The Marvel Cinematic Universe Ranked

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the world's biggest franchises and shows no signs of slowing down. What sets the MCU apart from different franchises is its continuity and the ability to have amazing characters come together in different ways. I'm a huge fan of Marvel Studios, so I decided to compile a list of my top MCU movies, TV shows, and more. 

41. Inhumans

Inhumans is one of the worst shows I've seen, everything about it is just awful. The acting, the writing, the designs, the special effects, the choreography, the editing. In every episode, I was able to point out major issues with the production of the show. It didn't help that this mess of a show debuted on IMAX so that audiences everywhere could see the dreadful special effects on a huge screen. Looking back, I can only think of a single thing this show did right and that was a 5-second special effect of Blackbolt flipping a car with just a whisper. Everything else was terribly lazy and ineffective. I consider this to be Marvel's first true flop and unfortunately, this show probably killed the royal family for years to come. 

40. Iron Fist

As far as TV shows go, Iron Fist wasn’t awful. However, it was still pretty bad. Danny Rand was nothing but a little kid who constantly was throwing temper tantrums to get his way. I understand that Danny was still a kid in many ways and the writers were probably trying to express that, but it was handled very poorly. It didn’t help that the action scenes were so poorly choreographed that it was hard to understand what was going on. The worst part was how awful the pacing was; this caused many fans to stop before they reached episode 4. Hopefully, after the events of The Defenders, Danny will finally grow up and start winning the hearts of audiences. One thing is for sure though, Scott Buck needs to stay away from Marvel Television. 

39. All Hail The King

After the huge backlash of the Mandarin twist in Iron Man 3, Marvel released this to help settle fan's fears. The short film was boring and Ben Kingsley was just as painful to watch as he was in Iron Man 3. All Hail The King tried to make up for Iron Man 3's mistake but ended up just teasing the audience with something that we will probably never get to see. 

38. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Slingshot

This mini web series had much of the original cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. but lacked everything that made the show good. The action scenes were awful, the writing wasn't well below average, and they took a great character and gave her this crap instead of an episode dedicated to her. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. at its worst.

37. Agent Carter Season 2

What started off as a great show quickly took a turn for the worst. Although the new setting and lack of Captain America was refreshing, the weak story and bad acting couldn’t save the season. Hawley Atwell and Dominic Cooper shine as always, but the rest of the characters aren’t that great and feel very one-dimensional. I wish the writers of the show were given one more season to try and find their footing but unfortunately, the show was canceled before it could rise to greatness.

36. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Season 1

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1 may please fans of the MCU, but overall it is extremely boring. The characters felt one-dimensional and although their chemistry was amazing, something was missing. Luckily, the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier drastically improved the show and provided one of the best twists on television. We also got to see Samuel L. Jackson suit up as Nick Fury once again! Whether or not the wait was worth it is up for debate, but Season 1 is overall pretty boring to an average viewer.

35. Thor

I’ll probably get a lot of hate for putting Thor so low on my list, but this film is just a huge miss for me. The story wasn’t anything special, cameos were wasted, and it was overall extremely forgettable. The acting was definitely one of the best parts of the movie, but that’s about it. The fight scenes were boring and the scenes on Earth were either clingy or idiotic. This film would have benefited from fewer characters, more development, and less time on Earth. In my opinion, Thor is the weakest MCU movie to date. However, I have extremely high hopes for Ragnarok!

34. Jessica Jones Season 2

After the amazing first season, Jessica Jones fails to live up to the hype. Season two offered a muddled plot and a disappointing villain. The season felt like it went in circles and spent too much time developing characters and storylines only to ruin it in the worst way. The acting was top-notch, but the script just didn’t work.

34. The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk is often written off as the weird uncle of the MCU. Although the film connected with the larger universe, the role of Bruce Banner was changed from Edward Norton to Mark Ruffalo and the design of The Hulk drastically changed. It didn’t help that several characters were dropped completely and never mentioned again. The film had mediocre CGI and poor acting. There were two action sequences that stood out to me (Culver University and Harlem) but overall the action wasn’t anything special. The theme music was unique, but the rest of the score was nothing special. Luckily the film was fast paced so it wasn’t too boring. Overall, The Incredible Hulk is definitely one of the weaker MCU movies.

33. Thord: The Dark World

I’ll probably get a lot of disagreements from this ranking, but I actually preferred the sequel to the first Thor. The scenes on Earth are much more interesting than the scenes on Asgard, which is a huge problem. Thor: The Dark World has poor writing, acting, execution, and even the action scenes weren’t that great. At least it was better than the first. 

32. Ant-Man and the Wasp

I’ll be honest,  I’ve never been more disappointed in a Marvel movie. This movie had a lot to offer, but unfortunately, the entire movie was shown in the trailers. Throughout the movie, I just keep waiting for something exciting or unexpecting to happen, but I had seen it all. What was left was boring, predictable, and repetitive dialogue. They had even shown one of the post-credit scenes in the trailer! This felt like an early Marvel movie - just filler until the next Avengers movie.

31. Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2’s biggest problem is its focus on world building rather than having a compelling story. The film started off great and slowly descended into a mess, especially with a weak and stereotypical comic book villain. The CGI and acting are still as great as ever, but it can’t save the film from its many problems.

30. Item 47

Item 47 takes place after The Avengers and I think it was a fun way to show how The Battle of New York affected citizens. It had great acting, familiar faces, and foreshadowed how alien tech that rained from the sky could result in bad people getting bad weapons. It was a fun, short film with heart that reminded me of Quinton Tarantino's Pulp Fiction.

29. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2 learned a lot from the mistakes of the first season and immediately fixed them as they amped up the thrills and focused more on characters and what made them interesting. Skye’s transformation into a much more complex character was the season’s highlight. For having the rug literally pulled out from under them when S.H.I.E.L.D collapsed in Captain America: Winter Soldier, the writers did a fantastic job creating almost a new show.

28. Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 focused more on Tony Stark rather than the Iron Man, which was the best part of the movie. Watching Stark deal with anxiety and PTSD issues was a refreshing take on his character. The film was visually stunning but lacked strong writing. I also thought that the big twist completely fell flat. Although I don’t mind that The Mandarin was just an actor, Ben Kingsley did an awful job of bringing Trevor to life and every scene with him not being The Mandarin was painful to watch.

27. Runaways Season 1

One of the best thing about Runaways was the charm, interactions, and chemistry between the main cast. The group of teenagers was diverse without shoving it in your face and each of them had a lot to offer the show without feeling like a waste of space. My biggest complaint with the show is how long it took for the plot to kick off. Season 1 could have easily been compressed down to fewer episodes and wouldn’t have benefited from doing so.

26. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 3

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 3 once again improved upon its previous seasons as it focused more on Inhumans and their impact on the world. Season 3 took a brave new direction for the show and allowed individual characters to stand out more than in Season 1 and 2.

Luke Cage season 2 is very slow and takes a long time to finally kick off. Unfortunately for Luke Cage, he is the least interesting character on the show. His internal struggles are hard to relate to and displayed poorly through more dialogue than character action. Mariah and Shades take the spotlight and steal the show with their complex characters, actions, and amazing acting. Season two is definitely an improvement and gets better as the season goes on. The ending was unexpected, satisfying, and finally makes me want to see more Luke Cage rather than other characters on the show.

24. Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America: The First Avenger had many great performances by Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, and more. The retro vibe felt like a love letter to the original Captain America comics and what they stood for during the time of war. The style of the film was easily the best part, but the writing was lacking a compelling story. The film also skipped past many action scenes via montage, which was annoying and didn’t work as well as expected. The plot and action scenes are nothing special, but it is overall worth a watch.

23. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 expands upon its predecessor and has a decent plot with breathtaking visual effects and cinematography. However, the film mainly focuses on Peter, Ego, Gamora, and Nebula. Rocket and Yondu’s storyline felt extremely forced and Yondu being a good guy came out of nowhere. In the previous film the audience got the message that Yondu was a prick that abused Quill as a child, but suddenly they had a great father-son relationship as if he didn’t put a bounty on his head in the previous film. Also, Drax’s character really bothered me as he went to a noble warrior to comedic (if you can call it that) relief that focused mainly on poop and sex jokes. Overall, it was fun but could have been so much better. At least we got Baby Groot!

22. Doctor Strange

The best part of Doctor Strange was easily its amazing effects and unique action sequences. Strange’s origin story was okay, but the pacing felt off and there was no sense of time. It seemed that Strange became the Sorcerer Supreme after only a few months of training. Benedict Cumberbatch does his best as Stephen Strange but the character isn’t very likable in his first solo movie and a lot of the jokes fall completely flat. Luckily the spectacular special effects make up for its flaws and it is certainly a visual treat.

21. Black Panther

Black Panther had a lot to live up to. Marvel had just released a series of amazing films and Black Panther had to succeed as the first MCU black superhero film as well as keep the hype up for Infinity War. The exploration of the culture and geography of Wakanda was a lot of fun to watch and the movie offered a complex and fantastic villain. My favorite part about the movie was how each character was given their chance to shine and always left you begging for more. Unfortunately, the awful CGI is distracting throughout the entire movie.

20. Avengers: Age of Ultron

The sequel to The Avengers had so much hype surrounding it, but it ultimately failed to overcome its successor. Although the sequel is satisfying, it is very overcrowded. Why did we need that subplot with Black Widow and Hulk? Why did Ultron have to have a quip in every line? Stronger writing and better CGI effects could have helped, but overall who doesn’t like seeing The Avengers on the big screen?

19. Ant-Man

Paul Rudd steals the show as Scott Lang in a fun, relaxed, and entertaining addition to the MCU. The plot seemed rushed and the writing wasn’t the best, but Paul Rudd and the supporting cast pulled through to make the movie the best it could be. I love how the film switches between a superhero and heist movie. Ant-Man also has polished special effects, costumes, and fight scenes that will keep your eyes glued to the screen. Also, who knew you could care so much about an ant? R.I.P. Antony.

18. Agent Carter One Shot

Who doesn't love more Hayley Atwell? She shined in this short film as she kicked ass and fought sexism after World War 2. It was a great way to keep up with the character and tease the future with her involvement in SHIELD. It was so good that ABC decided to turn Agent Carter into a TV show! 

17. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. once again takes its problems from the previous season and improves upon them. Season 4 explored a much darker tone and introduced fan favorites like Ghost Rider and Madam Hydra. This season has so many episodes that stood out and had action sequences and special effects that defined the series. If this streak continues I am beyond excited about Season 5.

16. Agent Carter Season 1

Much like Luke Cage, Agent Carter explores social justice, but this time in the late 1940’s. Hayley Atwell is easily the best part of the show as she fights for women’s rights and kicks a lot of ass on the way. Agent Carter deserved her own story and it was a treat for fans to see a strong woman in a lead role that inspired women everywhere.

15. Luke Cage

After being introduced in Jessica Jones, Luke Cage finally got his chance to shine. The narrative was unique and explored themes that need to be talked about. Luke Cage put a twist on social justice and allowed audiences to learn about the struggles of African Americans. Although the show was anticlimactic and could be cheesy at times, Mike Colter shined as a bulletproof black man in a hoodie. The cultural relevance of this show is something that shines and sets the show apart from other Marvel franchises.

14. Thor: Ragnarok

The visuals were amazing, the comedy was top notch, and Thor is finally given justice. Taika Waititi took the weakest franchise in the MCU and made it relevant again. I thought that comedy often times eliminated the emotional depth of the film, but some can argue that the film was a comedy rather than an action film. Regardless, Thor: Ragnarok introduced some great characters and has a unique 80's theme style that worked surprisingly well for a Thor movie. 

13. The Punisher

The Punisher is everything that I could have wanted in a Punisher TV show. Jon Bernthal was a badass Frank Castle and led the show to greatness alongside fantastic writing, acting, and effects. Marvel and Netflix did not hold back and as a result, we got the bloodiest, goriest, and most gruesome MCU property yet. The beginning was absolutely amazing, the middle was a bit slow, but it was all paid off in the end. 

Side note: I find it strange that Marvel won't let Jessica Jones drop the F-bomb on her Netflix series but allows The Punisher to do so. 

12. The Defenders

Much like The Avengers, The Defenders has so much hype surrounding it because well-defined characters were coming together for all sorts of fun. It might have been a bit confusing for those jumping right in but it was a treat for the fans that have been following these characters since Daredevil’s debut in 2015. The action was spectacular, the acting was top notch, and it was just so much fun seeing characters with such different personalities interact. The hallway/conference room fight scene is one of the best moments of the MCU and had me itching for more. The series’ weakest point was its mediocre villain who never did anything villainous, but the other characters and fantastic writing definitely overpowered Sigourney Weaver’s weak role.

11. Daredevil Season 2

Although Daredevil Season 2 doesn’t top the first season, it is still pretty damn good. The show kept what people loved about the first season and as a result, we got impressive action sequences and scenes ripped straight from the comics. This season also introduced Jon Bernthal as the Punisher and his character was so popular he got his own Netflix show! Although Daredevil Season 2 couldn’t recreate a villain as compelling as Wilson Fisk, it still was an impressive season.

10. Guardians of the Galaxy

Everyone thought that Guardians of the Galaxy would be Marvel’s first flop. After all, it did have a talking tree and raccoon. However, James Gunn blew everyone away with this comedic and action-packed movie that is full of heart. Much like Jon Favreau, Gunn paved the way for Marvel’s cosmic universe and brought to life unique planets, creatures, and more, all with impressive CGI. Who can forget Awesome Mix Vol. 1?

9. Captain America: Civil War

So many characters, so little time. Captain America: Civil War balanced its characters extremely well and allowed each character to have their moment to shine. The film explored some thought-provoking scenes and had enough action to get everyone talking. Let’s not forget the introduction of Black Panther and Spider-Man into the MCU! This movie was a perfect way to kick off Phase 3 and proved that the Russo Brothers have what it takes to tackle Infinity War.

8. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 5

Every single time I finish a season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I think that it can’t possibly outdo itself and every single time I am proved wrong. The fifth season manages to stay fresh with bold and creative new ideas that had the potential to be completely ridiculous but were executed very well. The season was full of twists and turns and each episode had me begging for more. Unlike most 22 episode tv seasons, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D perfectly splits up the season into separate but connected storylines that help the story move along nicely without getting repetitive or feeling dragged out. The development of each character from the beginning of the season to the end is drastically different and does each character justice.

7. Iron Man

Iron Man was the movie that started it all. It blew fans away with its smart writing, strong lead, and epic visual effects that still hold up today! This movie put Marvel Studios on the map and could have easily turned into a disaster but luckily Jon Favreau pulled through and laid the groundwork for one of the biggest franchises in history.

6. Daredevil Season 1

This show blew me away. The origin of Daredevil was executed in a gritty and exciting way that puts other origin stories to shame. The overall tone of the show is something I wasn’t expecting when I started watching. Also, don’t even get me started on the fight scene choreography. It was the perfect way to kick off the Marvel Netflix series. I would talk about Vincent D’Onofrio as the Kingpin, but I don’t know if I’d be able to stop.

5. Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man: Homecoming is surprisingly fresh for the third reboot of the franchise. It is very contained and really focuses on Peter Parker being a kid instead of world building. I thought this movie was so much fun and had a surprisingly good villain and musical score, which is something other Marvel movies lack.

4. Jessica Jones

Jessica Jones has such an amazing tone and explores themes like rape, power, and PTSD in a respectful, informing, and entertaining way. Krysten Ritter shines in her role and brings the character to life in a way I didn’t think possible. David Tennant is amazing as Kilgrave and the scariest Marvel villain to date. It’s awesome to see a female lead kicking ass and I can’t wait to see what Marvel has in store for Jessica Jones.

3. The Avengers

What is there to even say? Marvel teased this movie for years and when the time finally came around they didn’t disappoint! The Avengers is action-packed, full of fun moments and amazing action. Finally seeing all the heroes come together gave me chills. This movie made history and caused movie studios everywhere to start planning their own cinematic universes.

2. Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War was the culmination of all the MCU films before it and has been teased repeatedly since the first Avengers. It certainly had a lot to live up to, and it delivered. The character interactions were amazing and they wasted no time on introductions. I didn’t expect the movie to have such a complex plot and I loved the theme of “what is the price of saving the universe?”. The movie was funny when it wanted to be and serious when it had to be. The ending was extremely bold - even if some of the deaths may be temporary.

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

This movie goes beyond the typical Marvel formula and as a result, we get an exciting and politically astute movie. Captain America: The Winter Soldier had some of the best fight scenes in the MCU and finally gave us the Captain America that fans have been dying to see.

Well, there you have it! I decided to leave out The Consultant and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer because they are extremely short and felt like more of a skit than a short film. What did you guys think of my list? How does it compare to your own list? Let me know in the comments below!