Marvel has, in the span of 30 movies, set the standard for the superhero genre. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or the MCU, officially started in 2008 with the release of Iron Man. That kicked off what would come to be known as Phase One, which ended with The Avengers in 2012. Since then, more phases have come and gone:
- Phase Two began with Iron Man 3 (2013) and ended with Ant Man (2015).
- Phase Three began with Captain America: Civil War (2016) and ended with Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019).
- Phase Four began with Black Widow (2021) and ended with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2021).
It’s been announced that Phase Five will begin with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) and end with Blade (2024). As for Phase Six, that starts with Deadpool 3 (2024) and ends with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (2025) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2026). This will also end the Multiverse Saga.
With that many movies already made and quite a few more in the works, I think now is a good time to rank them all from worst to best.
SPOILER ALERT: I will be talking about the movies and may describe what happens! Keep in mind that this is my ranking, which may or may not line up with yours or that of the internet or large. You and I may have differing opinions. And it’s ok to be wrong!
31. Eternals (2021)
Marvel’s Eternals was heavily criticized by viewers due to its slow pacing, lack of action, and paucity of character development. I also felt the movie was too long, and the plot lacked focus or direction. Despite its amazing cast (including Kit Harington, Richard Madden, Selma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie, to name a few), it didn’t have much more to offer viewers. On the other hand, its unique visual effects and exploration of themes like family, identity, and human mortality were praised by critics and viewers alike.
Overall, Eternals could have been more focused, and the characters could have been given more time to develop. A few more action scenes would have been great as well. Big waste of a fantastic cast.
30. Black Widow (2021)
Black Widow was an attempt to close out Natasha Romanoff’s storyline, but I was not impressed with it. The CGI is pretty bad and the plot is just not that interesting. The opening scene was actually really good and teased a promising story, but they could not follow through with it. I loved seeing Rachel Weisz, though.
29. Iron Man 2 (2010)
This movie was a little disappointing to me. I’m not one to actively avoid movies, but I make a point not to rewatch it.
Iron Man 2 is a really sad follow-up to the first movie, Iron Man. The plot and characters are very predictable. The movie basically serves as a means to introduce Black Widow. It had some potential, but ultimately doesn’t stand on its own. It feels more like an advertisement for The Avengers than an entertaining movie in and of itself.
28. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
The Incredible Hulk was praised for its action sequences, visual effects, and exploration of Bruce Banner’s internal turmoil, with Edward Norton being praised for his work in the title role. But the movie lacks depth and relies on CGI a bit too much.
Also, some felt the movie was too short and that the story was underdeveloped, the action sequences too tame, and the overall tone of the film too dark and brooding. According to the crew, Edward Norton was also hard to work with, which may have been one of the reasons the part of Bruce Banner was later recast with Mark Ruffalo, which worked well for the MCU.
27. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
The Dark World is not a bad movie…but I had to rewatch it and see Tom Hiddleston to remember what happened. The main villain, Malekith the Accursed, is very forgettable. The only important plot point in the movie is that Frigga, Thor’s mom, dies to save Jane, Thor’s love interest. Jane also got on my nerves a smidge, too.
Yeah, this is just an “if you want to watch Tom Hiddleston, watch this” kind of movie.
