For my first real blog post I wanted to start with something as universally beloved as I could. Something easy to get the creative analytical juices flowing. Soon I realized that the answer lies in pop culture’s most prevalent revenue accruing powerhouse. I want to organize a tier list (who doesn’t love a good tier list?) of every major marvel movie that has hit the cinemas ever. I won’t leave anything out-this is not restrictive to just the MCU. And yes I’m even including the Captain America trilogy. And no, I’m not talking about the Captain America trilogy staring our fave Boy Scout Chris Evans. I have seen ’em all in one way shape or form so Im here to offer my insight into what each one has to offer you in your next marvel movie marathon. Most of them I have seen in theaters after the year 1999 in particular, especially regarding the MCU and Fox X-men franchise with very few exceptions. Anything before that I was either not born yet or was too young to remember in cinema. A lot of them I have revisted over the years in probably quite honestly an unhealthily amount of times.
I will be considering a hefty amount of information both subjective and objective when deciding the proper order of the tier list that’s not limited to but includes:
- Release Date
- Creative Team (Actors/Directors etc.)
- Performance
- Budget (Does It Reflect It’s Budget?)
- Did it Profit or Flop? Is it worth finding out by how much?
- Comic Accuracy or Lack-there-of (Or if it even matters)
- How was it Received at the Time?
- How Has it Aged? Is the movie memorable? Does it hold up? Is it Timeless or forgettable?
- Box Office
- DVD/VHS/Blue Ray sales (when historically appropriate)(streaming numbers won’t be taken into account as its almost impossible to get an accurate number there)
- Controversy (if applicable in anyway)
- Spoiler culture (This has evolved over the years and absolutely impacts reception/success)
- Awards (Mostly: Oscar nominated vs winner and in what categories)
- Did something influence this movie/scene/character? Was it effective?
- Influence this movie had and Importance for Future Projects
- Influence and Importance for In Universe Storytelling
- Script/Pacing
- Memorable or Iconic Moments
- Dialogue
- Sound Effect, Art Design, Soundtrack, Composer (all when applicable or notable in any way)
- CGI and/or Practical Effects (How were they when the movie came out? How about today?)
- Did people like it? Do they still like it?
- Rotten Tomato vs Audience score
- Iconography
- Choreography
- Costumes/make-up
- Cinematography
- Set Location
- Movie Legacy
- Pre-release hype/Marketing
- Unique traits or things that set it apart
- Do I have to suspend my disbelief more than usual for a superhero story?
- MAYBE MOST IMPORTANTLY-does this movie make me want to watch it again?
I could go on, but you can hopefully see that I will be taking this very seriously. No, I won’t be covering all of this for every single movie. I won’t even be hitting on all these points all the time. But most of these things will be considered for every movie. I will use the information necessary to justify my ranking utilizing any of the above criteria as fair game in aiding my conclusions.
Here’s the thing. Iv thought about these things a lot over the years. So this is the definitive list. Sometimes, it’s kept me up at night. Any other list is just wrong. The reality is that this list has always existed, I’m just the one unearthing it and tidying it up to be presentable to you. I wear the glasses that can see the correct order. I don’t make the rules. I just read them. Im just reading it to you and for you. Don’t hate me if you disagree. You might disagree and I’m counting on it. But this is the definitive and correct tier list ranking of all the Marvel movies. You can feel free to discuss and comment away of course.
Before I begin I would like to take a moment to really discuss what is or is not fair game. I will be including ANY movie that is based on a marvel property, no matter who developed it. This is NOT just an MCU ranking. Yes Howard the Duck is on here. Yes, Dolph’s Punisher is also. If it’s an officially made theatrical movie it’s on the list (my only exception is the fan made “Dirty Laundry” but you will see why that’s included when we get there). I thought long and hard about if MCU Disney plus tv-shows are worthy. Iv decided yes they are. I never really viewed them as tv shows anyway. They’re just long marvel movies. I also included Agents of Shield and the Netflix Defenders shows due to their (debatably) canonical nature. I didn’t want to get carried away and spend a whole year on this post so that’s where Marvel TV is ending with this ranking seeing as how in general those two shows were eons above the others in terms of popularity. I know that the Lou Ferigno did have quite a few movies, but the sister show was too long running and its own beast to decide on a proper placement. Additionally, I have never finished the show or seen all the movies so I find it unfair to include. It’s worth noting that the show does have a spot historically so I would most likely place it higher in the tier list. I do include movies from the other TV shows of the era because I believe those movies are much easier to digest and watch autonomously. If there is enough interest, I would be happy to revisit the various Marvel TV shows at some point (i.e. Runaways, Legion, Cloak and Dagger, etc.). The Captain America serials of the 40s are obviously influential but not included simply because I have never seen them so can’t comment. I didn’t find it necessary to watch them for the completion of this list. The Inhumans movie staring Anson Mount is not included, as well as the elusive 70s Doctor Strange movie. I went back and forth on including those two movies but ultimately felt that they don’t quite count. Rumors are suggesting Anton Mount will continue to be Black Bolt post-Multiverse of Madness so my thoughts on the movie may change in the future. The Japanese live action Spider-man tv-show movie is not included (it was not produced by Marvel after all) despite it being a gem. I know that show had it’s followers especially across seas and is noteworthy in many ways, so if the interest is there to discuss that show, let me know. I would be happy to revisit it.
One last thing I would like to clarify: I find anything in the C or higher range to be a completely watchable and enjoyable movie. heck even some of the D’s might be nostalgic or lovable to some. You will quickly see that I find almost every Marvel movie to be watchable and enjoyable enough so please keep that in mind. By no means are our C tiers bad. I will be starting with F-tier as the worst and SS tier as our best. I will have only ONE movie in the coveted SSS tier to be revealed last.
Next time we begin with our duds. The illustrious and forgotten F tier.
Until then, it will just have
to be continued…