Ranking the MCU: Two Prospective (Phase One)

When Iron Man released in May 2008, I was still in high school. I saw the trailer one night when I was watching Criminal Minds with Mom, and thought it looked interesting. Since it was a TV trailer, it was only about 30 seconds or so long, but it peeked my interest. Mom, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care. Well, until she happened to see the cast list.

So we saw it. And the rest, as they say, is history.

So here’s the funny thing about Marvel for my family. Mom grew up reading some of the comics, usually the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. But never consistently. I wasn’t much of a comic fan (unless you count Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog, because if so…) and the only Marvel properties I really knew were the X-Men films (which I thought were fun, but nothing to write home about), X-Men Evolution, and the classic Spider-Man cartoon from the 90s. We were a DC family for the most part.

Well, until Iron Man.

Since that day, Mom and I have watched every single MCU film, as most fans have. I also watched most of Agents of Shield, though work got in my way and I never went back to it after season… four? I think? I also watched the Netflix series as well. I would dare say I’m the bigger MCU fan in the family, but that’s ok, because I get to share it with Mom.

Back in 2019, before Endgame came out and shattered our hearts, Mom and I rewatched most of the MCU. Ok, more like ten of the films. We wanted the highlights. And now, post WandaVision re-destroying what was left of our hearts, we decided to do it again.

We’re watching most of the films in order, hoping to finish by the time Black Widow finally releases (please Disney, do a simultaneous release on Disney+, Mom and I don’t want to risk the theater until at least late summer). There are a few we’re skipping through, only because they just aren’t films we want to rewatch. It’s personal preference.

And when we decided to do this, I though it would be fun to rank them, in order of favorite to least favorite. Again, personal opinion. So, after we finished Avengers last night, we sat down with the first six films in the MCU, known as Phase One. We ranked them from our personal favorite to our least favorite, which the understanding that our opinions could change once we added in the rest of the MCU together.

Our lists are pretty similar off the bat, especially our bottom three. To be fair, I’ll put up both of our current rankings, then explain why we put films where we did.

Let’s start from the bottom. Hulk is easily the film that we always skip when we watch the MCU in order. Yes, it sets up some very important plot lines and characters, but it also just didn’t do it for us. (It also stars Edward Norton, and I have a personal dislike for his acting, so it was always going to get dropped to the bottom of the list in my opinion.) Since we didn’t want to waste two hours, we skipped through the film, watching the scenes that set up Hulk’s inclusion into the MCU, as well as the post credits scene. Oh, and the deleted opening scene referenced by Dr. Banner in Avengers.

Number five on the list was Thor. It’s arguably better than Hulk in a variety of ways, but we both have different opinions as to why we rank it so low. For Mom, she just doesn’t like Thor as a character (though he did grow on her by Infinity War). For me, it’s the filming style, with all the weird angled shots taking me out of the scene. Is there a problem with having important shots take place at a normal angle? Must every shot be shot at about 30 degrees to the side? Now, granted, there was a major reason we do enjoy one scene. That’s the introduction of Hawkeye, when Thor tries to take back Mjolnir. As with many others, I didn’t make the connection that Clint was even in this film until after The Avengers. And now it’s one of my favorite scenes. (Also, while Mom detests all of the Thor movies, I have a private appreciation for them, especially with their introductions of Loki and Darcy, and the major character change to Jane, going from a nurse to an astrophysicist. Great upgrade, girl.)

Fourth on the list goes to Iron Man 2, by virtue of just not really having a choice but to place it low. We are big fans of Tony Stark, and watching his continued evolution into this film was a blast. It also has one of the best casting changes in MCU history, with Don Cheadle taking over the role of Rhodey in a wonderful way (and his first line referencing it, perfection). Let’s also not overlook the introduction of Black Widow, who is amazing, and the fun little retcon intro of Peter Parker. Honestly, the only reason that this film is in the fourth spot is simply because the other three are just… better. But not by much. Seriously, it was a tight list for 1-4.

Third on my personal list, second on Mom’s, is the film that started the MCU, Iron Man. What is there to be said about this film that hasn’t already been said. It’s such a worldbuilding film that also works as a standalone, if you missed the post-credit scene the first time (like most of us did). The cast was amazingly strong, though I have always felt as though having Jeff Bridges in only one movie was a waste, since he’s such a good actor (thanks Spiderman: Far From Home for giving us another shot of him, even if it’s reused footage and flashbacks). Included in this film is just so many details that reappear in the rest of the series. Oh, and we can’t forget Terrence Howard’s unfortunate, and admittedly hilarious, line, “next time, baby,” considering the recasting of his role in the sequel.

Runner up on my list, and Mom’s top film, is Captain America: The Winter Soldier. A film that blew my mind… when I ended up watching it a week before The Avengers released, because of college. Chris Evans was the perfect casting for Steve Rogers, and his chemistry with the rest of the cast is perfection. The writing is on par, the soundtrack is wonderful. Bucky’s fall is heartbreaking, even though we now know he survived. This is a solid film in so many ways. (Oh, and shoutout to the 9-1-1 fans, Kenneth Choi plays one of the Howling Commandos and dear god do I see why I love him as Chimney in the show. He has this hilariousness to him that just fits well in both franchises. I’m so glad that he returned in Spider-Man Homecoming playing his character’s grandson.)

And then, there was only one. The top film on my list, third on Mom’s (she did say it was a close 1-2-3). The Avengers. Honestly, there’s a part of me that is still shocked that this film actually happened. You have a star studded cast, a director that was in hot demand (oh how the mighty have fallen), a script that has to carry the weight of six superheroes, the introduction of the series Big Bad… and Samuel L. Jackson. This should not have worked. And yet, it did. In spectacular fashion. We get the true introduction of Hawkeye, who is criminally underused (shush, I’m a Clint fangirl, I love him, bite me). You get Steve and Tony meeting, and arguing, and working together, which begins the set up for the heartbreak that is Civil War. We get our new Hulk, with perfect casting in Mark Ruffalo. But we also get one of the most shocking scenes, with the death of the Phase One favorite, Phil Coulson. It’s such a strong film. It had to be. If it failed, that would be it. No Phase Two. No MCU, really. Just a six film series that would have been left wanting for more. But it didn’t fail. It exploded. It set the stage for the next nine years.

I have always said that the Avengers films are some of my favorite. When I was in college, I’d put this film on in the background, and it helped me study. I’ve owned three copies, two DVDs that ended up scratched to hell from overuse, and now a Blu-Ray copy.

Rewatching the MCU is a source of comfort for us. We have loved these characters, this story, for so long. And taking the time to go back and relive it again is worth it.

With Falcon and the Winter Soldier starting on Friday, I’m honestly not entirely sure when we will start Phase Two (since we’ve been watching on Fridays and Saturdays, so…). Hopefully soon. When that happens, we will be ranking both phases together, and also separately. I can almost guarantee that there will be some disagreement in placements. Like, I’d put money down. But that’s the beauty of opinion, right? As long as it isn’t hurting someone, you can have your own.

Wait… Isn’t that what help cause Civil War? I’m scared now.

Until next time!