Every Marvel TV Show Ranked Worst To Best (Before The MCU)

What are the best Marvel TV shows? In 2013, Marvel Television launched the first TV series set in the MCU, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It proved to be the first of many, with Marvel striking a deal that brought a number of streetwise heroes to Netflix, and more recently launching young-adult shows on Freeform and Hulu. Third-party analytics have suggested the Marvel Television brand is a strong one, with their series among the most in-demand TV shows around.

When Marvel Television started out, their shows were intimately connected to the big-screen MCU; they starred characters like Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson or Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter, and featured cameos from the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and Jaime Alexander. As the years have passed, though, they've become increasingly distant. Although this has sometimes frustrated both the viewers and the stars, it's given Marvel TV a lot of flexibility to do their own thing. The various series are each building their own mythology, establishing their own unique identity on the small screen.

Of course, not every Marvel TV series is a success. In general, though, the quality of the various MCU shows is high, with some numbering among the best of modern superhero TV. Here, we celebrate Marvel's success by ranking every Marvel series - from the worst to the best.

11. Inhumans (1 Season)

Marvel's Inhumans should have been good. Marvel Television was utterly committed to the project, launching a revolutionary deal with IMAX that saw the series filmed with top-quality cameras and the first two episodes released at IMAX cinemas worldwide. They were even confident enough to strike a deal with the State of Hawaii for years of production. And then Inhumans flopped.

The first problem was a lackluster marketing campaign, with Marvel forced on the defensive before a single episode aired. The second was the budget, with then-Marvel Chairman Ike Perlmutter reportedly pushing for a cheap series that just didn't look right - especially when filmed with IMAX cameras. And the final nail was showrunner Scott Buck himself, who simply failed to realize the potential of the Inhumans franchise. The result of all this was easily the weakest Marvel Television show to date, one that only ever hinted at what it could have been. It came as no real surprise when ABC passed on the option of renewing Inhumans for a second season.

10. Iron Fist (2 Seasons)

Iron Fist is another of Marvel TV's major misfires, made even weaker when compared to the rest of the popular and beloved Marvel Netflix slate. Scott Buck's first season was a popular and critical failure, disappointing fans and earning a paltry 19 percent on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. The plot was unconvincing and the quality of the acting was poor. Worse still, a TV show featuring Marvel's premiere martial artist had the worst fight choreography of any Marvel show to date.

Marvel spent the next two years attempting to redeem Finn Jones' Iron Fist, and they were mostly successful; Raven Metzner ultimately produced an abbreviated Iron Fist season 2 that was infinitely better. Jones and co-star Jessica Henwick spent months training, and this time were given sufficient time to learn the fight choreography before shooting. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to save Iron Fist from cancellation, believed to be a result of poor viewing figures.

9. The Defenders (1 Season)

Mike Colter Krysten Ritter Charlie Cox Rosario Dawson and Jessica Henwick in The Defenders

2017's The Defenders miniseries was intended to be the crowning glory of the Marvel Netflix partnership, the TV equivalent of 2012's The Avengers; an "event series" that united all the heroes from the Marvel Netflix slate. Unfortunately, although The Defenders was only eight episodes in length, it still suffered from the traditional Netflix pacing problems; the first three episodes were largely spent getting all the characters in place for the main story.

Marvel made some pretty bold decisions with The Defenders, with a plot that focused both on Charlie Cox's Daredevil and Finn Jones' Iron Fist. While Cox was universally praised for his portrayal of the Man Without Fear, Jones had come in for heavy criticism and the show was essentially an attempt to "sell" the character to viewers. It gave Jones a chance to act alongside all the other Marvel Netflix stars, demonstrating to audiences just why he'd been cast for the role. Sadly, though, viewers just didn't tune in. With the benefit of hindsight, The Defenders was the beginning of the end for the partnership between Marvel and Netflix.

8. Luke Cage (2 Seasons)

In quality terms, there's a steep jump from the previous few shows in this ranking to Luke Cage - which testifies to just how good Marvel Television really is. Starring Mike Colter as the titular hero, Luke Cage is wonderfully atmospheric with a profound sense of place; Harlem is as much a character as anybody else. Simone Missick is also perfectly cast as Misty Knight, Luke's lover/ally.

Luke Cage is, however, knocked down the rankings substantially for the traditional Marvel Netflix pacing problems, accompanied by some pretty odd storytelling decisions. The plot of season 1, for example, pivoted halfway through by killing Mahershala Ali's Cottonmouth as the main villain and substituting him with the far less interesting Erik LaRay Harvey's Diamondback. A complex and sophisticated first season thus ended in a brawl in the street. Season 2 was stronger, with some wiser storytelling decisions, but ended with a cliffhanger that will never be resolved; Luke Cage was canceled by Netflix, who were unable to reach an agreement with Marvel on the show's future direction.

Page 2 of 3: #7-#4 Best MCU TV Shows

7. Cloak & Dagger (1 Season To Date)

Starring Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph as the titular heroes, Cloak & Dagger is a thrilling young-adult drama set in New Orleans. Marvel's work with Netflix has taught them some crucial lessons about the importance of sense of place, and the show revels in its New Orleans setting. Holt and Joseph have tremendous chemistry too, which offsets how the special effects aren't always convincing - most notable in the finale. The first season served as a traditional origin story, albeit one more firmly rooted in the wider MCU than any other Marvel TV series to date; the foundations have been laid for Cloak & Dagger to have a movie-minded second season.

6. Agent Carter (2 Seasons)

Agent Carter season 2 premiere date delayed

Spinning out of the events of Captain America: The First Avenger, Agent Carter gave Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter the spotlight. It was a powerful show, exploring just what it was like for the grieving secret agent to return to the United States after the war. Used to being on the front lines, Agent Carter chafed against the casual sexism that saw her treated as little more than office staff. Consequently, she jumped at the chance to clear old friend Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) of treason. A second season saw Peggy head to the West Coast, where she wound up confronting the threat of Zero Point Energy.

While Agent Carter was an enjoyable series, it never really lived up to its potential; the show was canceled by ABC well before it got to the point of exploring the origin of S.H.I.E.L.D. Sadly, it also ended on something of a cliffhanger, which will presumably never be resolved.

5. Jessica Jones (2 Seasons To Date)

Rachael Taylor and Krysten Ritter in Jessica Jones Season 2

It's actually really difficult to rank Jessica Jones as a series. The first season was one of the best Marvel has produced to date, an intense psychological drama starring Krysten Ritter as the hero and David Tennant as the mind-manipulating Kilgrave; it launched to popular and critical acclaim, praised for the stars' excellent portrayals, as well as its willingness to deal with painful topics such as rape and PTSD. Unfortunately, season 2 was less effective, with those ever-present pacing problems and an unconvincing villain, Janet McTeer as Jessica's mom Alisa.

A third season is due out in 2019, and it will probably be the last, given the relationship between Marvel and Netflix seems to be coming to an end. Excitingly, it's sure to see Trish Walker step up as Hellcat, now her character has gained super-powers of her own.

4. The Punisher (1 Season To Date)

Jon Bernthal was introduced as the Punisher in Daredevil season 2, and Marvel and Netflix quickly agreed a deal to launch a spinoff TV series starring the popular antihero. The first season of The Punisher was one of Marvel's best to date, an in-depth exploration of PTSD that essentially portrayed Frank Castle as a reluctant time-bomb just waiting to go off and wreak havoc as he began his war on crime. It continued the themes of Daredevil season 2, gradually revealing the dark conspiracy behind the deaths of the Punisher's family. While it suffered from the typical Marvel Netflix pacing problems, character-work was so strong that in this case it was eminently forgivable. A second season is due out in January 2019.

Page 3 of 3: The Top 3 MCU TV Shows

Ariela Barer, Lyrica Okano, Rhenzy Feliz, Gregg Sulkin, Virginia Gardner, Allegra Acosta Marvel's Runaways

3. Runaways (2 Seasons To Date)

Inspired by Brian K. Vaughan's classic series, Marvel's Runaways is a young-adult series with a simple concept. Every teenager goes through a time when they believe their parents are evil; what if the kids literally discovered their parents were super-villains? Runaways sometimes struggles under the weight of its own concept, though, given it necessitates a pretty massive cast - six teenage stars and five pairs of parents. The issues were most notable in the first season, but in the recent season 2 the show has become much more sure-footed.

Runaways takes an interesting approach to adapting a much-loved comic book story, taking significant liberties with the source material in order to ensure it remains unpredictable even to comic book fans. The motives of the criminal organization known as the Pride have been switched up, leading to some incredible twists in the second season. Marvel is clearly confident Hulu will renew Runaways for season 3, given the cliffhanger ending.

2. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (5 Seasons to Date)

Essentially Marvel's flagship TV show, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. launched in 2013 and has already been renewed for an (abbreviated) seventh season for 2019-2020. Clark Gregg starred as Agent Coulson, with a two-season-long plot exploring the mystery of just how Coulson was resurrected after his death in The Avengers. Little by little, though, Chloe Bennet has become the series star, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s very own superhero, an Inhuman with the potential to literally tear the Earth apart. The rest of the cast is stellar, and each character has the kind of nuance and depth that's only possible when an actor really inhabits their role. The show's greatest strength is the fact that it can essentially be anything it wants to be; S.H.I.E.L.D. can plunge into a supernatural thriller alongside a new version of Ghost Rider, or be trapped in a dystopian future timeline in a hard sci-fi plot. Over the years, it's developed a mythology all of its own, one that allows it to stand a little bit more separate to the movies nowadays.

1. Daredevil (3 Seasons)

As good as some of the other Marvel TV shows may be, the crown has to go to Daredevil. Starring Charlie Cox as the titular hero, the first series released in 2015 and essentially set the tone for the entire Marvel Netflix slate. Casting was absolutely perfect, particularly Vincent D'Onofrio playing the Kingpin, a ruthless and brutal crime lord who serves as Daredevil's nemesis. Although season 2 was a little mismatched - the first half focused on the Punisher, the second on Elektra and the Hand - in truth all three seasons were of the highest quality. Fight choreography was stunning, with each season featuring a variation on the "Hallway Fight" - a single action sequence that demonstrates the hero's skill. Season 3 introduced Wilson Bethel as Benjamin 'Dex' Poindexter, a skilled marksman who was on the path to becoming Bullseye - and proved an instant hit, even impersonating the Man Without Fear and causing chaos in Daredevil's name.

Daredevil was sadly canceled by Netflix after three seasons, but still has to go down as the best MCU TV series to date; it's the only Marvel Netflix show to have actually wrapped up its story in a satisfactory way before cancellation, a smart move by Marvel.