Ranking The Marvel Cinematic Universe

Ranking The Marvel Cinematic Universe

My ranking of the 10 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe leading up to Age of Ultron.

Editorial Opinion
By AlexHunter - Apr 26, 2015 08:04 AM EST
Filed Under: Avengers
10. Thor: The Dark World

By far the most "meh" of all the Marvel Movies, Thor: The Dark World adds nothing new to the genre. The film takes away everything the first film did right and replaces it with boring action, tired humor and comes together to create a pretty uninspired movie. It's not all bad, Hemsworth and Hiddlestone are great, as always, and the relationship between Thor and Loki is further developed.
9. Iron Man 3

An Iron Man that doesn't feel like Iron Man. This could be because it feels more like a follow up to the Shane Black directed movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (both starring RDJ),it could be the lack of the ACDC music, or that ,unlike the first two movies, all realism is thrown out the door. Whatever it is, to me, this did not feel like Iron Man and felt more like a generic buddy cop movie with robots. Don't get me started on the Mandarin, doing what they did to Iron Man's arch villain is like taking the Joker and making him Ronald McDonald. The action is cool though, and Robert Downey Jr. is always a joy to watch.
8. The Incredible Hulk

This movie isn't bad, the action is great, Hulk is refreshing , Norton is awesome as Bruce Banner, but it just doesn't have that wow factor that some of the other entries in the Universe have. It also feels disconnected from the rest of the Marvel Movies, maybe it is the tone, or maybe I am just reading to far into it. If the deleted scenes for the film had been included in the Theatrical Cut maybe this would've been able to take the number 7 spot, but as of now The incredible Hulk stands toward the lower end of the MCU.
7. Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 is probably the most hated by fans and by critics, but honestly I don't see why. Sure it is a hell of a lot worse than the first one, but that doesn't mean it is bad. Yes it is crowded, yes there is a ton of Avengers set up, but it is still entertaining all the way through. The action is amazing, the humor is hilarious, and Scarjo's debut as The Black Widow is both sexy and surprising.
6. Thor

From this point on all the entries aren't just meh or ok, they are great films. When I walked into the theater to see Thor, I had such low expectations, I just never a fan of the comics or the character and the trailers made the movie seem like a generic Superhero origin story. Boy was I wrong, the cinematography, the directing, the script all were beyond good, and the whole movie had this glow and this warmth to it that made me immediately want to watch it again and again.
5. Captain America: The First Avenger

Cap's first movie is heartwarming, thought provoking and a hell of alot of fun. I remember watching this in the theater and thinking man they made a Captain America movie cool  and compelling. This movie wasn't my first introduction to Cap, but it made me realize that he is not only the First Avenger, but also my favorite.
4. Iron Man

The movie that started it all, Iron Man managed to be fresh in a otherwise stale genre, it kick started the franchise, made Iron Man one of the most likeable protagonists in cinema, and managed to be not only a good superhero movie, but a great movie. The film has this indie vibe to it that some of the other entries do not, it feels like a film made by fans for fans.
3. The Avengers

Iron Man, Cap, Hulk, Thor in one movie, nuff said.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy

Who knew that a movie with a talking raccoon and a tree could be so compelling and heartwarming. GOTG managed to introduce a whole new universe in one movie while also developing 5 characters so well that I felt as if I had known them personally. Lines like "we are groot" brought me to tears, and I have never laughed so hard at lines from a talking raccoon.
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

A movie that completely bends the genre and seems to be more of a spy thriller than a comic book movie, The Winter Soldier makes me cry, smile, sweat, laugh and feel every other emotion in a 2 hour time span. The action is simply the stunning, the script is wonderful and this may very well be the best superhero movie since Spider-Man 2 (not The Amazing, that sucks). The Russo brothers changed the MCU as a whole, and set new expectations for what a superhero movie should be.

Thank you for reading (or looking at the pictures), please feel free to comment.
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WinterOstritch
WinterOstritch - 4/26/2015, 10:06 AM
9. Thor The Dark World
8. Iron Man 2
7. Age of Ultron/Thor/Iron Man 3
6. The First Avenger
5. The Incredible Hulk
4. Iron Man
3. Winter Soldier
2. The Avengers
1. Guardians of the Galaxy

Age of Ultron, Thor, and Iron Man 3 are to me either good movies that I just didn't care for as much or movies that I enjoyed but not quite up there with some of the others.
BigFoster
BigFoster - 4/26/2015, 10:24 AM
10. Iron Man 2
9. Thor the Dark World
8. Iron Man 3
7. Thor
6. Incredible Hulk
5. Captain America the first Avenger
4. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Iron Man
2. Avengers
1. Captain America the Winter Soldier

And i expect Age of Ultron to come in around the top 3
MaximusTheMad
MaximusTheMad - 4/26/2015, 10:26 AM
I find myself agreeing with @WinterOstritch 100% regarding his placement of Avengers 2 in the ranking.
MisterSuperior
MisterSuperior - 4/26/2015, 10:32 AM
Haven't seen AoU, but my ranking for the other films:

1.) Guardians of the Galaxy
2.) Captain America: The Winter Soldier
3.) Captain America: The First Avenger
4.) Iron Man
5.) The Avengers
6.) Thor
7.) Thor: The Dark World
8.) The Incredible Hulk
9.) Iron Man 2
10.) Iron Man 3
EhMaybeSays
EhMaybeSays - 4/26/2015, 10:33 AM
10) Thor 2
9) IM3
8) IM2
7) The First Avenger
6) Thor
5) GOTG
4) Age Of Ultron
3) Iron Man
2) Avengers
1) Winter Soldier
Only one I dislike is Thor 2. Also bear in mind that I'm not a Hulk fan.
Jayman
Jayman - 4/26/2015, 10:51 AM
Great list and order I agree with this I like ironman 2 and the First Thor. And im not so keen on the Incredible Hulk. I prefer Ruffallos take more mine would be

10.Ironman 3
9.The Incredible Hulk
8.Thor The Dark World
7.Captain America The First Avenger
6.Thor
5.Ironman 2
4.The Avengers
3.Guardians of the Galaxy
2.Captain America The Winter Soldier
1.Ironman
Ignition
Ignition - 4/26/2015, 10:53 AM
11. Thor: The Dark World
10. Iron Man 2
9. The Incredible Hulk
8. Thor
7. Avengers: Age of Ultron
6. Captain America: The First Avenger
5. The Avengers
4. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Iron Man 3
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
1. Iron Man
RextheKing
RextheKing - 4/26/2015, 11:23 AM
1. Cap2 AoU tie
2. GoTG
3. Avengers
4. Iron Man
5. Cap
6. Thor
7. TIH
8. Iron Man 3
9. Iron Man 2
10. Thor 2
Pasto
Pasto - 4/26/2015, 11:37 AM
This is what CBM.com needs, is more of these damn listings.
Osborn
Osborn - 4/26/2015, 12:23 PM
Well I found the first Thor reaaaaaaaaaaa lly boring, I've seen it twice and god I don't remember anything from this movie just so forgettable to me. The camp of Thor 2 in the other hand... with that 30's Flash Gordonish aesthetic was really fun, plus the scene where Loki hide his feelings toward his mother's death... It just worked for me.
I really have a hard time when the MCU take itself too seriously (my only grief against Winter Soldier)
AC1
AC1 - 4/26/2015, 12:30 PM
Haven't seen AOU yet, but I think it'll probably be somewhere in the Top 5. My list of all the other MCU movies is as follows (and everything from 7 to 1 are films that I really like anyway, so on the whole the MCU's great to me).

10. Thor: The Dark World
9. Iron Man 2
8. Incredible Hulk
7. Thor
6. The Avengers
5. Iron Man
4. Captain America: The First Avenger
3. Captain America: Civil War
2. Iron Man 3
1. Guardians of the Galaxy
acorsi11
acorsi11 - 4/26/2015, 2:36 PM
1)Captain America:The Winter Soldier
2)The Avengers
3)Guardians of the Galaxy

Then I like the Iron Man Trilogy

After that, they all are very mediocre.
WinterSoldier33
WinterSoldier33 - 4/26/2015, 3:40 PM
11.iron man 3 3/10
10.thor 2 5/10
9.iron man 2 5/10
8.incredible hulk 6.5/10
7.thor 7/10
6.cap FA 7/10
5.avengers 8/10
4.cap WS 8.3/10
3.iron man 9/10
2.guardians of the galaxy 9/10
1.avengers AOU (probably will change) 9.2/10
BarKells
BarKells - 4/26/2015, 9:40 PM
Suck:
IM3

Meh:
Thor 2
IM2

Ok:
Incredible Hulk

Good:
Thor
Ironman
Cap 1st Avenger

Great:
GOTG
Winter Soldier
Avenger
Trickwil
Trickwil - 4/26/2015, 10:44 PM
I liked Iron Man 3...
marvel72
marvel72 - 4/27/2015, 5:31 AM
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Top Eleven Movies.

11th Iron Man 3 3/5
10th Iron Man 2 3/5
9th The Incredible Hulk 3/5
8th Thor 3/5
7th Thor:The Dark World 3/5
6th Captain America:The First Avenger 3/5
5th Guardians Of The Galaxy 4/5
4th Iron Man 5/5
3rd The Avengers 5/5
2nd Avengers:Age Of Ultron 5/5 (May change when I've seen it again)
1st Captain America:The Winter Soldier 5/5

Will be interesting to see where Ant-Man ends up on the list.
JohnnyRoss
JohnnyRoss - 4/27/2015, 5:36 AM
I will never understand everybody's hate for Iron Man 3.

For those of you who haven't seen AoU yet...

stop saying where it will probably be in your list.
WinterSoldier33
WinterSoldier33 - 4/28/2015, 3:58 PM
After seeing it again it is definitely in 5th place 7.75/10
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