‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ crawls into the Marvel rankings
With 20 blockbuster movies and counting since 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has created a cosmos of big stars, from the misfit crew of “Guardians of the Galaxy” to the high-profile African superhero of “Black Panther.” Just imagine a 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 the new superhero sequel “Ant-Man and the Wasp” (in theaters now) fit into this (seemingly) never-ending superhero saga? Here’s the definitive ranking of all the Marvel movies so far:
20. ‘Iron 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 (Robert Downey Jr.) taking on the wholly underwhelming villain Whiplash (Mickey Rourke).
19. ‘The Incredible Hulk’ (2008)
Before being replaced by Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton starred as scientist Bruce Banner in this odd duck from the nascent MCU. This mostly forgettable affair exists as a reminder that we still deserve a good solo Hulk film one day.
18. ‘Iron 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.
17. ‘Thor: The Dark World’ (2013)
Chris Hemsworth’s thunder god sequel is a blender of 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.
16. ‘ Thor’ (2011)
Not Marvel’s greatest solo movie, but certainly one that takes some admirable swings. A quasi-family drama that boots Thor from Asgard to Earth in fishout-of-water fashion so he can be worthy of his mystical hammer, Mjølnir.
15. ‘Avengers: 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 Joss Whedon touch. Also: Bless James Spader for being the world’s snarkiest killer robot.
14. ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ (2018)
The satisfying sequel doubles down
on all the aspects that made the original “Ant-Man” joyful with one big (or, small, depending on how you look at it) addition: Evangeline Lilly debuts her winged and awesomely rough-and-tumble Wasp on an adventure that takes its size-changing heroes from San Francisco to the Quantum Realm.
13. ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ (2017)
Thor and Hulk 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.
12. ‘Doctor 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.
11. ‘Ant-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.
10. ‘Iron 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 Robert Downey Jr. first put on the Iron Man suit, but from the start, the swagger, attitude and swig of humility he gave Tony Stark set the tone for everything that was to come.
9. ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’
(2017)
Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can — and when you’re Tom Holland, the new version of the teen web slinger, you also deal with balancing extracurriculars, getting a date for the big dance, trying to impress Tony Stark and fighting the Vulture in an epic young-adult adventure.
8. ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ (2011)
Marvel nailed the origin story of Steve Rogers (Chris 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.
7. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ (2017)
They had us at “Kurt Russell plays a living planet.” The gravy is everything else: Baby Groot dancing in the middle of a battle, Dave Bautista’s Drax as the oddball voice of reason, and Michael Rooker’s outlaw Yondu stealing the show.
6. ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)
The third “Avengers” film is the allnight buffet of superhero fare, with a slew of folks rallying to fend off Thanos, a dude bent on destroying half the universe. It’s all pretty tasty, though, with great one-liners, good people making some bad decisions, and a stupendous cliffhanger that you’ll love to hate.
5. ‘Black Panther’ (2018)
From hanging in 1990s Oakland to flying through futuristic present-day Africa, the first solo film for Chadwick Boseman’s warrior king is a magnificent journey with awesome set pieces and a near-perfect villain in Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger. Wakanda forever!
4. ‘The Avengers’ (2012)
Whedon’s jam-packed ensemble lived up to its giant expectations. While the heroes-batting-each-other trope is starting to get played out, the excitement is palpable and hearts melt when hammers and shield fly as Iron Man, Cap and Thor meet.
3. ‘Captain America: Civil War’
(2016)
Personal and political stakes are at play as Cap chooses his best friend over Iron Man, blowing up the Avengers. Plus, it has the best superhero battle of all and memorable intros for Black Panther (Boseman) and Spider-Man (Holland).
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 emotion of young Peter Quill crying over his dying mom to the hilarity of grown-up Peter (Chris Pratt) explaining “Footloose” to new pal Gamora (Zoe Saldana). We are Groot, indeed.
1. ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ (2014)
More political thriller than superhero blockbuster, Captain America’s second solo film 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 wrecking a bunch of guys in an elevator.