We rank all 18 Marvel movies
And ‘The Winter Soldier’ leads the way.
With 18 blockbuster movies and counting since 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has created a cosmos of big stars, from the misfit
Guardians of the Galaxy to the high-profile African superhero of Black Panther. Just imagine pop culture without these films: Iron Man wouldn’t be a household name like Batman or Superman, Ultron would just sound like a bathroom cleaner and certainly nobody would know what the heck “I am Groot” is supposed to mean. So where does
Panther (in theaters now) fit into this (seemingly) never-ending superhero saga? The definitive ranking of all the Marvel movies: 1Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
More political thriller than superhero blockbuster, Captain America’s second solo film — and the best Marvel jam of them all — taps into timely themes of privacy concerns, an enemy growing from within, and military might used in ethically questionable ways. Come for the timeliness, stay for Cap (Chris Evans) wrecking a bunch of guys in an elevator.
2 Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Fantastic tunes, a strange cast of characters that inexplicably works, and a story where you’re hooked on a bunch of feelings, from the emotions of young Peter Quill crying over his dying mother to the hilarity of grownup Peter (Chris Pratt) explaining Footloose to new pal Gamora (Zoe Saldana). We are Groot, indeed.
3Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Personal and political stakes are at play as Cap chooses his best friend (and brainwashed assassin) over Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), blowing up the Avengers dynamic. Plus, it has the best superhero battle and memorable intros for Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland).
4The Avengers (2012)
Joss Whedon’s jam-packed ensemble completely lived up to its giant-size expectations. While the heroes-batting-each-other trope is starting to get played out, the excitement is palpable and fanboy hearts melt when hammers and shield fly as Iron Man, Cap and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) meet.
5Black Panther (2018)
From hanging in 1990s Oakland to flying through futuristic present-day Africa, the first solo film for Boseman’s warrior king is a magnificent journey with awesome set pieces (including a car chase through South Korea that’ll leave you breathless) and a nearperfect villain in Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger. Wakanda forever!
6Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
They had us at “Kurt Russell plays a living planet.” The gravy is everything else: adorable Baby Groot dancing in the middle of a space battle, Dave Bautista’s Drax being the buff, oddball voice of reason, and Michael Rooker’s space outlaw Yondu stealing the show.
7Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Marvel nailed the origin story of Steve Rogers (Evans), the little guy whose heart was bigger than his biceps until a super-soldier serum pumped him up. It offered a great World War II aesthetic, two-fisted adventure and a moral code that created an intriguing thread for his next two movies.
8Spider- Man: Homecoming (2017)
Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can — and when you’re the new version of the teen web slinger, played by Holland, you also deal with balancing extracurriculars, getting a date for the big homecoming dance, trying to impress Tony Stark (Downey) and fighting the Vulture (Michael Keaton) in an epic young-adult adventure.
9Iron Man (2008)
The beginning, the kickoff, the OG. A crew of Avengers was probably still a pipe dream for fans and most of Hollywood when Downey first put on the Iron Man suit, but from the start, the signature swagger, attitude and swig of humility he gave Stark set the tone for everything that was to come.
10Ant- Man (2015)
The heist comedy with a supershrinking dude was a bigger risk than
Guardians of the Galaxy. Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly are great together, though, and Marvel gave us something we hadn’t seen yet: a hero who’s also an ex-con dad.
11Doctor Strange (2016)
Benedict Cumberbatch gets a fantastically weird and trippy introduction to the MCU as a sorcerer supreme who goes from rich jerk to humbled hero. It’s a magical version of Iron Man’s origin and some gags are overly goofy, yet the filmmaking wizardry and effects are second to none.
12Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Thor and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) make a dynamic duo in the best Thor solo film (and funniest Marvel project), and anything with the two of them is magic. It’s just too bad the larger narrative featuring a hostile takeover by goddess of death Hela (Cate Blanchett) takes a backseat to the various shenanigans.
13Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Bursting with a packed ensemble, it’s lacking the superteam mojo of the first Avengers. Only when we see Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and his secret home life do we get that great Whedon touch. Also: Bless James Spader’s heart for being the world’s snarkiest killer robot.
14Thor (2011)
Not Marvel’s greatest solo movie, but certainly one that takes some admirable swings. A quasi-family drama that boots Thor from the realm of Asgard to Earth in fish-out-of-water fashion so he can be worthy of his mystical hammer, Mjølnir.
15Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Hemsworth’s thunder god has a sequel that’s a blender of familiar fantasy tropes as Thor and love interest Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) have to deal with a dark elf with an Infinity Stone. Tom Hiddleston’s iconic trickster Loki is in fine form and the film’s highlight in every way.
16Iron Man 3 (2013)
The results are only so-so as Stark tussles with PTSD, criminally underused antagonist Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and yawn-worthy villain Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce). The threequel also proved that, yes, too many armored suits are a bad thing — heck, even Gwyneth Paltrow gets one.
17The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Before ultimately being replaced in other movies by Ruffalo, Edward Norton starred as scientist Bruce Banner in this odd duck from the nascent MCU. This mostly forgettable affair exists to serve as a reminder that we still deserve a good solo Hulk film one day.
18Iron Man 2 (2010)
Let’s accentuate the positive: The sequel gave us Scarlett Johansson’s sleek secret agent Black Widow and put Don Cheadle in the War Machine armor. Everything else was a scattershot mess with Tony Stark taking on the wholly underwhelming villain Whiplash (Mickey Rourke).