Summary
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a pop culture phenomenon, dominating the box office for almost two decades since the release of 2008’sIron Man. The idea of having multiple superhero movies and TV shows all interconnected in the same world proved to be a stroke of genius for Marvel, with the culmination of 10 years of work,Avengers: Endgamegrossing almost $2.8 billion at the box office. SinceEndgame,some fans have noted a decline in the quality of the MCU with an influx of disappointing movies and TV shows compared to the previous quality displayed.
Since 2008, the MCU has had six trilogiesfocusing on their superheroes, with some going on to have four movies like Thor. This begs the question of how each trilogy ranks. For clarification when adding theThortrilogy, only the first three movies will be considered, potentially working in the favor ofThor,as his latest entry,Thor: Love and Thunder,disappointed many fans, whilstThe Avengersteam-up movies have not been included as they are classed as team-ups that bring together multiple trilogies.
As is the case when ranking any list, something has to come in last place, and unfortunately, theAnt-Mantrilogy is the MCU’s worst offering. Beginning with 2015’sAnt-Man, fans were introduced to Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang in a funny and entertaining character introduction.
The sequels, however, couldn’t bring back the same tone that made the first entry an enjoyable movie, with many fans stating thatAnt-Man and the Waspfelt largely unimportant, with a disappointing villain. The main reason the trilogy places bottom isdue to its lackluster third entry,Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.This movie featuresKang the Conqueror as the villain, set up to be the big bad of Phase Four of the MCU, but the movie suffers from pacing issues and lacks the charm of other projects in the MCU.
TheThortrilogy hasundeniable highs and lows within its three movies, with the first movie being a solid origin story for the God of Thunder. The high point of the trilogy is its third entry,Thor: Ragnarök, providing a movie that ispacked with action, comedy and a stand-out villain in Hela.
However, the second entry into the trilogy,Thor: The Dark World, really brings down the trilogy with a boring entry that lacks the charm of the other movies, with a bland villain to boot. Many fans often consider the secondThormovie one of the worst in the MCU, and, on the whole, it feels like a largely skippable entry if it weren’t for the introduction of the Power Stone.
The very first movie in the MCU and theintroduction to Robert Downey Jr.’s incredible turn as Tony Stark, 2008’sIron Manset the standard for modern superhero movies and the MCU overall. Each movie in the trilogy is entertaining, but the sequels have their flaws.
Iron Man 2suffers from an overall drop in the quality of its script, trying to expand the MCU further with the introduction of Black Widow, and due to its very quick turnaround, released only two years afterIron Man, suffers from feeling underdeveloped.Iron Man 3is a good movie, but upon release, itdisappointed a lot of fans with the Trevor Slattery / The Mandarinreveal, which many still criticize to this day. Overall, the trilogy has three good films, even if the sequels don’t live up to the original.
The MCU introduced Spider-Man inCaptain America: Civil War, with Tom Holland in the role of Peter Parker. This was followed bySpider-Man: Homecoming,which fully integrated the wall-crawling superhero into the MCU with a great story, with Michael Keaton featuring as the Vulture.
All three entries in theSpider-Mantrilogy are a huge amount of fun, with the teenage tales of Peter Parker escalating into a multi-universal romp inSpider-Man: No Way Home, which brought back Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of the characteras well as their villains from their respective movies. All three movies are wildly entertaining, with Holland proving to be a great choice for Spider-Man, while the villains also prove to be credible threats. This puts theSpider-Man: Homecomingtrilogy in third place.
All three movies in theCaptain Americatrilogy continue to show the standards that the MCU can hit when firing on all cylinders. It provides a wartime story that perfectly displays the origin story of Steve Rogers and how he became Captain America in his first entrybefore producing one of the best MCU movies with its sequel.
Captain America: The Winter Soldieris often praised as one of the best movies in the MCU, and for good reason. The secondCaptain Americamovie is a spy thriller that deals with the destruction of SHIELD, with Hydra operating within its walls. The action is incredible, with a great plot, and itreintroduces Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier. This trilogy is capped off withCaptain America: Civil War, an Avengers movie in everything but name, splitting the original team and forcing them to confront a moral dilemma of superhero registration. The movie features incredible action set pieces, a huge amount of emotion, and great performances across the board. With each movie providing high points within the MCU, theCaptain Americatrilogy places second when ranking MCU trilogies.
When Marvel announced the firstGuardians of the Galaxymovie, it was seen as a risky move as they weren’t considered popular superheroes. After three massively successful movies, it’s fair to say the gamble paid off for Marvel.
Each movie is packed with comedy, heart, and incredible action. From the first entry detailing the formation of the team of intergalactic outlaws to the second movie’s exploration of Peter Quill’s father dynamics, to Rocket’s backstory in volume three, eachGuardians of the Galaxymoviecan make fans laugh and cry in equal measure. The visuals are always stunning, and the writing is top-drawer, making theGuardians of the Galaxytrilogy the best that the MCU has to offer.
