The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) first kicked off in 2008 with the release of Iron Man. 15 years and almost five Phases later, the MCU has become the world’s biggest, highest-grossing film franchise—but how do its stages stack up against each other?
To date, it has released 33 films and nine TV shows, with nine more confirmed movies on the way. With a staggering total of over 40 titles, it might be difficult to know where to start. Fortunately, the MCU has made its storylines and films easier to track by dividing the cinematic universe into Phases. So far, Marvel has completed four Phases and is halfway through Phase Five.
Each Phase includes a group of interconnected movies that share an overarching storyline, theme, or timeline. For example, Phase 1 introduces the founding members of the Avengers and culminates in the first Avengers film. Meanwhile, Phase 2 explores the consequences of heroes being introduced to the world, Phase 3 tracks the rise of Thanos (Josh Brolin) and the resulting Endgame, Phase 4 follows the post-Endgame era and introduction of the multiverse, and Phase 5 explores the world post-multiverse-opening.
Some Phases in the MCU have had a more coherent and intriguing storyline than others, while some Phases have boasted higher-quality films than other Phases. With Marvel facing some box office misses recently, there are many questions about whether it’s deteriorating in quality or still going strong.
So, here is every Phase of the MCU ranked from worst to best so far, based both on the overarching story and the quality of the individual films in each Phase.
5. Phase 2
Films in Phase 2:
Iron Man 3
Thor: The Dark World
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ant-Man
While Marvel Phase 1 culminated in the formation of the Avengers, Phase 2 largely tracked the aftermath of The Avengers and the connotations of a superhero team being introduced to the world. Just from reading the list of films in Phase 2, one can tell that most of them were continuations of the Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and Avengers series. Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man were the only two films introducing new heroes to the MCU.
The major problem with Phase 2 was that it had the least cohesive overarching storyline. In trying to continue several pre-established series while also starting new stories, it struggled to connect the films significantly. Avengers: Age of Ultron was the closest thing to a culmination, but it lacked the grandeur to be a truly satisfying conclusion. Plus, Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man felt random, and the former might have fit better into Phase 3.
What also hurt Phase 2 was the quality of the films. Thor: The Dark World is definitely the weakest entry in Phase 2 and is one of the lowest-rated MCU films for its bland tone, poor villains, and unnecessary plot structure. Avengers: Age of Ultron was also the weakest link in the Avengers film series, lacking the high stakes and ambition of its predecessors and successors. Iron Man 3 and Ant-Man also struggled to add meaning and innovation to the MCU. As good as Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy were, those two films alone couldn’t hold up the disjointed and mediocre Phase 2.
4. Phase 5
Films in Phase 5
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
The Marvels
TV shows in Phase 5
Secret Invasion
Loki season 2
Phase 5 of the MCU is not yet complete. There are still four very exciting new TV shows and two films that have yet to arrive. Hence, the ranking could change within the next year or two. For now, though, Phase 5 isn’t looking so hot. The primary issue is that the connectivity seems non-existent in this phase.
We had Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumia and Loki season 2, which were connected by delving further into Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). Unfortunately, that’s really as far as the interconnectedness goes. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 exists completely in its own universe. While The Marvels touches lightly on the multiverse, it’s still very self-contained. Secret Invasion and The Marvels had the potential to be connected, but oddly, they don’t relate to each other at all, making the former’s presence in Phase 5 very perplexing. Maybe the MCU will surprise us and bring all these stories together in a marvelous way, but for now, the franchise has never seemed more disconnected.
Quality-wise, Phase 5 is alright. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was a fantastic end to the trilogy and a surprisingly sophisticated dive into the topic of animal cruelty, while Loki season 2 gave one of the most beloved MCU characters of all time a proper conclusion to his TVA story. The Marvels also offered viewers a wildly good time with lots of girl power. Unfortunately, it felt like Marvel didn’t know exactly what to do with Secret Invasion or Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The former didn’t nearly do justice to its source material, and the latter didn’t deliver on the hype it stirred with promises of Kang.
With a very disjointed storyline, the quality of a few of its films is the only thing keeping Phase 5 ahead of Phase 2. It really can’t afford any more misses quality-wise, but if it starts tying things together and churning out quality movies, it could still eclipse Phase 4.
3. Phase 4
Films in Phase 4
Black Widow
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Eternals
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Thor: Love and Thunder
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
TV shows in Phase 4
WandaVision
Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Loki
What If…?
Hawkeye
Moon Knight
Ms. Marvel
She-Hulk: Attorney at law
Phase 4 was a bit of a weird Phase for the MCU. Black Widow ended up in Phase 4 after being delayed more than a year past its original release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It takes place between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. As a result, it clearly does not fit with Phase 4 or its overarching story. Hence, the Phase started poorly storyline-wise. Phase 4 boasts a more coherent overarching story than Phase 2 but has too many stories to tell. It tries to explore the aftermath of Endgame, introduce a new era of heroes, and introduce the multiverse. Most of it fits into a rather broad post-Endgame timeline, but the story is definitely scattered and disjointed.
Just like its storyline is kind of all over the place, so is the quality of Phase 4. Three of its films, Eternals, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Thor: Love and Thunder, are among the top 5 worst-rated films of the entire MCU. However, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man: No Way Home are among the top 10 best-rated films in the MCU. Meanwhile, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was an unexpected departure from the MCU and a very emotional and powerful tribute to Chadwick Boseman.
Phase 4 is tough to rate. Some of its films are good, but a lot are more average. Black Widow threw off the continuity, but the rest of the Phase had somewhat of an overarching storyline. Plus, Phase 4 had something every other Phase didn’t – TV series. Most of its TV shows were of fairly high quality, too, and gave fans some additional context. Ultimately, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), Spider-Man (Tom Holland), MCU TV shows, and the overarching multiverse saved Phase 4 from being ranked worse than Phase 2 and 5.
2. Phase 1
Films in Phase 1
Iron Man
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 2
Thor
Captain America: The First Avenger
The Avengers
Of all the MCU phases, Phase 1 offered the most cohesive overarching storyline. This might seem surprising on the surface, but it makes sense in retrospect. The MCU was just starting, and its only natural move was to start introducing the founding members of the MCU and then bring them all together for a big finale. Hence, Phase 1 is very interconnected and boasts a simple, unified storyline of heroes entering the world and slowly forming the Avengers.
Quality-wise, Phase 1 was also fairly strong. The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2 were the only films that really floundered in this phase. They featured poor casting decisions, storylines, and overused superhero tropes. However, the rest of the films in this Phase made up for the two outliers. What made them all such good films was that they were groundbreaking, innovative, and like nothing theater-goers had seen before. Plots, acting performances, direction, visuals, and the final culmination of The Avengers left audiences invigorated and excited for the future of the MCU and firmly established its place as a franchise that demanded attention.
The only downfall of Phase 1 was that it was still finding its footing as a franchise. As a result, it boasted a lot of origin stories and had to make some mistakes to see what worked and what didn’t work. It didn’t have enough time to build up high stakes and solidify its cast and themes.
1. Phase 3
Films in Phase 3:
Captain America: Civil War
Doctor Strange
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Thor: Ragnarok
Black Panther
Avengers: Infinity War
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Captain Marvel
Avengers: Endgame
Spider-Man: Far From Home
Phase 3 is where Marvel really found its stride. What was especially impressive was that it boasted more films than any Phase in the MCU yet managed to interconnect them better than any Phase. The major storyline in Phase 3 is Thanos’ rise of power, his collection of the Infinity Stones, and the rise and efforts of the heroes who oppose Thanos. Even the films that were a little far removed from this central storyline, like Captain Marvel or Ant-Man and the Wasp, still introduced heroes or brief scenes that directly tied into and had huge connotations for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
Quality-wise, Phase 3 killed it. Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, and Avengers: Endgame all make up some of the very best films in the entire MCU, and they all premiered in the same Phase. As far as quality goes, every Phase 3 film stays well above mediocre, and none can truly be considered poor. All the films boasted performances, directing, visuals, and storylines that appealed to viewers. Plus, every single story and hero had a purpose in the overarching story of Phase 3. This Phase is a clear testimony to just how important interconnectivity is in enhancing the overall quality of big film franchises.
(featured image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
