The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) burst into existence with the release of Iron Man in 2008. This film, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, would have been a standard superhero film if not for a tag at the end that introducing Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and the first mention of the Avengers. This last minute addition kickstarted what would become a global cinematic phenomenon. Following the success of Iron Man, Marvel Studios continued to expand the MCU with The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger, all of which laid the foundation for the interconnected storytelling that would come to define the franchise.
Everything came together with The Avengers in 2012, which brought together all the heroes from the previous films . The success of this team-up movie solidified the MCU’s place in popular culture and paved the way for superheroes to dominate cinema for the next decade. Over the years, the franchise has grown to include multiple phases, introducing new characters and expanding the scope of its storytelling, reaching a peak with the one-two punch of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, two of the biggest films of all time. The MCU continued on from here but, after losing some of its biggest stars and a lacking a clear direction, it lost some of its shine with recent releases.
Deadpool & Wolverine put the MCU back on top of the box office only for the troubled Captain America: Brave New World to stutter. Now, with the release of the well reviewed Thunderbolts*, it’s time to see if the MCU can start moving in the right direction again.
Here are our rankings for the 36 MCU films.
36. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
35. Iron Man 2 (2010)
34. Thor: Love And Thunder (2022)
33. Eternals (2021)
32. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
31. Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018)
30. The Marvels (2023)
29. Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)
28. Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
27. Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
26. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
25. Ant-Man (2015)
24. Black Widow (2021)
23. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
22. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
21. Doctor Strange (2016)
20. Captain Marvel (2019)
19. Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021)
18. Thor (2011)
17. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
16. Iron Man 3 (2013)
15. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)
14. Thunderbolts* (2025)
13. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
12. Black Panther (2018)
11. Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
10. Iron Man (2008)
9. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
8. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
7. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
6. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
5. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
4. The Avengers (2012)
3. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
2. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
What’s your rankings for the films in the MCU? Comment below.
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