The Marvel Cinematic Universe has produced hit after hit and, since 2008, grossed a massive $31 billion at the worldwide box office. However, recent years have seen Marvel Studios battle "superhero fatigue" and critics who no longer unanimously praise their output.
It's true that the MCU hasn't been at its best during the Multiverse Saga, though even the worst movie from this long-running franchise is arguably leaps and bounds ahead of say, Madame Web, or the likes of The Flash and X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
That's what makes choosing the "worst" MCU movies so incredibly difficult; none of them have been truly awful, but there are those which, simply put, aren't as good as others. Brace yourselves because they're the movies we're going to focus on in this ranking of the MCU's worst big screen offerings.
Remember, this is one opinion and you can share yours in the comments section. To see which of the 34 MCU movies made the cut here - and which we think is arguably the "worst" one - simply click on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
10. Eternals
In many ways, we feel bad putting Eternals here; yes, it was Marvel Studios' first "Rotten" movie, but it arguably doesn't deserve that status and there's a lot about it we did love.
For starters, the visuals, performances, and portrayal of superpowers were all top-notch. Where the movie let itself down was with a poorly realised, instantly forgettable villain in Kro and a messy story which saw the focus put on too many characters. Ultimately, Eternals once again shows that you shouldn't rush straight to "The Avengers."
While not as bad as some would have you believe, we'd be lying to say Eternals isn't one of the MCU's weaker efforts, hence its placement at the beginning of this list. That cliffhanger needs to be addressed somewhere down the line, regardless...
9. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
With Spider-Man director Sam Raimi making his Marvel return to helm Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we'd hoped for perhaps one of the greatest superhero movies ever made.
After all, the filmmaker is a huge fan of the character and his horror sensibilities perfectly suited a darker take on the former Sorcerer Supreme. While he brings plenty of flair to this crowded Multiverse adventure (and just a little horror), the cameos felt tacked on and the handling of the Scarlet Witch was suspect at best.
Marvel Studios crammed far too much into this one and, unfortunately, it shows. By no means a terrible movie, it's still one that didn't quite hit the way it should have back in 2022.
8. Black Widow
Fans had spent years pleading with Marvel Studios to make a Black Widow movie and, by the time it was finally released, the character had died in Avengers: Endgame. That left us with a story awkwardly sandwiched between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.
Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova remains one of the best additions to the MCU in recent memory and Scarlett Johansson was, as per usual, enjoyable to watch. Something just didn't quite click here and it shows with that CG-heavy ending and a weird take on Taskmaster.
Had this come out five years sooner and been Natasha Romanoff's origin story, it may well have gone down as one of the MCU's best movies. Instead, it's among the most easy to forget.
7. Iron Man 2
Poor Iron Man 2 was tasked with setting the stage for The Avengers, leaving huge chunks of the movie with no other choice than to deliver exposition and get Tony Stark in the right place to help assemble Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
Beyond that, the sequel always had the odds stacked against it, particularly as Iron Man's shadow loomed so large. With a problematic leading man in Mickey Rourke and the improvisational approach to storytelling established by the first movie no longer working as well on a second go, Iron Man 2 simply never soared.
The action was good but we may never forgive Marvel Studios for fumbling the ball with "Demon in the Bottle." While it's easy enough to rewatch, this effort remains the weakest instalment of the Iron Man trilogy.
6. The Marvels
Marvel Studios' biggest box office flop didn't deserve much of the hate it received from certain fans and there are glimpses of greatness to be found in The Marvels (the Flerken kittens instantly come to mind as do the unique visuals when each of the leads switch powers).
However, what should have been an event-sized movie featuring Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Photon feels like an extended episode of a Disney+ TV series and is lacking in stakes, world-building, and story arcs which do its leads justice.
The way it ignores Secret Invasion did little to help matters and neither did a woefully poor villain who we'd have to Google to name here (NOTE: it was Dar-Benn). Now, the Captain Marvel franchise is dead and we're sure most of you would agree that Carol Danvers deserved better.
5. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
The trailers for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania fooled us into believing this threequel would be an Avengers-sized movie with the MCU's new big bad, Kang the Conqueror, put front and centre. To some extent it was, but it also makes misstep after misstep.
Filmmaker Peyton Reed proved himself woefully inept at delivering a cohesive story, while an overreliance on The Volume left the Quantum Realm feeling oddly soulless. As for Kang, his Conqueror Variant was wasted and eventually killed off, leaving us to look forward to The Avengers battling goofs like Immortus and Rama-Tut.
It seems the original plan had been for Scott Lang to be a crucial figure in the next Avengers movies; while we certainly hope to see more of him down the line, this underwhelming movie has tarnished his MCU legacy.
4. Thor: The Dark World
When the news broke that Alan Taylor would helm Thor: The Dark World, the expectation among fans was that it meant they'd be getting a Game of Thrones-inspired take on the God of Thunder (then HBO series was, at the time, what Taylor was best known for).
There were creative differences on set which go some way in explaining why that didn't pan out and we're not saying it was all bad. Yes, Avengers: Endgame deserves the credit for making us appreciate it more, though Loki had a satisfying story arc and...well, the rest was really just okay.
While it's certainly not the Asgardian's worst solo outing (oh, you'd best believe we're getting to that), Thor: The Dark World is one of the Phase 2 movies that remind us Marvel Studios was still finding its feet in the wake of The Avengers' massive success.
3. Ant-Man and the Wasp
Why were we so hard on Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania? Perhaps this will explain it. Hired to replace Edgar Wright on 2015's Ant-Man, Peyton Reed had the good fortune of working with many of that filmmaker's inventive ideas. The result was a fun origin story.
When Ant-Man and The Wasp rolled around a few years later, it quickly became apparent that he was in over his head. We appreciated seeing The Wasp in action, but how much else do you remember about this move? There was a cool car chase, right? And, er, something with Giant-Man? Oh, Jimmy Woo...he was funny.
Like Thor: The Dark World, this sequel was a sign this franchise needed a fresh set of eyes heading into a third instalment. Instead, we got more of the same, explaining why Quantumania ranks a couple of places above its predecessor.
2. The Incredible Hulk
Poor Hulk. Despite finding great success as a supporting character in the MCU, he's always struggled on his own and nowhere was that more evident than with Marvel Studios' second-ever movie, 2008's The Incredible Hulk.
Again, there were well-publicised creative clashes both during and after production which doomed this one. Even sixteen years on, we still have a soft spot for that awesome clash with Abomination, but had this not opened alongside Iron Man as one of the MCU's first chapters, it would have been as forgotten as quickly as the other superhero movies released in the mid-to-late 2000s.
It improved on 2003's Hulk and the visuals at the time were top-notch; we can't really think of any other positives right now, though...
1. Thor: Love and Thunder
Is Thor: Love and Thunder truly the worst MCU movie? Some of you will agree, while others are no doubt going to think we've lost our minds. Either way, we don't think it's unfair to say that Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok follow-up was a crushing disappointment.
Riding high off the success of that 2017 movie, the filmmaker indulged himself too much here with an overabundance of goofy comedy and a painfully weak take on not one, but two beloved comic book storylines (Gorr the God Butcher's introduction and Jane Foster's return as the Mighty Thor).
There are some cool visuals and moments to be found, but when you have a lead star repeatedly saying the movie got it wrong, you know something was off. The worst part? This had the potential to go down as an all-time classic...