With Captain America: Civil War on the way with the majority of Avengers involved in it, and both of the first Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) phases complete, I thought this would be a great opportunity to reflect on the 12 films which have released so far and list them in order of which are the best. Rules are this list will only include the films from the MCU, so no the TV shows, no the short films and no other Marvel films like Spider-man or X-men. This is my own opinion of which are the best so is in no way shape or form, fact! Oh and beware of spoilers of course! Without further a due, lets start at the very end, a very good place to start.
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12.
The Incredible Hulk
(June, 2008)
Bruce Banner, a scientist on the run from the U.S. Government must find a cure for the monster he emerges whenever he loses his temper. However, Banner then must fight a soldier whom unleashes himself as a threat stronger than he.
The first in this list is ironically the very first MCU film I went to see. I remember distinctly not have a euphoria for superhero films when I went with my school to see it. The only other superhero films I had seen were Batman Returns and the Toby McGuire Spider-man films, but wasn’t fully into the genre at that time. But I have to say, even re-watching this film in the present date, still hasn’t made it my kind of movie which is why it’s ranked at 12! I’m so glad that Mark Ruffalo took on the role for the Avenger films, he’s been the best actor for Bruce Banner by far and wouldn’t even mind seeing another Hulk film with him playing the role! …Actually maybe not, I don’t know.
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11.
Iron Man 2
(April, 2010)
With the world now aware of his identity as Iron Man, Tony Stark must contend with both his declining health and a vengeful mad man with ties to his father’s legacy alongside his friend Rhodey aka War Machine.
This film certainly wasn’t the best out of the Iron Man films and yes I’ve ranked it at number 11, but it’s actually not that bad. Robert Downy Jr is brilliant as Iron Man; he IS Iron Man, like Hugh Jackman is Wolverine, but was just far better in the other MCU films (Iron Man or Avengers) and the villains weren’t the best (lasting or memorable). Justin Hammer and Ivan Vanko weren’t that good in my opinion, but the action scenes with Iron Man and War Machine were great! And you can’t beat a bit of ACDC! Or a bit of Black Widow or Samuel L. Jackson!
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10.
Ant-Man
(July, 2015)
Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase strength, cat burglar Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.
This is the latest film to have released and which concluded Phase 2 of the MCU. I’ve got mixed feelings about this film. Firstly it was a good unique film, the superhero is a dad with everyday problems, it was great seeing things from that level and I’m looking forward to seeing him team up with the Avengers. But my main concern with this film was not really being able to take Ant-man (the name, the power, the fight scenes at small sizes) seriously so Marvel decided to add a lot of humour and Avengers references to keep it interesting. I would have much preferred to have seen a pure Edgar Wright film and let Ant-Man be more independent and not reliant on tying to fit in with future MCU films. But Thomas the Tank engine destroying the house; wow!
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9.
Thor: The Dark World
(October, 2013)
When Dr Jane Foster gets cursed with a powerful object, Thor must protect it before an army and its ruthless leader, Malekith, try to get their hands on it to plunge Earth and other worlds into eternal darkness.
Unlike The Winter Soldier trailer, the Thor 2 trailer looked as if it’d be a better film than the first Thor film, but unfortunately is was one of those film where the trailer was better, like Man of Steel. Having the ninth Doctor as the main villain was cool, but he was just annoying and just a bit of an idiot. One part I didn’t expect and was sad about was the death of the Simba’s mother, SORRY Thor’s mother; the music and funeral ceremony was a cool moment. Another thing which was good was Loki who acted more of an anti-hero in this film, but come on Thor! “Are you ever NOT going to fall for that!” You should have learnt by now that he’s a trickster; just check his pulse or kick him in the nuts like in HISHE to make sure he is definitely dead!
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8.
Thor
(April, 2011)
The powerful but arrogant god Thor is cast out of Asgard to live amongst humans in Midgard (Earth), where he learns from his selfish ways and soon becomes one of their finest defenders.
On the lead up to the Avengers Assemble film releasing cinema, this was the only film I was still to watch, so watched it quickly beforehand. It almost seemed like a weird alien version of the Lion King; Thor is arrogant at the beginning with, Loki is Scar who manipulates Thor and falls to his death ‘supposedly’. The film just got a bit boring when Thor is grounded on Earth without his hammer. Loki is probably the best thing about this film and was in the top place as best MCU villain for quite a few films; probably the English accent (…like Scar). And Anthony Hopkins acting as the king with his distinctive voice…like Mufasa?
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7.
Iron Man 3
(April, 2013)
When Tony Stark’s world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution while fighting off his own nightmares of earth penetrating danger.
Only Iron Man is able to make the nineties hit tune, “I’m blue” cool! Yes the third instalment of Iron Man comes in at 7 in this list. It wasn’t as good as the original film (like most) but it was definitely a whole lot better than number 2. Iron Man got a bit shaky with it’s villains after it’s first film trying to have more surprising villains, but it was just weird with the Mandarin and Trevor. Iron Man’s house being destroyed was quite something and I wasn’t too fond of Tony getting lots of Iron Man marks to fight his battle for him. It just seemed to show how easy it was to destroy his suits. But in the end brain bests brawn, and Pepper Potts ends up defeating the Mandarine doing the same thing Tony did but for some odd reason worked that time.
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6.
Captain America: The First Avenger
(July, 2011)
Steve Rogers, a rejected military soldier transforms into Captain America after taking a dose of a “Super-Soldier serum”. But being Captain America comes at a price as he attempts to take down a war monger and the terrorist organization, Hydra
Captain America: The First Avenger is the 5th instalment in the MCU and the film directly before Avengers Assemble. Like Iron Man or Guardians of the Galaxy, this film was especially unique in the MCU for the 1950s era it was set in and I loved that aspect of it. It also brings up the point that you don’t become a superhero from gaining ‘powers’ alone, but that you have to show your worth and what actions you will take with them. As well as that it introduced Peggy Carter (my personal favourite heroine in the MCU) and probably the best easter egg in the MCU, Mr Howard Stark (Tony’s father). It is also the first film where we get a glimpse of an Infinity Stone (not mentioned in this film, but we find out in Guardians of the Galaxy it is one of them).
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5.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
(March, 2014)
As Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world, he teams up with another super soldier (Black Widow) to battle a new threat from old history: an assassin known as the Winter Soldier.
The sequel of the extremely patriotic Captain America was another film which I doubted at first because I thought now that the good Captain is in the present date, all the brilliant nostalgia of the first film would be lost. But I was mistaken and even although it is the present date, it still had reflections to the past; Peggy, the history museum, the old computer system with Zola and of course Bucky himself (who is tied with Loki at 2nd place as the best villains in the MCU). As well as that I felt Captain America was more knowledgable of combat skills and was able to fight without the use of his shield unlike the previous 2 films he was in.
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4.
Iron Man
(April, 2008)
After being held captive in an Afghan cave, Tony Stark (an industrialist) creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.
This was the film that officially got me into the superhero films let alone the MCU films; as I said I watched Hulk first and it didn’t do anything for me. Iron Man just looked so much better, and the style about it. I remember the closest thing to Iron Man/Tony Stark beforehand was Batman/Bruce Wayne who’s last film was ‘Batman & Robin’…yeah. Until Christopher Nolan came along, Batman himself wasn’t that cool. So seeing this genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist who’s into ACDC was so cool and now Robert Downy Jr is probably the face of the most popular superhero! In addition, seeing Gwyneth Paltrow as the heroine and Jeff Bridges as the villain was great too. That was back when it was a genuine surprise that someone else was the main villain; now it’s become slightly more predictable.
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3.
Guardians of the Galaxy
(July, 2014)
A group of intergalactic criminals (Starlord, Gamora, Groot, Rocket, and Drax) are forced to work together to stop a fanatical warrior from taking control of the universe.
Now this is a film that bet all my expectations! Sourcing from not the most popular Marvel comics, not many people were getting the hype prior to watching it, but Guardians of the Galaxy turned out to be another brilliant, unique addition to the MCU. I personally doubted it, thinking it’d just be another rubbish sci-fi film, but it was amazing! I bought the soundtrack immediately after seeing the film and absolutely love listening to it at full volume in my car especially “Come and get your love”! I am so excited for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – the film and soundtrack! It was also the first time MCU officially mentioned the Infinity Stones and featured Thanos after Avengers Assemble post credit scene. So is started to build up our hype for the Infinity War films (which will be at the end of Phase 3 of the MCU)!
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1.
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Avengers Assemble
(April, 2012)
Earth’s mightiest heroes (Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Nick Fury) must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity.
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Avengers: Age of Ultron
(April, 2015)
When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to jump-start a dormant peacekeeping program called Ultron, things go horribly wrong and it’s up to Earth’s mightiest heroes to stop Ultron from enacting his terrible plans.
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As I said in my review at the Avengers movie marathon (Avengers Assemble, The Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron), Avenger Assemble and Age of Ultron are both equally brilliant! These couldn’t be separated in this list, so are tied at first place. Avengers Assemble was the first cross-over with these MCU heroes and everyone loved it, and with Age of Ultron it was great seeing them and new heroes, but also Ultron as the bad guy (top spot for best villains in the MCU)! I think he’s the best villain so far and even bet Loki who has appeared in three films! And you can’t beat the Avengers theme tune, both Alan Silvestri and Danny Elfman’s version. I can’t wait for Captain America: Civil War which is pretty much the next Avengers films; it’s got more members of the Avengers than any of the previous films! There’s been one or two hick ups with the films but the MCU is brilliant and am proud to call myself a MCU geek!
Well that’s all the films from the MCU for the time being! Do you agree with order that I’ve put these films in? What order would you put them in? What is you favourite and/or most hated? Another thought: if you enjoyed this, what other rankings of Films/TV Shows/Games would you like me to do? Comment what you think below and be sure to look out for other ranked films in the future! Till then, cheerio!