We have sure come a long way to get here. With almost 100 Marvel movies and tv shows to plow through we can finally say we’re at the portion of the list where things start to really get interesting. From here on out, Marvel’s showing is excellent. I consider an A tier Marvel flick to go above and beyond in numerous ways without many real flaws. These movies, while excellent, are not quite masterpieces. That doesn’t necessarily mean they are subjectively worse, however, as I’m sure some of the movies on this list are personal favorites for a lot of you. I believe that while they may not be masterpieces, they sure do excel in ways you won’t find elsewhere on the list. Sometimes, you may even find exceptional elements in these movies that are well above average even by general cinema standards. Some may still have a flaw or two that holds it back, but those flaws are rarely detracting from enjoyment at all anymore. In fact, from here on forward, I truly believe that we have reached the part of the list where you can be almost guaranteed to highly enjoy what you’re watching (unless you really don’t like superheroes, but then again why are you here if that’s so?). If these movies were graded via a standard test they would be getting A minuses. 90-94%, which is definitely nothing to be ashamed of. But an A is an A no matter what way you slice it. Some toward the start of the list are certainly debatable B’s just as the finalists on the last list are debatable As. All in all, I still stand by that this is the correct ranking at this point in time. Let’s dive in.
30) X2: X-Men United (2003) Directed by Brian Singer, Starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellin
You know what’s wild? This year (as of publication date) is the 20th anniversary of this film. It’s been a whole 20 years since this came out. I remember seeing this in theaters at the ripe age of twelve years old, when I was as impressionable as ever, and leaving the theatre so unbelievably hyped for what just transpired. For a LONG time, this was the X-men movie to beat. It’s wild that Fox didn’t theoretically surpass this film for at least another 15 years, so it’s arguable that this was and forever will be Fox’s mutant franchise’s peak content. After the first X-men rocked the genre by storm, this one took all the right lessons from its predessesor and confidently upped the ante. The movie’s opening scene with Alan Cummings Nightcrawler was heralded as one of the greatest action scenes of its time, somehow showcasing Nightcrawler’s teleportation abilities to be as badass as they should be. Sure, that scene along with the rest of the movie’s action doesn’t hold up amazing, but we can’t fault it because it came out 20 years. Not to mention, the action was so top notch that it won numerous awards for its visual effects (though no oscars unfortunately). Our lead trio of Wolverine, Professor X and Magneto are all bringing their A-game, definitely upping their performances from the last outing. The story is substantially improved, taking a plot points as inspiration from legendary X-Men original graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills. As Iv said before, Im a sucker for a good hero/villain team up and here is arguably where that love originated in the first place. The cast here are all strong with quite a few major Hollywood names like Halle Berry, Shawn Ashmore, Ana Paquin, James Marsden, among many others all turning in solid (even though sometimes short) work. The movie was funny, action packed, tightly scripted, and a joy to behold on the big screen. No, the mutants weren’t in comic accurate costumes, but damn near everything else was fantastic. We keep this one borderline B tier, but due to its immense legacy for the non-MCU canon it can stay a little higher a bit longer. I have a feeling in time this may get knocked down to B tier, since the winds of change have certainly aged this one a little. With that said, nostalgia for this film continues to run as high as ever. This was the movie that made X-men a household name and turned Wolverine into an A list action movie superhero superstar. Jackman’s iconic performance as Wolverine anchors the film down to low A tier.
29) Big Hero Six (2014) Directed by Don Hall/Chris Williams,
Fun Fact: This was among Disney’s first Marvel project’s post acquisition. Apparently, back in 2009, Disney wanted to develop animated Pixar style films under their newly minted Marvel banner, so they hired animation director Don Hall to come up with some ideas. Marvel had plans to make a whole bunch of animated films that clearly got lost in the shuffle with the growing success of the brand; at least we did get this gem of a movie, which until recently (Spiderverse) was arguably the best animated superhero movie based on an existing property ever made. Legend has it that Disney wanted to focus on lesser known characters to not step on Kevin Feige’s feet, so Hall literally looked at a database of Marvel characters and chose F-list Marvel team Big Hero Six seemingly at random. Im glad he did, because the final product he delivered is damn fine animated cinema. It’s a shame that this project ultimately never led to sequels and more animated Marvel films because the movie did earn Disney some big profits. It was a hit, and since then has indeed earned a relatively small cult status among the crowds. The film was exceptionally well written, with a heartfelt plot surround a boy, his brother and an adorable giant robot named Baymax. The film is loosely based on the Marvel hero group of the same name (even Stan Lee cameos as himself!) but it isn’t an exact replica. Purists may not enjoy the deviations but it’s hard to fault them when the property is such an obscure source. Its hard to find faults in this one as its an expertly crafted enjoyable and friendly romp through and through, but its not quite on masterpiece-level due to the story being quite sad at times, making it not for everyone.
28) Blade 2 (2002) Directed by Guillermo Del Toro, Starring Wesley Snipes
A lot of the younger crowd who don’t know any better incorrectly site Deadpool’s first movie as the worlds first R rated superhero movie, which is forgivable because Snipes’s first two Blade movies are unfortunately borderline forgotten these days. It’s a shame because Blade 2 in particular truly continues to this day to be one of the finest Marvel movies (and one of the best non-MCU Marvel movies for sure). This movie is one of the few Marvel movies to have been directed by an Academy Award winning director, not that means much but hey it is pretty cool. Granted, Guillermo Del Toro didn’t win his award for quite some time after he directed Blade 2. Del Toro is obviously a master of the genre even as early as here in Blade 2 and the film is bursting with his trademark directing style. The vampires are scarier and more hideous than in the predecessor, utilizing Del Toro’s special practical effects expertise to bring them to life. The movie continues to this day to be the closest thing we have to a horror movie within the MCU no thanks to such an iconic director like Guillermo Del Toro. The movie ups the action and special effects from its predecessor in a way only Del Toro can pull off, with a script that is actually quite engaging. Where the first film was a sort of personal revenge film, this one evolves into a high stakes scenario where Blade literally has to save the world. The movie definitely uses its R rating to its advantage but somehow never overstays its welcome and becomes gratuitous. It’s amazing how much this film still holds up on repeat viewings to this day and is still as entertaining as ever. Part of that magic is for sure due to Del Toro being a master of his craft, and we are all the better for it. Honestly, the film is pretty dang good without much fault and was ahead of its time in so many ways. While a lot of people were flocking to X-Men and Spider-man at the time, we mustn’t forget that people were also flocking to this franchise. This movie is arguably the third most important Legacy Marvel film behind Spider-man 1+2 in terms of historical importance because Del Toro brought Blade into an R rated glory never seen before in the genre of superheroes. Blade was for a long time considered the gold standard when it came to adult oriented Marvel content, and honestly it still should be. It got a heck of a lot right. Its influence is paramount to the genre and eventually leads to films like Kingsman, Kick-Ass, Deadpool, Logan, Joker, and many more. Sure, there were R rated comic based movies with followings before this one (Judge Dread or Tank Girl anyone?) but this movie was monumental in the Marvel movie blockbuster pantheon and it’s success is absolutely an important huge step towards the inevitable MCU.
27) Hawkeye-Disney Plus (2021) Directed by Jonathan Igla and Starring Jeremy Reiner and Kate Bishop
This one didn’t hit with some audience members and frankly they’re wrong. Hawkeye’s debut TV show is fantastic through and through. Some people, who like to complain, will argue that the show wasn’t actually about Clint, but that’s why I’m here to prove them wrong. The show was absolutely about Clint, and it paid him the dues he’s been waiting for since 2012. Clint’s character in the MCU is a far cry from his comic counterpart, but at this point (after how many appearances?) Renner has turned his version of Clint Barton into something almost as iconic as the rest of his teammates. Here, we get the most character evolution Hawkeye has seen since Avengers 2, which is always welcome, because wether you like to admit it or not, he is in fact the best Avenger (don’t be mad, I don’t make the rules). Clint is just wanting to retire, he feels like his dues are paid, but this annoying rich kid brat named Kate Bishop just keeps bringing him back into the fight. Their budding partnership is at the heart of this Christmas tale, with both actor’s chemistry being on point. The show excellently shows how not only Clint inspires Kate, but SHE inspires him right back. This show is one of the few superhero tv shows to “get” what superheroes are all about in the first place: inspiration. Too often we get told how inspirational these characters are, but we never quite SEE it like it’s displayed here. Yes, we get told how awesome and inspirational Hawkeye is, but she literally looked up to him. He is her hero. His character arc precisely revolves around said mentorship in a true-to-comics fashion. Hailee Steinfield’s performance is spot on and so engrossing that Jeremy Reiner doesn’t even really need to be there (I mean that in a good way towards her performance-I just would have still loved watching her that much). I believe in a post-Robert Downey Jr./Chris Evans/ScarJo landscape, Kate Bishop will be one of the characters to step up and into those shoes as a character we all will grow to love. You can see her reeking with likable energy and charisma here as the star she is clearly meant to be. We WANT to root for her, but she still makes mistakes. She’s YOUNG, after all (see what I did there?) Florence Pugh comes back in an absolutely show stopping scene that foreshadows a budding friendship between her and Kate; while never present in the comics, I sure do approve of that dynamic here because man, were they excellent together on screen. Pugh’s performance as Yelena is stronger than ever, even if it’s short. Dare I say I actually might prefer her to Scarlet Johanson? Sometimes, when watching ScarJo, I am constantly reminded its ScarJo (and not Black Widow) so having such a fresh young and admittely talented actress who has an infectious charisma take over her shoes is an exciting prospect. Not only that, but the one and only (SPOILER ALERT!!) Wilson Fisk played by non other than the legendary Vincent D’Onofrio returns to role in a surprise cameo as the villain behind it all. I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say they’re clearly going to adapt a major story arc based on where it ended. Echo was hit or miss for some, but she was still an interesting enough character that it doesn’t detract from the overall high quality of the show. I wouldn’t say she was quite a standout, which is strange because she is getting her own show later this year, but I guess she is fine enough. The incredibly talented Tony Dalton and Vera Farmiga make surprising appearances in the MCU here, as The Swordsman and Kate’s mom respectively. The relationship between the three are always a hoot, and the show cleverly makes it seem like he is the villain even though he isn’t It made me happy that we got The Swordsman at all in the MCU as he is a key Avenger/Hawkeye support character from once upon a time ago. All in all, the show is excellently crafted with fantastic and inventive edge of your seat action sequences, intriguing and cleverly crafted plotting, with at very least one MCU breakout with a bright future (Steinfeld). Her performance is so strong that I can see her being at the center of this whole thing eventually. Kudos to the production team for incorporating some loose imagery and homage to the Matt Fraction and David Aja Hawkeye comic book run (largely considered not only the character’s best solo comic run but also some of the best comic books produced in that decade. It’s one of the few Marvel comic Eisner Award winners so please do check that out if you even remotely enjoy either Hawkeyes as characters). Speaking of, Lucky the Pizza Dog makes his debut, and while I was crossing my fingers for a some kind of homage to the award winning “wordless” issue from the run staring Lucky, we sadly didn’t get it yet. I just can’t praise this show enough. No, it’s not perfect, but it’s rarely not entertaining. Hawkeye himself isn’t a strong enough character to truly carry much more within the MCU outside of a mentorship role going forward, but this show makes an excellent case for a return for more. The larping scene may have been cringy or some, but if you’re as nerdy as I am…you probably enjoyed it quite a bit and got some laughs out of it. This show, to me, is how Marvel needs to continue making their shows: fun adventures with humor that we ALSO are asked to take seriously. Sprinkle in the little artistic flares and you have another home run. Say what you will about the flaws of phase 4 in general, some of them are present here (cameo/tease overload) but ultimately Hawkeye on Disney plus is A tier Marvel content that almost never fails to entertain.
26) Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) Directed by Jon Watts, Starring Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhall
I can safely say 2 things about Spider-man now that were in 2023: 1) his rogues gallery is the most fully realized rogue gallery in superhero movie history and 2) overall, the spider-man movies as a whole across the board are probably pound for pound the best superhero franchise in history (that includes Batman). Coming off the heels of legendary film Avengers: Endgame (literally, it released a few months later), Marvel intended this movie to act as an epilogue of sorts to the former. After the incredibly emotionally draining but equally satisfying end to the Infinity saga resulted in some major deaths and status quo changes, all eyes were looking to Tom’s second Spider-man adventure as a means to sort out their emotions. Turns out, that’s kinda what Peter was doing here also. For the record, this is the worst of Tom Hollands appearances, but it’s by no means a bad movie (its quite a fantastic movie), a testament to the strength of the character of Spider-man in general. This movie from start to finish had everything we love about Spider-man as a character in it, right down to its classic villain in Mysterio with a comic accurate costume and a slightly updated origin to fit in with the MCU. The supporting cast are all on point as usual, but the action takes a minute to heat up. When it does, we do get a major upgrade in action over its predecessor. Unfortunately the movie doesn’t surpass Homecoming due to the fact that the movie didn’t exactly focus on Peter enough as a self-sufficient hero. This movie was functionally more of an MCU infinity Saga epilogue, focusing on the emotional fallout of Tony dying and where we go from there. That isn’t to say it’s bad, perse, it’s actually really good (hence the A tier) but the lack of Spider-man centered content made it feel like an uneven entry in the MCU. I do think overall its extremely entertaining; the jokes hit, the action and romance are on point, the MCU easter Eggs are great (love the Nick Fury twist), the direction is as high quality as the first one was. It’s hard to rank this higher than the remaining Spider-man movies because this movie was less about Spider-man and more about the MCU in general, simply featuring Spider-man. Not only that, but we still after two solo outings, don’t have a self-sufficient Spider-man, a common complaint on the character as he exists in the MCU. Part of that problem is due to the deal Marvel and Sony has in place, which I won’t get into details, but essentially any solo Sony Spider-man movie that Holland headlines must also contractually feature a major MCU player. Far From Home feels this constraint the most out of all his trilogy, but again, that doesn’t mean the film itself is bad. We do have a couple iconic moments though, and it did end up being an important piece for the over arching MCU plot. All in all Far From Home is an excellent movie worth your time with very little flaw other than the uncontrollable aspects regarding the Sony/Marvel deal.
25) X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) Directed by Brian Singer Starring Too Many to List
For those who like to keep track of useless information, this is the fifth mainline X-Men movie and the 7th movie for the franchise overall. After the successful soft reboot of the franchise with First Class, Fox tapped Mathew Vaughn to return for a sequel. Vaughn ended up with some scheduling conflicts and went on to direct Kingsman: The Secret Service. Fox decided to ultimately go with the incredibly smart and safe choice of bringing back Brian Singer (director of X-Men 1 and 2) into the directors seat. Singer and famous screenplay writer Simon Kinberg decided to do a story that would bring together both the original actors and the First Class actors together in one movie. The answer was obviously going to be time travel. For those fans who have read the comics before, they know that time travel is as synonymous to the X-men is as peanut butter is to jelly. Looking to the pages, the duo decided to do an adaptation of the legendary 80s time travel X-men saga Days of Future Past from Uncanny Men 141-142. Many fans believe that Days of Future Past was one of writer Chris Claremont’s numerous defining moments during his mega 13 year run on the title and featured one of the teams earliest instances of traveling to the future or alternate timelines. Even though the finished result didn’t adapt the story panel for panel, it did homage it and keep the spirit of the source in mind as a framing device mostly. The setup is simple: in the future, Bolivar Trask’s mutant hunting sentinels almost white out the mutant race completely, so it’s up to Wolverine to be sent back in time to change the past so the future gets fixed. Here’s the thing with time travel movies: you can’t think about them too hard. Time travel in itself (as of this writing) is a fictional concept in itself- so plot holes are inevitable. What makes a good time travel story is establishing a sweet spot for the rules. You can’t under explain the rules of time travel but you can’t over explain it either. Here, it works good enough that it doesn’t detract from our viewing experience; we don’t dwell on the rules but we don’t skimp over them either. The movie goes back and forth between the past and future, so we get a nice healthy dose of the first class actors and the original actors respectively. I love that we get to see Hugh Jackman interact with both eras of X-Men, something that makes this tale incredibly unique compared to any of the other X-men films. Jackman as Wolverine is always so iconic no matter what, that he works just as well with young Xavier and Magneto as he does with their old counterparts. The film ended up being an excellent edge of your seat action adventure with plenty of easter eggs and details for long time fans to devour. The action was on point, to the extent that one scene in particular (the quicksilver prison escape scene) has gone down in history as one of the most iconic moments in X-Men franchise history. Not only that, but the scene has gone down as the best scene depicting a speedster’s powers ever so much so that other movies have since either paid homage to it, or outright tried to steal the idea all together (yes, that includes The Flash). The film was expertly crafted through and through (if you ignore some of the inevitable time travel plot holes) right down to the huge A-list cast you have a movie that elevates itself from the rest of the X franchise. Arguably, this is the most entertaining non-Deadpool oriented movie fox has ever produced; there isn’t a slow or wasted scene at all. It’s unfortunate that this movie was the peak for the mainline X franchise because it was meant to be the launching point for more and better movies. We even got a tease of the X-Men in their comic accurate costumes in the danger room (that never came to be after that for some strange reason). This is peak mainline X-Men and will continue to hold that title for a long time seeing as how Disney isn’t going to release a movie about the mutants for quite some more years. I have faith that now that the mutants are back home they will be handled well but until then, this is your best shot for experiencing the X-Men at their most entertaining on the big screen with very few flaws.
24) Moon Knight-Disney Plus (2022) Starring Oscar Issac
Iv said before that an actor or director has to produce at least one role/work that I enjoy for me to pay attention. It takes two for me say that I like said actor/director, but it takes at least 3 for me to say that I’m a fan. Oscar Isaac has had at least a handful of roles over the years that I have absolutely adored both in and out of the superhero genre. For me, Oscar Isaac’s performances that I have enjoyed are in Ex Machina, Annihilation, Spider-Man Across the Spiderverse, Dune, Moon Knight, and last but not least, he was one of the only good parts of the sequel Star Wars trilogy (sorry, X-Men, Apocalypse wasn’t his best). That’s a heck of a good track record, so good job to Oscar Issac for making a fan out of me. I have said in almost every single one of his work that I think he is underutilized as an actor. He hasn’t quite had an opportunity to be a lead in a blockbuster until Moon Knight and the show is absolutely a testament that he is underrated despite his popularity and obvious desirability as an actor. Moon knight is Oscar Issac’s arguable most brilliant performance so far as an actor; he portrays 2 completely different personalities to the same character (spoiler alert-he actually portrays 3 by the end). Marvel needed to hire someone special for the role of Moon Knight if he were to be taken seriously at all by general audiences. He is, after all, basically a schizophrenic version of Batman, and I mean that in the best way possible. In the comics, Moon Knight hasn’t had a lot of popularity, though he has been around for a long time (his origins actually come from issue 32 of Werewolf by Night from 1975 where he shortly thereafter got a solo book). His character has had quite an evolution over the years, but one thing has remained constant: he has dissociative identity disorder. Said diagnosis of “DID” makes him arguably one of the most unique characters in all of superheroes, being one of the extremely select few across the board to have a known major mental health disorder outside of the usual depression here, or anxiety there. His books were always interesting because his three personalities didn’t always play ball with each other, which the tv show encapsulates beautifully. When Moon Knight eventually became fully his own was when he started working with his other self’s. Once the trio becomes fully on board with being a costumes crime fighter working for a rebellious ancient Egyptian deity, that’s where the fun really begins on the pages. Although the character on the screen mixes and matches the personalities a little, it doesn’t take away from the core concept of the character. Oscar Isaac brings a performance here that completely embodies the character of Moon Knight to a tee despite the subtle inaccuracies, but it’s nothing so major that it’s a turn off. After all, no superhero movie has completely 100% encapsulated their comic counterparts so for me, those little details that are off are inconsequential. All in all, Isaac is Moon Knight. He plays Marc Spector as your basic badass “Jason Bourne” type and then plays Steven Grant as a nerdy nobody museum gift shop attendant. No, that’s not quite accurate, because in the comics, Grant is a billionaire who eventually funds Moon Knights tech (giving him the common “Marvel’s Batman tag”). The show has some good, some decent CGI, but the action scenes and costumes are fantastic. It’s a little disappointing how much of the costume is CGI, so it gets a slight knock there, but man does it look cool. Taking a page from the Jeff Lemire comics, the show delves into the Mr. Knight persona as well as the insane asylum sub plot, giving the show some extra brownie points for fans of the comics. With excellent characters and direction, Moon Knight soars above most of the Disney plus shows for one of the top spots to date for the MCU tv show catalogue. It even features a completely original superhero character which is a rarity and treat to see ironically in the landscape of 2023 and beyond where all things are unoriginal. If the character wasn’t so dang cool and badass then I would have probably groaned to be clear, but I do think she adds a nice flair to the show. The show does devolve into typical MCU movie territory with its typical CGI heavy 3rd act fighting, but other than that there isn’t a whole lot to complain about here. I get the flack the MCU has been getting lately, and this show doesn’t necessarily completely break free from some of the general phase 4 concerns, but at the end of the day Oscar Isaac’s performance is so strong that I truly believe he is more than good enough to be one of the next big time Avenger stars joining the ranks of the other legends. Say what you want about post-Endgame Marvel, but there has been at least a handful or so performances that are more than good enough to be in contention with the Marvel of old, and Moon Knight certainly belongs in those circles.
23) Spider-Man (2002) Directed by Sam Raimi Starring Tobey McGuire
Man, 2002 was a great year for Marvel movies. Blade 2 AND Spiderman?! Anyway, I feel like I’m starting to repeat myself, but it needs to be continually stated: Im not here to analyze which Peter Parker is the most Peter Parker or which Spider-man thwips the thwipiest. All three bring so much to the table individually but also each possessing strengths as to what made them acceptable and legitimately convincing Spider-men. Sam Raimi comes along in the year 2002 with Tobey McGuire as the webs slinger and give us the role of the decade. Spider-man 1 is in conversation with being arguably the most influential superhero movie of all time (no, I’m not going to debate which movie holds that crown here, not the point), solidifying Spider-man as the worlds most recognizable and popular hero outside of Batman or Superman. McGuire’s freshman outing was an instantaneous smash hit that brought to cinemas an iconic portrayal of Peter Parker and his mythos to the big screen. Everything that made those early-day Stan Lee and Steve Ditko issues work so well also work here, proof that the concept of the hero through and through is one of the most fool proof characters ever created. Spidey’s origin on the pages is arguably the second most perfect and iconic origin of all time after Batman’s. There is quite a solid argument to be made that Spider-man’s origin is a far better take historically since his debut on the pages upended the trends at the time. Spider-man was instantly different compared to the competition and was far more relatable to the average reader than any other 1960s character was at the time. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the League, were all adults as were the majority of Marvel’s small initiate catalogue. Along came Spider-man, literally designed to speak to the young nerds reading these books in the first place, baring the ever important message that even a nerd can be great. Raimi’s first movie in the trilogy immediately captures that spirit through and through; McGuire definitely plays Peter to be a socially awkward bookworm contrasted to his badass Spider-man persona. William Dafoe plays the Green Goblin (I have always preferred this movie to the second personally because Dafoe’s performance was more interesting to me than Molina’s Doc Ock, but I digress). Raimi clearly knew his stuff and didn’t shy away from the complex origins of the character, almost making the film a direct adaptation of Amazing Fantasy #15 (first appearance and origin of Spider-Man) without sacrificing much to deliver the messages that should always accompany Spider-man. The movie successfully translated said messages to screen delivering one of the genres finest movies to this day. While it hasn’t survived the test of time completely, it does still hold up quite a bit, even if some of the action is a little dated. The story is a little simple, but the messages are fantastic, and Spider-man in particular goes through a convincing character arc here. Sam Raimi’s signature directing style is on full display and the cast through and through embody each of their characters. Once upon a time, this was ranked far higher, but the last five years pushed in down with some qualty projects. Still, a 2002 movie that retains A tier status is nothing to scoff at, and remains the best live-action Spider-man origin ever put to screen. I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see a live action origin retold for a long time because competing with this film is just too big of a task to do it justice.
22) Loki-Disney + (2021) Starring Tom Hiddleston
The early phase 4 movies and shows seemed to be obsessed with the blip in one way or another. Loki is technically no different, since this is not exactly “our” Loki. See, that Loki that we have watched over and over is dead as of the opening minutes of Infinity War. This Loki, is the Loki who escaped “our” Avengers during the time heist in Endgame. The ensuing adventures resulted in so-far the best use of the Disney plus format for their TV shows (special presentations not included). Loki is a show that is incredibly gripping each and every episode, packed with intrigue due to the nature of the Time Variance Authority’s. Regarding the TVA: I applaud Marvel for utilizing such an important-yet-deep-cut of the Marvel Universe; Loki was arguably the phase 4 project to expand on the Marvel Universe lore. By the end, it’s clear that Loki had upended the status quo of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in ways that no other phase 4 project has been able to top since. Loki ushered in the true start of the multiverse saga, by heavily referencing variance timelines, featuring compelling and comic accurate character variants, and finale reveal that shook the world by storm. The classic world class MCU speculation began all over again for the first time since the end of Infinity War-proving that the MCU still had some compelling tricks up it’s sleeve. It’s biggest compelling reveal was that the man behind it all was none other than a variant of Kang the Conqueror, one of very select few characters who could fill the post Thanos-sized villain hole that’s been sorely needed. Jonathan Major’s performance instantly became iconic as He Who Remains, already embodying the time-traveling menace. With an edge of your seat finale that warranted not even a single blink, the stakes have almost never been higher in the MCU. The show blended comedy with high quality action set pieces, delivering some unique locales and settings to the MCU for its spectacle sequences. There is an impressive single shot chase scene a-la Daredevil hallway scene in one episode that is quite the visual feast. On subsequent rewatch, the show does loose a little luster when you can see the twists and tricks coming, but it doesn’t detract from the fantastic cast (including the various highly memorable Loki variants). The show capitalizes on the massive fan-following Loki certainly has and continues to delve deeper not the characterization and over-arching story arch in which he has been on. Overall, Loki is the strongest Disney-plus show to date and is absolutely a compelling watch. For the comic book fans out there, there’s plenty here to love also with the various cameos, variants, easter eggs and teases all making solid showings without detracting from the flow. I still think it has some very minor flaws, mostly revolving around the fact that it just feels like a drawn out movie. I still think it would have been better served if it were cut up a bit and presented as a feature film, but I understand the new political landscape within the company means we are subject to Disney plus tv shows no matter what. Loki is an exceptional and compelling piece of MCU content.
21) Black Panther (2018) Directed by Ryan Coogler Starring Chadwick Boseman
If you want throw some blame anywhere in the MCU for why things feel different lately, it’s largely because of this first domino piece which upended the status quo not only in Marvel but in Hollywood in general. That isn’t shade, by any means, because Black Panther’s first solo outing in the MCU is absolutely an integral piece of the tapestry. Director Ryan Cooler was hired by Marvel after receiving critical acclaim for both his breakthrough work (2013’s Fruitvale Station) and the successful rejuvenation of legendary Rocky Balboa film franchise (2015’s Creed). Coogler was Marvel’s first African American to direct an MCU feature film; a move that garnered quite a lot of buzz when it was announced that he would direct the MCU’s first African American lead blockbuster film. It was a match made in heaven it turns out, because Coogler expertly brings his trademark racial politics to the forefront of the MCU with a tale of Afrofuturism the world didn’t know it needed. The film ended up being one of the most engaging MCU movies to date, featuring exciting action sequences, award winning costuming, a tight script with a large ensemble supporting cast, and most of all, it was entertaining through and through. The film went on to be the first film not starring Robert Downey Jr. in the MCU to earn over a billion at the global box office (1.3 billion to be exact) making it one of the most profitable movies in movie history. It also went on to become something of cultural phenomenon, especially for the African and African American cultures. Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther was already so fascinating when he debuted in Captain America Civil War, but here he elevates himself to be not only the hero of the film but an unsung hero for the African American youth in today’s climate. The film expertly examines a multitude of themes and that I’m not going to dissect them all, but the amount of depth and subtext you get with this film is unparalleled within the MCU (the biggest theme the movie examines is the depiction of African and African American culture through the eyes of African and African Americans). It’s an understatement to say that this film changed the world; it’s arguably the most important film Marvel has released since the original Avengers movie especially from a cultural standpoint. Regarding the cast: this film had a strong ensemble of female characters as well as one of the MCU’s most complex villains at the time in Michael B Jordan’s Eric Killmonger. Boseman’s championing performance was so spot on that he instantly rose to “household name” level’s of fame if he already wasn’t before. The movie proved to the world that even a predominately African American cast can sell tickets, ushering in the age of diversity for not only the MCU and movies in general. I won’t get into my own personal opinions on the politics and the agendas that permeate Hollywood today because that’s not what the point of this is. I am open to discussing it personally, because I do think it’s arguable that this movie may have ended up causing some long term damage within woke Hollywood that were possibly starting to undo, but I digress. This film on a craft level is about as good as you can get within the MCU, especially where the acting and costumes. After all, this is among the extremely select few superhero movies in general to be nominated for best picture at the Oscars. It didn’t win in that category (it won in “best costumes”) but it doesn’t take away from how impressive it was to be there to begin with. What prevents this from being a masterpiece is that it’s just a little TOO political at times, taking away from the fun that should be present in superhero movies in general. Sure, it had fun at times, especially when Shuri or M’Baku is ever on screen. For that reason, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea even if it is well done, I believe for something to be S tier it has to be both accessable and a perfect representation of what superheroes are all about. It doesn’t quite hit perfection in those two areas due to the Coogler’s over-important interest in racial politics vs just giving us a great Black Panther story, but it’s dang close. I think this film in general is slightly overrated because it does fall trap to generic MCU tropes here or there, but I certainly understand the appeal to a certain type of person and get why it may be your favorite MCU movie. Ultimately this list isn’t subjective and I’m basing these decisions with as little bias or opinion as possible, realistically it’s not as good as good as the world thinks it is but its certainly not far off from that benchmark.
20) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) Directed by James Gunn, Starring Chris Pratt and co.
The first Guardians film was an incredibly special and important piece of the tapestry, and honestly this one is just ever so slightly worse than its predecessor. Don’t take that wrong; it’s still absolutely amazing and the differences are negligible. That should show you how close in quality the following five films truly are to each other. We’re approaching the upper echelons of the A tier, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I get a fare share of hate messages at this point in defense of these films. I understand if you think they should be S tier, and I would entertain arguments, but all in all, this is their true home. The only thing that really holds this one back from the first one is that the “first time” appeal is gone. But that’s ok though because Gunn’s formula was so good the first time around it doesn’t need much changing. The action was for sure an improvement over the first, but the crowded film means we lose a bit of the intimacy with some of the characters. The film is mostly centered around Peter and his patriarchal relationships in his life so it’s no surprise that some of the other guardians get shortchanged. That isn’t a fault per-se, because we do get some good stuff with each Guardian eventually, and its arguable that each Guardian get’s enough screen time to advance individual character arcs. The team continues to be as entertaining as ever with their pitch perfect casting and chemistry. James Gunn’s humor may not be for everyone, but I do think its for ALMOST everyone, and the box office certainly could prove it. All three guardians films are among Marvel’s top sellers and highest profiting films to this day. The film is excellently paced but the plot is ever so slightly a step down from the first. Fortunately, that isn’t a flaw exactly, as tt makes up for it by being comically hilarious at every turn but yet also so emotionally investing for our characters. Kurt Russell’s Ego isn’t exactly comic accurate, nor is Peter’s true parentage, so it gets a knock for sure there, but the ending acknowledging Yondu as Peter’s true spiritual father gets me right in the feels every time. Gunn is by far and away the most talented director to have worked within the MCU so far; his worst film is an upper A-tier Marvel film solidifying the Guardians franchise as the MCU’s greatest trilogy. The second Guardians movie features Gunn’s trademark music choices alongside Peter’s Awesome mix vol. 2. Pop culture didn’t quite go as far to revive some of the songs on this track as much as the first film, but it still did to an extent. Also, the film features quite a few iconic moments that will forever be remembered as MCU staples. Gunn continues to hone his “I swear it’s not a Star Wars rip-off” craft by utilizing a variety of practical effects and costumes. We have plenty of MCU lore and easter eggs sprinkled effectively throughout the film. You can’t go wrong with the Guardians of the Galaxy in any of their adventures, with this one being no exception, a testament to Gunn’s filmmaking strengths. Gunn’s signature style is at a stage here where he is clearly confident in his abilities to display an interesting, complex, and satisfying superhero adventure that is wholly and uniquely it’s own thing while simultaneously fitting itself into the MCU tonally. Gunn solidifies himself possibly with this film as being just as synonymous to the Guardians franchise as the live action cast are. I will delve into Gunn in particular when I get to the final movie in the trilogy, where he delivers his masterpiece swan-song for the characters, but Gaurdians vol 2. is absolutely must see MCU material. If you’re into deep and complex characters, then the MCU’s best place to find them are within the confines of the Guardians of the Galaxy corner for sure.
19) Spider-man Homecoming (2017) Directed by Jon Watts, Staring Tom Holland
After breaking out in the hugely successfully Captain America: Civil War (which we will be discussing momentarily), Tom Holland finally received his dues to portray Spider-man in the first dual MCU/Sony produced solo offering. Marvel had struck a deal with Sony that they were allowed to continue to develop projects for the character, but ultimately their plot’s final say had to be approved by the usual MCU process. Not only that, but each solo Spidey film contractually would have to feature an MCU character, that way Marvel could officially plot some profits. There were initially some doubts regarding this idea, since it could potentially detract from the focus being on the wall crawler (some of those doubts were warranted turns out, but not so much that we have a bad film). Marvel soon announced that said character the MCU would proved would be none-other than Iron Man himself. Serving as Peter’s mentor, a drastic change to the source material that is understandably a controversial take on the character, Robert Downey. Jr. does make a glorified cameo multiple times in the film. As far as Spider-man films go, the fact that Iron Man periodically over-shadowed Spider-man, detracts from this a bit, but as an over-all Marvel film it’s absolutely A tier goodness. Watts rightly decides that we don’t need the origin for a third time and gives us an MCU integrated but not quite professional level high school Spider-man. Watts cherry picks some elements from the comics and changes some things here or there to better fit in the MCU, but ultimately his choices reinforce that Holland is absolutely more than sufficient to be Peter Parker. My personal all-time favorite MCU Spider-man moment is in this film and is absolutely the film’s character defining moment for Peter Parker: the Vulture reveals himself to Peter in an incredibly tense car ride scene that proves that Peter’s loved ones are never safe so long as he continues to be Spider-man. That sentiment continues to be a trend in all great Spider-man stories; it is after-all a key aspect of what makes Spider-man stories so decidedly trademarked. Homecoming defines what it means to be Peter Parker’s Spider-man possibly better than every other live action Spider-man movie excluding the first couple Raimi movies. Watts imbues the film with his own special take on the character by giving it major “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” vibes, and that’s certainly a great match for the web-head. Without question the best parts of the film are Tom Holland’s incredibly accurate Peter Parker/Spider-man personality and Michael Keaton’s freshly grounded menace in the Vulture. The film has numerous cameos, including the Shocker, the Tinkerer, and (uncle Aaron’s) the Prowler. Some may not feel as warm to this movie since it is arguably a bit too updated in comparison to the classic Rami films, so it wasn’t for absolutely everyone. All in all, Holland’s first solo outing is an exciting MCU entry that delivers a fantastic high school era (but in modern times) Spider-man that is incredibly rewatchable.
18) Captain America: Civil War (2018) Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Starring Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. and co.
On paper, this film shouldn’t have worked. It was overstuffed for a Captain America film. Somehow, the film still manages to firmly be a Captain America film. At the time, Marvel had marketed this to be kind of like Avengers 2.5, and that was definitely an understatement. It featured all the Avengers minus Thor plus more. Not only does this film cram in almost all the Avengers, but it features dual protagonists in Tony Stark and Baron Von Strucker, it introduces the world to Wakandan prince T’Challa aka the Black Panther, and Tom Holland’s Spider-man. Amazingly, this film pulls all of it off. The Civil War comic that the movie takes inspiration from is now considered an essential piece of Marvel literature, so to say the stakes were high to adapt such a prominent property was also an understatement. The film featured plenty of homages to said comic run, and I won’t list them all here, but they’re easily findable online if you need assistance in digging them out. In order to fully adapt the Civil War comic, Spider-man is an essential player within the story. So what does Marvel do? They essentially strike a deal to bring Spider-man into the MCU with Sony. They made history happen just for this adaptation. It was ballsy and quite a risk, but ultimately it paid off. The result was a bombastic edge of your seat and satisfyingly deep story that split the Avengers into two factions. I remember at the time that the film actually sparked some debate within the fans as to who was right. Was Tony or Steve right? The answer was ultimately that they both are, hence them ultimately teaming back up for a common threat. This movie heavily advances both Captain America and Tony Stark’s character arcs, with Cap in particular getting a healthy dose of complexity to solidify the character as arguably the most complex within the whole MCU. Cap’s sense of truth, justice, and the American way is constantly tested to the point that you can argue that his sense is actually a little flawed by the time the credits roll. With brilliant writing, excellent action, and essentially plotting making this one of the most essential MCU movies in their entire Infinity Saga. Not a single character is wasted, and that impressively extends to newly introduced characters Black Panther and Spider-man. Heck, even the Hawkeye cameo hits hard. The fact that the Russo’s balanced so much flawlessly, earned them the job of directing the final two Avenger films (the only directors to rival James Gunn for best directors in the MCU if you ask me). This movie is pretty dense for an MCU film, so much so that I doubt we will see one this dense again unfortunately. All in all, Civil War is absolutely A tier Marvel.
17) Deadpool (2017) Directed by Tim Miller Starring Ryan Reynolds
Fun Fact: Ryan Reynolds has been Deadpool on the pages of the comics far longer than you think. Very early into his comic run, Deadpool referenced himself to be Ryan Reynolds lookalike. Not only that, but Deadpool creator Rob Liefield has stated numerous times that Reynolds was an inspiration for the character’s personality. Ryan has long been familiar with this fact, so he has been championing a film adaptation for a long time. He has tried numerous times with various pilots and screen tests, all ultimately failing due to studios considering the character too risky. Legend has it, that Reynolds himself ended up leaking his Fox studios test footage to YouTube, where the footage received incredible amounts of support. So much so, that history changed and here we are. Tim Miller did not make MArvel’s first R rated movie, but he did make the best one at the time. The first Deadpool film isn’t perfect (the humor isn’t for everyone) but as a Deadpool adaptation it’s pretty darn close. Deadpool is incredibly in character from the very first scene, with meta referential 4th wall breaking quips and trademark over the top action sequences that are simultaneously as funny as they are badass. The film is low budget, and it shows, but it doesn’t matter-this movie is packed to the gills with enough meat that despite its low budget every scene is essential. There isn’t a wasted space here in sight. The plot is tight; it goes back and forth between the past and present, a technique that doesn’t always work but here it absolutely propels the story forward in every way. To paraphrase Deadpool himself, this is actually love story at its heart, where the central premise of the film revolves around Wade’s love life with Vanessa. Colossus and (incredibly deep cut character) Negasonic Teenage Warhead are both excellent, with Colossus in particular taking quite the comic accuracy to the next level. Tim Miller produced a near perfect superhero origin that should be studied for a long time. The film went on to be a major box office success and majorly reinforced that Deadpool is in fact a worthwhile property to adapt.
16) Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Directed by James Gunn, Starring Chris Pratt and Co.
I remember when this movie was announced shortly after the success of the first Avengers film. Marvel head-honcho Kevin Feige decided that the two new properties in phase 2 were going to be Ant-man (finally!) and little known property called “Guardians of the Galaxy” (who?!”). I also remember thinking…”What the ****? Why is Gaurdians of the Galaxy even remotely on their wish list?”. I wasn’t alone in those thoughts, as the rest of the world seemed to be tweeting similar things. Even as a mega comic fan at the time, the only guardians of the galaxy experience I had reading-wise was the awesome Annihilation storyline that rebooted the property back around the year 2000. After that, the team headlined a book for a couple years then fell back into obscurity. It was certainly a strange choice, and even stranger, they hired James Gunn to film it, a relatively amateur director known for a horror film an independent original superhero movie staring Rain Wilson (Dwight from the Office). Gunn slowly announced his cast, and the weirdest part of the whole thing was that the two biggest stars were in voice-over roles (Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper). This was one weird project and I was starting to doubt Marvel’s seemingly bulletproof choices. Obviously, the results were a match made in heaven, because we all know how things turned out at this point, but let’s just say that the movie was a smash hit. It instantly became the highest selling property in the MCU that didn’t have Robert Downey Jr. in a starring role. Gunn infused his movie with trademark humor, excellent casting, a fantastically fun and fast moving script about a bunch of losers who come together and make a pseudo family. Each of the guardians are already on day one instantly likable and charismatic partially due to Gunn’s talented script making. The movie featured a soundtrack that actually had an in-universe narratively conceived connection with “Peter’s awesome mix” that revived numerous tracks from yesterdays hits. To this day, some of those songs are still considered synonymous with the Guardians of the Galaxy despite the songs being as old as they are. Even the soundtrack, which consisted of mostly hits from back in the day, become a #1 top seller. The film was bar none the highest quality film all around that the MCU had put out to date. Arguably, it was this films success that truly cemented the property as something with immense levels of staying power because everyone and their mother doubted they could pull off a talking tree and raccoon. Under any other director, the film would have fallen into obscurity just as easily as the comics had. But here, almost overnight Gunn turns a bunch of D list Marvel heroes into legitimate household names. James Gunn proved himself to be a master of the superhero genre, infusing the film with a level of detail that the previous MCU films didn’t have. Not only that, but Gunn’s auteurism is apparent in every shot, he imbues his creative touch throughout the film in a way only he can. His signature style is so unique that the Gaurdians of the Galaxy have become synonymous with the director himself. Kevin Feige has seemed hellbent on keeping a similar tone throughout the MCU, which is fine, but we lose some directorial individuality along the way. Out of the entire MCU, these films have the most flavor and uniqueness in the MCU and feature very little over arching connection to the Marvel universe at large. Yes, they do connect, but it feels the least like they do, and the result is a movie franchise that has a level of detail and focus that the rest don’t have since it isn’t overly concerned with the ret of the MCU. The movie is in no way shape or form concerned about how it’s going to eventually cross paths with Iron Man or Captain America and it’s all the better for it. That’s not to say I prefer the Guardians separate, as they do work well within the universe clearly, but Gunn’s three Marvel films remain a special corner of the MCU that Gunn has made his own. That wouldn’t exist if he didn’t knock the first one out of the park as well as he did. The film isn’t perfect, as not many films are, and I get it if Gunn’s trademark humor isn’t for you. But you can’t deny the level of craft Gunn places within the Gaurdians’ films. Gunn, after the success of this film, earned the spot of being heavily involved in crafting the MCU cosmic story arch line-wide alongside Kevin Feige going forward. There is a lot to be said about the film’s freshness, originality, style, influences, and certainly a hell of a lot to say about the fine details present here that it would be too much to list. Instead, just take my word for it that Gaurdians of the Galaxy is the premier A tier Marvel movie and stands for everything great that we love about Marvel as a property.
Thanks for reading my A tier Marvel movies. Next up is the badasses, the greats and the masterpieces. We will go over S tier Marvel before finally culminating in a final post dedicated to the greatest Marvel movie of all time-the One Above All. See you next time!
to be continued…