All 23 Marvel Movies, Ranked
Whether you are a massive fan or only tolerate superhero movies to appease family members, you likely know some of the famous characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). After all, it was a hugely successful comic book series first that started in the early 1960s.
Since 2008, however, Marvel Studios has put out 23 films. Some are iconic, like “Captain Marvel,” which inspired girls to find their inner strength, while others, like “Black Panther,” raised the bar for the whole genre. Still, all of them combined humor and action in a way that we hadn’t before seen from superhero movies. Using scores from Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes, we created a ranking of all 23 Marvel movies.
Do you agree with our list?
23. Captain Marvel
Release Date: March 8, 2019
Metacritic Rating: 64
Tomatometer: 78
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 48
Combined Score: 63.3
How It Lines Up
Despite receiving a 78 from Rotten Tomatoes critics (listed as the Tomatometer score), Captain Marvel's overall rating was brought down by the Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score, which could be due to fans' complaints about Brie Larson’s casting in the role.
Despite the haters, Captain Marvel's origin story about how she got her speed, flight, energy projection and super-strength was a hit at the box office. In just three weeks, it crossed the $1 billion mark between the U.S. and international showings — quite the feat for the first solo superhero movie about a female superhero.
22. Thor: The Dark World
Release Date: Nov. 8, 2013
Metacritic Rating: 54
Tomatometer: 66
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 76
Combined Score: 65.3
How It Lines Up
Following "Thor" and "The Avengers," this movie brings back Thor, who is fighting to restore peace across space when Jane Foster needs his help. Hundreds of years ago, the gods of Asgard hid the Aether, a powerful weapon the Dark Elves desperately want back. In the present day, Foster finds it and becomes its host. Thor must bring Foster back to Asgard and protect her from Dark Elf Malekith, who only has evil intentions.
This movie’s Metacritic rating is what brought it down. The Times' Critic Kate Muir wrote, "When Marvel brought in Alan Taylor, the director of 'Game of Thrones,' to invigorate the Thor franchise, many hoped for a breast-bearing, dwarf-battling, blood-spurting melodrama — with capes and hammers. Sadly, it was not to be."
21. The Incredible Hulk
Release Date: June 13, 2008
Metacritic Rating: 61
Tomatometer: 67
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 70
Combined Score: 66
How It Lines Up
“The Incredible Hulk” opens on scientist Bruce Banner in distress as he tries to find a cure for the gamma radiation that causes his superhero status and sent his true love, Betty Ross, to the hospital. While trying to avoid capture from Gen. Thunderbolt Ross, the Hulk travels across the world and eventually runs into a new threat in the form of The Abomination supervillain.
This review from Guardian Critic Peter Bradshaw pretty much sums up why this film didn't reach the top 20: "What Hulk smash most? Hulk smash all hope of interesting time in cinema."
20. Iron Man 2
Release Date: May 7, 2010
Metacritic Rating: 57
Tomatometer: 73
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 71
Combined Score: 67
How It Lines Up
Following his debut as Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark must now deal with the pressures of being a superhero with a suit of armor the military would love to use. Relying on his trusted team, consisting of Pepper Potts and "Rhodey" Rhodes, Iron Man must find a cure for what is poisoning him: the palladium in the arc reactor keeping his heart beating. He must also defeat Ivan Vanko, the son of the disgraced Russian physicist who worked with Stark's father to create the first arc reactor.
Another chapter in the Iron Man saga, this movie just breaks into the top 20 on this list. "The whiz-bang stuff here — while never less than slick — doesn't produce anything we haven't seen before," wrote CNN Critic Tom Charity.
19. Thor
Release Date: May 2, 2011
Metacritic Rating: 57
Tomatometer: 77
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 76
Combined Score: 70
How It Lines Up
Thor is awaiting his crowning as the king of the Norse gods when the Frost Giants, the gods' enemies, enter the palace.
Though this is a violation of their treaty, Thor overreacts and his father, Odin, banishes him to Earth. Without his powers, Thor struggles to protect himself on the planet.
18. Iron Man 3
Release Date: May 3, 2013
Metacritic Rating: 62
Tomatometer: 79
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 78
Combined Score: 73
How It Lines Up
After saving New York, Tony Stark is holed up in his mansion, creating multiple Iron Man suits. When a terrorist known as The Mandarin initiates a string of bombings, Stark goes on the attack. Soon, he must fight to protect his friends and family in addition to protecting humanity from evil.
Critics seemed to like this Iron Man movie more than the second one, citing a witty script as what made it stand out. The Atlantic's Christopher Orr wrote, “Shane Black excels at writing witty, self-referential, pop-infused banter, and there is no actor working today who is better suited to delivering it than Robert Downey Jr.”
17. Captain America: The First Avenger
Release Date: July 19, 2011
Metacritic Rating: 66
Tomatometer: 80
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 74
Combined Score: 73.3
How It Lines Up
We learn about the first avenger and how the superhero came to be in the fifth MCU film. In 1941, Steve Rogers desperately wants to join the military and fight the Nazi-backed HYDRA organization.
After many rejections from the armed services, Rogers finds a back way in by enlisting in a supersoldier program that turns him into Captain America. Cue the cheers from Captain America fans everywhere!
16. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Release Date: May 1, 2015
Metacritic Rating: 66
Tomatometer: 75
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 83
Combined Score: 74.67
How It Lines Up
Ultron is a technological supervillain who wants to eradicate human existence. Thor, the Incredible Hulk and the rest of the Avengers team gather to restore peace and save Earth from Ultron. The team also meets two new superhumans on their journey: Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, who are twins from the Eastern European country of Sokovia.
Of all four Avengers movies, it’s this second one that earned the lowest rating. Critics complained that it was more of the same as the first. “World-saving is no longer a surprise to these characters. It's work. Grunt work. For them. For us,” wrote Grantland’s Wesley Morris.
15. Ant-Man
Release Date: June 29, 2015
Metacritic Rating: 64
Tomatometer: 83
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 86
Combined Score: 77.67
How It Lines Up
Master thief Scott Lang teams up with Dr. Hank Pym, a genius in biochemistry. Pym arms Lang with the Ant-Man suit, which allows him to shrink to the size of an insect, possess superhuman strength all while controlling an army of ants.
The pair work to defeat Pym's former protégé Darren Cross, who is attempting to create the same technology but for evil purposes.
14. Ant-Man and the Wasp
Release Date: July 4, 2018
Metacritic Rating: 70
Tomatometer: 88
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 76
Combined Score: 78
How It Lines Up
Following his time with the Avengers in "Captain America: Civil War," Scott Lang aka Ant-Man, is on house arrest. As he's nearing the end of his punishment, Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym open a tunnel to the quantum realm, where they believe they'll find Lang's wife. Lang suits up as Ant-Man and fights alongside the Wasp to bring his wife home and various enemies surprise him along the way.
While the scores of both “Ant-Man” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp” were quite similar, the second one beat out the original. It was especially popular among critics. GameSpot’s Michael Rougeau wrote, “‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ is hilarious, fun, silly, self-aware and creative.”
13. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Release Date: May 5, 2017
Metacritic Rating: 67
Tomatometer: 85
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 87
Combined Score: 79.67
How It Lines Up
Peter Quill and his ragtag team of heroes for hire are protecting batteries for Sovereign, a dominant alien race. But then Rocket steals the precious items, and chaos ensues. Peter's dad also shows up to answer some long-standing questions the superhero had about his existence.
Vol. 2 entertained audiences again with another killer soundtrack to boot.
12. Avengers: Infinity War
Release Date: April 27, 2018
Metacritic Rating: 68
Tomatometer: 85
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 91
Combined Score: 81.3
How It Lines Up
Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Captain America and the rest of the Avengers work together to defeat the supervillain, Thanos. Famous for his evil ways, Thanos has plans to find the six Infinity Stones, which hold unmeasurable power. The Avengers fight to keep Thanos' catastrophic intentions from destroying the Earth and humanity.
This first part of the two-part conclusion to the Avengers series wasn’t as popular as the second one. But it was a big hit at the box office, grossing over $2 billion worldwide and becoming the first superhero film to do so.
11. Doctor Strange
Release Date: Oct. 20, 2016
Metacritic Rating: 72
Tomatometer: 89
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 86
Combined Score: 82.3
How It Lines Up
Dr. Stephen Strange goes from a fancy doctor with massive wealth to the world's most powerful sorcerer in Doctor Strange — and it’s the mystical visuals in this movie that made it stand out from the pack.
After a horrific car accident makes his hands utterly useless, Doctor Strange looks for healing techniques all over the world. Eventually, he meets the Ancient One, who teaches him about hidden universes and dimensions and begins his fight to help protect Earth.
10. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Release Date: April 4, 2014
Metacritic Rating: 70
Tomatometer: 90
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 92
Combined Score: 84
How It Lines Up
Steve Rogers is now in Washington, D.C., adjusting to life after some dramatic events in New York with his fellow superheroes, the Avengers. When a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague is under attack, Captain America teams up with Black Widow and the Falcon to fight a startling enemy.
The second Captain America movie on this list was more popular than the first but, believe it or not, still not as popular as the third.
9. Spider-Man: Homecoming
Release Date: July 7, 2017
Metacritic Rating: 73
Tomatometer: 92
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 87
Combined Score: 84
How It Lines Up
After experiencing the thrill of superhero life with the Avengers in “Captain America: Civil War,” Peter Parker returns home to embrace his role as a friendly neighborhood champion. New mentor, Tony Stark, helps Spider-Man navigate his new life, which is essential when the villain Vulture shows up and tests the superhero's powers.
Also receiving a combined score of 84, like "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," this was the perfect blend of superhero movie meets high school coming-of-age movie, making all kinds of audiences laugh in the process. “What makes this homecoming fun is [Tom] Holland, who seems as excited about Spider-Man as his classmates even though he is Spider-Man,” wrote Bob Mondello of NPR.
8. Marvel’s The Avengers
Release Date: May 4, 2012
Metacritic Rating: 69
Tomatometer: 92
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 91
Combined Score: 84
How It Lines Up
To protect humanity from Thor's evil brother Loki, the Avengers must learn to work as a team. Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., handles the recruitment of superheroes, enlisting Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye for his team of Earth's mightiest heroes.
While this technically tied with both "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Spider-Man: Homecoming," this was the first time we saw all of the Marvel characters together on screen, earning it this No. 8 spot. Both critics and audiences alike loved it: “A spectacle in the grandest sense of the word,” wrote Laremy Legel from Film.com.
7. Thor: Ragnarok
Release Date: November 3, 2017
Metacritic Rating: 74
Tomatometer: 93
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 87
Combined Score: 84.67
How It Lines Up
“Thor: Ragnarok” has what feels like an endless list of extraordinary actors, including Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Anthony Hopkins and Mark Ruffalo — plus, of course, the dreamy Chris Hemsworth in the title role. Perhaps that’s why this third Thor movie is also the most popular of the three.
Thor is pretty busy in this movie, first fighting against the Hulk in a gladiatorial contest. Then, he must defeat the supervillain Hela, who is intent on destroying Thor's home and the Asgardian civilization.
6. Spider-Man: Far From Home
Release Date: July 2, 2019
Metacritic Rating: 69
Tomatometer: 91
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 95
Combined Score: 85
How It Lines Up
Topping the impressive reviews of the first Spider-Man movie was the next chapter, “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” where Peter Parker goes to Europe. But Spider-Man's European holiday isn't all wine and pasta. Instead, he agrees to help super-spy Nick Fury investigate several attacks abroad.
The mission takes him into a massive conflict with four elemental creatures, representing Earth, air, water and fire, who are destroying the continent.
5. Captain America: Civil War
Release Date: May 6, 2016
Metacritic Rating: 75
Tomatometer: 91
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 89
Combined Score: 85
How It Lines Up
Following a bit too much collateral damage, the Avengers face extreme pressure to allow politicians to put an accountability system into place. Captain America, despite his name, is in favor of government officials keeping their opinions out of the superhero business. Iron Man disagrees and supports the initiatives for more regulation. The disagreement forces the remaining Avengers to choose between the two superheroes.
While this movie tied with “Spider-Man: Far From Home” for a combined score of 85, we couldn’t let the younger Avenger beat out one of the OG superheroes. Maybe next time, Peter.
4. Guardians of the Galaxy
Release Date: August 1, 2014
Metacritic Rating: 76
Tomatometer: 91
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 92
Combined Score: 86.3
How It Lines Up
A group of misfits is brought together in "Guardians of the Galaxy" to save the universe. Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, is on the run from bounty hunters after stealing an orb supervillain Ronan desperately wants. Despite his desire to fly solo, Quill partners with Rocket, Groot, Gamora and Drax to form a heroes-for-hire team.
And, yes, this one has an even better soundtrack than the aforementioned “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”
3. Avengers: Endgame
Release Date: April 26, 2019
Metacritic Rating: 78
Tomatometer: 94
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 90
Combined Score: 87.3
How It Lines Up
“Avengers: Endgame” focuses on Thor, Black Widow, Captain America and Bruce Banner teaming up with their remaining allies to defeat Thanos, the supervillain known for destroying the planet and killing half of the living beings in the universe.
The culmination of the Avengers series left both audiences and critics feeling more than satisfied with the ending, earning it the No. 3 spot on this list. It grossed almost $2.8 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time and surpassing “Infinity War’s” box office numbers in just 11 days.
2. Iron Man
Release Date: May 2, 2008
Metacritic Rating: 79
Tomatometer: 94
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 91
Combined Score: 88
How It Lines Up
“Iron Man” was the movie that started it all as the first MCU movie, and it still remains a favorite of the Marvel fandom.
Tony Stark, a billionaire inventor, is testing weapons when terrorists take him. His kidnappers demand he build them a disastrous weapon, but he instead comes up with an escape plan involving an armored suit. Once he's safely back home, Stark continues to use the suit to fight crime.
1. Black Panther
Release Date: Feb. 16, 2018
Metacritic Rating: 88
Tomatometer: 97
Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score: 79
Combined Score: 88
How It Lines Up
This award-winning Marvel movie made $1.34 billion at the box office as of May 2018. While it technically ties with “Iron Man” for a combined score of 88, “Black Panther” earned numerous awards and nominations, including seven nominations at the 91st Academy Awards. From costumes, production design, music and an all-star cast, it was the movie to see in 2018 and one that finally put superhero movies on the map for critical acclaim.
The story takes place in the African nation of Wakanda, where T'Challa returns following his father's death. He's home to take his place as king, but various foes and conflicts appear, making the transition harder. He must use his powers as the superhero, Black Panther, to defeat his enemies and lead Wakanda in its future. Not only was it a great film, it also had a powerful message. Time’s Jamil Smith wrote, “Its themes challenge institutional bias, its characters take unsubtle digs at oppressors, and its narrative includes prismatic perspectives on black life and tradition."
Nuff said.