandarin". In a stylized buddy-cop-esque feature that only the Lethal Weapon screenwriter could concoct, the third Iron Man was ultimately one of the MCU's boldest early endeavors. While most might not love its twist-and-turn plot, which rebranded one of Stark's biggest foes in a whole new light, the film still holds value for taking a leap in its final solo chapter for the character.
9. Spider-Man: Homecoming - Another leap the MCU took a few years after Iron Man 3 was striking an ambitious deal with Sony Pictures for the rights of famed teenager hero Spider-Man. After 2016 showed us just how prosperous Tom Holland's new interpretation of Peter Parker could be on his own, the franchise took a turn at spinning out another Spidey story for the big screen. While there are certainly a number of positive remarks I still have for past incarnations of the wall-crawler in both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, it was Holland's wide-eyed nuance to the character that really made Homecoming something special. Working to subtly inject the young hero into the universe before Infinity War came round, the film worked as a tightly-wound adventure worthy of its name.
8. Captain America: Civil War - Before Infinity War built up its hype to merge the starring heroes of the MCU into one cohesive story, another duel of fates at a much smaller scale existed in Captain America: Civil War. Rounding out a spectacular trilogy for the star-spangled man with a plan, Civil War acted superbly as not only a closer-of-sorts to Steve Rogers' story, but as a thorough dissection of the consequences left behind by the Avengers as a team. With phenomenal performances all around, from Chris Evans' central hero to Robert Downey Jr.'s head-strong Tony Stark, Civil War remains near the pinnacle of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
7. Thor: Ragnarok - In one of the more surprising moves by the franchise, the third Thor chapter that sought to spell ultimate doom for its Norse god ended up being less of another gloomy end-of-the-world scenario, and more of a ballsy and psychedelic adventure like no other. Enlisting in What We Do in the Shadows filmmaker Taika Waititi to paint the God of Thunder in a more compelling light than the middling Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok took its idea of a zany space adventure and ran with it. Injecting some much-needed Mark Ruffalo/Hulk action as well, the film won me over with its obscure and delightful presence.
6. Captain America: The First Avenger - Whenever I look at the MCU as a whole, I always harken back to the origin stories around the time of its inception. Before reaching its first peak with the first Avengers, the franchise yearned to establish its primary characters within their own atmospheres and stories. One of the best examples of this found itself in 2011's The First Avenger, which managed to spin a fantastic World War II adventure, all while impeding super-soldier Steve Rogers into the lore of the franchise as it shifted towards the future. Ever-compelling in its war-time premise that pitched Chris Evan's Rogers against Hugo Weaving's Red Skull, the film merged campiness with a level of mature filmmaking to make it one of my favorites.
4. Guardians of the Galaxy - The origins of one of the Marvel Universe's most outlandish teams from the comics came to vibrant life in James Gunn's dynamic MCU debut. Moving away from the predominantly Earth-bound set of heroes already introduced, the 2014 film blended the charisma of its cast with a fluent visual palette of cosmic proportions to give the franchise great potential to explore its more unlikely characters. Still holding up today as a thoroughly-entertaining ensemble film in the vein of Avengers, the first Guardians film still kicks ass.
4. Black Panther - In a realm of predominantly white superheroes, mostly due to the early period they actually first appeared in comics, one character changed the game like no other before him. While the MCU itself already contained a number of favorable African-American names, from Falcon to James Rhodes, the highly-anticipated entry of Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa managed to make waves within the ever-growing franchise. Aside from its bold statement of representation, the Ryan Coogler film propelled one of the most fascinating stories in the franchise so far. In a Shakespearean epic that explored everything from racial divide to family values, Black Panther stands as one of the best the MCU has to offer.
3. Marvel's The Avengers - Despite its numerous wins at the origin story level in many of its films, nothing comes quite close to the anticipation of seeing a handful of heroes from different stories converge in a film such as 2012's The Avengers. While it might not be the most sophisticated premise the franchise has explored in the past decade, the closer of the MCU's first phase of films is still regarded as a monumental endeavor. While I've enjoyed the Avengers films subtly moving beyond the simple quips of its cast during their end-of-the-world catastrophes, Joss Whedon's grand team-up event worked also in establishing its characters in the same world and pushing them to new limits.
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Exploring distinct genre films within such a large franchise such as the MCU can work towards either its continued success or its detriment. In one of the MCU's strongest examples of leaping between genres from a first outing, the second chapter in the Captain America trilogy brought the likeness of a 1970s conspiracy thriller into the still-emerging voice of the MCU. With seedy characters around every turn, from Robert Redford's government head to Sebastian Stan's shadowy Winter Soldier, the story of Steve Rogers progressed in elegant and grounded fashion to make for an exciting and unforgettable sequel.
1. Iron Man - In all of its ten years on the big screen, one film has remained the OG feature of the MCU, and the one that kicked off a decade of superheroes with one simple idea. With director Jon Favreau's first outing in the franchise finding the majority of its appeal in star Robert Downey Jr., the origins of billionaire industrialist Tony Stark seemed to be the ideal place to start. Prospering not only on Downey Jr.'s aptness to make the character his own, in essence becoming Stark himself, but also the grounded and emotional roots of its story, 2008's ground-breaking debut situated itself with enough potential to construct a genre-defining cinematic universe like no other.
From gods and aliens, conspiracy thrillers and psychedelic space adventures, grounded origins and long-awaited team-ups, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has defined the past decade of superhero films in a path that shows no signs of slowing down. With Infinity War just around the corner (nearly seven hours from now for me and billions of others), the question remains -- what is your all-time favorite film within the MCU? Let me know in the comments below, and stay tuned tomorrow for my review of Avengers: Infinity War!
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