Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge fan of Marvel, and obviously, that includes the Marvel Cinematic Universe films and TV shows! In the following series, I’ve ranked all forty-some entries in order of my enjoyment (not necessarily in quality) from worst to best.
#35. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Like with many of these lower-ranked entries, there were parts of this movie I absolutely loved: the inclusion of Mantis, (a favorite of mine, despite the drastic changes from the comics) not to mention the rich character development of Rocket and Nebula were all high points in this movie. However, Drax became near-unbearable, the jokes were a bit too much, and the treatment of the celestials was a bit underwhelming to me.
#34. Iron fist (Season 1)
A boring, one-note series with a petulant lead, a questionable villain choice, and some underwhelming pacing, Iron Fist’s first season was redeemed by the supporting cast which I found endlessly interesting… especially Jessica Henwick’s Colleen Wing, who singlehandedly bumps this season up from a much lower ranking.
#33. agent carter (season 2)
After a phenomenal first season, Agent Carter returned for a solid-enough second outing that (aside from the introductions of Madame Masque and the Darkforce) proved somewhat forgettable. With one of the worst endings a TV show has ever had, and an off-balance sense of humor, this season fell short of what it could’ve been.
#32. iron man 2
Tacky, I know, but Iron Man 2 gets a huge bump from its nostalgia factor for me: It was the first MCU entry I saw in theaters, and the toyetic, frantic nature of it (not to mention the introductions of War Machine and Black Widow) made this movie super fun to watch. I have no regrets about the placement of this movie- it was flawed, certainly, but it was also an important part of the MCU.
#31. Thor
I enjoyed Thor a lot at the time, and its far better than its first sequel, but that came more from my personal enjoyment of mystic elements than anything. In retrospect, the first Thor movie was somewhat paint-by-numbers and forgettable, but Darcy Lewis has yet to outgrow her humor and the Warriors Three were fun enough to propel this movie to a higher slot.
#30. Agents of SHIELD (Season 1)
The first season of Agents of SHIELD stalled somewhat with an uneven first season waiting for The Winter Soldier to hurry up and arrive. However, despite this, the character work was some of the strongest in the MCU, and a few of the monster of the week stories were pretty awesome- and, of course, once Hydra surfaced, the season spent its last few episodes at a much higher caliber than what came before.
#29. Daredevil (Season 2)
Yes, The Punisher arc was great, and yes, the Elektra arc was… meh, producing a uniquely “just okay” season of a phenomenal show. I did like Elodie Yung’s Elektra, and it was good to see Rosario Dawson play a role on the show one final time, but otherwise I completely agree that this season was a missed opportunity in a variety of senses.
#28. Guardians of the galaxy
Though it suffers from some of the same problems that I disliked in its sequel, and had a notable lack of Mantis (who I love) I still enjoyed the first GotG movie better due to its slightly more balanced tone, not to mention the sheer novelty of seeing James Gunn’s unique voice come to life for the very first time.
#27. Agents of SHIELD (Season 3)
If Season 1 was stalled, Season 3 was overcrowded with a huge cast and way too much going on. Starting strong with a mutant-esque Inhumans story and emphasis on Daisy’s new status as a superhero, (not to mention the phenomenal Simmons bottle episode) the season took a bit of a nosedive midway through when Coulson’s new love interest was fridged, Hydra resurfaced yet again, and Hive made his presence felt in a tired rehashing of tropes mixed with unpleasant new developments.
#26. Spider-Man: Homecoming
I was originally a Spider-Man fan, and though my taste for Peter Parker has somewhat diminished this was a pretty epic movie undermined by its overuse of Tony Stark, disuse of Aunt May, and blatant copy/pasting of Miles Morales supporting cast. All the pieces were there for a great Spider-Man movie, but some other elements were tacked on unnecessarily and really dragged this movie down.