Marvel Studios Movies and Shows Ranked, From Worst to Best

Created by: Kyle Bradstreet 
 
A twisty spy thriller centered around Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury should be a slam dunk, especially one boasting such an embarrassment of talent, including Olivia Colman, Don Cheadle, Ben Mendelsohn, Emilia Clarke and Kingsley Ben-Adir. Instead, “Secret Invasion” was just embarrassing, with a tedious, convoluted plot involving a cabal of shape-shifting Skrulls attempting to take over the planet. Director Ali Selim, who helmed every episode, stranded his actors in grey, listless scenes that went nowhere, with a ludicrous ending in which Clarke’s character inexplicably became the most powerful being in the MCU and Cheadle’s Rhodey had secretly been a Skrull since (as Selim told Variety) the events of 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War.” At the very least, “Secret Invasion” presaged Disney’s decision to rethink Marvel’s aggressive expansion into streaming television, but this show remains the absolute nadir of the MCU. 

Directed by: Alan Taylor 
Written by: Christopher L. Yost, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely 
 
“The Dark World” was hamstrung from the start by creative challenges, including a seemingly unfinished script, which led Patty Jenkins to bow out of directing. Marvel then enlisted Taylor, who’d helmed several episodes of “Game of Thrones,” to execute their more grounded vision for the sequel, which sees Thor (Chris Hemsworth) racing to stop the Dark Elves and their leader Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) from unleashing a powerful weapon called the Aether and plunging the Nine Realms (including Earth) into darkness. (Does any of this sound familiar? No?) All the fun of the first film’s god-among-Earthlings plot line gets drained out of the story, much as the Aether drains Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) of life for a good chunk of the film. Also, one of the film’s central plot points — Thor and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) forming an uneasy alliance — doesn’t quite work. Perhaps it’s because the brothers’ tension is the thing that keeps audiences coming back for more (in addition to their luscious locks) or it’s because Loki is a more formidable foe — and compelling character — than the dreary villain they’re facing. 

Directed by: Peyton Reed 
Written by: Jeff Loveness 
 
In every dimension, “Quantumania” is a mess. The Quantum Realm is a CGI slop-fest. The story — involving Kang (Jonathan Majors) and something called a “multiversal power core” — is incoherent. Michelle Pfeiffer’s Janet Van Dyne gets far more screentime than the previous film, and yet her character makes even less sense. Worst of all, the movie loses the humor and Paul Rudd-ian joy of the previous two “Ant-Man” movies. Actually, no, the worst thing of all is M.O.D.O.K. (Corey Stoll) and everything about him. Who decided to put that crime against humanity on film? Our condolences to the Ant-Family; you deserved to end on a higher note. 

Created by: Jeremy Slater 
 
As a man with dissociative identity disorder, Oscar Isaac plays Steven Grant and Marc Spector and Moon Knight and Mr. Knight and Jake Lockley — and, well, they’re all weird, and all too rarely in a fun way. Despite the whiplash from constant body swaps, Isaac is the best part of an otherwise muddled and confusing series that keeps shifting tones and plotlines without much by way of coherence. There’s ambition here, to be sure, but it’s a lot of big swings without much connection. 

Directed by: Taika Waititi 
Written by: Taika Waititi, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson 
 
After the success of “Thor: Ragnarok,” Marvel and Waititi seem to have learned all the wrong lessons, larding this sequel with tiresome free-associative silliness, like Thor’s first-act holiday with the Guardians of the Galaxy, or Russell Crowe’s frivolous Zeus lording over an overly-CGI’d Omnipotence City. All of it drowns out what should be one of the franchise’s most heartbreaking storylines: Jane Foster temporarily escaping her terminal cancer diagnosis by transforming into the Mighty Thor. Instead, it feels like an afterthought.  

Directed by: Louis Leterrier 
Written by: Zak Penn 
 
The second ever entry in the MCU — it came out in June 2008, five-and-a-half weeks after the release of “Iron Man” — is a turgid, joyless, paint-by-numbers origin story for Bruce Banner (Edward Norton). If you can picture how Mark Ruffalo plays Bruce/the Hulk in the “Avengers” movies — with a wink that’s only slightly concealed by his sad eyes — Norton, so often a wonderful actor, would not have been able to fit into that crowd. Nor did he even get a chance to, since Ruffalo was hired as Norton’s replacement in July 2010 so he could appear alongside the cast of “The Avengers” at San Diego Comic-Con. Norton reportedly fought with Marvel about the script and the final cut, and after casting Ruffalo, Feige released a pointed statement, in which he said the decision to recast was “rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. ‘The Avengers’ demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble.” Norton would later tell the New York Times that he found Feige’s statement to be “cheap” and an example of “brand defensiveness.” All of which is to say, if only the fun messiness of these behind-the-scenes arguments had made their way into “The Incredible Hulk.” Instead, it’s just boring.  

Directed by: Jon Favreau 
Written by: Justin Theroux 
 
This film’s box office success proved the MCU had staying power — which we’re not complaining about. There’s just not much about this movie that is worth revisiting. Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash is one of Marvel’s weakest villains, and the plot about Tony Stark’s quest to find a new power core for the arc reactor in his chest is a snooze. But hey, the movie did at least give us Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Don Cheadle as War Machine. 

Head writer: Marion Dayre 
 
“Echo” made history as the first live-action superhero adaptation about a Native American character and a deaf character, Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez, introduced as an antagonist in 2021’s “Hawkeye.” Cox is a magnetic presence, but the show that surrounds her tries to cram way too much into only five episodes, from Maya’s complicated relationship with her estranged family in Oklahoma, to her even more complicated relationship with crime boss Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), to the mystical abilities embedded in Maya’s Choctaw heritage. There’s a solid show somewhere in here, but “Echo” tries to be so many things at once — a crime thriller, a family drama, a redemption story — that it winds up shortchanging all of them. 

Directed by: Chloé Zhao  
Written by: Chloé Zhao, Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, Kaz Firpo
 
Fresh off her Oscar wins for “Nomadland,” Chloé Zhao fashions a highbrow superhero movie that introduces a new roster of A-listers to the MCU and a cosmic mythology to human civilization, but it lacks the fun and sense of levity fans have come to expect from the MCU. There’s just too much exposition, too much philosophy, and too many new characters. It’s an admirable attempt to do something radically different — both for Zhao and for Marvel — with some stunning, elevated production design and the most inclusive cast Marvel has yet assembled. But “Eternals” ultimately feels unable to reconcile Zhao’s enigmatic artistic instincts and the need to deliver a big budget studio entertainment. 

Directed by: Julius Onah 
Written by: Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson, Julius Onah, Peter Glanz 
 
It’s hard to begrudge Marvel for casting Harrison Ford as President Thaddeus Ross, after the actor who originated the role, William Hurt, died in 2022. But Ford is such a Mount Rushmore-level star that he throws the balance all off in what should be a story about Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) navigating his early days as the new Captain America. Instead, Mackie’s tremendous charisma is smothered in a lumbering, Frankensteined-together story that calls back to “The Incredible Hulk” from (checks watch) 17 years earlier — a movie that has nothing to do with Wilson. You wind up just waiting for Ford to become Red Hulk in the final act, which is unmistakably cool, but barely worth the experience. 
 

Created by: Malcolm Spellman 
 
Before Anthony Mackie could upgrade himself to full Captain America status, he had to complete his Disney+ TV show basic training, where he was joined by fellow Cap sidekick, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes. Their chemistry was the only thing that could keep this warmed-up Captain America frozen dinner alive. The show’s initial exploration of what it means for a Black man to become Captain America got bogged down by the faceless Flag Smashers, an interlude in Madripoor, a random Wakandan fight scene, and COVID delays, with the one semi-bright spot being Wyatt Russell’s debut as U.S. Agent. It’s a good thing “WandaVision” leapfrogged this show and kicked off the MCU’s streaming enterprise, otherwise the MCU would’ve had a frosty welcome on Disney+. 

Created by: A.C. Bradley 

It’s an intriguing premise — use the multiverse to ponder alternate storylines for dozens of Marvel characters — that supplied three seasons of animated TV that were often diverting, sometimes depressing, and rarely all that interesting. It’s telling that the show’s best episode is also its second ever: Chadwick Boseman’s final performance as Star-Lord T’Challa, whose innate decency is so powerful that, after he joins the Ravagers in place of Peter Quill, he convinces Thanos (Josh Brolin) to give up erasing half of all life in the universe. 

Written and directed by: Joss Whedon 
 
How do some of the most consequential Avengers plotlines (The Sokovia Incident! Wakandan Vibranium! Thanos and the Infinity Stones!) make for the most frustrating Avengers movie? Let’s start with the creation of Ultron: two brilliant scientists take a shortcut to finish their defense program by utilizing a sketchy A.I. program they discovered in a supernatural scepter; then that program becomes sentient and intent on destroying humankind. And we’re supposed to believe Bruce Banner and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) didn’t see that coming?! There’s just way too much happening here at once, between the introduction of Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the Maximoff twins and Paul Bettany as Vision to the soft launch of a romance between Bruce and Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) that never meets its full potential. There are some redeeming qualities, like James Spader’s bone-chilling performance as Ultron and the chance to meet the family of Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner). But overall, “Age of Ultron” feels like trudging through the required reading to get to the better-told stories ahead.  

Directed by: Michael Giacchino 
Written by: Heather Quinn, Peter Cameron 
 
From the hallowed halls of Bloodstone Manor comes the Werewolf by Night: a furry Gael Garcia Bernal who looks like a knock-off Wolf Man performer at Universal Studios Hollywood. There’s also the CGI creature Man-Thing (no, not DC’s cooler Swamp Thing) and a handful of forgettable monster hunters who meet their PG-13 demise in this mostly unremarkable special, other than its admittedly fun black-and-white cinematography. 

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh 
Written by: Ashley E. Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne 
 
In a recurring theme for Marvel in its earliest days, the company found the perfect actor to play an Asgardian warrior-god who wields a magical hammer named Mjølnir. Chris Hemsworth has the harlequin romance-novel good looks to pull off the sci-fi, rom-com aspects of the story (aided by solid chemistry with Natalie Portman’s brilliant astrophysicist Jane Foster), but he crucially can also access the vulnerability of someone grappling with their inadequacies — critical to Thor’s emotional arc when he’s banished from Asgard to Earth. Plus, Hemsworth’s sense of comedic timing is top notch. Overall, Branagh had the proper sensibilities to make the Shakespearean dynamics between the gods work — especially the fraught fraternal relationship between Thor and Loki, including their respective daddy issues. (Casting Anthony Hopkins as their father, Odin, king of Asgard, is particularly inspired.) It’s a strong start in terms of character development and the world-building of Asgard, but given its artificial-looking visual effects, the film ultimately pales in comparison to the movies to come.  

Created by: Jessica Gao 
 
Let’s get this criticism out of the way: “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” looked terrible, and cheap as hell — and that’s what most people are likely to remember about it. When she would Hulk out, Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters was difficult to look at — like, it was actually mortifying. The show could also have used less of its dated hashtag-Girlboss ethos and simply relied on Maslany’s many charms. Because when it did, MCU’s first official comedy was a blast. Jen’s banter with her cousin Bruce (a totally game Mark Ruffalo), her attempts to navigate her career as a lawyer when she’s also a Hulk, the reintroduction of Matt Murdock as Daredevil, and the finale’s fourth-wall-breaking ending featuring a robot overseeing Marvel named the Knowledge Enhanced Visual Interconnectivity Nexus (i.e, K.E.V.I.N.) — so fun! Marvel is ambitious, but it’s rarely experimental; “She-Hulk” really tried new things (and yes, not all of them worked). But this is one Marvel series we’d have liked to have seen continue, if they could only figure out how to de-cringe its title character’s appearance. 

Directed by: Peyton Reed 
Written by: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari 
 
What’s better than one superhero who can get teensy? Four of them! (Sort of?) At less than two hours, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” and its tale of quantum entanglements is a relatively short romp in the MCU. It’s refreshing watching the women in this franchise — Hope van Dyne a.k.a. the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) and the villainous Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) — at the center of the plot and kicking ass along the way. But this movie is as inconsequential as its characters are microscopic, which is especially odd given how vital the Quantum Realm becomes in later storylines. The levity is also a little disorienting following the heartbreaking intensity of “Avengers: Infinity War,” and the points this movie gets for casting Michelle Pfeiffer as Hope’s mother Janet van Dyne get taken away for how criminally rare Pfeiffer appears on screen. 

Directed by: Matt Shakman 
Written by: Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer, Kat Wood 
 
The return of Marvel’s First Family to the MCU is a huge improvement from the three previous “Fantastic Four” movies (especially the 2015 disaster), but the film isn’t the unqualified triumph it so clearly aims to be, either. Shakman treats these characters with an earnestness that Marvel rarely embraces — no one quips about the giant horned helmet on Galactus (Ralph Ineson), for example — and the cast all give performances rooted in making their superhuman characters feel like real people. But the film’s wow factor rests heavily on Kasra Farahani’s impeccable retro-future production design and Michael Giacchino’s soaring score, while much of the plot and action unfold in rushed montages. It’s just painfully evident that several storylines, especially Ben Grimm’s (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), have been cut to the bone, and only Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm really comes through as a fully realized presence. As an introduction, “First Steps” lives up to its subtitle; no more, no less. 

Directed by: Cate Shortland  
Written by: Eric Pearson  
 
So much about “Black Widow” feels just a little off. It finally furnishes a compelling solo movie — and origin story — for Scarlett Johansson’s title Avenger, but two years after her character died in “Avengers: Endgame.” It was meant to launch the MCU into its post-“Endgame” era, but the pandemic forced Marvel to release the film on Disney+. And although the movie is supposed to be about Natasha Romanoff, the introduction of her adopted Russian father and sister — David Harbour’s Red Guardian and Florence Pugh’s Yelena — winds up stealing the show. (If Marvel had stuck to the film’s original, heartbreaking ending, we would’ve ranked this even higher.) 

Directed by: Shane Black  
Written by: Drew Pearce, Shane Black  
 
“Iron Man 3” inspired some of the most spirited debate among our team. Tony Stark is separated from his Iron Man suit for long stretches of the movie, as he grapples with PTSD from the Battle for New York in “The Avengers,” mentors a sassy kid (Ty Simpkins) and fiercely protects Happy (Jon Favreau) and Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow). But it’s how this movie treats its villains — Guy Pearce’s Aldrich Killian and Ben Kingsley’s the Mandarin, aka out-of-work actor Trevor Slattery — that truly divides audiences. You either think the twist is a fabulous joke that tweaks terrorist fear-mongering, or a really, really lame fake-out that just about ruins the movie. So we split the difference and placed it at the top of the bottom tier — or the bottom of the middle tier, depending on how you look at it. (At least we can all agree the explosive finale features a great kick-ass moment with Pepper, right?) 

Directed by: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck  
Written by: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Geneva RobertsonDworet  
 
While the origin story for Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers made history as the first female-led superhero film to cross $1 billion in box office grosses worldwide, it’s also arguably the weakest of the trio of Marvel(s) titles. For most of the movie, Carol doesn’t know who she actually is, let alone what she’s capable of, which is deeply frustrating for her — and for the audience. Still, the ’90s callbacks are fun, Jude Law turns in an enjoyably sleazy performance as the villain, and it’s interesting to see a younger Nick Fury with both eyes and hair. Also, any movie that casts Annette Bening as a malevolent artificial intelligence is doing something right. 

Directed by: Nia DaCosta 
Written by: Nia DaCosta, Megan McDonnell, Elissa Karasik 
 
For her all-female team-up movie — with Captain Marvel joining Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) — DaCosta set out to center fun, and she (mostly) delivered. On top of finding a propulsive way illustrate the physical entanglement of the superheroines’ light-based powers, DaCosta’s film doesn’t overdo the sisterhood trope. Instead, she creates space for the characters work through their complicated dynamics — i.e. Kamala learns to manage her Captain Marvel superfandom, while Monica and Carol grapple with complex feelings of resentment and abandonment — which makes it all the more rewarding when they eventually join forces. The film suffers from obvious reshoots, a forgettable villain and the homework-y callbacks to the TV shows “WandaVision” and “Ms. Marvel.” But if you can’t laugh at the “Let the Flerkens eat you” gag — a scene which sees alien cats swallowing the crew of a spaceship in order to evacuate them more easily, set to “Memory” from the Broadway musical “Cats” — what are we even doing here? 

Created by: Bisha K. Ali 
 
This show would rank as the best of the Marvel(s) trilogy thanks alone to Iman Vellani’s outrageously charismatic performance as Kamala Khan — there’s a reason Kevin Feige recently proclaimed her to be “one of the greatest bits of casting we’ve ever done.” But “Ms. Marvel” also has some big ideas on its mind, about assimilation vs. authenticity and the generational trauma of the partition of India and Pakistan in 1942. And then the show abandons all that to cram in the Department of Damage Control as a clumsy metaphor for Homeland Security. Throughout, Vellani commands your full attention, and we’re more than happy to give it to her. 

Directed by: Peyton Reed  
Written by: Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, Paul Rudd  
 
There isn’t a MCU character more endearing than Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang — his only real competition might be his fast-talking, chatty scene-partner, Michael Peña as Lang’s ex-cellmate. This film had one of the more tortured journeys to the big screen (Edgar Wright famously dropped out of directing just months before shooting), and yet it’s easily the best, most satisfying film in the franchise. Some movies can just be for giggles, and this one delivers big laughs about a guy getting small. 

Created by: Chinaka Hodge 
 
From the moment that teen tech genius Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) crash lands onto the streets of Chicago after getting kicked out of M.I.T., it was clear that this show would mimic its lead character’s ingenuity, scrappiness and sense of humor. But its most standout element was the deftness with which the show addressed Riri’s deep-set grief over the loss of her best friend and her stepfather, with the story illuminating the idea that her desire to create a suit of armor was about protecting her own heart as much as it was the bodies of those she loves. Produced by “Black Panther” steward Ryan Coogler, this series sat on the shelf longer than planned, but its multilayered story stayed fresh thanks to strong performances from its lead cast and a science versus magic plotline that had plenty of spark. Bonus points awarded for setting a major fight sequence at a White Castle. Harold and Kumar are looking on somewhere, proudly. 

Directed by: Scott Derrickson 
Written by: Jon Spaihts, Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill 
 
Benedict Cumberbatch is the rare actor who can exude intelligence and wit in the silliest of circumstances, which is what you need in a movie about a wizard in a flying cape who casts spells by waving his hands around at eccentric angles. Cumberbatch’s utter commitment to Stephen Strange, matched with Derrickson’s mind-bending visuals, make for a solid origin story with a climax that, for once, relies on its hero’s mind over his might. 
 

Directed by: Jake Schreier 
Written by: Eric Pearson, Joanna Calo 
 
This movie shouldn’t work. It heavily references “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “Black Widow” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” projects firmly in Marvel’s minor leagues, with a cast of disreputable characters who have heretofore loitered around the periphery of the MCU. And yet, thanks to Schreier’s steady, assured direction, these broken Marvel toys convey a potent story about, of all things, overcoming suicidal depression that still works as a rip-roaring good time. Lewis Pullman’s diffident performance as Bob, aka Sentry, aka Void — a profoundly ordinary, damaged man who stumbles into becoming one of the most powerful people in the MCU — strikes a chord that Marvel hasn’t really ever played before. We’re eager to hear more. 

Created by: Dario Scardapane, Matt Corman, Chris Ord 
 
After being relegated to Netflix’s Marvel-verse and teased in brief cameos in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Echo,” Charlie Cox’s Daredevil gets the red-carpet treatment in his grand MCU homecoming. The brutality and maturity of the Netflix show make the jump to Disney+, as does Jon Bernthal’s trigger-happy Punisher, the rest of Daredevil’s lawyer pals, and Vincent D’Onofrio’s corrupt Kingpin as he becomes the mayor of New York City — about as timely a storyline as Marvel’s ever had. There’s also a one-shot action scene in the series premiere that will get your heart racing loud enough for Daredevil’s heightened senses to hear. 

Created by: Jeff Trammell 
 
Spidey (Hudson Thames) and his friends get reimagined in what’s basically a “What If…?” episode — what if Norman Osborn was Peter Parker’s mentor instead of Tony Stark? — turned into an appealing, series-long reinterpretation of the web-slinger’s origins. Along with Osborn (voiced by an equally warm and chilling Colman Domingo), the supporting cast eschews MJ Watson and Gwen Stacy in favor of Nico Minoru (Grace Song) and Lonnie Lincoln, aka Tombstone (Eugene Byrd) — there’s plenty of new material here to love. The comic-inspired animation style may not be for everyone, but even longtime Spider-Man fans will find something in the show to appreciate. 

Directed by: Sam Raimi  
Written by: Michael Waldron  
 
How many Benedict Cumberbatches is too many Benedict Cumberbatches? “Multiverse of Madness” tests the limit, as the ever-expanding multiverse tosses multiple versions of the (sometimes former) Sorcerer Supreme into chaos. Marvel’s self-declared first horror film — helmed by “Evil Dead” auteur and original “Spider-Man” director Raimi — follows a traumatized, Darkhold-pilled Wanda on a take-no-prisoners mission to use the multiverse to get back to her two sons. Raimi deploys plenty of trippy visual effects, a crash course in multiversal law, plus a handful of introductions (Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez), fan casting (John Krasinski as Reed Richards), and reprises from other universes (Patrick Stewart as Professor X). It’s a lot to take in, and a helluva lot of fun to watch. 

Written and directed by: James Gunn 
 
For this motley crew’s final space adventure, Gunn focuses on the Guardians’ desperate fight to save the life of the irascible Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper, performed on set by Sean Gunn), and finally reveals how a baby raccoon became a foul-mouthed, anthropomorphized weapons genius. If you’re not moved by his heartbreaking backstory — featuring a group of fellow furry friends/prisoners who suffer an even more tragic fate — you might be more wooden than Groot (Vin Diesel). As Gunn’s swan song at Marvel, “Vol. 3” makes an epic final track in his intergalactic mixtape. The dog days might be over, but thankfully the OG Guardians had each other to get through them. 

Written and directed by: James Gunn 
 
Where else can you find Christmas cheer and Drax the Destroyer kidnapping Kevin Bacon other than Gunn’s chaotic corner of the MCU? The “Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” is 42 minutes of so-weird-that-it-works yuletide merriment and superhero fun, and it finally gives Pom Klementieff room to show off her comedic chops as Mantis. Gunn’s special delivers more enjoyment than many feature-length films; it will be a great present to keep unwrapping every holiday season. 

Directed by: Jon Watts  
Written by: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers  
 
The world is finally recovering in the first post-Blip film, sending Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and his classmates to Europe for some much-needed R&R. But vacation gets complicated when elemental monsters start attacking, forcing Peter to choose between his crush on MJ and living up to Tony Stark’s legacy. The film shines through Peter’s dynamic duos — whether it’s a charming bromance (and eventual betrayal) with Jake Gyllenhaal’s disgruntled ex-Stark employee in a fishbowl helmet, or a sweet moment of truth with Zendaya’s MJ. Packed with high school charm and international backdrops, it’s a young, fresh start to the MCU’s next chapter.  

Created by: Jonathan Igla 
 
“Hawkeye,” which premiered the day before Thanksgiving in 2021, is perfect holiday viewing, as it’s set in New York City during Christmastime, and shows the city in its fullest, cozy-feeling yuletide splendor. (Though it was partly shot in Atlanta — because Marvel — “Hawkeye” is among the MCU’s Disney+ offerings that has an actual sense of place.) As one of the Avengers, Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton/Hawkeye character has pretty much been an also-ran, so the fact that he’s so charming here was a hugely fun surprise. Beyond the paternal chemistry between Clint and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) — who witnessed Hawkeye’s heroics during the Battle of New York as a kid, and was inspired by him to become an expert archer — the six-episode “Hawkeye” has so much going for it. Florence Pugh explodes with personality as Yelena Belova. Vincent D’Onofrio makes his menacing return as Kingpin. Linda Cardellini as Clint’s wife, Laura, actually gets to do cool stuff. There’s a Broadway musical number about Captain America. And of course, there’s Lucky the Pizza Dog, the one-eyed stray that Clint ends up adopting. Do yourselves a favor around Thanksgiving this year: Watch “Hawkeye.” It’s cozy AF! (Note: The person who wrote this entry feels it should be higher in the ranking, since it’s one of the only Marvel shows for Disney+ that doesn’t fall apart in its final few episodes, but she was overruled by an evil, Thanos-like villain.) 

Directed by: Ryan Coogler 
Written by: Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole 
 
Originally, Coogler planned to build his follow-up to “Black Panther” around Wakanda’s confrontation with the underwater kingdom of Talokan, a South American civilization that escaped to the ocean during the age of European colonization, as led by the vengeful, god-like Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía). But when the original film’s soul-stirring star, Chadwick Boseman, died unexpectedly in 2020, Coogler and Marvel decided they could only move forward if Boseman’s iconic character, T’Challa, died too. To the enormous credit of the cast and filmmakers, they channel their own unfathomable grief into a giant studio production, earning Angela Bassett Marvel’s first acting Oscar nomination in the process. The result is also, at times, ungainly, forcing Letitia Wright’s Shuri to awkwardly pivot from the first film’s effervescent sidekick to the sequel’s mournful center. But when so many wannabe blockbusters feel hollow and cynical, “Wakanda Forever” taps into deep wells of grief and fury, with a gentle ending that still packs a wallop. 

Directed by: Joe Johnston 
Written by: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely 
 
Whether he’s a skinny twerp or a hunky adonis, Chris Evans’ superpower is his ability to make Steve Rogers’ uncomplicated decency genuinely thrilling to witness — a quality that Johnston extends into just about every frame of this movie. Upon rewatch, it’s easy to understand why Steve is so devoted to Bucky in the years to come, and why he falls so hard for Hayley Atwell’s captivating Peggy Carter. At the time it opened, however, the first “Captain America” movie was seen as kinda square: an aw-shucks WWII picture starring the guy who already played a Marvel hero (i.e. the rakish Johnny Storm) in the aughts. Today, it’s clear that this film is the beating heart of the early MCU. 

Directed by: Destin Daniel Cretton 
Written by: Dave Callaham, Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Lanham 
 
Not only did “Shang-Chi” give Marvel a sorely missed Asian lead character and some killer frenetic kung-fu fight scenes, it had an emotional father-son story and breakout role for Simu Liu. He plays a relatable, reluctant hero moving on from his dark past in a corner of the MCU that hadn’t been explored before — from fighting on a busy San Francisco bus to riding a mythical Chinese dragon. Perhaps most impressively, it redeemed the Mandarin with Tony Leung’s top-tier performance as one of the MCU’s best villains. 

Directed by: Shawn Levy 
Written by: Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, Shawn Levy 
 
The MCU has never experienced so many f-bombs, sex jokes or X-Men until Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman bulldozed the fourth wall down in this third “Deadpool” film (after the first two were released by the pre-Disneyfied 20th Century Fox). Reynolds fires off 1,000 jokes per minute about his new corporate boss, comic book lore, various euphemisms for cocaine and sex acts, Ryan Reynolds — and much, much more. Meanwhile, Jackman’s resurrected Wolverine scowls and slashes throats in the MCU’s first gloriously gory R-rated movie. Sure, there is some questionable time travel and probably too many pop-culture references, but “Deadpool & Wolverine” (cue Channing Tatum’s Gambit drawl) sure makes a name for itself. 

Created by: Jac Schaeffer 
 
Kathryn Hahn was such a gas as scheming witch Agatha Harkness on “WandaVision” that Marvel built a spin-off series around her, and Schaeffer, who also created “WandaVision,” makes the absolute most of the opportunity. Deftly drawn equally from comic book lore and the writers’ own fertile imaginations, “Agatha All Along” spins an enchanting (sorry) tale, as Agatha gathers a highly reluctant coven of witches — including Joe Locke’s Billy Maximoff, Patti LuPone’s Lilia Calderu and Sasheer Zamata’s Jennifer Kale — to walk the legendary Witches’ Road and reclaim their power. As the show slowly peels back Agatha’s origin story, it also puckishly explores the ways pop-culture has commodified witchery as a metaphor for so-called “difficult women.” Also, Aubrey Plaza plays Agatha’s ex, Death — which, yes, makes this show the gayest thing Marvel’s done by a country mile, and about damn time, too! 

Directed by: Joss Whedon 
Written by: Joss Whedon, Zak Penn 
 
“The Avengers” is the all-star film that was — ambitiously, perhaps even fecklessly! — promised by the first-ever MCU post-credits scenes in its first-ever movie, 2008’s “Iron Man.” In retrospect, the plot of “The Avengers” is a bit of a mess, and after what we’ve learned about Loki since, feels almost too low stakes to be the story of thee first “Avengers” movie: Loki steals the Tesseract, and the Avengers who’d been introduced during Marvel’s Phase One have to, uh, assemble in order to prevent the alien race the Chitauri Loki has conscripted to conquer Earth. But what truly sets “The Avengers” apart is the Battle of New York, the 30-minute, non-stop action sequence the movie builds to, in the shadow of Stark Tower, as the Chitauri attack. Few sequences would become as important to the overall Avengers’ arc as this canonical battle, with its fallout lasting (in a realistic touch) through “Endgame” and beyond (see: “Hawkeye”). And when Whedon’s camera circles the Hulk, Hawkeye, Thor, Black Widow and Captain America — with Iron Man landing in the middle of the group — that chills-inducing moment became immediately iconic. 

Directed by: Jon Watts 
Written by: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers 
 
After his winsome introduction in “Civil War,” Tom Holland swings into the MCU with a flurry of awkward teen energy and an MVP assist from Robert Downey Jr. The supporting cast, like Marisa Tomei as a doting Aunt May, Zendaya as a sardonic MJ, Michael Keaton as the sinister Vulture and Jacob Batalon as Peter’s best bud Ned, elevate this not-quite-an-origin story into a stellar coming-of-age tale worthy of comparison to the John Hughes classics that inspired Watts. Peter walking into his homecoming date’s house, only to realize her dad is the Vulture, remains one of the MCU’s very best twists. 

Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo 
Written by: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely 
 
They say no one wins when the family feuds, but Marvel fans certainly got a treat in the form of this massive team-up movie. The clash of the Avengers — divided by a debate over superheroes’ civil liberties with one faction led by Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and the other by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) — is full of high-flying action (the spectacular airport fracas) that is grounded by great character moments, including the introductions of Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa and Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. A prime example of the tonal swings the Russo brothers manage to make a meal of: Holland’s Spidey entering the fray amid the Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and the Winter Soldier’s (Sebastian Stan) soon-to-be trademarked bickering. For all “Civil War’s” lightness, though, its core story of brotherhood and betrayal is what stands apart — ultimately culminating in a sorrowful final battle between Iron Man, Bucky and Cap that alters their dynamics forever. 

Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo  
Written by: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely  
 
Oh snap, the gang’s all here! Thanos, collecting the universe’s deadliest rock collection, brings a decade’s worth of characters together in an epic, intergalactic showdown. Again and again, we watch our heroes fail but never give up in the face of Thanos’ relentless campaign, in a series of expertly staged action sequences that push everyone to their limits — only for half of them to disintegrate in one of the boldest, most gut-wrenching cliffhangers in cinema history. If only Thor had gone for the head… 

Written and directed by: James Gunn 
 
For his second go ’round with his band of space misfits, Gunn went deeper and weirder, securing his stature as one of the rare auteurs to flourish within the Marvel system. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) reunites with his biological father, Ego the Living Planet (a perfectly cast Kurt Russell), the screwed up sisterhood between Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) reaches a major turning point, and Rocket, Groot and Yondu (Michael Rooker) have some icky fun with a random eyeball. It’s a shaggier movie than the first, leading to what may be the MCU’s most gut-wrenching one-two-three punch, when Quill learns the true fate of his mother and then has to watch his father die — twice. Just thinking about the final tableau, with the Guardians watching a Ravager funeral as Cat Stevens’ “Father and Son” plays on Quill’s new Zune, is enough to bring us to tears. 

Created by: Michael Waldron 
 
From “Thor” to “Endgame,” Loki became just about everyone’s favorite Marvel bad guy, a delightful rapscallion whose trickster machinations were always doomed to fail. But over its two narratively trippy, visually arresting seasons, “Loki” allowed its title character to reshape himself into something much greater. As Loki navigated the timeline monitoring bureaucracy of the Time Variance Authority, Tom Hiddleston deepened his performance by expertly dissecting his character’s toxic narcissism. In a universe devoted to heroism, this was one of the MCU’s most stirring stories ever. 

Directed by: Taika Waititi 
Written by: Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, Christopher L. Yost 
 
The “Thor” films were some of the weakest in the MCU — until “Thor: Ragnarok” came around. Chris Hemsworth finally got a haircut, but more importantly, he got to be weird — and made “Thor” fun again, as director Taika Waititi gave the franchise the offbeat, stylish jolt it badly needed. Between a foxy Jeff Goldblum as the conniving Grandmaster, a fierce Tessa Thompson as the disillusioned warrior Valkyrie, and a ferocious Cate Blanchett as Thor and Loki’s forsaken sister Hela, “Ragnarok” is Marvel at its most quotable (“He’s a friend from work!”) and rewatchable. 

Directed by: Jon Favreau 
Written by: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway 
 
With four words — “I am Iron Man” — a universe was forged. Christopher Nolan has said that casting Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark was one of the most consequential decisions in cinema history, and we couldn’t agree more. By making the first Marvel Studios film a study of how a genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist turns into a hero, Downey and director Jon Favreau developed the formula for an entire cinematic universe: scrappy good humor, a ton of heart, and an instinct for avoiding anything approaching self-importance.  

Directed by: Jon Watts 
Written by: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers 
 
Tobey. Andrew. Tom. Three generations of web-slingers finally share the screen in what only seemed possible in Spider-Man fans’ wildest dreams. Thanks to Doctor Strange’s wobbly magical mayhem, “No Way Home” fully utilizes the multiverse and pulls many of Sony’s most beloved superheroes — and super-villains — into the MCU for the first time ever. Arriving in theaters while the world was still emerging from the COVID pandemic, “No Way Home” provided the same level of fan gasps, cheers and flung popcorn as “Endgame” — and proved for the first time since lockdown that movies could still conjure that kind of experience. 

Created by: Beau DeMayo 
 
More than 25 years after “X-Men: The Animated Series” ended, the Saturday morning cartoon staple gets a modern continuation that exceeds all expectations, with surprisingly mature storytelling, richly realized characters, and superlative animation. The highpoint of the first season — the surprise attack on the mutant nation of Genosha — is an emotional tour-de-force, at once riveting and deeply political in ways the MCU seldom is. “Most other nations don’t allow a terrorist to be their leader,” someone spits at Magneto early in the episode. Magneto’s devastating reply: “Yet so many allow their leaders to be terrorists.” 

Directed by: Joe and Anthony Russo 
Written by: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely 
 
Only Marvel could make an homage to the paranoid political thrillers of the 1970s and hire Robert Redford to play the villain. “Winter Soldier” is packed with some of the most badass action set-pieces in the history of the MCU — Nick Fury’s roadside ambush, Cap’s elevator brawl — as its story fearlessly rips apart S.H.I.E.L.D. to expose how even our most trusted institutions can be undermined from within. But it’s the saga of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes that makes this movie sing. Hot take: When a battered Steve tells Bucky, brainwashed as the Winter Soldier, “I’m with you till the end of the line,” it’s one of the most (platonically?) romantic lines of 21st century cinema. 

Created by: Jac Schaeffer 
 
Marvel Studios’ first TV series was released amid the pandemic, and the communal (albeit, isolated) experience of watching each week represented the promise of what the MCU’s small screen output could be. At first, “WandaVision” unfolded as a quirky homage to classic sitcoms by way of the domestic life of Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany’s Vision. But it soon evolved into a profound exploration of the power of grief — an emotion the audience was all too familiar with at the time — leaving a lasting imprint of how comic book stories can speak to our real lives. Bonus points for the deft direction by TV veteran Matt Shakman (“Game of Thrones,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) who seamlessly modulated the MCU’s magic into an array of TV formats through the decades. 

Directed by: James Gunn 
Written by: James Gunn, Nicole Perlman 
 
The first “Guardians” movie was a delightful departure for the MCU, based on characters even Marvel comics fans had barely heard of. Gunn infused irreverent humor and deep emotional stakes into the story of how the power of friendship and the love of 1960s and ’70s bangers can defeat evil. Add in the loyal, full-of-heart, genetically engineered raccoon Rocket; the “we are Groot” sacrifice by the sentient tree Groot; and Peter’s terrible dancing to “O-o-h Child” to distract big bad Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), and you get a thoroughly original film that demonstrates what the MCU could do beyond its core set of superheroes. It’s the first Marvel tearjerker! 

Directed by: Ryan Coogler 
Written by: Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole 
 
Anchored by the late Chadwick Boseman’s career-defining performance as T’Challa, the MCU’s first Black-led superhero movie will be remembered as a towering cultural moment — symbolized by the battle cry “Wakanda Forever” and crossed-armed salute, as well as its $1.3 billion box office gross and historic best picture Oscar nomination. What solidifies the film among the greats is Coogler’s incisive take on the material; when stripped of is superpowered elements, the story’s primary theme — a newly-installed leader grapples with how to be a good king and a good man —resonates more deeply every year. Case in point: Even as he defeats the coup orchestrated by his malignantly rageful cousin, Erik Killmonger (an electric Michael B. Jordan), T’Challa knows that his enemy’s conviction that Wakanda could do far more for the African diaspora is the right one. 

Directed by: Joe and Anthony Russo 
Written by: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely 
 
“Endgame” stands as the culmination of a singular creative achievement: 11 years of interconnected big screen storytelling, writ as large as moviemaking can get. The Russos and their regular screenwriter collaborators Markus and McFeely take full advantage of the history of the MCU with a time heist plotline that has the core six Avengers — along with assists from Rhodey, Rocket, Ant-Man and Nebula — hopscotching through several previous Marvel films to reconstruct the Infinity Gauntlet and reverse Thanos’ victory in “Infinity War.” The epic final battle, assembling (almost) every single MCU character to date, delivers a litany of exhilarating, goosebump-inducing narrative payoffs that had audiences across the planet erupting in deafening cheers. We love this 3,000.