After Ironheart wrapped up on Disney+ last week, Phase Five has officially reached its end. Beginning with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania in 2023, much has changed over the past two and a half years.
Kang the Conqueror is out, and Doctor Doom is in, for starters. Then, there's Marvel Studios' attempt to move back to quality rather than quantity after former Disney CEO Bob Chapek tasked Kevin Feige and company with producing as much streaming content as possible.
We've ranked half of Phase Five (you can find that here), but this next lot of movies and TV shows proved much harder to find a place for, as they're all deserving of being hailed as among some of Marvel Studios' best projects. Oh, and if you're wondering why X-Men '97 doesn't get a mention, it's because it wasn't officially considered part of this Phase. It would have been worthy of the top spot, though!
You can find out how we've ranked the rest of Phase Five by clicking the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
7. Agatha All Along
Agatha All Along exceeded expectations, and very much like WandaVision before it, felt like something new from Marvel Studios. We hate not ranking it higher, honestly, as it really was one of this Phase's best efforts.
The show kept us guessing from week to week, delivering some big surprises while setting the stage for plenty of major stories down the line (when and where those will play out remains to be seen).
"The Ballad of the Witches' Road," meanwhile, proved every bit as catchy as "Agatha All Along." We'd go so far as to say that the truth behind the Witches' Road was one of the best twists MCU has delivered since, well, WandaVision revealed what was going on in Westview.
6. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
We didn't have high hopes for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. The animation style looked...odd...and the moment it was revealed not to be set on the Sacred Timeline, our interest waned. How wrong we were.
This show was a breath of fresh air, putting a spectacular new spin on the web-slinger and his enemies. Making Norman Osborn the teenager's mentor added a new layer to Spidey and took Scorpion from B-List status straight to the A-List by portraying him as a true threat to Peter Parker.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man was also Lonnie Lincoln's story, with that subplot proving an unexpected highlight. Throw in a memorable cameo from Daredevil and that epic team-up with Doctor Strange, and this show was simply amazing.
5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
James Gunn's farewell to the Marvel Cinematic Universe saw the Superman director go out on a high. This emotional threequel finally revealed Rocket's origin story and left the team in a very different place from where we first found them.
The High Evolutionary was a truly hateful, disturbing villain, while Adam Warlock was an exciting addition to the MCU, even if he had little in common with his comic book counterpart. Overall, this left us wishing Disney had convinced Gunn to stick around.
As we write this, there's no clear indication of what's next for the Guardians in the MCU. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 promised that the Legendary Star-Lord would return, and we're optimistic about it happening in Avengers: Doomsday.
4. Loki Season 2
Loki season 2 was tainted by the Jonathan Majors situation, but the actor was on fine form, as were Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Sophia Di Martino, Ke Huy Quan, and the rest of this impressive ensemble.
Kang's relevance to the Multiverse Saga has been diminished with Robert Downey Jr. now serving as Avengers: Doomsday's big bad, and we have no idea whether Marvel Studios will find a way to explain why Kang is no longer the threat he was built up to be.
Ultimately, that shouldn't overshadow what proved to be a phenomenal second season of an excellent series. With plenty of clever time travel storytelling and a game-changing finale that forever changed Loki's status quo in the MCU, this was and remains a must-watch.
3. Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again was an excellent revival that finally put the spotlight on the MCU's Man Without Fear. Brutal, unforgiving, and a gripping character study for Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk, this was Marvel Television at its absolute best.
Stopping it from reaching the top spot were those telltale signs of the previous creative team. New showrunner Dario Scardapane did his best with what they gave him to work with, but the premiere and final two episodes were leaps and bounds ahead of everything else.
Even so, this made for an excellent watch and was just as good, if not better, than Netflix's Daredevil (a controversial statement, but we're sticking with it). And honestly, it was worth it for Daredevil's team-up with The Punisher alone.
2. Deadpool & Wolverine
Deadpool & Wolverine was a much-needed win for Marvel Studios last year, and proved that the Multiverse works really well when it's handled properly. In fact, Shawn Levy's movie was great enough to give us faith in the next Avengers movies ending this Saga on a high note.
Seeing these two characters share the screen was pure joy, as was the surprise returns of Blade, Elektra, X-23, and more. Throw in that unforgettable "Like A Prayer" fight scene, and a surprisingly strong emotional core, and this threequel was utterly brilliant.
The fact Marvel Studios hasn't very publicly announced these two for Avengers: Doomsday is mind-boggling. Still, Ryan Reynolds is thought to be developing X-Force, and there's even chatter about Hugh Jackman sticking around. We're in!
1. Thunderbolts*
Thunderbolts* wasn't a box office hit, but it ranks among Marvel Studios' best movies. Even with a cast of B-List characters, this moving tale about loneliness and mental health struck a chord, but also boasted some epic action scenes for those of you just looking for that.
Yelena Belova was nothing short of excellent, delivering another superb performance (the sooner she gets a solo outing, the better). Lewis Pullman was similarly excellent as The Sentry, and with solid turns from everyone else, we're so there to see the *New Avengers assemble.
This movie deserved to make more than it did, but it was a good lesson to Marvel Studios about how to handle its streaming offerings. It turns out you can't expect people to pay to see characters they can get for free at home. Thunderbolts* was worth the price of admission, though.