An impressive number of movies are on Marvel Studios' upcoming release slate, including a second Black Panther movie, a series of solo TV projects (including Ms Marvel and She-Hulk), and plenty of team-up offerings, too. Potentially most exciting, though, is a solo Blade reboot, which will be extremely different from the Wesley Snipes movies. Though it might not be R-rated like the original films, there's no doubt that it'll still be extremely violent, and it could make for one of the best first solo outings in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The MCU solo movie series have tended to get better as they go on. Thor was fully realized in Thor: Ragnarok, and Captain America had never been better than in Captain: America Civil War. But other solo debuts set a high bar that the sequels have failed to reach.
Captain Marvel (2019) - 6.8
While the MCU is usually paving the way for other superhero franchises, which usually copy anything Marvel Studios does, the DCEU was the first to make a female-led superhero with Wonder Woman. However, Marvel swiftly followed with Captain Marvel, and though it doesn't quite reach the quality or excitement of the 2017 DC movie, it's still creative and exciting in its own ways.
The 2019 movie is set in the 90s, and it's a great nostalgia trip for 90s kids whose fondest memories are of visiting Blockbuster Video. The film also introduced the Skrulls in the MCU, and though it was criticized for not taking full advantage of the alien race's special ability, the shapeshifting sequences were by far the most thrilling and engaging. Hopefully, the upcoming Secret Invasion Disney+ series takes better advantage of that.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - 6.9
Where most superhero movies in the same franchise tend to have the same tone and rarely do anything new, the MCU avoids that by cleverly basing each film on a different genre. Captain America: The First Avenger is a great early example of this, as not only is it a blockbuster superhero flick, but it's a period war drama too.
The film accurately depicts what it was like fighting in World War II and crossing enemy lines, and those were the most engaging parts of the 2011 movie, not to mention Steve Rogers' singing and dancing to entertain the soldiers. While The First Avenger isn't quite as lean or as exciting as its espionage political thriller sequels, it's one of the most unique origin stories in the universe and would even appeal to viewers not interested in superhero movies.
Thor (2011) - 7.0
The Incredible Hulk saw Edward Norton as Bruce Banner instead of Mark Ruffalo, making Banner's appearance in The Avengers less impactful than Captain America or Thor's. Because of that, though audiences had already gotten two Iron Man movies, Thor was the first proper taste of a shared movie universe. And while it didn't sweep audiences off their feet, it did give them a hint of what to expect from the God of Thunder and the MCU in the future.
Thor's fish-out-of-water mannerisms and tendency to joke about serious situations were able to carry a movie that was lacking in the CGI and digital effects department. And even though The Destroyer is the worst Thor villain, it also introduced one of the greatest frenemy relationships in cinema, Thor and the God of Mischief, Loki.
Black Panther (2018) - 7.3
Black Panther was a phenomenal success when it was first released, as it overperformed at the worldwide box office and made $1.34 billion. However, it wasn't just financially successful, but critically successful too. The 2018 release earned rave reviews from critics and sits at an unbelievable 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is the highest-rated MCU movie ever on the aggregate website.
Critics deemed it culturally significant, but the general consensus about the film has softened since. 7.3 doesn't exactly equate to 96%. But despite its seemingly rushed digital effects, it's still one of the most exciting and engaging MCU movies.
Ant-Man (2015) - 7.3
Nobody really stays dead in the MCU, as so many heroes have come back to life, but with that being said, the stakes in most movies in the franchise are fairly high. However, one big exception to that statement is Ant-Man, which is a heist caper with more one-liners per minute than any other MCU release.
Ant-Man is the best family-friendly superhero movie, and, sometimes, a low-stakes adventure popcorn flick is exactly what audiences need. And as Ant-Man can make objects grow and shrink in size, it makes for some of the most ridiculous but inventive action sequences and set pieces in the whole universe.
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021) - 7.4
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was another first for Marvel, as it's full of incredible martial arts and elements of Chinese culture. The movie looks incredible, and it has a surprisingly personal narrative, as it channels classic movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with its equal amounts of romance and action sequences.
But it's the supporting players that make Shang-Chi a fan favorite, as Trevor Slattery, the fake Mandarin from Iron Man 3, shows up and has an oddly important role. It also featured Abomination, which made fans admire Marvel for not completely ignoring The Incredible Hulk, which still has a small but dedicated fanbase.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) - 7.4
It might be an inside joke at Marvel Studios that the first MCU Spider-Man movie has the subtitle Homecoming. The superhero is finally where he belongs after Sony had all but ruined the character with The Amazing Spider-Man series.
The second reboot of the superhero was a huge return to form, and it was exactly what a Spider-Man movie should be, and John Hughes-influenced coming-of-age movie. Along with the web-slinging in the movie having such a sense of speed and being more adrenaline-fuelled than ever, The Vulture is the most menacing villain in the MCU that doesn't have any superpowers.
Doctor Strange (2016) - 7.5
Doctor Strange went deeper into narratives that might have been considered a risk by studio executives. Movie studios generally fear that any complex science-fiction concept would go completely over audiences' heads, and it's something that only established filmmakers like Christopher Nolan get to work on.
However, sorcerers, the mirror dimension, and sentient capes ended up being hits with viewers, and it had a lick of horror that made the mind-warping 2016 movie irresistible. And though the newly released sequel is getting rave reviews and director Sam Raimi is getting praised for his auteur vision, the original is still better than Multiverse of Madness.
Iron Man (2008) - 7.9
Just as The First Avenger is a period war drama, Iron Man is a modern war drama. The film literally begins with Tony being kidnapped and being held in a cave as a prisoner of war. While it's a shame that Marvel Studios would never make something with a premise so grueling and grounded now, it's also what makes Iron Man unique in the MCU.
Not only is the premise so riveting, but Tony is the most relatable Avenger, and his nonchalant approach to any given situation has influenced the writing of almost every MCU superhero since. As it's the first release in the 28 movie franchise, it holds a legacy that few other films do, and the current cinema landscape wouldn't exist without the 2008 popcorn flick.
Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014) - 8.0
Marvel Studios has perfected its moviemaking formula at this point, and a big part of that formula is casting comedy actors in lead roles and putting them through training to make them look like Olympians. That was the case with Kumail Nanjiani in Eternals and Paul Rudd in Ant-Man, but the first example of that is Chris Pratt as the music-loving Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy.
A lot of the 2014 movie's success is thanks to Pratt, who plays the character like an Indiana Jones in space. But the other farfetched characters, along with the stunning visuals of space, are what make the film one of the best lost-in-space movies ever. And with a score of 8.0 on the movie database, if any MCU origin movie could be considered a classic, it's Guardians.