Ranking The MCU Films (2025)
With “Captain America: Brave New World” now in theaters, it’s time for an updated ranking of the MCU films. It’s been 5 years since the last ranking so it felt like a good time for a revision. Some films have moved spots and there were some tough choices to be made in the middle of the list. It is quite likely my choices won’t align with others, but that’s what makes these lists fun.
1. Avengers: Infinity War- The Empire Strikes Back of the MCU.
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier- The MCU is often at its best when it explores other genres (in this case the spy genre).
3. Black Panther- Nominated for Best Picture for a reason.
4. Avengers: Endgame- Let’s be real, the MCU has had a challenging time following up this blockbuster event film.
5. Spider-Man: No Way Home- The last truly epic MCU film. Seeing 3 Spider-Man actors together on screen was a real treat.
6. The Incredible Hulk- THE most underrated MCU film. It has everything a Hulk fan could want in my eyes.
7. Guardians Of The Galaxy- James Gunn took an obscure comic and made it a household name. Still Gunn’s best comic movie to date.
8. Iron Man- The movie that started it all. Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. created movie magic.
9. The Avengers- Joss Whedon’s film has been outdone by other Avengers films to be sure, but you can’t overstate just how much this movie impacted not only comic films but the MCU as a whole.
10. Spider-Man: Homecoming- With his first superb film outing, Tom Holland became Spider-Man and a movie star overnight.
11. Spider-Man: Far From Home- A vastly underrated sequel that is overlooked when compared to the other 2 installments.
12. Ant-Man- A safe but fun and breezy comic film that is made better by a stellar cast featuring Paul Rudd, David Dastmalchian, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly and, of course, Michael Peña.
13. Captain America: The First Avenger- Joe Johnston introduced Cap in grand serialized fashion.
14. Captain Marvel- The first female led MCU film is an absolute blast thanks to Brie Larson in the titular role, Goose, Talos and especially Sam Jackson as Nick Fury
15. Thor- Kenneth Branagh brought a lot of layers to Thor’s debut. This entry deserves more credit than it gets.
16. Black Widow- Scarlett Johansson’s titular character finally got her due in this exciting and long overdue action film that offered up a surprising amount of characterization (especially with fan favorite Yelena).
17. Captain America: Brave New World- Anthony Mackie gets his time to shine in this latest entry that tackled some surprising dangling plot threads that will especially reward “The Incredible Hulk” fans like myself.
18. Eternals- Chloé Zhao’s unfairly maligned film deserves recognition for attempting something different. It may not always work, but there’s a lot to cherish here from the characters to the visual storytelling.
19. Avengers: Age Of Ultron- Uneven to be sure, but this Avengers film still has much to love from Wanda’s introduction to Hulk smashing.
20. Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings- A great cast mixed with thrilling martial arts action. Bring on the sequel already!
21. Doctor Strange- A trippy and visually stunning Marvel that does have some scripting issues.
22. Captain America: Civil War- The introduction of Spider-Man and Black Panther is a real joy, but this has always been the most overrated MCU film to me.
23. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3- Perhaps the most gutsy MCU film. You have to give Gunn credit for creating a blockbuster that tackles dark subject matters like animal abuse.
24. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever- A moving tribute to Chadwick Boseman. The inclusion of Namor also serves the film well.
25. Iron Man 2- I used to write this sequel off, but my thoughts changed on the last rewatch. Sam Rockwell alone makes this a fun watch.
26. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness- I really wanted to like Sam Raimi’s more horror centric Strange sequel more. It has its moments to be sure (especially Wanda, Bruce Campbell and the Marvel cameos), but it all felt rather underwhelming after the brilliant “WandaVision.”
27. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2- Bigger is not always better as this bloated sequel proves. Still, Baby Groot, Yondu, and Mantis make it worthwhile.
28. Thor: Ragnarok- I know a lot of people treasure this one, but Taika Waititi’s comedic sensibilities in the MCU do little for me. Valkyrie and Korg steal every scene they are in though.
29. Deadpool And Wolverine- The Fox Marvel cameos are easily the best part of Deadpool’s deeply disappointing (and largely unfunny) MCU debut.
30. Iron Man 3- More of an overstuffed Shane Black movie than an MCU movie.
31. The Marvels- The chemistry between Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani is delightful. It’s too bad the script lets them down.
32. Ant-Man And The Wasp- Perhaps the most forgettable and generic MCU film. There are a few high points at least such as Evangeline Lilly’s Wasp, the Baba Yaga bit and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen).
33. Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania- Kang aside, this is a cartoony sequel that nearly derailed the MCU.
34. Thor: The Dark World- I was initially prepared to put this last, but the Loki material is genuinely engaging.
35. Thor: Love And Thunder- When MCU comedy hits rock bottom. A rushed tonal mess.
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