Saturday, August 22, 2020

Ranking the MCU

Films:
1. Avengers: Endgame-The epic conclusion to the MCU's Infinity Saga focuses more on drama, and while the large length isn't always warranted what it does lead to makes up for a lot of the slower scenes.
2. Avengers: Infinity War-While I consider this the better film over Endgame with awesome fight scenes and Brolin's performance as Thanos astounding, Infinity War not letting you catch your breath and going from one big moment to the next without giving us time to get adjusted is why it's ranked lower.
3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2-A fun and fast paced entry that excels at the characters' relationships and isn't afraid to embrace the craziest of aspects.
4. Spider-Man: Far From Home-An astounding sequel that serves both as an epilogue to the Infinity Saga and the bridge towards Phase 4 of the MCU, giving us a hero still learning about his powers, the effects of Endgame's end, and impressive illusion sequences.
5. Ant-Man and the Wasp-A well done breather entry between Infinity War and Endgame, fully takes advantages of its title characters' size changing abilities with imaginative fight scenes.
6. Guardians of the Galaxy-Managed to take the most outlandish concepts and have it work all thanks to James Gunn's zany writing and over the top direction.
7. The Avengers-A concept that was considered nearly impossible to pull off, but nonetheless proved that the MCU was more than just another superhero series.
8. Thor: Ragnarok-Taika Waititi's unique and wacky direction reinvigorated the Thor series from its overly serious beginnings into a more zanier and kick ass direction.
9. Captain America: Civil War-Focusing on the repercussions of how damaging the many battles of the past films could be, the personal dramas and ideologies between the characters as well as a big airport battle and some revelations is why this is the best Captain America film.
10. Black Panther-With a strong message and a villain with an understandable motivation, this managed to inspire as many people that it was impossible to ignore even if some of the effects weren't always the best.
11. Spider-Man: Homecoming-Despite being the second Spider-Man reboot in such a short time, Tom Holland's take on Peter Parker is the best interpretation while having a memorable villain and a John Hughes-esque sensibility.
12. Captain America: The First Avenger-A fun and pulpy callback to action film serials made during the same time period and other films with similar aspects like the Indiana Jones films and The Rocketeer.
13. Ant-Man-While Guardians showed that Marvel was willing to take risks, this made it official.
14. Captain America: The Winter Soldier-Combining superhero and political thriller elements, the slower action scenes show off how well choreographed MCU fights can be.
15. Doctor Strange-While it has a standard origin story, the Steve Ditko-inspired visuals and the unique way of defeating the villain definitely makes it stand out.
16. Iron Man 3-Even if many don't agree on the Mandarin reveal, it shouldn't take away from the interesting way the new suit is used and Tony going through PTSD after The Avengers.
17. Avengers: Age of Ultron-The weakest of the Avengers films due to its focusing on setting things up for future entries, it does have some incredible action scenes and the cast have all formed a well made bond.
18. Iron Man-Started the MCU without ever realizing it in a way that most other cinematic universes have failed to do and while it's a standard origin story, the fact that there was never a finished script due to a writers strike, Robert Downey Jr. was considered unreliable due to a drug problem, and Marvel producing the movie from bank loans that could have bankrupted them shows just how incredible it turned out to be.
19. Thor-Kenneth Branagh's Shakespearean interpretation of the God of Thunder has amazing visuals and introduces the MCU's first recurring villain, though often contains too many comedic moments.
20. Captain Marvel-While the direction, writing, and some action scenes are a bit off and has a very Phase 1 feel to it, this entry nonetheless has great performances, manages to give us a fun buddy movie, and has some very inventive fight sequences.
21. Iron Man 2-Even if most of the focus is on establishing the future of the MCU rather than on the story of this film, one can forgive it as being early in the universe's run and the first time it was being pulled off as well as having some great action sequences and the cast all providing great performances.
22. The Incredible Hulk-Although it doesn't do anything too astounding or different, Edward Norton's performance and the Hulk's rampages are what keep it from being forgettable.
23. Thor: The Dark World-The weakest entry of the MCU due to a by the numbers plot and a villain without much development and little motivation, but at least entertaining due to Loki's mischief, inventive action sequences, and Chris Hemsworth's performance as Thor.

Shows:
1. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.-Lasting for seven seasons, the MCU's first show may have initially tried too hard to connect with the movies but eventually grew into its own with well told storylines, memorable characters, and adapting aspects of the comics that not even the films have done.
2. Runaways-A highly underrated series focusing on young adults and the adventures they have escaping from their dangerous parents, as it has a strong cast with great chemistry and they have a dinosaur on their side.
3. The Defenders-While only lasting one season, this crossover miniseries with some of the Netflix shows hits all the right notes with the different characters perfectly interacting with each other, a well told and paced story, and fun fight sequences.
4. Daredevil-The first of the MCU's Netflix shows, for three seasons it told more grounded and subdued stories with powerful performances and fight sequences done in clever long takes.
5. Luke Cage-Even if its hero is bulletproof and nearly impossible to harm, this show manages to figure out other ways of hurting the title character throughout its two-season run of great writing, powerful performances, and good music.
6. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot-A web miniseries released in the middle of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fourth season but mostly set just before it focusing on Agent Yo-Yo Rodriguez on a mission while dealing with the Sokovia Accords, this was short but was still fun and engaging with good writing and acting.
7. Agent Carter-Spin-off to the first Captain America film and set up during S.H.I.E.L.D.'s second season, this two-season period spy drama sees Hayley Atwell reprising her role and has really great production value, fun writing, and strong performances.
8. Cloak & Dagger-While the action and story are good though not too amazing, the main draw is the chemistry between the two leads.
9. The Punisher-Introduced in the second season of Daredevil, Frank Castle's lethal vigilantism is in full display and while it's full of excitement and has strong performances the action scenes and violence do get a little repetitive.
10. Jessica Jones-With a neo-noir tone, focusing more on detective drama, and themes that dealt with rape and PTSD, this could have been higher were it not for its very slow pacing.
11. Iron Fist-While it did improve in its second and final season with better writing and fight choreography, right since it began this Netflix MCU entry had a lot of problems though it at least had good performances.
12. Inhumans-The weakest MCU property of the entire franchise due to a rushed production, poorly paced story, and forcing the Inhumans into the universe to compete against Fox's X-Men, with a few saving graces being the strong performances and convincing visual effects.

Seasons:
1. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4-Having three storylines, all end up converging into an epic finale involving Ghost Rider and LMDs.
2. Jessica Jones season 1-While Krysten Ritter is perfect as the title character, what really works this season that the next two lack is David Tennant's terrifying performance as Kilgrave.
3. Daredevil season 3-Despite cancelled before it could properly finish its story, this final season still had enough excitement and closure to satisfy even those that wanted more.
4. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 7-The final season is one long time travel arc with the last episodes revealing huge connections to Endgame, though the pacing wasn't all there.
5. Runaways season 3-Between a crossover with Cloak & Dagger, tie-ins to S.H.I.E.L.D., and time travel in its last episode this season showed how there was more to this series than many gave it credit for.
6. Daredevil season 1-Not afraid to show how dark the MCU could get, the title character's fight against Kingpin shows how important even street level heroes can be.
7. Luke Cage season 1-While having uneven pacing, the story is great with Mike Colter's performance being the driving point and having a great antagonist that gets killed too early.
8. The Defenders-Despite no followup, this street level television version of The Avengers did an amazing job at getting the characters together.
9. Runaways season 2-The storytelling is great if a little formulaic, but the bond between the teens is the biggest strength.
10. Runaways season 1-Introducing an ensemble of young adults was no easy task, but the premiere season did a great job as well as the parents and their plans despite how slow it often was.
11. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5-With the cast ending up in a future with a decimated Earth, the often slow pacing didn't take away from the powerful performances and surprising moments.
12. Agent Carter season 1-Though not having huge connections to the movies or other shows, it shouldn't take away from the period peace angle that works better here than the rest of the franchise.
13. The Punisher season 1-Frank Castle proves just how violent he can be throughout the season and especially with an unforgettable finale, though often hampered by the overt violence happening too often.
14. Cloak & Dagger season 1-Proving that superhero stories don't have to focus on big battles and explosions, this introductory season focuses on the relationship between the characters and how they're connected even if it takes a while to get going.
15. Luke Cage season 2-Despite being cancelled with a shocking ending, this season proved that even the best heroes can go down a dark path.
16. Jessica Jones season 3-Much like the second Luke Cage season, this is another example of a protagonist gone wrong, though often goes too dark and depressing in its storytelling.
17. Daredevil season 2-With 13 episodes, this season is split into three storylines that may not mesh that well but at least told as best as they could.
18. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 6-While the storyline is interesting and new for the series and the performances are still great, some of it is bugged down by certain creative choices.
19. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2-The sophomore season introduces Inhumans and manages to have very creative fight scenes, though still bogged by too many tie-ins to the movies.
20. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot-A well told one-off that didn't need any followups but felt too short.
21. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3-While the tie-ins started to die down by this season and managed to tell its own stories while having well told Inhuman stories, it's clear how forced they were to be put in there.
22. The Punisher season 2-Even if Jon Bernthal gives a riveting performance and the action scenes are just as great as the first season, most of its storyline is a rehash with some differences.
23. Jessica Jones season 2-Despite telling a very personal story related to the title character's past, its uneven pacing tends to hurt it.
24. Agent Carter season 2-While the story is interesting and the change to Hollywood is fun, the villains aren't that memorable.
25. Cloak & Dagger season 2-Even though the slower pace is what makes this show memorable, trying too hard with that approach will eventually hurt it but shouldn't take away from the great acting and focusing on some interesting themes.
26. Iron Fist season 2-A great improvement over the first season with less episodes to tell a better story and fight scenes that fit what the comics have done.
27. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1-While not bad in any away, the first season takes time to really get to the level that the show will eventually be.
28. Iron Fist season 1-A weak season with a weak story and poor fight choreography, good performances keep it from being terrible.
29. Inhumans-Even if more seasons would have improved the show, this is the lowest point for the MCU.

Films and Shows:
1. Avengers: Endgame
2. Avengers: Infinity War
3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
4. Spider-Man: Far From Home
5. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
6. Ant-Man and the Wasp
7. Guardians of the Galaxy
8. The Avengers
9. Thor: Ragnarok
10. Captain America: Civil War
11. Black Panther
12. Spider-Man: Homecoming
13. Captain America: The First Avenger 
14. Ant-Man
15. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 
16. Doctor Strange
17. Runaways
18. Iron Man 3
19. The Defenders
20. Daredevil
21. Luke Cage
22. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot
23. Agent Carter
24. Avengers: Age of Ultron
25. Iron Man
26. Thor
27. Captain Marvel
28. Iron Man 2
29. Cloak & Dagger
30. The Punisher
31. Jessica Jones
32. The Incredible Hulk
33. Thor: The Dark World
34. Iron Fist
35. Inhumans                                               

Films and Seasons:
1. Avengers: Endgame
2. Avengers: Infinity War
3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
4. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4
5. Jessica Jones season 1
6. Daredevil season 3
7. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 7
8. Spider-Man: Far From Home
9. Ant-Man and the Wasp
10. Guardians of the Galaxy
11. The Avengers
12. Runaways season 3
13. Thor: Ragnarok
14. Daredevil season 1
15. Captain America: Civil War
16. Black Panther
17. Luke Cage season 1
18. The Defenders
19. Spider-Man: Homecoming
20. Captain America: The First Avenger
21. Ant-Man
22. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
23. Doctor Strange
24. Iron Man 3
25. Avengers: Age of Ultron
26. Iron Man
27. Thor
28. Runaways season 2
29. Runaways season 1
30. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5
31. Agent Carter season 1
32. The Punisher season 1
33. Cloak & Dagger season 1
34. Luke Cage season 2
35. Jessica Jones season 3
36. Daredevil season 2
37. Captain Marvel 
38. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 6
39. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2
40. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot
41. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3
42. Iron Man 2
43. The Incredible Hulk
44. The Punisher season 2
45. Jessica Jones season 2
46. Agent Carter season 2
47. Cloak & Dagger season 2
48. Thor: The Dark World
49. Iron Fist season 2
50. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1
51. Iron Fist season 1
52. Inhumans

Film Moments:
1. The final battle in Avengers: Endgame.
2. The snap in Avengers: Infinity War.
3. The entire New York battle in The Avengers.
4. Michael B. Jordan's performance in Black Panther.
5. Steve waking up in the modern world at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger.
6. Dormammu's defeat in Doctor Strange.
7. Tony's escape from Iron Man.
8. Thor regaining his powers in Thor.
9. "Immigrant Song" fight sequences at the beginning and end of Thor: Ragnarok
10. Mysterio's illusion attack in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
11. Hulk vs. Hulkbuster in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
12. Airport fight in Captain America: Civil War.
13. Elevator fight in Captain America: The Winter Soldier
14. Mjolnir constantly going back and forth during the final fight of Thor: The Dark World.
15. The Culver rampage in The Incredible Hulk.
16. Carol gaining her full powers in Captain Marvel.
17. Tony summoning all of his extra suits suits in Iron Man 3.
18. Luis's stories in Ant-Man.
19. Ronan's defeat in Guardians of the Galaxy.
20. San Francisco car chase in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
21. The Captain America PSA post credit scene in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
22. Final battle in Iron Man 2.
23. Stan Lee's cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Show Moments:
1. Fitz and Simmon's time travel plans revealed in the finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
2. Coulson and Fury taking on Garrett in the first season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
3. The time travel and LMD Coulson reveal at the end of the sixth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
4. Trish's breakdown in the third season of Jessica Jones.
5. Coulson turning into Ghost Rider in the fourth season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
6. Daisy gaining her Inhuman powers in the second season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
7. Simmons's time in an alien planet in the third season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
8. Punisher's monologue as he chains up Daredevil in the second season of Daredevil.
9. Punisher disfiguring Russo in the first season finale of The Punisher.
10. The destruction of the three monoliths causing manifestations of past villains in the 100th episode and fifth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
11. The final fight in The Defenders.
12. The continuously shot hallway fight scene from the first season of Daredevil.
13. David Tennant's entire performance in the first season of Jessica Jones.
14. Peggy getting through Howard Stark's brainwashing in the first season of Agent Carter.
15. The first use of the Iron Fist in the first season of Iron Fist.
16. Jessica's mother's story in the second season of Jessica Jones.
17. Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph's chemistry in the first season of Cloak & Dagger.
18. The discovery of Old Lace in the first season of The Runaways.
19. The three way fight between Daredevil, Kingpin, and Bullseye in the final episode of Daredevil.
20. Luke Cage teaming up with Iron Fist in the second season of Luke Cage.
21. Whitney Frost absorbing the Darkforce in the second season of Agent Carter.
22. Billy regaining his memories upon seeing the Punisher's skull logo in the second season of The Punisher.
23. Luke Cage's origin story from the first season of Luke Cage.
24. The crossover with Cloak & Dagger in the third season of The Runaways.
25. Anson Mount's performance as Black Bolt in Inhumans.
26. Detective O'Reilly's split personality in the second season of Cloak & Dagger.
27. Nico using the Staff of One to make the AWOL agents disappear in the second season of The Runaways.
28. Danny using two guns to form Iron Fists in the finale to Iron Fist.
29. Yo-Yo refusing to kill Victor Ramon in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot.

Film and Show Moments:
1. The final battle in Avengers: Endgame.
2. The snap in Avengers: Infinity War.
3. Fitz and Simmon's time travel plans revealed in the finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
4. The entire New York battle in The Avengers.
5. Michael B. Jordan's performance in Black Panther.
6. Steve waking up in the modern world at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger.
7. Dormammu's defeat in Doctor Strange.
8. Tony's escape from Iron Man.
9. Thor regaining his powers in Thor.
10. "Immigrant Song" fight sequences at the beginning and end of Thor: Ragnarok
11. Mysterio's illusion attack in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
12. Hulk vs. Hulkbuster in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
13. Airport fight in Captain America: Civil War.
14. Elevator fight in Captain America: The Winter Soldier
15. Mjolnir constantly going back and forth during the final fight of Thor: The Dark World.
16. Coulson and Fury taking on Garrett in the first season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
17. The time travel and LMD Coulson reveal at the end of the sixth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
18. Trish's breakdown in the third season of Jessica Jones.
19. Coulson turning into Ghost Rider in the fourth season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
20. Daisy gaining her Inhuman powers in the second season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
21. Simmons's time in an alien planet in the third season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
22. Punisher's monologue as he chains up Daredevil in the second season of Daredevil.
23. Punisher disfiguring Russo in the first season finale of The Punisher.
24. The Culver rampage in The Incredible Hulk.
25. The destruction of the three monoliths causing manifestations of past villains in the 100th episode and fifth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
26. The final fight in The Defenders.
27. The continuously shot hallway fight scene from the first season of Daredevil.
28. David Tennant's entire performance in the first season of Jessica Jones.
29. Peggy getting through Howard Stark's brainwashing in the first season of Agent Carter.
30. Carol gaining her full powers in Captain Marvel.
31. Tony summoning all of his extra suits suits in Iron Man 3.
32. Luis's stories in Ant-Man.
33. Ronan's defeat in Guardians of the Galaxy.
34. San Francisco car chase in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
35. The Captain America PSA post credit scene in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
36. Final battle in Iron Man 2.
37. Stan Lee's cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
38. The first use of the Iron Fist in the first season of Iron Fist.
39. Jessica's mother's story in the second season of Jessica Jones.
40. Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph's chemistry in the first season of Cloak & Dagger.
41. The discovery of Old Lace in the first season of The Runaways.
42. The three way fight between Daredevil, Kingpin, and Bullseye in the final episode of Daredevil.
43. Luke Cage teaming up with Iron Fist in the second season of Luke Cage.
44. Whitney Frost absorbing the Darkforce in the second season of Agent Carter.
45. Billy regaining his memories upon seeing the Punisher's skull logo in the second season of The Punisher.
46. Luke Cage's origin story from the first season of Luke Cage.
47. The crossover with Cloak & Dagger in the third season of The Runaways.
48. Anson Mount's performance as Black Bolt in Inhumans.
49. Detective O'Reilly's split personality in the second season of Cloak & Dagger.
50. Nico using the Staff of One to make the AWOL agents disappear in the second season of The Runaways.
51. Danny using two guns to form Iron Fists in the finale to Iron Fist.
52. Yo-Yo refusing to kill Victor Ramon in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot.

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