Ranking the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Ranking the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Title says it all.

Editorial Opinion
By EdgyOutsider - Jun 01, 2013 06:06 AM EST
Filed Under: Avengers

Here, I will not only rank the MCU but I will also put the movies best moment with it. First up....

Iron Man 2



It's got action, humor, and..... War Machine? I really enjoyed the movie and feel it's no less than good but, it's really hard trying to come up with pluses for the movie because it's so messy and it's just not easy to pick out a good moment in the entire movie. Ya know? I might've contradicted myself by saying that I think it's no less than good but, can't find a bright spot. Here is, what I think the best part of the movie is



Pretty sad, isn't it? Moving on.

The Incredible Hulk



The Incredible Hulk has great pacing as well as great but simple story, good acting and even though it's not exactly two hours, it's got a good balance of action and story. So why so low? I feel the higher ranked ones did it better. As for best moment



This is just a clip of it but, great music mixed with awesome action and a good dramatic scene where Hulk is momentarily down and out makes it all the more worth it.

Iron Man 3



The humor... if it wasn't for so much of the unnecessary humor. It really killed the movie for me. I thought it was a great start to Phase Two and even though I didn't get the action-comedy feel that most did, I do see where the complaints about too much humor or humor at unnecessary times comes from. However, good character development (outside of Killian), great action as always and the best dramatic performances and scenes to date, I think Iron Man 3 in the drama department is the start of proof (if you didn't see the proof in Captain America: The First Avenger) that Marvel can do dramatic scenes and is not just all action as many make it out to be. I have a feeling this will be continued in Thor: The Dark World and particularly Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I also feel that, the overall tone of the movie is dark despite all the humor in the movie. The dark tone doesn't have to be so obvious as in Spider-Man 3 and The Dark Knight trilogy. Plus, The Mandarin from the comics would never have worked on screen unless they wanted Iron Man 3 to suck, he would've came off cartoony and just terrible. Not in a good way either. Anyways, best moment is



The music and Robert Downey's performance in this scene in particular is proof that Marvel can do very dramatic scenes and pull the heart strings. Call me whatever you like, I nearly teared up when Pepper fell and Tony started to well up.

Thor



Again, a lot of people have a problem with Thor. I'll admit, I was never much aware of who he was and what he was like except for the very basic, basics. Thor being on earth the majority of the movie gave him humility, makes him value life and makes him human. It gives him emotion and feeling despite the rushed romance. It doesn't have the best action sequences but, the story and the dramatic scenes really help the movie out as well as they use the right amount of humor in the movie that is necessary for a god to be a human on earth. Have some fun with it, ya know? Best moment is



What was that? Marvel is style over substance? I don't think so. Loki's parentage reveal in Thor is one of the most sympathetic and heart pulling scenes in the Marvel Universe and in comicbook movies in general. I almost picked the scene where Thor tries to pull Mjolnir out of the ground but, I felt this was a stronger more dramatic scene.

Iron Man



The movie that started it all. Fantastic acting (praise as always to, RDJ), great action sequences, perfectly timed humor and great pacing helps make this movie as a whole succeed in such a big way despite a B-grade character. Who knew that five years later we would have a full cinematic universe that in reality, is just getting started, an Avengers movie and three Iron Man movies? We kind of saw it coming but at the same time, who knew it would be a reality? We was only able to hope and pray. Tony's story is told but, we are still getting him for Avengers 2 and 3. Don't you just love 'ol shellhead? Best moment



Is there a disagreement with this moment? I personally wouldn't think so.

Captain America: The First Avenger



The best acting, romance, pacing and it has the most heart. For once, we're rooting for the initial character instead of the hero. Can you say the same in the other superhero movies? Personally, I can't. That's what makes the Captain America movie (soon to be movies) so great and so special, you're always rooting for the Steve Rogers character and you care about Steve Rogers, not Captain America. It's done so perfectly. Best moment? Well, that's easy as hell.



If I did a list of the best dramatic, heart tugging scenes in comicbook movies so far, this and Pepper falling would be tied. Maybe this would have a slight edge. It's heart breaking cause you love the romance between Steve and Peggy.

Marvel's The Avengers



I'm sure everyone saw this coming. Why people expected this to be a deeper comicbook movie, I have no idea. You need a basic premise that works for the movie that it could benefit from. Everything else is how well they get along, what it would be like if all these people were in the same room together, ect. It really pays off too. I think the development of them as a team was great (Coulson needs to die already!) and obviously the action scenes are the best of any comicbook movie. Which, that's another thing going for it. It feels like what it actually is, it embraces the fact it's a COMICBOOK movie. It's fun, action packed, filled with heart and humor. This movie blends everything together. It's the best in my opinion.



What else would be the best moment? Thanos as the closer of The Avengers story in their debut film is perfect. I just have a couple requests though: Black Panther and Warbird (sounds better than Ms.Marvel) for Avengers 2 instead of Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver and somehow make Taskmaster the main villain for Avengers 2. I think it would be epic if you had those three in the movie. Also, I don't really want to see them fight another god/alien.

That's me. What about you? Comment below and here's Redemption by Redlight King if you choose to listen to it.



Most anticipated Phase Two movie(s) are: The Avengers 2, Captain America: The Winter Soldier
RUMOR: Marvel Studios Is Now Moving Forward With A HULK VS. WOLVERINE Movie
Related:

RUMOR: Marvel Studios Is Now Moving Forward With A HULK VS. WOLVERINE Movie

RUMOR: New Details On Why YOUNG AVENGERS Is Now CHAMPIONS; More On DAREDEVIL, HAWKEYE Season 2, And NOVA
Recommended For You:

RUMOR: New Details On Why YOUNG AVENGERS Is Now CHAMPIONS; More On DAREDEVIL, HAWKEYE Season 2, And NOVA

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

1 2
AshleyWilliams
AshleyWilliams - 6/1/2013, 7:19 AM
^^Agreed. TIH is underrated.

List is nice
marvelstudios
marvelstudios - 6/1/2013, 7:38 AM
My ranking:

1. Marvel's The Avengers
2. Iron Man 3
3. Thor
4. The Incredible Hulk
5. Iron Man 2
6. Iron Man
7. Captain America: The First Avenger
Highflyer
Highflyer - 6/1/2013, 7:40 AM
I always thought TIH was underrated. It's one of the best movies that marvel studios have ever released.
Zeponi
Zeponi - 6/1/2013, 7:51 AM
My ranks are...

1-Avengers
2-Iron Man
3-Iron Man 3
4-Thor
5-Captain America
6-Iron Man 2
7-The Incredible Hulk

But on a level, I somewhat agree with your list.
Highflyer
Highflyer - 6/1/2013, 8:01 AM
1) The Incredible Hulk
2) Iron Man
3) Captain America
4) Thor
5) Avengers
6) Iron Man 2
whoa123
whoa123 - 6/1/2013, 8:06 AM
Mine are:
1. Avengers
2. Iron Man 3
3. Iron Man
4. Captain America
5. Iron Man 2
6. Thor
7. The Incredible Hulk
Brainiac13
Brainiac13 - 6/1/2013, 8:30 AM
The Incredible Hulk is the best Marvel movie.

2. IM
3. Avengers
4. Thor
5. CAP
6. IM2
7. IM3

Happy11
Happy11 - 6/1/2013, 8:32 AM
1. Iron Man
2. The Incredible Hulk
3. Avengers
4. Thor
5. Captain America
6. Iron Man 2
7. Iron Man 3
CapemA
CapemA - 6/1/2013, 10:31 AM
Switch Iron Man and Captain America and we totally agree.
dracula
dracula - 6/1/2013, 11:31 AM
my rank
1 The Avengers
2 Captain America The First Avenger
3 Iron Man
4 Iron Man 3
5 The Incredable Hulk
6 Thor
7 Iron Man 2
LEVITIKUZ
LEVITIKUZ - 6/1/2013, 11:34 AM
All the Marvel films range from good to ok. The only 3 I really like and will rewatch is Iron Man, Avengers, & The Incredible Hulk. The rest are ok.
bambistark
bambistark - 6/1/2013, 11:35 AM
1. Avengers
2. Iron Man
3. Thor
4. Iron Man 3
5. Iron Man 2
6. Captain America
7. Incredible Hulk

None of them are horrible, I enjoy all of them, but this is just my personal list in order of favourites.
Ocelot
Ocelot - 6/1/2013, 11:49 AM
1. Iron Man
2. The Incredible Hulk
3. The Avengers
4. Iron Man 3
5. Thor
6. Iron Man 2
7. Captain America: The First Avenger

@KryptonianAbominationClone

Dont get it either
marvel72
marvel72 - 6/1/2013, 12:14 PM
marvel cinematic universe ranking.

1st the avengers 4/5
2nd iron man 4/5
3rd captain america the first avenger 3/5
4th thor 3/5
5th the incredible hulk 3/5
6th iron man 3 3/5
7th iron man 2 3/5

marvel studios still hasn't made a shit movie,which is impressive.
gamecreatorjj
gamecreatorjj - 6/1/2013, 1:33 PM
1-Avengers 5/5
2- Ironman 4/5
3- Captain America 3/5
4- The Incredible Hulk 2.5/5
5- Ironman 2- 2/5
6- Thor 1.5/5
7- Ironman 3 0.5/5
TheRaven20
TheRaven20 - 6/1/2013, 1:44 PM
Almost agree exactly with you gamecreatorjj
1. Avengers
2. Iron Man
3. Captain America
4. The Incredible Hulk
5. Thor
6. Iron Man 2
7. Iron Man 3
Ray2407
Ray2407 - 6/1/2013, 3:43 PM
Mine arrreee

1.Avengers
2.The Incredible Hulk
3.Iron man
4.Captain america
5.Thor
6.Iron man 2
7.Iron man 3

Iron man 3 was so disappointing for me.I to watch it a couple of times to believe that it was that crap.
GuardianDevil
GuardianDevil - 6/1/2013, 5:01 PM
Thor was a garbage movie. It had bad to average acting from everyone except Hiddleston. Storyline that makes no sense, and doesn't even follow what it set up for itself (Thor was supposed to get powers back when he learns humility, but nowhere in the film did this happen. Instead they got sloppy, and had him get power back when he starts fighting.) weak action, weak CGI, a cheesy romance consisting of a bad performance and an average one. That one was by far the worst film of the MCU.

7. Thor
6. Iron Man 2
5. The Avengers
4. Iron Man 3
3. Captain America: First Avenger
2. The Incredible Hulk
1. Iron Man
EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 6/1/2013, 5:22 PM
@Fenix122: He does learn humility and the fact he actually sacrificed himself for the humans shows that he's matured and cares. Therefore, he got his powers back. Storyline made perfect sense. I will agree the action and CGI are both weak. Honestly, the romance doesn't really bother me that much. By no means is it good but, I accept it for what it is. I agree with @Marvel72, that Marvel Studios has yet to make a shit movie. The Avengers would be epic, Iron Man 2 would be good and everything else is all the positives in between good and epic. But, to each his own.
gamecreatorjj
gamecreatorjj - 6/1/2013, 5:43 PM
@crossbones I agree wit Fenix concerning Thor, I thought it was awful, Thor doesn't really learn humility, he does one thing by helping people get to safety, then he sacrifices himself, but it seemed like he did everything he did just to get the Hammer back, it never really seemed that he was actually being a mortal hero, they should have had more about Thor learning his place, because those earth scenes were abysmal, as bad as Green Lantern was, the scenes with Hal on earth were somewhat interesting and they took their time (maybe too much time, when Thor was on earth it just seemed rushed and incomplete, but everyone else liked it, so what do I know?
EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 6/1/2013, 5:58 PM
@gamecreatorjj: Everyone has their opinions and I respect you guys' as I generally try to do with everyone. Personally, they got nothing right with Green Lantern. Reynolds was good as Hal and Mark Strong was great as Sinestro. But, there wasn't a single interesting moment in the entire movie (the same could be said in your eyes at Thor). Character development worse than a chick flick, terrible CGI and shit villains. Not to mention that they tried going with humor and, it failed miserably. One of my favorite things about Thor is that it has fun with the idea of a god with no powers being on earth and having to deal with and learn about the different things and situations that are dealt with and learned here. I felt the movie was highly entertaining but, to each his own bro.
gamecreatorjj
gamecreatorjj - 6/1/2013, 6:40 PM
@Crossbones to each is his own, and for the fact, Green Lantern was terrible, and everybody knows it.
EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 6/1/2013, 6:42 PM
@gamecreator: If they didn't then they would need their brain checked, in my opinion.
RaMan
RaMan - 6/1/2013, 6:44 PM
My turn My turn:

my rank
1 The Avengers
2 The Incredible Hulk
3 Iron Man 2
4 Thor
5 Captain America: The First Avenger
6 Iron Man


**Iron Man 3 does not deserve to be in any category!!!!**
RaMan
RaMan - 6/1/2013, 7:33 PM
How about John Cusak for Iron Man 4??

10 Movies Worse Than Time's '10 Worst' List
GuardianDevil
GuardianDevil - 6/1/2013, 7:41 PM

@Crossbones
I understand it wasn't 100% terrible, but how in hell (no offense) could you rate it above Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 3 or even Iron Man 2??

Incredible Hulk is a fantastic film, and one of the best films Marvel has ever made. The ONLY negative about that movie was bad CGI. But even with bad CGI, it still had great action scenes like Hulk vs Ross at the school, and Hulk vs Abomination. 
Incredible Hulk also had pretty much average to good acting all around, great character development for both the hero AND the villain (which is more than the Capt. America movie, Thor movie and last two Iron Man films can say) the only bad thing about it was CGI, and even then there were still great action scenes. This movie has had the best portrayal of a villain in any of the MCU films aside from Loki in Avengers.

Iron Man 3 had great CGI and action too, Killian was a cool villain. Even though I would have preferred the actual Mandarin. The character and story was good, although it did have a few flaws such as unfunny humor. It was eons above Thor.

Even Iron Man 2 was better than Thor,  Iron Man 2 had good (not great) action, such as the Monaco scene, Widow and Happy in the big building. Iron Man and War Machine vs Hammer drones. Iron Man 2 also had decent story and character development for the hero. Good CGI too. All four of which Thor lacked. 

The only GOOD thing about Thor was the portrayal of the villain, everything else in it was crap.


To each his own though :) guess if you like bad movies I shouldn't try and tell you different. If you like it, good for you.

To me Incredible Hulk and Iron Man were the best, because those were the only two MCU films to have a character arc for the hero AND the villain. Even though Jeff Bridges' Iron Monger was a botched version of the real guy, he was still an interesting villain and had some good character development.
EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 6/1/2013, 8:03 PM
@Cipher: Believe me man, I was ready to shed a tear or two.

@Fenix122: I personally don't think it is but, you could see it as a guilty pleasure for me. Shit, everyone has them. Although, I did see a list where Green Lantern was a guilty pleasure. I personally think that guy took the wrong medication. But yeah, I agree that The Incredible Hulk is very under rated and a great watch. I just feel the other movies did certain things better. Then again, I think I'm one of the few on this site that prefers Captain America over all the other solo movies lol
GuardianDevil
GuardianDevil - 6/1/2013, 11:50 PM
@Crossbones
Yeah, I guess so. To each his own if you liked Thor then good for you, all I can do is say why I feel it is objectively a bad movie, and just move on. 

I liked Spider-Man 3, Batman Forever, Batman Returns and Punisher (2004)...all of which are generally disliked by the comic book and film communities, so I can't blame you ;)
GuardianDevil
GuardianDevil - 6/2/2013, 12:03 AM
I'd also like to comment on the best moments in the films.

In Iron Man 2 I agree, my favorite scene in that movie and one of my top 10 fight scenes in a CBM is the Monaco Iron Man vs Whiplash, I just wish it would've been longer.

In Incredible Hulk, my favorite scene was when Banner is running away from Ross and Blonsky at the school and then transforms into Hulk and jumps out of the building.

In Iron Man 3, my favorite was probably the same. The final fight scene and then Pepper "dies".

In Thor.....Hawkeye cameo ;)

In Iron Man, my favorite was when Tony first builds the Mark I armor and busts out of the prison. Yinsen died, I nearly teared up and he was only in the film for like 10 minutes. In around 10 minutes the viewers had built a relationship with a xharacter and was sad when he died. Then Iron Man MK1 was great.

In Avengers....it's just gotta be " puny god" haha favorite scene in any CBM, Hulk smashes the dude like a ragdoll. Followed by "I'm always angry" Hulk was the best part of that movie.
gamecreatorjj
gamecreatorjj - 6/2/2013, 12:37 AM
Ill do what Fenix is doing, and also go for my top scenes, because why not

Ironman- Definitely the final battle with IronMonger, it was just so over the top and ridiculous, you can't hate how awesome that fight is.

Incredible Hulk- Another Final Battle, Hulk vs Abomination, it was just amazing, we haven't gotten Hulk fighting physical equals alot, so this was nice

Iron Man 2-Another fight scene, Rhodes vs Stark is what we had all be waiting for and it was the best fight of all the ironman films, that tied in with the reasons behind it, and what it lead up to, just amazing

Thor- Loki finding out his roots, that moment was amazing in every way, it helped build Loki (to me, one of the few good parts)

Captain America- The montage of him on the road selling bonds, do i need to go further?

Avengers- The avengers woods battle, we all wanted to see the heroes go toe to toe, it was very well done, and had alot of the cool moments we expected

Ironman 3- I didn't have one, there wasn't any good villain interaction at all, and Ironman wasn't in but the climax, which was ruined by killian
Gary8264
Gary8264 - 6/2/2013, 5:17 AM
Nick, I'll go with your list. Cap and Avengers are easily my two favorites. The thin' that made Cap:TFA so great was that they actually focused on Steve Rogers. Marvel has invested alotta time for the last two or three decades showin' that Steve is Cap, it's all 'bout the man behind the mask, not the mask.
"Make Mine Marvel"
JorEllinator
JorEllinator - 6/2/2013, 6:47 AM
Cap has been my favourite since it came out. I would have been fine if they had just said that Cap died in that movie after that fantastic plane crash scene. I like Iron Man 2 more than a lot of people and enjoy it more than the first but the first is superior. Thor I found to be average and was saved by Hiddleston. Incredible Hulk was good and I kind of prefer Norton as Banner than Ruffalo. Avengers was good but I didn't like it as much as everyone else.
Tainted87
Tainted87 - 6/2/2013, 7:10 AM
I feel that if I started ranking the entire MCU, it would look as though I didn't like one or two of them.

I love em all. Hmmmm, maybe we'll go by how many times I felt the need to see each one in the theater?

Iron Man - 3x
the Incredible Hulk - 1x
Iron Man 2 - 2x
Thor - 2x
Captain America: the First Avenger - 1x
the Avengers - 3x
Iron Man 3 - 1x

I can't rank them all, especially Iron Man 3 considering all the movies I'm budgeting for this summer....
NovaCorpsFan
NovaCorpsFan - 6/2/2013, 7:34 AM
Seeing as I don't take favourites on anything (Thats how wars start) I just really like the whole spectrum of the MCU for what each of the movies are.
CapemA
CapemA - 6/2/2013, 12:16 PM
Favorite scenes

Iron Man: Mark One Armor escaping from the cave. The first time Iron Man was on the big screen. Marvel Cinematic Universe was born.

The Incredible Hulk: Hulk vs Ross & Blonsky at the college.

Iron Man 2: Whiplash vs Iron Man round one at Monaco

Thor: Frost Giant calls Thor a Princess and the battle that ensues (I'm a big Hogan fan, so seeing him on the big screen was cool for me)

Captain America: Tie: Red Skull reveal in exploding Hydra facility and Phillips interrogation of Zola

Avengers: Tie: Thor vs Hulk, Police Officer asking Cap "why the hell should I take orders from you", Cap takes out aliens and cop repeats what Cap said verbatim and then the famous assembly of The Avengers with the circling camera shot

Iron Man 3: that final battle was freaking awesome. Iron Man taking on a non-armored villain who could go toe-to-toe with him.
RexMason
RexMason - 6/2/2013, 4:42 PM
1) Hulk
2) Thor
3) Captain America
4) The Avengers
5) The Incredible Hulk
6) Iron Man
7) Iron Man 2
8) Iron Man 3

Xandera
Xandera - 6/2/2013, 9:07 PM
This is exactly the order I would have put them in as far as my enjoyment goes... Nice job!
1 2
View Recorder