- Doctor Strange
I think that this is a solid movie. In my opinion, I find this movie to be similar in a way to Thor’s first movie, where both were solid movies about the main character having to become a better person, that they have to learn that a part of them (Mjolnir and Strange’s hands) is not everything to them, and that their sequels either have them redo that character arc or just give the title character no character arc. I think that Strange’s character arc of having to come to terms with the fact that he can’t use his hands, but can still become the sorcerer supreme was done well. I also thought that the Ancient One was an interesting character, and that Wong was one of the better side characters in the MCU. This movie also has some of the better CGI and VFX in the MCU. I also found it kind of funny how Dormammu, one of the villains, basically lost by rage-quitting from Strange using the time stone to travel back to before he dies. My only problem with this movie is that the main villain, Kaecilius, was kind of forgettable. Overall, Doctor Strange is a solid movie, and I would give it a 7.5/10.
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
I know this movie is very divisive among MCU fans, but I really like this movie. Now, I will admit that some of the comedy is not very good and that Ultron is not very comic accurate. However, Ultron, in my opinion, is still a great villain. In my opinion, Ultron was a great villain because he took one look at Twitter and TikTok, and decided that everything needed to go. To an extent, he was right, that humanity needs to do better. Not to mention that he was a pretty menacing villain. Out of every MCU villain, I would say that Ultron is the second most quotable, the most quotable, of course being Thanos. My only problem with Ultron in the MCU is that they killed him off in his first appearance, when he is normally a villain that could last a saga. Hopefully, when the MCU soft-reboots after Avengers Secret Wars, they can make a younger Hank Pym the Ant-Man, and then have him create Ultron, which would hypothetically be the villain of the Saga (and maybe they could have Scott Lang take on the mantle of Ant-Man again and have Paul Rudd reprise his role as Scott Lang since he does not age). I also like how we got to see Clint/Hawkeye’s family and that Hawkeye was more of a character in this movie, since he was under Loki’s control for most of the first movie. I also like the introductions of Wanda and Vision, and that scene between Vision and Ultron. I can understand why some people do not like this movie since Ultron was kind of wasted as a villain and the comedy was hit-or-miss, but as a movie and not as a comic-book movie, I think this is a pretty good movie. Honestly, I feel like a more appropriate title for this movie would be Avengers: Five Nights at Ultron’s or Avengers: Weekend at Ultron’s, because it is more like a week than an age. Overall, I give Avengers: Five Nights at Ultron’s an 8/10.
- The Avengers
The Avengers is the first time the main six Avengers teamed up in the MCU, and it is a great movie. The comedy of this movie mainly comes from the interactions between the six Avengers, and it is done very well. For example, Captain America saying that there is only one God who he doesn’t think looks like Loki, and Thor saying that Loki was adopted. I like how the Avengers do not really get along with each other at first, but eventually have to learn to respect and work with each other. I especially liked how Iron Man and Captain America’s character arcs were done since Iron Man/Tony Stark had to respect Captain America as a leader, and Captain America/Steve Rogers had to respect Iron Man as a hero. Also, it is kind of poetic how they proved each other wrong by Avengers: Endgame, since Captain America lifted Mjonathan, proving that he was truly special without the serum, and Iron Man made the sacrifice play in this movie and Avengers: Endgame. Loki was a great villain. This was probably the most “evil” Loki has been in the MCU, and they did a good job with that. Overall, The Avengers is a solid movie with great characters, great comedy, a good story, and a great villain. I give The Avengers an 8/10.
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
In my opinion, Spider-Man: Homecoming is the only really good Spider-Man movie in the MCU. Even though this Spider-Man has been Spider-Man for a little bit before this, it is good that we did not see Peter Parker get bitten by a radioactive spider or see Uncle Ben die because we could get more, what we saw in this movie (if you have seen Spider-Man (2002), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008-2009), or read any of the comics, you will see both of that happen). It is almost like Superman (2025) in that sense. Despite that, Spider-Man is still inexperienced, which is a good thing because he still has room to grow as a character. Spider-Man’s character arc is about learning to be more responsible as a hero, and also learning that he is somebody without the suit, and that was done well. Peter Parker and Tony Stark have a really good father-son dynamic. The scene where Tony tells Peter, “If you are nothing without the suit, then maybe you shouldn’t have it” scene is really good, and it highlights the otherwise useless character development Tony received in Iron Man 3. Ned Leeds and MJ are some of the greater side characters throughout the MCU, and their dynamics/relationship with Peter Parker is great in this movie, and something that I will give the sequels is that it only improves in the other two MCU Spider-Man movies. Vulture is one of the greater villains in the MCU. He did what he did for his family, and Tony Stark has been getting in the way of him, which I kind of felt bad for him to an extent because he has been doing that for his family. Also the reveal that Vulture (or Adrian Toomes) was Peter Parker’s date’s father was done amazingly, and that scene of Peter and Adrian in the car was just phenomenal. Michael Keaton also did great as the character. It is just very disappointing that he is probably stuck in the Sony Spider-Man-less Universe for eternity (thanks, Morbius). Overall, Spider-Man: Homecoming is the only good MCU Spider-Man movie with a great story, great characters, a great villain, and an amazing twist. I give Spider-Man Homecoming an 8.5/10.
- Ant-Man
Ant-Man is a really good movie in my opinion, and better than what most give it credit for. From what I can tell, people give this movie criticism for being a heist movie, which I do not care about because it is still fun. Also, these same people will usually say that Avengers: Endgame is one of the greater MCU movies, so in my opinion, those people’s opinions are invalidated. It is one of the funnier MCU movies. Scott Lang is a really good character because he was a criminal who wanted a job, but no one would accept him because of his criminal past, so when he becomes Ant-Man, he is essentially doing what he was good at: “Breaking into places and stealing stuff.” I also like how Scott Lang demonstrates some of his brilliance when he breaks into Hank Pym’s place and steals the Ant-Man suit, and I feel like that was a quality of him that was lost with the sequels. Scott Lang is also one of the funnier MCU characters, and Paul Rudd did great as the character. I also really like Scott Lang’s interactions/dynamic with Hank Pym and Hope Van Dyne. This movie also gave us the greatest side character throughout the entire MCU, Luis. Luis is truly the greatest. The way he rambles on while telling a story, and eventually getting to his point is always hilarious. (IF ONLY SOME OTHER ANT-MAN MOVIE HAD LUIS IN IT. MAYBE, IT WOULD ACTUALLY BE GOOD.) In my opinion, Yellow Jacket was an okay villain. Not amazing, but not bad. I would still say that he is the best Ant-Man villain (if you ignore that he became MODOK in a vastly inferior Ant-Man movie). Even though this movie is really good, I must admit that I was a bit spoiled after watching EMH, since Hank Pym was Ant-Man throughout season one, but by season two, he quit the Avengers, gave Scott Lang the Ant-Man suit, and went down a darker path (I know that I do not make it sound that great, but I am trying to avoid spoilers for EMH). EMH did a phenomenal job with Hank Pym’s character, that a part of me wishes that we could have gotten Hank Pym as the Ant-Man in the MCU, assuming that they would have taken after EMH. Also, Yellow Jacket in EMH was also better than how he was done in the MCU. The Ant-Man movie we did get was still really good with great comedy, great characters, a solid story, and the introduction of the best side character throughout the entire MCU. I give this movie an 8.5/10.
- Captain America: Civil War
Captain America: Civil War is a great movie. Something that I like about this movie is that it highlights the growth of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers as characters, and how they in a way, switch, but it happens in a way that makes sense. In this movie, Tony sides with the government and Steve does not, when one would probably think that it should be the other way around. In my opinion, that just shows how they developed as characters since Tony now takes things more seriously, as opposed to how he acted in the courtroom scene from Iron Man 2, for example. On the other hand, Steve in Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers was shown to trust the government, but after Hydra infiltrated SHIELD, he started to doubt the government, which still carried on into this movie. This is probably the Marvel movie that best carries out the tension and conflict because it is a team-up movie that is more serious and has higher stakes, but does not play any of it off for laughs. Furthermore, both Captain America and Iron Man are, to an extent, right, so it is great writing when that is able to happen. I also like how this movie somewhat subverts our expectations by there being no winner. Team Cap lost because everyone was either on house arrest or on the run until Avengers: Infinity War. Iron Man had it just as bad if not worse, because he not only lost the Avengers, but he also found out that Bucky killed his parents, and that Captain America (his partner/coworker for the past four years) has been protecting him. “Two bullies beat up an orphan with heart issues” are words that can describe the end of the second act and third act of this movie. Jokes aside, that scene was genuinely great, but sad. This movie also introduced Spider-Man and Black Panther in the MCU, and was also the first time that Ant-Man was in a team-up movie, and they are all great additions to the movie. Zemo was also a great villain, and he was in a sense, the only MCU villain to win (other than Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War). My only problem with this movie is that the title is kind of false advertising, since it should be an Avengers movie, not just a Captain America movie, but it is still really good. Overall, Captain America: Civil War is a great movie that carries out tension very well, has a great plot, and introduces some of the more iconic MCU characters. I give this movie an 8.5/10.
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the greatest Captain America movie and one of the greater MCU movies in general. It has probably the best action in any MCU movie, and it being a spy thriller elevates it by being more unique and being done well. In my opinion, this might just be the coolest MCU movie, probably because it is a spy thriller. Even though it is mostly serious, it does have some more slightly subtle comedy that works for the story and is not shoved in your face, and it is done well because of that. Bucky/Winter Soldier is a great villain, and has the most aura out of any MCU villain. Bucky is also one of the more sympathetic villains of the MCU since he was brainwashed and tortured by Hydra. Also, this is the last time Nick Fury was a cool character, since he was barely in FNAU, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, and he was just an old man in Secret Invasion. Also, the “I’m with you until the end of the line” is the greatest scene from this movie. This movie also introduced us to Sam Wilson/Falcon/future Captain America, and he was a solid addition to this movie. Overall, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the greatest Captain America movie and one of the better MCU movies, with amazing action, a great villain, solid characters, and a unique twist on superhero movies with a spy thriller genre that is done very well. I give this movie a 9/10.
- Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy is truly an amazing movie that has both changed the MCU for the better and for worse. Guardians of the Galaxy pretty much introduced comedy in the MCU, but unlike some later MCU movies, Guardians of the Galaxy did a great job balancing the seriousness and comedy, and understood when they were necessary. The Guardians of
The Galaxy, in my opinion, is the best MCU team. Although they hated each other when they first met, they grew to love and respect each other as a team over the course of the movie. All of the Guardians are well-written characters, and they are perfectly casted. The soundtrack of this movie is also amazing, and between Guardians of the Galaxy and Superman (2025), James Gunn knows how to cook with the soundtracks of his movies. In my opinion, I only have two problems with this movie. One of them is that the villain, Ronan, is just forgettable in my opinion and is unremarkable besides the dance-off scene. My other issue with this movie is that it kind of brought the MCU in a terrible comedic direction, where the movies and shows just wanted us to laugh every five seconds (pretty much using the GOTG/James Gunn formula) without understanding why Guardians of the Galaxy worked in the first place. Honestly, this movie’s existence is kind of why every late-Phase 3, Phase 4, and Phase 5 Marvel movie and show had terrible comedy for introducing that direction, even if it did it right. Despite that, Guardians of the Galaxy is a really great movie. It has great characters, a great story, great comedy, and a great soundtrack. It is easy to understand why more modern Marvel movies tried using the Guardians Formula, even if they did not understand why they worked. Overall, I give Super Mario Galaxy: the Movie a 9.5/10
- Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Infinity War is pretty much where everything major that was previously set up starts to get paid off in this fantastic part one of the conclusion to the Infinity Saga. The interactions between Iron Man, Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as Thor and the Guardians are hilarious, and I also love how serious Thor was in this movie, while still having those moments with the Guardians. This is almost kind of a last hurrah for serious Thor since this was the last time Thor was not taken as a joke in the MCU (unless Thor 5 goes in a serious direction, which it probably will with Thor Love and Thunder’s failure). Not to mention that Thor was at his greatest in this movie in terms of character and writing (and aura). Although the other Avengers were less memorable in this movie, they were still great. In my opinion (and maybe my coldest take in terms of my MCU opinions), Thanos is the best MCU villain. He is very strong and powerful, every sentence that comes out of his mouth is quotable, and although what he is doing is very wrong, he is trying to do good. Really, they could have made this a Thanos movie, and have the same plot, and nobody would care. I think that because Thanos has a character arc unlike most MCU villains. Thanos changes by the end of the movie, where at the start of the movie, he tries to get all of the Infinity Stones by any means necessary, but when he has to get the Soul Stone, he has to sacrifice his favorite (adopted) daughter, Gamora, so that he could get the Soul Stone. After that, we see Thanos actually be sad and although he achieved his goal by the end of snapping half of life out of existence, it came at the cost of his favorite daughter, so he has a little bit of regret. I also think that it was interesting that Vision and Gamora were willing to let Wanda and Star-Lord kill them because it shows that the stakes are high, and it adds a sense of sadness when they eventually have to do it, and Thanos prevents all of that from happening. It is sad because both Star-Lord and Wanda were supposed to kill their loved ones, but Thanos prevented that from happening and killed them himself for the stones. I like how Thanos wins in the end because it subverts the expectation of the heroes winning in a great way. Overall, Avengers: Infinity War is a great movie with great characters, the best MCU villain, emotional parts that really hit, and an ending that subverts expectations in a fantastic way. If only this movie’s sequel had both great writing and great spectacle, instead of focusing way too much on the spectacle. Overall, I give Avengers: Infinity War a 9.5/10.
- Iron Man
This is the first MCU movie, and it is in my opinion the second best. The CGI and visuals in this movie are the best in the MCU, which is kind of embarrassing in a way since the movies that came after this should have looked better than this, but Iron Man looks so visually good that maybe it is kind of hard to top this movie. Tony Stark in this movie is a very well-written character. He starts as a clearly irresponsible billionaire with a weapons business, but then starts to see the negative impact he had on the world with his weapons, and decides to take responsibility by stopping making weapons and becoming Iron Man. What I like about that is that after Tony Stark returns, he announces that, and everyone thinks that he is crazy, but he insisted on not making weapons. I also like how when Tony Stark makes the Iron Man suits, we see that they are flawed, and Tony learns from his mistakes. Honestly, that saying “Tony learns from his mistakes” can pretty much describe this movie. Tony Stark realizes that his weapons business is harmful, he stops his weapons business and takes matters into his own hands. Tony Stark then realizes problems with his Iron Man suits, he fixes them. I think Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger was a good twist villain because he is one of the main people who thinks that Tony Stark went insane after being missing, and that he approved of selling weapons to the terrorist organization later on. Also, he gave us the iconic line, “Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave! With a box of scraps!” Even though Yinsen only appeared in this movie and Iron Man 3, he is an underrated side character in my opinion because of how he influences Tony Stark’s character arc. This movie (and most of the MCU by extension) would not have happened if Yinsen was not with Tony Stark in the cave with a box of scraps. I also liked when Yinsen cameoed in Iron Man 3. In my opinion, this movie has probably the best soundtrack in the MCU excluding the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. The opening scene with ACDC’s “Back in Black” and ending with Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” are iconic. I also think that this is one of the funnier MCU movies, and it does a phenomenal job at balancing the comedy and seriousness. The comedy mostly comes from Tony Stark being funny with his responses in a smart way, and these comedic moments are separate from the serious moments, which is something that the MCU-Post-Phase-2 could learn from. I also think that it is kind of funny how the first Iron Man movie was so amazing (not even just good like the first Thor movie, like amazing), yet the sequels were so mediocre. The first one was so good, and the sequels just kind of exist. I know that Black Widow and Rhodey as War Machine were introduced in Iron Man 2, and the “If you’re nothing without the suit, you shouldn’t have it” line from Spider-Man Homecoming does not make as much sense without Iron Man 3. Outside of that, you could probably just skip from Iron Man to The Avengers, and then to Avengers: Five Nights at Ultron’s (and then to Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame) with no issue. Iron Man is a fantastic cinematic masterpiece with great characters, a great storyline, the best visuals in the MCU, great comedy, a great soundtrack, and a great job at balancing seriousness and humor. Overall, I give Iron Man a 10/10.
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2
Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 is a pretty divisive MCU movie. Despite that, it is still my favorite MCU movie. In my opinion, it just took what made the first movie great, and just expanded it very well. It is just as funny as the first movie, and the soundtrack is better than the first movie in my opinion. As I stated, I was not a huge fan of Ronan the Accuser from Guardians of the Galaxy (Volume 1) as a villain. However, I actually prefer Ego as a villain to Ronan. I thought Ego was a better villain than Ronan because Ego is in more of Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 than Ronan was in Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2, and also because we could kind of tell that Ego was hiding something and was probably the villain. Even though Ego was a twist villains, and twist villains are hit-or-miss, Ego was a good twist villain because besides the fact that we feel like he is hiding some skeletons (which in a way, he literally was), the scene where Ego explains his plan to Quill, while Gamora, Nebula, and Rocket realize how evil Ego is is done very well, and then Ego reveals the thing he did, and Quill breaks free from Ego’s control. In my opinion, the build up of Rocket, Gamora, and Nebula realizing all the way to Ego revealing his secret is done so well. I also liked how Rocket and Yondu were paired up together, that on the surface, they do not seem much alike, but they are much more similar than we realize. Yondu and Rocket are an unexpected pair, but they work together pretty well. Also, Yondu’s death and sacrifice was probably the saddest death in the MCU. Also, the way that they follow that up with the Ravager Funeral just adds on to that feeling. That is pretty surprising considering that Yondu is a side character, and was not really a character that we were necessarily supposed to care about in the first movie. I think that it is kind of impressive and surprising that James Gunn made us care about a character who we were not really supposed to care about. I also like Gamora and Nebula’s dynamic and how that evolved throughout the movie, where they first hated each other, but Gamora starts to understand Nebula’s painful childhood. I feel like Nebula becoming good is one of the better examples of a bad guy becoming a good guy because Gamora starts to understand how she felt, and Nebula helped the other Guardians defeat Ego. Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 did a great job at pretty much redeeming Nebula as a result. I also like Star-Lord’s character arc of wanting a father, and thinking that he just found his father, but realizing that he had one in Yondu by the end of the movie. I feel like that was a pretty natural way to go after the first movie had Yondu be thankful that he did not deliver Star-Lord to his dad, and that the first movie established that Star-Lord is not fully human. Either way, I think they did a great job with that. I also like the introduction of Mantis, and her interactions with Drax were funny. Baby Groot was also cute and funny. I also think that this is the second best MCU movie visually. Like the first movie, this one does a great job at balancing the seriousness and comedy, without them overshadowing each other. Overall, Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 is not only very underrated, but it is also the best MCU movie in my opinion and a cinematic masterpiece. It has great comedy, a better soundtrack than the first movie, great characters, a great story, and it is just a great sequel and a great movie. I give Super Mario Galaxy 2 a 10/10. It is, in my opinion, peak MCU.
Honorable Mention: Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022):
Even though this is not a part of the Infinity Saga, I am doing a sub-review of the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special because it is Christmas time. In the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Drax and Mantis try to kidnap Kevin Bacon for Peter Quill as a Christmas present after hearing that Yondu ruined Christmas for Quill. Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is a fun watch. It features great Christmas songs, and the Christmas song that they sing to Star-Lord in the opening credits is my favorite Christmas song. It also features great comedy that is to be expected from a James Gunn and Guardians of the Galaxy project. I do not really want to spoil anything, because it is really good. It is on Disney+, and I would highly recommend watching it. As for a score, I would give it an 8/10. This Christmas, if you have Disney+, please check it out. Merry Christmas, everyone.
Conclusion:
So that is my ranking of the MCU Infinity Saga from worst to best. It was definitely long, considering that I had to split it into two parts. I have jokingly called it my “Marvel Dissertation Essay ” because of how long it took to make. This has been long in the making, starting production in April of this year. I will drop my MCU Multiverse Saga ranking next semester, so stay tuned for that. You guys may feel free to disagree with my rankings, and that is fine because this is just my opinion. In my opinion, Thor: Ragnarok is the worst MCU movie from the Infinity Saga, while Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 is the best MCU movie from the Infinity Saga, and there are many movies in between. Merry Christmas, everyone. I will be back with new articles next semester. Also, to my audience who are students at the AES Upper School campus, the next time that there is a late start, ask your teachers, “How was the party this morning?”
