MCU Movies Ranked

With more than 15 years and 30 movies behind it, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still doing alright. Across this cavalcade of almost three dozen movies are a wide variety of iconic superheroes, grand stories, impressive visual tapestries, and the occasional entry that manages to be just “not bad.” We all have our rankings for the very best and the very worst of the Marvel series, but now JoBlo officially has the MCU movies ranked from Iron Man to last year’s Deadpool & Wolverine, with this list getting a boost to coincide with the release of Captain America: Brave New World. Here we go, from least to best:

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Director Taika Waititi harnessed the mighty power of Chris Hemsworth’s sense of humor and blended it with his own colorful sensibilities for the hilarious, character-reviving Thor: Ragnarok. All eyes were on the sequel, Thor: Love and Thunder, especially given it would see the return of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster (taking on the mantle of Mighty Thor). Sadly, the rebellious, endlessly strange and hilarious vibe of Ragnarok was replaced by a sporadically funny, deeply messy outing that missed many chances to be a worthy follow-up. Waititi hacked a lot of movie out to reach the film’s 119 minute running time, but said everything that was cut was expendable. Most of it had been humorous tangents that wouldn’t have added anything but extra minutes and more laughs. But even the final cut feels like one long humorous tangent, a collection of half-baked ideas that were tossed together just to give Waititi, co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, and the cast excuses to tell some goofy jokes. There are some very dark and serious ideas at the center of the story, but they don’t have much weight because the movie feels ridiculous from beginning to end. Thor’s story is muddy and the character is extremely over-powered, Jane’s story is diluted from her excellent comics run, the pacing and tone are all over the place, and many of the gags are phoned in or hammered to death. Bright spots are an absorbing action scene or two, supporting plays from Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie, Russell Crowe’s Zeus, and the scene-stealing Christian Bale as villainous, unsettling Gorr. Thor: Love and Thunder is entertaining at times, for sure. But it’s an underwhelming mess overall.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

You wouldn’t think that a planet-trotting action blockbuster with evil space elves and more of a Thunder God could be a total snooze, and yet, that’s what we got in 2013. Thor: The Dark World is proof that even after succeeding in setting up the MCU with several movies and with the massive hit of The Avengers at its back, Marvel was still capable of missing the mark. On a technical front, there are a few things the sequel to 2011’s Thor had going for it, like some solid costume design, visual effects, and great work from Brian Tyler on the score. Factor in yet another entertaining performance from Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and you have a movie that can at least be a distraction. But should you actually try to pay attention, you won’t get much back for that mental exercise. On a narrative and character development level for the title character (Chris Hemsworth), Dark World is a dud that seems to exist solely to introduce another Infinity Stone, all while wedging in Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster and a villain even an actor like Christopher Eccleston can’t make the least bit interesting.

Eternals (2021)

Marvel’s Eternals was one of the most poorly received films in the MCU, with a critical response that ranked it at the bottom of the franchise on Rotten Tomatoes when it was first released. (It has since been surpassed by the third Ant-Man movie.) But it does give the sense that director Chloe Zhao was really aiming to deliver something special. While other entries succeed on their showmanship and ability to add big, colorful pages to this cinematic compendium, Zhao’s vision here is singular and focused solely on the grand, existential challenges of its team of godly heroes. With a humanist lens and some of the most breathtaking visuals in the whole of the series, Eternals tells a massive, centuries-spanning story of these figures and what it means to love, lose, and embrace their own mortality and that of the humans they’ve sworn to protect. While it does fit in cataclysmic events, the film lives and breathes for the smaller moments. This is the first time we’ve met these characters, but the actors make you care for them, weaving in several heart-wrenching moments and some of the humor these movies are known for. There’s a whole lot of movie here and there’s no arguing it can struggle under that weight, but it also has an individually beautiful vibe.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

With the third Ant-Man film, Marvel and director Peyton Reed decided to shake things up, taking the characters from what had been a small scale series and dropping them into a story that builds up to becoming “an epic sci-fi war movie.” Ant-Man and the Wasp being part of Avengers: Endgame worked, but the sci-fi war scenario doesn’t fit them as well when they’re on their own. There’s some entertaining weirdness on display in this adventure through the Quantum Realm, but the film feels like it’s falling short of its potential – and so does it portrayal of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), who is never as interesting or as threatening as he should be, considering that Marvel was, at the time, hoping Kang would become their new Thanos-level villain. He is underwhelming and the end credits glimpse of his many variants is cringe-inducing. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania provides some laughs, but the action isn’t as thrilling as it should be and it’s just not as much fun as its predecessors were. Completely leaving out the Luis character (Michael Peña) was also a big mistake.

Black Widow (2021)

The movie arrived at least a half-decade too late, but Marvel finally got around to giving Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) her own solo adventure… two years after they already killed her off. The story shows what she was up to in between the wars of Civil and Infinity, giving a glimpse into Romanoff’s past and her family, providing the deepest look at the character yet. Black Widow succeeds largely thanks to the exploration of her family life, establishing a cast of characters that are worth coming back to in future movies, especially Florence Pugh’s Yelena. With a great ensemble and a welcome grounded espionage thriller approach, Black Widow does much more right than wrong. But those wrongs – namely a story that stays put for far too long and disappointingly messy action sequences – stop this from being the triumphant solo movie the character had been deserving for years.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Daniel Destin Cretten and his team did the work to make sure this was a world audiences would want to come back to, delivering a martial arts fantasy that’s brought to life by some wonderful visuals, a great ensemble of characters, and some of the very best fight choreography of the series thus far. Like with any origin story of this caliber, the story of the lead character can get lost in all the world-building. That makes the middle act feel a little deflated compared to the rest, dampening some of its impact with lots of MacGuffin talk and exposition. However, Simu Liu is such a capable lead and the world is so refreshingly mesmerizing, it doesn’t always feel like a total hindrance. Then you can tack on great work from veterans Michelle Yeoh, Fala Chen, and Tony Leung – the latter bringing to life a villain with some actual dimension. Even with its first-entry hiccups, Shang-Chi has opened the doors to a fantastic new section of the Marvel world that’s only just beginning to unfold.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Avengers: Age of Ultron is a messy one. It’s a big, messy second child. The visual effects are all over the place, the set pieces are either appropriately exciting or God-tier noisy, and when there aren’t some of the more compelling character interactions of the whole series, there are some character choices that are just damn questionable. But it also features some of the biggest ideas to come from a Marvel movie yet, with writer/director Joss Whedon using this massive tentpole feature and its super-powered characters to question their ideologies and the very nature of herodom. Truly one of the better MCU villains, Ultron (James Spader) is a sentient AI system that acts as a mirror for the Avengers and forces them to examine their place in the world, one in which humanity is perhaps doomed to fail no matter all of their heroics. He was sort of right, in the end. For a billion-dollar movie that pretty much exists to set things up for the next movies, there’s some deep philosophical stuff going on here that makes it a more fascinating watch than you probably remember it being… although it’s surprisingly dull at times, despite some solid laughs and set pieces. Yes, it is a sloppy chap, but it’s also one of the rare entries that feels like it actually has something to say. It’s up to individual viewers to decide if what it’s saying is interesting.

The Marvels (2023)

Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel, played by Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (played Teyonah Parris), and Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel, played by Iman Vellani) all have light-based powers, so maybe it’s appropriate that their team-up film moves along at the speed of light, blasting through an intergalactic adventure so quickly that The Marvels winds up being the shortest film in the MCU, sporting a running time of 105 minutes. Still, the quick pace director Nia DaCosta brought to the film winds up making it feel rather inconsequential, even when it’s dealing with huge stakes. It’s a fun movie that didn’t deserve to be written off as a failure the way it has, but it’s so light and fluffy that it also feels like it would have been right at home as a Disney+ streaming release. Given that it’s a direct follow-up to two Disney+ shows, Ms. Marvel and WandaVision (and it really relies on viewers being familiar with Kamala and Monica from those shows), a streaming release would have been fitting, if not for the massive budget. It’s better than its reputation would suggest, but there’s not much to it.

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

On the whole, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a colorful blast. The cast is hilarious, Paul Rudd is as charming as ever, Evangeline Lilly whips an insane amount of ass, and the shrinking/enlarging gags are a constant riot. As a palette cleanser after the destruction of the Avengers movie that came before it (Infinity War), it’s pure, undemanding Marvel fun. It also needs to be commended for how well it uses its returning characters. Scott (Rudd), Hope (Lilly), and Hank (Michael Douglas) are a team throughout the film, with Hope and Hank both getting even more to do than they did in the previous movie. This sequel also brings back Scott’s reformed criminal associates, who bring the laughs with them. Since Luis (Michael Peña) turned out to be a fan favorite last time, he was wisely given a fair amount of screen time here. The reason why the film ranks in the lower half of the list is because, despite being such an energetic blockbuster that it plays like Marvel-meets-Ferris Bueller, it’s kind of forgettable in the long run. But, it’s okay for the Ant-Man movies to be the quirky, low-key entries that never demand too much from the audience, and it’s fun while it lasts.

Iron Man 2 (2010)

As with a puppy peeing on the sofa, it’s hard to be completely upset with Iron Man 2 simply being the movie it is. Despite teasing big things at the end of the first movie, Marvel still didn’t quite know what they were doing with their film franchise, so with a sequel where they were juggling an expanding cast of characters, exploring heavy-duty subject matter for Tony Stark, and trying to recapture the magic of the first entry, you kind of had to expect it wouldn’t turn out to be amazing. The action sequences are kind of cool, Robert Downey Jr. is just as excellent as Stark, and there is some somewhat important stuff happening to his character that impacts who he is as a person going forward. But then there are all the symptoms of “sequel-itis” on display – such as too many villains who don’t spend enough time actually doing anything (which is a shame, because they’re played by Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell), and a bunch of characters wrestling for screen time (returning supporting characters, bad guys, a bigger SHIELD presence, the introduction of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, etc.) Iron Man 2 isn’t necessarily a bad movie – and it’s actually a solid summer blockbuster on its own – but compared to the rest of the series it’s definitely an example of how Marvel was still finding its feet.

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Perhaps the reason why The Incredible Hulk often ranks low on viewers’ MCU lists is because, whereas the other 2008 series entry, Iron Man, signified a bold step forward for the genre as a whole, this one feels like a holdover from another era. This crack at Bruce Banner (played here by Edward Norton) and Big Green would feel right at home in the early era of comic book movies that simply play like over-priced action movies. While Norton is fine in the role as a Banner on the run, looking to find a way to control his rage, his journey could have been more exciting, and the supporting cast would have benefited from the quick-and-simple movie taking more breathers for character work. With the exception of the final fight between Abomination (Tim Roth), the spectacle is underwhelming, and director Louis Leterrier’s approach is very by-the-numbers, checking off boxes to deliver a not-terrible Hulk movie, clearing the very low hurdle set by Ang Lee’s take in 2003. The negative reaction to that earlier, much more serious film is part of why this one is so quick and simple. The more heavy psychological drama moments were snipped out during post-production.

Thor (2011)

As far as Shakespearean dramas wrapped up in cosmic summer blockbusters go, 2011’s Thor isn’t too bad. Director Kenneth Branagh did the work of exploring the complex dynamics between the cast of Asgardian gods like Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and Odin (Anthony Hopkins), the effects of which continued to impact the characters going forward. He did equally efficient work with the fish-out-of-water, romantic elements between Thor and the Earthbound Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), crafting a sweet, funny story to match the more outlandish elements. But that doesn’t stop Thor from having an uninspired look or from being sluggish in the spectacle realm. Branagh couldn’t quite nail the blockbuster excitement with loud, ham-fisted action sequences fumbling otherwise effective character work. But, on the whole, Thor was a decent if flawed start for the God of Thunder with a cast of characters well established against an unremarkable backdrop.

Doctor Strange (2016)

After getting audiences acquainted with gods and the cosmos, Marvel sent audiences into the realm of the mystic arts with Doctor Strange, and it’s… mostly fun. Yeah, fun is a good summation. Not the kind of mind-blowing, transcendental experience Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) went through, but, yeah. Inception-level visuals are trippy and exciting, and the individual action within them is often quite clever – making use of all sorts of magical spells and objects. Director Scott Derrickson got the most mileage out of the movie when it came to bringing those magical elements to life and establishing that world, but everything on the character and story front left a lot to be desired. Much of Strange’s arc feels rushed, the romance angle is wanting, Mads Mikkelsen is criminally wasted as the key villain, etc. As an intro to the world of Marvel magic, it’s a bold entry, but for the ground-level stuff that can truly set these movies apart, it’s about as exciting as a birthday party magician pulling pigeons out of a hat.

Captain Marvel (2019)

Brie Larson soared into the Marvel scene in the first entry to feature a woman in the leading role and in the director’s chair (Anna Boden, directing alongside Ryan Fleck), introducing a powerful new character in Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, who has limitless potential in the series. Her movie as a whole, though, wasn’t quite as marvelous. With a story instantly hindered by giving the character amnesia, much of the plotting feels centered on solving a mystery anyone will have solved from the jump, as well as on the prequel elements for Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s entry into the space game. In essence, it’s trying to be two origin stories at once, and while the aim of giving Danvers a story that finds her discovering her power and independence is admirable, the execution is too messy to be fully masked by the fine performances (Ben Mendelsohn is a great standout as a Skrull alien named Talos) and occasionally cool visuals.

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Director Shane Black (who co-wrote with Drew Pearce) clearly approached the process of making Iron Man 3 with this thought in mind: “Audiences want this, and I’m not giving it to them.” Not only did this apply to the villain, where a twist turned out to be perhaps the most controversial move in the MCU’s history, but to the general approach. The first post-The Avengers movie, it doesn’t cave to what was likely the audience’s expectations at the time, existing to tease future movies or feature a flyby from Thor. It operates entirely on its own terms, taking Tony back to the basics and crafting a colorful espionage story about him discovering that, even after an alien invasion, he’s so much more than just a suit. As for the villain, Guy Pearce understood the assignment as a smarmy corporate sociopath, who smartly uses the media – and Ben Kingsley – to stoke fear (which seems increasingly relevant nowadays) and works into that certain clever, hilarious switcheroo. Low points are “Rhodey”/War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) feeling just sort of “there” or being in captivity, but even they aren’t totally wasted, and there’s little to impede this one from becoming one of the franchise’s most undervalued entries.

Ant-Man (2015)

Ant-Man is an undemanding, uniquely fun bit of Marvel entertainment with one of the stronger MCU origin stories, painting a heroic arc for “thief with a heart of gold” Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) while giving dimension to the supporting cast, including Michael Douglas as Ant-Man tech creator Hank Pym, Evangeline Lilly as Hank’s daughter (and Scott’s love interest) Hope van Dyne, and David Dastmalchian, T.I. Harris, and fan favorite Michael Peña as Scott’s thieving friends. Rudd’s Scott has that likable, everyman approach, and his journey from well-meaning cat burglar to superhero puts a spin on the formula, taking us away from genius billionaires, super soldiers, and thunder gods. It’s a superhero origin story that isn’t reliant on big set pieces (albeit the ones here are hilariously clever and gripping), but on how hard you’re rooting for Lang to pull through. Does that make it an entry that manages to stand above the rest? Not really, but everyone involved pulled out all the stops to make this entry one that’s impossible to ever fully write off.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Yes, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a messy, jumbled, sometimes illogical journey through the MCU multiverse, all with sorcery and witchcraft mixed in just to spice things up. But of all the Marvel movies that make up the bottom half of this ranking, the flick from Spider-Man and Evil Dead helmer Sam Raimi is the most welcomely bonkers, in no short order thanks to Raimi going, “Okay, yes to the Marvel formula, but also yes to Scarlet Witch emerging from a gong like the Ring girl with her limbs contorting and rearranging into place.” The horror movie elements are comparable to the likes of his Drag Me to Hell, and sometimes get vicious enough in ways that can shock and even repel longtime viewers, and possibly give young watchers some everlasting nightmares. It’s fascinating; on the one hand, character development and logic buckles under the weight of franchise world-building. On the other, the movie goes to places no other Marvel movie ever has, making it a heavily flawed entry that’s really great to have in the franchise. If they are willing to let Raimi have his villain turn a beloved comic book character into string cheese within minutes of them making their MCU debut, who knows what else is next?

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

What do you do when the actor playing your iconic title character passes away? In most cases, the answer would be to recast. But when Chadwick Boseman lost his secret battle with cancer, Marvel and director Ryan Coogler chose to acknowledge his passing and let the character T’Challa pass away as well. This sequel has a deeply mournful tone, as T’Challa’s loved ones are grieving. For most of the film’s (overly lengthy, at 161 minutes) running time, there is no Black Panther. But with a war over vibranium threatening to break out and an aquatic kingdom headed up by Namor (Tenoch Huerta) – given an interesting Mayan reimagining here – at odds with Wakanda, there’s still need for a Black Panther to step up for the climactic sequence. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a bit long-winded and overstuffed, and the cinematography is often too dark, but it features some great acting (Angela Bassett won a Golden Globe and earned an Oscar nomination for her performance), some interesting ideas, and stands as a heartfelt tribute to Chadwick Boseman.

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

To get the good out of the way, Tom Holland is still doing a bang-up job a Peter Parker, and director Jon Watts and his collaborators are still finding those ways to make him that relatable teen we all know and love – especially when it comes to him trying to juggle his personal and superhero lives. To boot, Jake Gyllenhaal rules as Mysterio, one of the better MCU baddies. And yet, when it comes to fully shaping who Parker is as a hero in this world, this movie proves that, even in death, this Spider-Man isn’t doing much without Iron Man. While Homecoming found him handling the presence of Tony Stark while trying to break out and (often failing) to do his own thing, this one is all about who he is in relation to Iron Man. Can he be a hero without him? Can he live up to the pressure of being the “new Iron Man”? Can he responsibly wield the unbelievable power Stark gave to him? Can he, ultimately, step out of Stark’s shadow? Given how Parker had been set up before this with his bond with Stark, Far From Home feels like a bridge that needed crossing because there was no other way around it. Gotta love that ending, though.

Black Panther (2018)

So much of what Black Panther achieves is monumental, we’ll likely be experiencing its impact long after the MCU as a whole gets the reboot treatment. Even with a whole universe of movies at its back, this film operates entirely on its own level. The world of Wakanda is richly drawn out, with director Ryan Coogler and his team injecting incredible amounts of culture and personality into every element. Costumes, art direction, music, makeup, etc. – all these details make simply looking at the movie an invigorating experience from start to finish. Staking its claim in the craft arena, Black Panther also features some of the series’ best storytelling, forcing new king T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) to confront his father’s legacy and Wakanda’s place in the world, with timely themes masterfully woven in. Alongside T’Challa is an incredible supporting cast including Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Letitia Wright, Daniel Kaluuya, Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Sterling K. Brown, Martin Freeman, Andy Serkis, and more. A standout from the group is Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger, who is one of the MCU’s best villains, filled with purpose and depth and brimming with charm, making him tough to root against. The film is only brought down by some poor visual effects.

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Thor: Ragnarok proves that even if you don’t have the strongest story or make full use of the biggest members of the cast, you can still achieve peak excellence. Marvel mixed with Flash Gordon and the silly mind of director Taika Waititi, Ragnarok looks at everything surrounding the God of Thunder and confronts the reality that it’s all very weird and very strange and we just need to lean into it. This is easily the funniest movie in the MCU by however far the Rainbow Bridge can shoot, as Waititi and his team crafted the most colorful and effortlessly entertaining Thor movie, embracing the kind of comic book sensibilities that pull you into a world of bizarre. As a reinvention of Thor, it’s a huge success, embracing star Chris Hemsworth’s likability and humor, while not making him any less badass and god-like. Then you have Cate Blanchett as the key villain, Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster, and Mark Mothersbaugh on the music. There are simply so many levels on which Ragnarok pulled out all the stops, and you can feel that unrestricted sense of fun in every frame and from every cast member, making for an entry that’s easy to watch again and again.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

What is really admirable about James Gunn’s approach to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is that he looked at the sprawling adventure of the first movie and said, “Hey, for this next one, let’s slow it down a bit.” While its early minutes are chaotic, colorful mayhem, much of what follows is Gunn using the runtime to explore the core team, digging into many of their insecurities (especially Rocket and Yondu) and giving them scenes that make the fact that they come together as a team in the end all the more special. These folks are a bunch of assholes and they have stuff to work out, essentially. In that way, it feels like the antithesis to the nature of most blockbusters to “go bigger” the second time around. Gunn’s sequel values the characters over the (albeit stunning) spectacle, favoring small moments against gorgeous backdrops that deepen the characters, and thus makes the audience care more about them. The finale is a bit messy, but by the time the credits roll, it ends up being one of Marvel’s most heartfelt entries.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Spider-Man: Homecoming is a perfectly fun, well-crafted entry of the MCU. It’s digestible popcorn entertainment, and director Jon Watts and the team of Homecoming smartly took a John Hughes route and put this new Peter Parker smack dab into the madness that is high school. Not only does this set the clock back from Sony’s Amazing Spider-Man fumble, but going back to school makes his origin feel perfect for his character, so eager to make a name for himself as a hero that, like many teenagers, he’s always biting off more than he can chew and having to learn from his mistakes. Of course, his mistakes can have more destructive consequences, but that benefits his arc and makes the final act all the more triumphant as he literally lifts himself out of the rubble. As a result, it plays more like a simple teen comedy that happens to feature superheroes, and in turn, is easy to just pop on because it’s not terribly challenging or trying to do anything unique. While having a modern voice and sense of humor, it owes a lot to simply being in the MCU and having the likes of other series figures around to add a special flavor and make it stand out from past movies. But, what works about it works well. Fit with an on-point, funny ensemble of young and veteran stars, and some standout work from Michael Keaton as one of the MCU’s best villains, Homecoming is a knockout first entry for the Web-Head.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

For a brief period of time, it was looking like director James Gunn wouldn’t have the chance to complete his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy – but thankfully, everything worked out. Sure, another filmmaker could have made a fun Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but they wouldn’t have made something as heartfelt, weird, and simultaneously fun and heart-wrenching at this movie is. With Rocket on the edge of death, we get a deep dive into his origin story as his fellow Guardians seek out his creator, the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji does an incredible job making this guy the most detestable villain of the MCU), in hopes of being able to save his life. If Rocket’s lines about “I didn’t ask to get made” in the first movie were already enough to make you teary-eyed, get ready for a rough ride when you head into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. But it’s worth the journey, because Gunn delivered a beautiful movie and ended his trilogy in the perfect way.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

No one would have been surprised if Guardians of the Galaxy had been a failure… but there’s a freedom that comes with making a movie that features a talking raccoon who partners with a talking tree who can only say his name, and director James Gunn exploits every opportunity to embrace sci-fi weirdness. Blasting entirely off Earth, Guardians breathes life into Marvel in the cosmos, showing off just how strange and vibrant the galaxy is, loaded with colorful characters, warring factions, and mysterious planets. Coupled with a broad sense of humor and incredible visuals, and constantly delivering on unexpected thrills, Gunn’s vision of an adventure beyond the stars made space fun again. Gunn also understood the characters at its core. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel) are all giant jerks, but that doesn’t make them any less endearing and relatable. Finding that duality and not being afraid to explore it and their eccentricities – all against the backdrop of a stupendous space adventure with a killer soundtrack – is what makes Guardians soar, and its huge heart makes it truly timeless.

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

We knew Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool would be making his way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Disney acquired Fox – but we never would have guessed that he would bring Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine out of retirement and take him along for the ride, or that their team-up film would be a heartfelt tribute to the Marvel Comics adaptations that happened outside of the MCU. Not just the X-Men films that the title characters emerged from, with several actors reprising their roles (Dafne Keen, Aaron Stanford, Tyler Mane, etc.) but also the likes of Fantastic Four (Chris Evans as Johnny Storm!), Daredevil / Elektra (Jennifer Garner as Elektra!), and Blade (Wesley Snipes reprising the role after twenty years!). Channing Tatum even gets his chance to shine as Gambit after struggling to bring his take on the character to the screen for years. Directed by Shawn Levy, Deadpool & Wolverine borrows elements from the Loki TV series to take viewers on a wild multiversal adventure that delivers a lot of laughs, a ton of great fan service, and also has some touching emotional content.

Iron Man (2008)

Sometimes it’s hard to top the first, and even all these years later, the MCU’s first entry remains one of its very best. An indie movie as far as summer blockbusters go, 2008’s Iron Man was assembled by Marvel Studios alone on a massive gamble, hoping audiences would flock to see a relatively unknown character played by a leading man (Robert Downey Jr.) not very well known to mainstream audiences. But both that character and that leading man proved to be aces in the hole. The approach from director Jon Favreau and the team to make it a character piece about a man coming to terms with his life and creations – literally reinventing himself in the process – makes the movie a strong, singular character piece that explores Tony Stark beyond the armor, and gave RDJ more than enough ammo to make the character his own and bring his own charm and complicated past to Stark. Combine that all with a whip-smart sense of humor and super-powered set pieces, Iron Man only feels increasingly timeless as the series moves on without him.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

On the surface, it’s an easy – and even valid – complaint that Avengers: Infinity War is about nothing other than a big purple dude collecting space stones. In a way it is, and Thanos (Josh Brolin) being able to put his collection together so quickly feels like one of the MCU’s bigger plot holes. And yet, that doesn’t diminish the movie from being one of the more impressive feats of blockbuster filmmaking in cinema history. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo juggle the massive cast and equally massive set pieces very well for the most part, getting plenty of great character moments out of them and making Thanos the true main character (with Brolin nailing the big, ominous lug with menacing stature). The scope of the movie is immense, ranging between planets and various teams, seamlessly put together to feel like one massive adventure. It’s filmmaking at some of its most technically grand and, with a suitably epic score from Alan Silvestri, nothing can rob it of being an impressive feast for the eyes and ears. But what aids it beyond the “space rock heist” simplicity is how it makes the case that it’s about all these super-powered people realizing that they aren’t strong enough. All their upgrades and lessons learned are no match for a bigger threat, and seeing them having to operate on the back foot – and ultimately face their biggest failure – gives it more depth than the surface spectacle suggests.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

During one moment between Peter Parker and Dr. Stephen Strange, the latter admits that, despite everything they’ve been through together, which involves saving the universe, he forgets that Parker is still just a kid. No matter his abilities and all he’s managed to accomplish, he’s still a teenager trying to find time with his girlfriend and get into college. Trying to have it all drives him to make some extreme, possibly fabric-of-time-ruining decisions, and what makes No Way Home a special entry for him and the MCU is how having him deal with the universe-bending fallout of his actions shapes him on a ground level as both someone on the verge of adulthood and a web-slinging superhuman. Yeah, that journey goes through the lands of blatant fan service, meta gags, and Easter Eggs specifically designed to make audiences hoot and holler in crowded theaters, which at times can be both exhausting and undeniably, unforgettably fun. But weathering it all, the team behind the camera and an exceptional Tom Holland ensure that Parker remains the clear focus, using the ghosts of Spidey past not only to make audiences wilt in their chairs but to tell one of the more enriching, human Spider-Man stories to grace the big screen. And yes, it was amazing and spectacular to see Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield back in action.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) is very much the heart and the soul of the Marvel Universe. Despite a physical upgrade, he was always the kid from Brooklyn who stands up to bullies, no matter how big. That spirit drives his first outing from director Joe Johnston, an old-fashioned adventure filled with pulpy thrills, and one that ages like a fine wine. It’s the kind of heartwarming and inspiring movie that can bring you up when you’re feeling low, reaffirming why we love superheroes in the first place, brimming with romanticized, old school heroism that never feels cloying. The cherry on top of it all is some excellent work from Hayley Atwell, Stanley Tucci, and Hugo Weaving – giving Rogers a love, a mentor, and a villain all worth remembering. Perhaps that traditional approach is what turns some people off from the movie, as they feel it’s a bit too indebted to movies like Indiana Jones or The Rocketeer– but if anything, that makes First Avenger the perfect palette cleanser. There’s a simplicity to the movie’s themes and Rogers himself that – like Richard Donner’s Superman – really speaks to why audiences can love these characters so much and can be a much-needed ray of light when the franchise gets a bit too in the weeds.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

One of the best things about Captain America: Civil War is that it’s a movie that acknowledges and emphasizes – via the conversations between the characters and some of the action sequences – that these characters are people with defined viewpoints that have evolved over time, and that there’s gravity to the fissure erupting between the team. The airport sequence, Spider-Man, Black Panther, there’s some undeniably cool stuff going on here. But Civil War is at its best when – after a destructive scenario shows these heroes need some accountability – it puts the Avengers under a microscope and explores how they would respond to that event and each other’s actions as a result. There are a lot of strings being pulled, and it can get messy at times, but what’s respectable is how these heroes we’ve come to admire on the big screen don’t feel cheated out of development, which is an impressive achievement, considering how much is going on. If these movies are going to act in part as set up for what comes next, then they should at least use their time to leave an impact and do the work to make it feel like what happens during the runtime matters. Civil War does that, and in often spectacular fashion.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

The First Avenger found Captain America looking at the biggest bully around (Nazis and Hydra) and standing up to them against some awesome set-pieces. The Winter Soldier finds Cap in modern day, and writers Christoper Markus and Stephen McFeely, along with directors Joe and Anthony Russo, asked what kind of villain he would stand up to today. While the answer is still Hydra, the team went in less for red-faced baddies and more for governmental forces via a grounded spy thriller approach – leading to tremendous results. The movie gets great mileage out of centering the story so strongly on Cap as a modern man trying to exist and live up to his own ideals, having to also grapple with his past in the form of Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). Diverting away from the CGI mayhem of past movies, the kinetic action sequences and tone set it apart and made it compelling in ways Marvel hadn’t been up to that point, and still hasn’t again to this day. The Winter Soldier remains a fan favorite because the filmmakers had the confidence to look at how these movies could be different from how they had been before, which in turn pushed the excellent cast of new and returning actors to some of their best work in the series, resulting in an entry that still stands on its own.

The Avengers (2012)

The first wave of Marvel movies would’ve been nothing more than two great superhero movies and three so-so ones had The Avengers not pulled off the hat trick that it did. On top of being a masterclass of blockbuster entertainment – dishing out laughs and fun set pieces like it has them lying around – writer/director Joss Whedon proved that investment in character always pays off. Avengers works best during the downtime between showdowns, as the quarreling, budding team has to deal with their issues, mostly in ways that find them fighting each other. It doesn’t settle for getting the characters together and meandering through conversations before they can team up, but rather asks what would happen when a man like Tony Stark comes up against a man like Steve Rogers. It’s a movie that lives for the conflict between characters and uses the overcoming of conflict to form the backbone of what makes the team special. As the movie ages, it feels like a nostalgic entry unhampered by an over-abundance of CGI wherever it doesn’t need it. Locations, costumes, and sets feel lived in and authentic, and when the action gets going it’s bright and absorbing, with the perfect number of characters to make sequences feel uniquely epic without being too bloated. It’s as big as Marvel will ever get without ever having to sacrifice a single character in the name of a massive tapestry or story. That makes The Avengers a perfect balance of entertainment and pathos that Thanos would be proud of, and something that Marvel will perhaps never be able to recreate. (Aside from Endgame.)

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

There’s no easy way to put the final stamp on 11 years of moviemaking that included well over a dozen movies featuring twice as many superheroes, all while giving some of them the proper sendoff they deserve… but Avengers: Endgame did just that, and in tremendous fashion. If Infinity War is all about chaos and failure, Endgame is all about learning to overcome failure and put everything on the line to make things right. It’s a more methodical movie than one like this should be, and is all the better for it. Thanos is not in the picture as much, and in bringing the story down to the original six Avengers and a few others, the story feels more focused and character-driven, but no less epic in scope. It’s a love letter to everything that came before, and the time travel angle allows for a thrilling adventure wherein the characters are able to look back on where they’ve come from to determine where they’ll go next. Directors the Russos and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely bring home the whole shebang in ways that manage to dazzle, surprise, and break your heart, aided by some series-best performances and countless rousing moments. It’s Marvel at its biggest, most ambitious, and emotionally resonant. Exciting and poignant, this film is a triumph.

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