Summary
- The Ant-Man trilogy struggled to maintain quality with disappointing sequels.
- The Thor trilogy had highs and lows, with Ragnarok as a standout entry.
- The Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy ranked third for its entertaining movies.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a pop culture phenomenon, dominating the box office for almost two decades since the release of 2008's Iron 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: Endgame grossing almost $2.8 billion at the box office. Since Endgame, 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.
Marvel: 10 Best MCU Sequel Movies, Ranked
Some sequels set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have become iconic modern films, such as Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 and Avengers: Infinity War.
Since 2008, the MCU has had six trilogies focusing 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 the Thor trilogy, only the first three movies will be considered, potentially working in the favor of Thor, as his latest entry, Thor: Love and Thunder, disappointed many fans, whilst The Avengers team-up movies have not been included as they are classed as team-ups that bring together multiple trilogies.
6 Ant-Man
The Paul Rudd-Fronted Trilogy Struggled To Emulate The First Movie's Entertainment In Its Sequels
Ant-Man
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- July 17, 2015
WHERE TO WATCH
- Runtime
- 117 minutes
- Sequel(s)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp, Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania
- Studio(s)
- Marvel
- Distributor(s)
- Disney
As is the case when ranking any list, something has to come in last place, and unfortunately, the Ant-Man trilogy is the MCU's worst offering. Beginning with 2015's Ant-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 that Ant-Man and the Wasp felt largely unimportant, with a disappointing villain. The main reason the trilogy places bottom is due to its lackluster third entry, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. This movie features Kang 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.
5 Thor
The First Three Thor Movies Wildly Differ In Quality
Thor
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- May 6, 2011
WHERE TO WATCH
- Runtime
- 115 minutes
- Sequel(s)
- thor 2, thor 3, Thor 4
- Franchise
- Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor
The Thor trilogy has undeniable 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 is packed 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 second Thor movie 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.
4 Iron Man
The Launch Of The MCU And A Consistently Good Trilogy
Iron Man
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- May 2, 2008
WHERE TO WATCH
- Runtime
- 126 minutes
- Sequel(s)
- Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3
- Franchise(s)
- Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man
- Studio(s)
- Marvel Studios
The very first movie in the MCU and the introduction to Robert Downey Jr.'s incredible turn as Tony Stark, 2008's Iron Man set the standard for modern superhero movies and the MCU overall. Each movie in the trilogy is entertaining, but the sequels have their flaws.
5 Actors Who Could Have Been Iron Man
It's strange to think that anyone but Robert Downey Jr. Could've brought the character of Iron Man to life, but at one point that was a possibility.
Iron Man 2 suffers 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 after Iron Man, suffers from feeling underdeveloped. Iron Man 3 is a good movie, but upon release, it disappointed a lot of fans with the Trevor Slattery / The Mandarin reveal, 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.
3 Spider-Man: Homecoming
Tom Holland's Trilogy Has Three Great MCU Movies
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- July 7, 2017
WHERE TO WATCH
- Runtime
- 133 minutes
- Sequel(s)
- Spider-Man: Far from Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Studio(s)
- Marvel
The MCU introduced Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War, with Tom Holland in the role of Peter Parker. This was followed by Spider-Man: Homecoming, which fully integrated the wall-crawling superhero into the MCU with a great story, with Michael Keaton featuring as the Vulture.
13 Best Quotes From Spider-Man Movies, Ranked
Spider-Man isn't just about action. These great quotes from Spider-Man movies showcase the wisdom and emotion that makes the franchise iconic.
All three entries in the Spider-Man trilogy are a huge amount of fun, with the teenage tales of Peter Parker escalating into a multi-universal romp in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which brought back Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's versions of the character as 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 the Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy in third place.
2 Captain America
The Captain America Trilogy Features Three Wildly Different And Incredible Movies
Captain America: The First Avenger
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- July 22, 2011
WHERE TO WATCH
- Runtime
- 124 Minutes
- Studio(s)
- Marvel
All three movies in the Captain America trilogy 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 entry before producing one of the best MCU movies with its sequel.
Every Captain America Movie And TV Show, Ranked
From his MCU debut to an overlooked 90s adaptation, these are all the live-action adventures of Captain America, ranked.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is often praised as one of the best movies in the MCU, and for good reason. The second Captain America movie 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 it reintroduces Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier. This trilogy is capped off with Captain 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, the Captain America trilogy places second when ranking MCU trilogies.
1 Guardians Of The Galaxy
Three Incredible Movies Create A Near-Perfect Trilogy
Guardians of the Galaxy
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- August 1, 2014
WHERE TO WATCH
- Runtime
- 121 minutes
- Director
- James Gunn
When Marvel announced the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, 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, each Guardians of the Galaxy movie can make fans laugh and cry in equal measure. The visuals are always stunning, and the writing is top-drawer, making the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy the best that the MCU has to offer.
- First Film
- Iron Man
- Latest Film
- Marvels
- Cast
- Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Zoe Saldana, Chris Pratt, Tom Hiddleston, Iman Vellani
- TV Show(s)
- WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk
- Movie(s)
- Iron Man, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Endgame, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Character(s)
- Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye