All MCU Movies Ranked!
Written by: James A. Barnes
Here's My Ranking of The MCU Movies So Far...
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Directed by: The Russo Brothers - Worldwide Total: $714,264,267
Captain America has always been my favorite Marvel Comics Super Hero, and I am convinced that Chris Evans was born to play Steve Rogers, and from the opening sequence of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” I knew I was in for an incredible film that truly displayed Captain America's physical and tactical skill. Sebastian Stan gave us a spot-on portrayal of the Winter Soldier and gave us a lot to look forward to from The Winter Soldier in the MCU.
2. Marvel's The Avengers (2012)
Directed by: Joss Whedon - Worldwide Total: $1,518,812,988
I remember watching this movie for the first time and losing my mind during the 360 shot of The Avengers standing in a circle. The ending is still one of the best 3rd act sequences in any comic book movie to date. The film introduced us to the Mind Stone (Loki's Scepter), which was given to him by Thanos so that Loki could rule the earth and give Thanos the Space Stone (The Tesseract) in exchange.
3. Iron Man (2008)
Directed by: Jon Favreau - Worldwide Total: $585,174,222
The film that started it all.
I believe that Robert Downey Jr. was born to play Tony Stark/Iron Man. SHIELD was introduced for the first time in this film and who could forget that incredible post-credits scene that showed Nick Fury talking to Tony Stark about The Avengers Initiative.
4. Black Panther (2018)
Directed by: Ryan Coogler - Worldwide Total: $1,326,386,473 (currently)
“Black Panther” was an incredible film with an Incredible cast. Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger is easily the 2nd best villain in the MCU to date. Jordan brought us a villain that we could understand and care for, and Chadwick Boseman gave us a great hero to cheer for. It was great to see the amazing city of Wakanda and it's rich culture, something director Ryan Coogler portrayed extremely well in the film.
5. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Directed by: The Russo Brothers - Worldwide Total: $1,153,304,495
“Captain America: Civil War” gave us the introduction to Tom Holland's Spider-Man in the MCU, Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther, and gave us the infamous airport sequence, which is one of the greatest moments in a comic book movie to date in my opinion.
6. Thor Ragnarok (2018)
Directed by: Taika Waititi - Worldwide Total: $853,977,126
“Thor: Ragnorak” was a huge surprise for me, I thought the first Thor film was fine, and “Thor: The Dark World” was a huge misstep, but Ragnorak was lots of fun, there were actual stakes and Hela was a really good villain. Ragnorak also gave us a glimpse into what a planet Hulk movie would look like and the fight between Thor and The Hulk was amazing. Tessa Thompson was awesome as Valkyrie, and Jeff Goldblum stole the show as the grandmaster.
7. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Directed by: James Gunn - Worldwide Total: $773,328,629
Who knew that a film about a talking raccoon and a walking tree could be so much fun, action-packed, and have so much heart. “Guardians of the Galaxy” gave us another look at Thanos, introduced The Kree Empire, The Nova Corp, The Celestials, and showed us the power stone. Chris Pratt was the perfect choice to portray Star-Lord, Dave Batista brought Drax to life in a way I never imagined and Zoe Saldana was badass as Gamora.
8. Doctor Strange (2016)
Directed by: Scott Derrickson - Worldwide Total: $677,718,395
The Sorcerer Supreme was brought to light by Scott Derrickson and portrayed by the incredibly talented Benedict Cumberbatch. Doctor Strange introduced us to the multiverse, the different planes of existence, and revealed the time stone (The Eye of Agamotto). Doctor Strange, like Thor (2011) expanded the universe even more and I'm looking forward to the sequel.
9. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Directed by: Joe Johnston - Worldwide Total: $370,569,774
Captain America is my favorite Marvel Comics character, and when Chris Evans was cast as Steve Rogers/Captain America I knew he could do the character justice and he did just that. My favorite line from the film is when Steve says: "I Don't Want To Kill Anyone, I Don't Like Bullies, I Don't Care Where They're From." Hugo Weaving was perfect casting as Red Skull and it was great to see Captain America fighting against the Red Skull and Hydra.
10. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Directed by: Jon Watts - Worldwide Total: $880,166,924
After Tom Holland swung his way into “Captain America: Civil War”, fans were ready to see Spidey hold his own in a standalone movie. “Spider-Man Homecoming” was really good but not great and it didn't have to be. Michael Keaton's Vulture was cool and terrifying, at first I was on the fence about using the Vulture as a Spider-Man movie villain but Kevin Fiege and his creative team at Marvel Studios are good at their job and brought us a good story and a great villain.
11. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Directed by Joss Whedon - Worldwide Total: $1,405,403,694
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” was disappointing for me, Ultron is one of my favorite comic book villains and I felt like the movie had zero stakes because the film made every situation into a joke, and then another joke, and it took away from my enjoyment & honestly it took me out of the film sometimes. I hated the fact that Quicksilver was brought in only to be shot down....literally. How is a speedster unable to outrun bullets? Don't worry I'll wait.
12. Thor (2011)
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh - Worldwide Total: $449,326,618
At the time a lot of people were wondering if a Thor movie could work, and it did that and more. Marvel Studios has a knack for casting the right actors and Chris Hemsworth was no exception. Thor can be a pretty cheesy character at times but Chris Hemsworth and the team at Marvel were able to bring him to life and make him relatable.
13. Ant-Man (2015)
Directed by: Peyton Reed - Worldwide Total: $519,311,965
I know I've been saying this a lot through this list but Ant-Man is so much fun. Marvel has this great ability to keep giving us these fun and entertaining movies that happens to feature superheroes. Yellow Jacket was a mediocre villain but he served his purpose for a fun contained story.
14. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Directed by: Louis Leterrier - Worldwide Total: $263,427,551
The Incredible Hulk was a good film and Marvel Studios was just starting out and didn't have the clear vision that they have now. Edward Norton was a good Bruce Banner/Hulk and at the time I really liked the design of The Hulk.
15. Iron Man 2 (2010)
Directed by: Jon Favreau - Worldwide Total: $623,933,331
Sequels are always difficult, especially after the first film was such a huge success. “Iron Man 2” introduced us to Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, and Don Cheadle replaced Terrence Howard as Rhodey. A lot of the humor didn't work for me and it was just a step down from the first film.
16. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Directed by: Alan Taylor - Worldwide Total: $644,571,402
I hated “Thor: The Dark World”, the film didn't take anything seriously and it was just a giant quip machine making jokes literally about anything that happens in a scene. Natalie Portman is an incredible actress but her role as Jane Foster in the MCU was just there to talk about how good-looking Thor is and she is never given anything of relevance to do.
17. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Directed by: James Gunn - Worldwide Total: $863,756,051
I loved the first “Guardians of the Galaxy” but “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” was a big joke.
It felt like everything that worked in the first film was just redone and turned up to 11. Most of the humor felt incredibly forced, and I thought that the giant Pac-Man Vs. The Giant David Hasselhoff was ridiculous and one of the stupidest things I've seen on film. The end of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” felt like I was watching Pixels with Adam Sandler and I was just very disappointed with the film. The only cool thing that happened in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” was the confirmation that Stan Lee was one of the Watchers which is something that fans have speculated over for years.
18. Iron Man 3 (2013)
Directed by Shane Black - Worldwide Total: $1,214,811,252
“Iron Man 3” is one of the worst comic book movies I have ever seen. I understand that it was important to show how the battle of New York affected Tony Stark but I thought it was done poorly and was a sad attempt to make a comic book movie. All of the Iron Man suits felt cheap and disposable. Tony's Mark III Armor was able to withstand a hit from a tank and it only scratched the paint, but in Iron Man 3 Tony's armor can be completely destroyed by a garbage truck running into it. The reveal of Trevor the actor pretending to be The Mandarin was insulting to Iron Man fans and just came off like a cheap ridiculous joke. Out of all of the MCU films, Iron Man 3 has no significance to the rest of the universe and should be erased from the MCU's Canon and forgotten.
Avengers: Infinity War opens tonight and I can't wait to see where it will fit on this list.