MCU Phase Four ranked worst to best

The MCU is the king right now. It’s hard to believe that 14 years ago the first Iron Man hit theaters and ever since that post credits scene with Nick Fury telling Tony Stark about The Avengers Initiative, people lost their minds (including mine) knowing that we we’re getting an Avengers movie down the road. So, when we got to first team up movie The Avengers, it has always been the gold standard of the MCU and really was the saving grace for the entire franchise because had that movie not worked we wouldn’t have got Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man or Black Panther. The Avengers ended up being a colossal hit critically and financially and it’s arguably why we’ve had such a big boom of comic-book movies. Fast forward to the end of Phase three, the MCU dominated the box office and each film in the franchise became a cultural event all over the world. What’s so special about the first three phases is that it was all building to the climactic showdown with the mighty Thanos so when it came to Avengers: Endgame, the MCU was in a position before the first Iron Man came out. Now that we’re in the early stages of Phase four, there isn’t that much of an identity so far and it’s a little worrisome just how much MCU content we’ve got in the past year or two, both film and TV. With six films and six shows now released and finished, it’s time we rank all twelve of them from worst to best. Let’s begin!

(one thing before we start: Ms Marvel has yet to have it’s season one finale so that show will not be on this list)

#12 WHAT IF…?

It’s not that What If…? is a bad show. Its concept is pretty genius in principle. Plus, with it being done in an animated format, there’s a lot you can get away with the MCU characters because all the actors have to do is record the lines in a sound booth. The idea of What If…? (as stated) sounded cool from the start. You play out certain scenarios in the MCU and go free reign with the story and characters. Alas, What If…? ended up being kind of forgettable because the majority of the show never truly felt like a what if scenario. The only episode that really stands out that universally got everyone on board was the Doctor Strange episode What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands? It embodied the repercussions of what the show was supposed to be about and it had fun telling a completely different narrative. Unfortunately, when the rest of your episodes are iconic moments from certain MCU characters but told with different characters felt uncreative. The famous one happens to be the first episode What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger? It never felt special but it never felt like a unique what if situation. We’ll see what season two has in store, but it’s going to more of the same like season one was.

#11 HAWKEYE

Hawkeye is one of the most beloved and coolest side characters in the MCU. Jeremy Renner is a perfect fit for the character and he started to progressively become more fleshed out once Age of Ultron came around. Notice I said side character? Hawkeye works greta within an ensemble of other mighty heroes but a movie/show with him as the central figure might be a misstep. Thankfully, Hawkeye had some moments of character growth, cool action and some exciting moments to makes MCU fans excited, it ended up being being a show where a lot of the focus of Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop and not the actual character of Hawkeye. Hailee Steinfeld was certainly very likable and can carry her own no matter what project she’s in, but with the show being only six episodes, there’s a good chunk of this show that’s on Kate and not Clint Barton. Hawkeye had a nice holiday approach with it dropping on Disney+ just in time for the Christmas season and the appearance of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin and Florence Pugh’s Yelena were some thrills. As far as the live action MCU shows, Hawkeye is the weakest.

#10 BLACK WIDOW

The biggest problem with a Black Widow movie really comes down to the same problem that the character of Hawkeye faces. Do we really want to see a Jason Bourne movie in the MCU with a side character. Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow is by far one of the MCU’s most popular characters. However, the fact that they waited so long to do a movie about her is kind of absurd especially being of the MCU films to follow Avengers: Endgame. A Black Widow movie should have been released in Phase one or at the very minimum of Phase two. There obviously was talk about a Black Widow earlier on the MCU but at the point the franchise was diving into galactical and supernatural territory. Plus, knowing the fate of the character, the stakes weren’t that high considering we know what happens to her in Avengers: Endgame. With all that said, Black Widow is a solid MCU ride and felt more like the franchise’s take on a James Bond movie and it delivers on that.

#9 ETERNALS

Eternals was my most anticipated project of Phase four. Not only was the cast and the director indicative of that, but it was something that the MCU has yet to explore. This was the MCU’s first attempt on going back to ancient civilizations, the Romans, Greeks and would felt like their first epic fantasy. Getting Academy Award winning director Chloé Zhao certainly added more excitement, from a film fans perspective. The only struggle had was telling us a story with characters that we’ve never met before. There were even articles going around 6-8 months before the release of the movie where people over at Disney were saying that this was the best movie that the MCU ever made. Eternals doesn’t feel like your average MCU movie. It’s the first movie in the franchise that separates itself from the DNA strains of any previous MCU, by going even more ambitious than this franchise has ever seen before. It feels dense, historical and more expansive, thereby giving the MCU extra layers of mythology and exciting material for the movies going forward. But is it the best movie the MCU has ever made? I wouldn’t say so, but for it to be the first MCU to be rotten on Rotten Tomatoes is a little absurd because this is a gorgeous motion picture.

#8 THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER

There was a big pop seeing Bucky and Sam Wilson but heads in Captain America: Civil War with that brief scene of them in the car when Bucky asked Sam to move his seat up. Then their scenes at the airport while fighting off Tom Holland’s Spider-Man were some great small moments in that movie. Their dynamic seemed very promising so the idea of doing a show centered around these two characters felt more exciting than seeing a show about Black Widow or even Hawkeye. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier progressively got better and better with each episode by furthering the development between Sam and Bucky, providing stellar action set pieces and fight choreography and a strong sense of political issues without you feeling waterboarded by it. Some of the side characters and other narrative choices weren’t as strong as some of other stuff, but for this to be a follow up from Wandavison, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was a solid continuation of the stakes in the MCU, in the realm of a political thriller.

#7 LOKI

Loki has one of the best first episodes that MCU has ever put out on Disney+. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is so charismatic that to do a show around him is genuinely exciting and while his character has died a lot in the MCU, the scene in Avengers: Endgame where he takes the tesseract had so much potential to take the character down any path. You then pair up Hiddleston with Owen Wilson and suddenly you have got one of the best duos in the entirety of the MCU. The way the show closed the door on story arcs yet simultaneously setting up the second season of Loki and perhaps other movies down the road was done very well. By diving deeper into the emotional complexities of Loki, Hiddleston turns in a terrific performance in this first season. As it stands, Loki has what might be the best season finale of all the MCU shows with the introduction of Kang the Conqueror and knowing his involvement going forward.

#6 MOON KNIGHT

I contend that Moon Knight is the best MCU show since Wandavision. Oscar Isaac has now solidified himself as maybe one of the best actors in the MCU by creating the coolest and most layered central character since the introduction of Black Panther in Captain America Civil War. Like Loki, Moon Knight had a tremendous start by setting up who put characters are, the mythology, the narrative scope and the stakes that are to be unfolded. This was also another branch of the MCU that was new in the sense that we’re being introduced to a brand new character in the MCU and knowing the money Disney has, it’s always crucial for the expansion of brand new characters in this universe. Not only Oscar Isaac terrific in this, handsome Hawke himself, Ethan Hawke, is exceptional as the shows main villain. While some of the CGI is questionable and while it’s a pain to see another MCU constrict itself to another six episode season, Moon Knight is a great way to introduce us to a new character. There’s great action, terrific music from composer Hesham Nazih and hopefully we see more of this character down the line.

#5 DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS

I’m thankful that Sam Raimi didn’t make a comic book movie that felt like the Spider-Man movies he made. Instead, Raimi made a movie that felt like Evil Dead or Drag Me To Hell. This is by far the first MCU where it really feels like Kevin Feige let the director soar with his/her vision and it beautifully shows. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a haunting, epic, dark and beautiful fantasy that truly embodies the MCU’s first horror movie, and having seen the more than once, Sam Raimi was the perfect choice for this project. While Scott Derrickson did established a great foundation with the first Doctor Strange, Raimi felt more like the appropriate fit for this chapter of the MCU.  Multiverse of Madness is at heart a Sam Ramimi through and through. Raimi infuses some genuinely terrifying and effective moments of terror with its incredible visual style and special effects to give it that horror movie look. Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen are both phenomenal in their respected roles and the character work on them is great stuff. The action and scope of this is truly a work of art that it’s almost impossible to describe how amazing Sam Raimi constructed these action sequences. While the surprising cameos were pretty useless, we were promised a horror movie and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness fulfills that promise.

#4 THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER

(this will be my overall take on Love and Thunder)

After giving it some more thought and digesting it for days, Thor Love and Thunder is a freaking blast. Maybe not as better as Ragnarok, but it’s awfully damn close in my eyes. Thor Love and Thunder is basically Ragnarok but doubled down in spades. Taikia Waititi leans more into the comedy with this MCU escapade and while it might be off putting for some, it works within the movie seamlessly. Waititi carries over the heaviness of this movie with grander emotional impact that makes more than a just silly and dopey MCU movie with 80s galore serving as a template for the visuals, music and kinetic energy.  While it might be over for Chris Evans as Captain America and Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Chris Hemsworth is here to stay as Thor for as long as he wants. What’s more impressive than the physical and brute transformation of Hemsworth, he perfectly captures the goofiness and silliness of Taika Waititi’s vision of the character that we saw in Ragnarok but amped up to 11 in Love and Thunder. He’s so great as Thor and as long as he’s having with the character, then I’d love to see more movies with him as Thor. The chemistry between Hemsworth and Natalie Portman is a massive improvement, the visuals are outstanding, Michael Giacchino’s music soars and Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher is by far one of the MCUs best villains. Maybe not on Thanos level, but a great villain and an interesting character nonetheless. He’s frightening, chilling and from a performance level, Bale crushes it. The only issue with Love and Thunder is the runtime. At parts, it does feel rushed and maybe too amped up, but overall I think movie is immensely satisfying.

#3 SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

The deal Sony and Disney made with Spider-Man is one of the best deals in the entire history of the industry. Sony might have the better movies when it comes down to just them, but the deal has made the character even more popular than ever before and universally speaking, the world is in love with Tom Holland as the character. Not only do I think Spider-Man: No Way Home is the best of the Tom Holland movies, I thunk it’s the best Spider-Man movie since Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. This is by far the most emotional and heavy any Spider-Man movie has felt in ages and thanks to the growing evolution of Tom Holland’s performance and Jon Watts exquisite direction, No Way Home feels more mature, deeper and more methodical on challenging the character even more. It was great to see legendary heroes and epic villains from the past movies, but with all the other characters bombasticness, this is still Tom Holland’s movie. Sort of how Captain America: Civil War jumbles a bunch of characters yet still feels like a Captain America movie, No Way Home is that for Spider-Man.

#2 WANDAVISION

From the moment this show was announced as the MCU’s “sitcom”, there was a big question mark as to what this show would look like. WandaVision delivered in ways I wasn’t anticipating at all. It’s funny, charming, deeply emotional it was the biggest 180 that the MCU has created. It was the first test by taking secondary characters in the MCU and making them feel larger and more substantial in this universe. What makes WandaVision even more remarkable is how much mystery and excitement was building off of each episode that it was a case study were fans would thousands upon thousands questions and speculations that even if it didn’t come true, fans will still accept and embrace where the narrative was going. Every week we would learn something different about this show that when it was all over it leaves you in a state of feeling emotionally overwhelmed. The writing, performances and departure of MCU tropes in this show was perfection even if the show ends with traditional MCU fashion. When it comes to the shows and movies the MCU has made, WandaVision is easily one of the best they’ve ever done.

#1 SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS

Shang-Chi might not be as innovative as Eternals or as politically thrilling as Black Widow was. If anything, Shang-Chi is the basic structure of a Phase one MCU movie. Not to say that there’s anything wrong with that but when you’re in Phase four of the MCU, you’d expect less of that, as long as it’s executed well. Thankfully, Shang-Chi is executed perfectly. This is by far one of the MCU’s best stand alone flicks and origin stories since Black Panther and it might just be one of their top tier movies. This is a beautiful, emotionally powerful and stunning martial arts escapade that harkens back to the movies of The Raid and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It captures a unique and intricate aspect of Asian culture with its action, visuals and it’s glorious costuming and colors. It opens up a wonderful new branch of the MCU in a way that feels fresh and ahh-inducing. It feels more personable, Shakespearean with its characters and the film’s score is some of the MCU has to offer. In the year of 2021, all Kevin Feige gushed about was Eternals to the point it almost was studio code that Feige never had hope for the other MCU projects. As of now, Shang-Chi has been the best piece of content of Phase four so far.

That’s my list. We still have a bunch of movies and shows to look forward too in Phase four. What’s your list look like? Are you worried at all about the current phase of the MCU? Let me know what you think in the comments below!