I felt like it was time for another list. At first, I wasn’t sure what sort of list I wanted to do, but then it came to me. After watching the wonderful “Deadpool and Wolverine” I thought I would take a few to honor some of the Marvel greats of the past few years as a way of welcoming Deadpool to the MCU. But, I will focus my attention on just the characters (or teams) that have a full-fledged franchise, so at least three movies. You can argue with me all you want on this, but this is my list and this is how I want to do it. So, without further ado… I present to you (with only a few spoilers), my top-ranked MCU franchises.
5. Iron Man (2008-2013) – To start us off at number five, is the man who pretty much kicked off the MCU in grand fashion (sorry Hulk). The original Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jr.) over the course of three standalone films. Not only was the three-movie arc for this character very well written, but it was the first time we were shown a “Superhero” with flaws. In Iron Man’s case, he literally was just a human with a power suit and a whole real world full of issues. Throughout his three films, we were introduced to many faces that ended up being a bigger part of the universe…Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), the voice of Jarvis (Paul Bettany) who would later become Vision, James Rhodes (Terrence Howard, then Don Cheadle), and Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) who would play huge roles in the first phase of films. But, we also got some pretty unique villains for our new hero to take down. Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), and Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce). Overall, this was a great run at the early onset of the MCU and we were lucky to have RDJ knock it out of the park with this portrayal.
4. Ant-Man (2015-2023) – A personal favorite of mine and one I think a lot of people will disagree with. Even though “Ant-Man and Wasp: Quantumania” wasn’t as good as the first two, you have to admit that the first two installments were stellar. Franchise regulars like Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), and Luis (Michael Peña make the first one a comedy/heist/romantic/action movie that I can watch over and over. Then part two brings the action in a duo fighting together mixed with more comedy and lots of stuff shrinking or growing… it’s a lot of fun along with Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne. I think as time passes, the third movie is going to be hurt by the fact that it was setting up Kang to be the next big-time villain, but now since that’s not happening, this movie doesn’t quite have the same impact. But, in the end, it’s still a solid outing, and mixed with the first two, they get to sit in my number four spot.
3. Spider-Man (2017-2021) – I mean, how can you make a list like this and not include Spider-Man? Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is beloved by all right? Here, this is almost the exact opposite of Ant-Man. “Spider-Man: Homecoming” was good, but by the time we get to “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, it ends up being one of my favorite MCU movies to date. Seriously, Michael Keaton as the Vulture, in part one and Jake Gyllenhall as Mysterio in part two was good enough, but then pretty much every villain from every Spider-Man movie in the third one… come on! Willem Dafoe and Alfred Molina were both better in this than they were in their original films. Throw in Spidey’s normal gang MJ (Zendaya), Ned (Jacob Batalon), and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) along with a slew of MCU characters and you have one Amazing group of films.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014-2023) – I’m not sure what it is about this group of lovable losers that made me fall in love the moment I watched Vol. 1, but this group was almost my number one pick. The original group made up of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper), and Groot (voice of Vin Diesel) was a great dysfunctional team to watch and it was loaded with action and laughs. But as the team grew and added Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Nebula (Karen Gillan), and Kraglin (Sean Gunn) they continued to get even more dysfunctional but also became a family. By the time Vol. 3 rolls around, they had already pulled on our heartstrings with the loss of Yondu (Michael Rooker) and several other close calls. But they stayed true to themselves and the science that made them such a great team and such a great trio of films to watch over and over again. This group will always hold a special place in my heart and I hope to see them on screen again in the future.
1. The Avengers (2012-2019) – Finally, through the process of elimination I’m sure you figured out what my number one franchise is. As much as I love The Guardians of the Galaxy, nothing can compare to these ultimate team-up movies. The first one set a high bar as they brought together six superheroes to defend the world against Loki and his invasion of New York. It felt like a special movie back then and I still remember sitting in the theater when that scene above took place and it gave me chills. RDJ is back as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, and Mark Ruffalo as Hulk. What a great group to have on the screen together. “Age of Ultron” was good, but falls fourth out of the four for me, but things start to pick up with “Infinity War” and “Endgame”. Those last two somehow brought every single superhero (that was still alive of course) into a two-part movie event that still doesn’t have a rival. The way “Infinity War” ends so tragically and the amazing redemption story of “Endgame” with all the flashbacks and that superb final battle is the absolute best. I could write a whole article on just these two movies alone, but you get the picture and see why they sit at my number one spot.
So, there you have it for my rankings for the MCU franchises. For those of you who are all caught up and have seen them all, what are your favorites? Do you agree with my list? Am I crazy to put Ant-Man so high? Personally, I don’t care if I am, but I would like your opinion too.
Also, if you haven’t done so, check out my other lists here or some of my other reviews as well here. I will be back next week with some more mindless movie fun!
