Ranking the Entire Marvel Cinematic Universe (Secret Invasion Update)

Stoney Keeley ranks all 32 offerings from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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I am a complete Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) junkie. In fact, our resident film critic Brandon Vick has hassled me in the past, saying I won’t go see a movie in theaters unless it’s Marvel. He’s not entirely wrong, but I have seen at least six different movies in theaters in the last few months. So, I have that going for me.

Anyway, the idea to go back and rank every MCU property from 41 to 1 was born out of pure rage. I read some guy’s ranking years ago, and when I saw Captain America: The First Avenger was HIS NUMBER ONE, I could hardly stand it. You want to talk about being triggered in the inaccurate, lazy, insensitive-to-folks-with-actual-mental-health-issues sense – that was me. I was ready to fight this man.

So, I put pen to paper…errr….finger to keyboard, and decided to put my own list out there to combat the evil of suggesting the first Captain America movie is actually good. No offense or anything if you actually liked that movie and think it is legitimately the greatest Marvel movie of all time, of course. Nothing but respect…really…

But, I learned a couple of things about myself. One, I realized my feelings about a lot of these movies have changed over time. For instance, I used to think it would NOT get any better than The Avengers. I was never a big Iron Man guy, but after re-ranking this list, I think I have some sort of subconscious bias against him. Do I hate the character? Maybe.

One thing I didn’t realize is how much this whole universe has gotten better with age. Looking at Phase 1 in comparison to Phase 4 is mind-boggling, and you’ll find that the more recent Marvel movies take up a lot of real estate at the top of my list. Enjoy – or don’t. Maybe you’ll be enraged by my list and will make one of your own. At least share it with me – I love reading that shit. By the way, we’re up to 41 properties now rated! 41 properties! How does Marvel expect us NOT to get Marvel fatigue?!?!

Ranking the Entire Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Bad

43. Iron Man 3 – I tried, guys. I tried. After some of the SoBros team told me they enjoyed Iron Man 3, it convinced me to give it another shot. I couldn’t do it – turned it off at the scene where they arrive in Miami. There was just way too much going on, and it was way too hokey – didn’t like the stuff with the kid in Tennessee. I don’t even mind the Mandarin swerve because of how phenomenal Ben Kingsley is – but there’s too many elements of this movie that are cringe-worthy for my liking. I tried to give it a fair shake – just doesn’t do it for me.

42. Thor: The Dark World – The only other MCU movie that I would deem bad enough to not watch again. Malekith is such a badass in the comics, and it felt like his dark elves were defeated relatively easily. This is another one that just doesn’t hold up well.

41. Captain America: The First Avenger – It was boring. Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull was underwhelming. It felt like they literally just made this movie so they could get to The Avengers. I recently re-watched this one and stand by my initial take.

40. The Incredible Hulk – I don’t recommend watching this one again. At the time, I thought it fit in perfectly with the other MCU flicks. Watching it in 2019 and seeing Ed Norton as Hulk completely took me out of it. It feels like a standalone story now.

39. Thor: Love and Thunder – A bona fide disappointment given where you’ll find I ranked Thor: Ragnarok. It was a tonal mess, and they’re really banking on you giving a damn about the Jane Foster character after we haven’t seen her in nearly 10 years. Not to mention, she was one of the worst-written characters in the MCU to begin with. No one deserved a mulligan like Jane Foster. I love Taika Waititi’s style, but damn, I felt like I was being bashed over the head with the humor in this movie. That said, I don’t want it to sound like I totally hated this movie – there was still plenty of fun to be had. Russell Crowe and the magnificent Christian Bale were real highlights of the film for me. And, that Hercules casting? *chef’s kiss*

The ‘Meh’

38. What If? – I really enjoyed the animation style of What If?, but honestly, they leaned way too far into the multiverse stuff for me (which is the first time I stopped and thought, “hey..if this shit gets too cumbersome to follow, they might start losing some people…“). I like my heroes and villains the way they are – seeing ’em all different….I don’t know how to explain it…it just took me out of the story…almost as if the whole thing was just a dream or something. I caught myself forgetting that What If? had a new episode out a couple of weeks. Just didn’t do it for me.

37. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – TFATWS followed up WandaVision, and felt like a much more straightforward action story. If that’s your thing, then you probably enjoyed it a lot more than I did. But, part of what made WandaVision so fun was the suspense and mystery we were left with from week to week. TFATWS didn’t have that, so in speaking honestly and openly, it just didn’t do it for me as much. That said, I loved that it touched on some pretty serious and heavy subject matter. It had a depth that a lot of the early MCU stuff didn’t have, and the journey we go on with Sam from the beginning of the show to the season finale is a lot of fun.

36. Eternals – There was some freaking Oscar hype for this movie before it was released, so I’m thinking it’s no wonder that some of y’all were disappointed by it – if you’re expecting Nomadland and get this, well then yeah…that’ll do it. Was it the slowest MCU movie yet? Maybe. But, I actually found it to be quite enjoyable in how far removed it was from the rest of the MCU. It felt like a singular story that was simple in how we just consumed it without speculating on the next WILD cameo. Kind of like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings before it, I went into this one knowing absolutely nothing about the characters involved. At times, I caught myself thinking, “there are way too many new characters in this one to develop adequately,” and that made it feel a little hollow to me. But, all in all, I enjoyed what felt like a solid standalone story that set up some pretty big things for the future of the MCU.

35. Secret Invasion – How much do you weigh the ending of a show compared to the journey it took to get there? That’s the question to me when we’re talking about Secret Invasion. First of all, no one watched this thing. Marvel poured over $200M into this thing, and the internet just didn’t seem to give a shit at all. I was on it from the first week, and honestly, at a time when this multiverse shit was taking over, I welcome the idea of a more grounded story. That’s what this series was at the start – an espionage thriller, not a world-building opportunity just to set up the next movie. I found the first five episodes to be quite refreshing – Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, and Kingsley Ben-Adir were all fantastic additions to the MCU. But, man, that finale just stunk to high heavens. I have criticized Marvel for producing their films and shows in a manner that suggests they’re just checking boxes off of a list…that’s exactly what the finale felt like. They had a few different plot points going, so they just came in, tied up all the loose ends, and got the hell out of there. It was the most unsatisfying way they could’ve resolved the show, and it really left a sour taste in my mouth. This was a solid middle-of-the-road Marvel series that plummeted down the rankings after the finale for me.

34. Avengers: Age of Ultron – How do you waste the talents of James Spader like this? Ultron had so much potential, but was such a dud. I’m moving this one from the ‘Bad’ category to ‘Meh’ after a recent conversation with friend of the brand, Zach.

33. Iron Man 2 – This one was nearly in the bad category for me, but I belong in the minority of people who actually liked Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash. Plus, Sam Rockwell was stellar as Justin Hammer.

32. Hawkeye – If this wasn’t a festive Christmas series, I don’t know that I would’ve liked it as much. That, the Kingpin reveal (spoiler alert, oops), and Yelena Belova were the highlights of the show for me. Otherwise, it was fine. Nothing revelatory. But, it was fine enough.

The Good

31. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special – Thoroughly entertaining, funny, light…it tugs on the heart strings…has a great soundtrack. But, maybe it was just a bit too light…dare I say, inconsequential. Nonetheless, I’ll be adding this to the regular holiday rotation every December.

30. Thor – A rather simple comic book story, but a fun one. Plus, LOKI. 5/22 UPDATE: Yeah, guys – I know I really need to flesh out some of these listings. I’ll get around to it one day.

29. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law – You had me. You really had me…all the way up until that finale. I am so surprised that so many people actually loved it, so I guess I’m one of the outliers here. But, that’s not to say the series as a whole didn’t have its redeeming qualities. I rather enjoyed it, actually – the casting of Tatiana Maslany is one of Marvel’s biggest hits, the show felt very true to the spirit of the comics, and it brought a refreshing style to the MCU that no other project has. It was a true sitcom in my book, and each episode felt like a brisk reading of a She-Hulk comic. The cameos were so much fun. I loved how they tackled Abomination and Daredevile. All in all, it was a ton of fun. I don’t even hate the idea of how the series ended – it just felt a little too off the rails, and a little too contrived…on the nose, even….like whoever wrote it was thinking, “ha! we’ll show those internet nerds with this one!” It took me out of the moment big time.

28. Spider-Man: No Way Home – I know I’m going to get absolutely grilled for this ranking. And, maybe this is a byproduct of all the hype this movie got prior to its release, with people calling it “the greatest Marvel movie ever.” Or, hey – maybe it’s because I’m not as big of a Spider-Man mark as the rest of the internet. I don’t know – but the bottom line is that I just, plain and simply, did not think it was as life-changing as the rest of y’all. It was just too much. I mean, damn – it relied on nostalgia instead of introducing new characters, and I think it lacked a quality of depth to it because of that. I know it sounds like I hated it – I didn’t. It was sheer entertainment, and being in the theater for some of the big surprises was great. But, I left unsure if it wasn’t the worst of the three MCU Spider-Man films. *shrugs* 5/22 UPDATE: The more I think about it, the more I have very little desire to ever sit down and watch this movie again. *shrugs more*

27. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – It was mind-bending, horrific, and enthralling. I loved some of the Sam Raimi touch, and I loved that Marvel was really willing to take a chance in dialing up the violence in this one. I was afraid it was going to get a little too wild, but the story really stayed focused on Dr. Strange, Wanda, and America Chavez. That was well done – the cameos were dialed in and impactful. But, I just can’t get over some of the trash ass dialogue. It took me out of the story at times, and that’s what separates this one from the MCU’s elite.

26: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Brandon and I did a full review of this one over on The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. I have some complicated feelings about this one. On one hand, it was a beautifully acted tribute to Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther, and featured some incredibly emotional moments. On the other, they didn’t lean into that enough – there was too much fluff, and it certainly felt like Marvel started checking boxes for all of those formulaic things that make Marvel movies Marvel movies.

25. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – Ultimately, some major swings and misses took me a little too far out of the moment to get over in Quantumania, but I still left the theater feeling that same satisfied feeling I used to with the early iterations of the MCU. I’m excited about the future of the Multiverse Saga, especially if they truly are slowing the release schedule to allow time for each project to shine on its own. In a way, Marvel got back to basics with this one – they’re back on track to telling a larger story without sprawling out in a million different plot lines to set up future projects. Rudd was fantastic. Majors was fantastic. This felt like peak campy Marvel.

24. Ant-Man and the Wasp – It felt a little rushed at times, but this was the perfect change of pace after the heavy Infinity War. Bonus points for the introduction of Ghost.

23. Black Widow – I was surprised by how much I thoroughly enjoyed Black Widow – it’s not necessarily an origin story, though we do finally learn a lot about the character’s past. The action sequences were grounded and crisp. I loved the introduction of Yelena Belova and the Red Guardian. Didn’t really mind what they did with the Taskmaster character, and loved the idea of getting back to a villain who is just an evil piece of shit that wants to take over the world. It was well worth the wait, in my opinion….an A+ action movie.

22. Iron Man – The story that started it all is still worth revisiting from time to time. The MCU wouldn’t have happened without Robert Downey Jr..

21. The Avengers – Hulk smashing Loki around remains one of the most iconic scenes in MCU history, but in hindsight, this one lacked the depth that today’s MCU flicks have.

20. Spider-Man: Homecoming – Vulture remains one of my favorite MCU villains to date. This one was a ton of fun.

The Great

19. Captain Marvel – I wasn’t that high on Captain Marvel when it first came out. I called it a “standard issue origin story.” But, after re-watching it several times and finding myself enjoying it more and more, I’ve caught myself bumping it up the list. Talos is one of the most interesting and complex characters in the MCU.

18. Ant-Man – Paul Rudd kills it. Evangeline Lilly kills it. This one was a big time fun surprise. I recently re-watched this one, and consider it one of the funniest MCU movies to date, too. The humor holds up well.

17. Spider-Man: Far From Home – You can’t go wrong with Jake Gyllenhaal, and the little twist they put on Mysterio was well done.

16. Ms. Marvel – This one was a real surprise to me. I went into it completely dark, having not read a single issue of Ms. Marvel in my life. I didn’t know where it was going or what it would be dealing with, and maybe that was the best thing I could’ve done. Iman Vellani was radiant as Ms. Marvel, but I loved the style with which this show was presented more than anything else.

15. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 – Man, Marvel needed this one after a run of what I’d call subpar theatrical releases. Vol. 3 had all of the charm, humor, heart, and soul that we’ve come to expect from this franchise – and, of course, the tunes to go with it – but they dialed up the heartfelt emotion to 11 by finally digging into Rocket’s origin story. I was crying during every flashback scene, and I make no apologies for it. As we’ve seen throughout Phase 4 and Phase 5 so far, the MCU continues to say its farewells (for now) to some character, and transition towards a new future…gotta keep that 30-year plan on track, after all. Vol. 3 is no different, but it’s all handled with a nice touch and clear care for the characters. I loved the introduction of Adam Warlock, and think it’s going to be fun to watch his character development, as different as it may be from its source material, as he becomes the badass that comic book readers know he can be. The High Evolutionary was a dastardly, albeit one-dimensional, villain. Marvel departs from its recent trend of villains you can actually understand and relate to in order to go back to having a flat out terrible and evil being serve as antagonist. All in all, Vol. 3 is a hark back to the golden run that Marvel was on leading up to the conclusion of The Infinity Saga.

14. Werewolf by Night – What an immersive and enthralling standalone tale that is absolutely perfect for Spooky Season. I understand that some wanted more out of this story, and it was probably a much different experience for those watching who had never heard of this character before. But, liked it – I didn’t need too much character exploration – just give me a fun little plot, Man-Thing, and a knockout casting like Gael García Bernal. This character has its roots in the old Marvel horror stuff, and this show felt like a nice homage to those old Universal Monsters flicks. Instead of wanting a little more substance, I came away from this intrigued by how they’ll integrate these characters into the larger MCU. With lore tied to Moon Knight, Dracula, Doctor Strange, and the Darkhold, I’d imagine we’re going to be building out that mystic side of the MCU a little bit. Regardless, I’m going to need a Halloween special like this every October, please and thank you.

13. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 – I loved Kurt Russell’s Ego and the soundtrack…just…*chef’s kiss* magnificent.

12. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Announcing the Winter Soldier as the next CA villain raised some eyebrows at the time, but it worked so beautifully well. Bucky is one of the most complex characters in the MCU.

11. Loki – Marvel is really bringing the heat with their latest efforts on the cosmic side of the MCU. I can’t get enough of the Loki character, and this series really added some depth to him. It was similar to WandaVision because of how captivating the story was and how it had me on the edge of my seat wondering wtf was going on each and every week. Owen Wilson was brilliant comic relief too, and we were introduced to the next big bad in the MCU. It was one wild ass thrill ride.

The Top 10

10. Moon Knight – I don’t get the criticisms of this show at all. I know a lot of folks wanted more of Moon Knight, and I get it…we gotta have at least a little ass-kicking in our Marvel movies, but to me, I loved the character work with Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke. Fantastic depth. Fantastic acting. A fantastic story that stood on its own. I’m so happy they let this one really breathe over the course of six episodes, and didn’t tie it to the larger MCU at all. I loved the two suits. I loved the Scarlet Scarab reveal. I wasn’t mad at all about the deviations from the source material they took. It’s hard for me to poke any holes in this one at all, come to think of it. Sue me.

9. Doctor Strange – I wasn’t sure how this was going to go over, but it was an excellent escape from the MCU norm. Benedict Cumberbatch absolutely murders the role of Stephen Strange.

8. Captain America: Civil War – It was one of the more emotionally tense MCU movies, and we had an epic battle between all of the superheroes – what more could you ask for?!?!

7. WandaVision – I dare say WandaVision is the most delightful surprise of the MCU. The way the show dives into Wanda’s history, her trauma, and ultimately, her true power is just Grade A character building. This show did for Wanda what Thor: Ragnarok did for Thor. Just fun, brilliant stuff.

6. Avengers: Endgame – I give Infinity War the edge over Endgame because it’s not quite as heavy. Avengers: Endgame requires a time and emotional investment. But, there’s no denying it’s a satisfying payoff to 11 years of storytelling.

5. Avengers: Infinity War – I wouldn’t have put Infinity War here right after seeing it. But, years later, and I’m singing a different tune. It’s the most watchable movie in the entire MCU in that you can just walk in and enjoy it no matter what part it’s at.

The Mount Rushmore

4. Guardians of the Galaxy – The first Guardians movie showed that Marvel can pretty much put anything out, regardless of whether the average Joe is familiar with it or not, and it’ll be gold.

3. Black Panther – What a great portrayal of this criminally underrated character. Loved Killmonger as the villain, loved the fight scenes, loved the mythology of Wakanda. Ryan Coogler did it justice.

2. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – What an absolutely breathtaking and incredible surprise. There was never a dull moment in this one. I really enjoyed what Brandon had to say about this one, and we did a full-blown podcast episode on it if you want more Shang-Chi content. I thought it was damn near the perfect comic book movie. It was action-packed with a sympathetic hero, touched on the mystic arts a bit, had A+ comic relief, a complex and interesting villain, some fun surprises along the way, and major implications for the MCU moving forward. Simu Liu fits Shang-Chi like a glove, but Awkwafina was a real scene-stealer. This story had elements of fantasy, but was really grounded in the relationships of our characters. I could go on and on – this was an instant classic.

1. Thor: Ragnarok – To me, Thor: Ragnarok has it all – epic action, great character development, humor, excellent villains, and it’s visually stunning. I’m a big time Thor guy, so I was ecstatic to see Taika Waititi correct course for this franchise that was lookin’ a little iffy after Thor: The Dark World. He knocked it out of the park with the God of Thunder. Send me your thots in the comments, folks.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley

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