Every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, ranked from worst to best

23. "Iron Man 2" (2010) Marvel Studios Directed by Jon Favreau After the highs of "Iron Man," it didn't take long for the MCU to plummet to its lowest. If the "2" in "Iron Man 2" meant that everything had to be doubled - the villains, the characters, the number of MCU movies Gwyneth Paltrow is in that she didn't watch - then "Iron Man 2" succeeds. But it's just too overstuffed for its own good in an attempt to get audiences ready for "The Avengers" two years later. Tony Stark is also a, for lack of better word, a jerk throughout the entire movie, and the movie attempts to justify this with a subplot about Stark being poisoned by the metal inside of him. But the movie's hero is rendered incredibly unlikable. The MCU has since become a well-oiled machine that knows how to balance it all. But in 2010, it was still working on that.

22. "Thor" (2011) Marvel Studios Directed by Kenneth Branagh There's nothing particularly horrible about "Thor," but there's nothing memorable either. It's impressive that the movie works at all, considering that Thor, an alien god with daddy issues, was such a little-known character at the time, and Chris Hemsworth was not the superstar he is now. But James Gunn managed to turn even lesser-known and weirder characters into MCU standouts in "Guardians of the Galaxy." It would take a while for Thor to really come into his own.

21. "The Incredible Hulk" (2008) Marvel Directed by Louis Leterrier We now know Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk, but in the second MCU movie, Edward Norton was in the role. Out of all the MCU movies, "The Incredible Hulk" feels the least connected to the universe. Liv Tyler's Betty Ross, Banner's love interest, has never appeared again, and neither has Tim Blake Nelson, who was teased as the Hulk's archnemesis, the Leader. But even with that tease, a sequel never happened, and the only character besides the Hulk to have any meaningful connection to the MCU has been General "Thunderbolt" Ross, played by William Hurt, who popped up again in 2016's "Captain America: Civil War."

20. "Thor: The Dark World" (2013) Disney / Marvel Directed by Alan Taylor It's almost pointless to compare the first two "Thor" movies, as they're both toward the bottom of the MCU barrel. But "The Dark World" is a tad more fun than "Thor," and it's integral in introducing one of the Infinity Stones (the Reality Stone) that Thanos ends up using to destroy half of humanity. But Marvel still hadn't realized that Hemsworth's best attribute in the role is his humor, and the character - and the first two movies - suffer because of it. Everything on Asgard, though, is decent, and the major battle sequence (when the Dark Elves invade) is actually really well done. If the movie didn't involve Earth at all (and Natalie Portman, unfortunately) it might be higher on the list.

19. "Ant-Man" (2015) Marvel Directed by Peyton Reed "Ant-Man" is a fun little Marvel movie, but not much else. Paul Rudd is charming in the lead role, and Evangeline Lilly is more than just a love interest as Hope van Dyne (the future Wasp). But the movie still falls into familiar territory, including a lackluster villain in Corey Stoll's Yellowjacket.

18. "Doctor Strange" (2016) Marvel Studios Directed by Scott Derrickson By 2016, movies like the Russos' "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Civil War" had progressed the MCU into new territory, but "Doctor Strange" felt like a step back. Sure, the magic was cool, but it also relied on a formulaic plot with a forgettable love interest (How do you not give Rachel McAdams more to do?!).

17. "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015) Marvel Directed by Joss Whedon This "Avengers" sequel made the same mistake as "Iron Man 2": cramming too much into its plot to serve the future of the franchise. The movie features some cool action sequences, notably the Iron Man-Hulk battle. But it fails to distinguish Ultron, the Avengers' biggest enemy in the comics, from other two-dimensional MCU villains, and it spends too much time setting up future movies. (What exactly is Thor doing?) In hindsight, this is both the movie's greatest strength and weakness. It lays important groundwork, but at the expense of its own narrative.

16. "Iron Man 3" (2013) Marvel Studios Directed by Shane Black "Iron Man 3" is the most divisive movie in the MCU, and for good reason. It takes some wacky turns, with a major twist that ruined the movie for plenty of people. But I admire that Black just went for it with this movie and delivered something that fans still argue over.

15. "Captain Marvel" (2019) Marvel Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck Maybe in time "Captain Marvel" will inch higher on this list. But for now, it's a solid entry into the MCU, but not a fantastic one. Boden and Fleck are at their best in the character-driven aspects of the movie. Unfortunately, it's the action the movie is lacking, which hurts it by the end. Brie Larson is perfect in the title role, though, and her chemistry with Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury makes the movie. There are also some surprising twists that elicited plenty of reactions from theater audiences. If anything, this was a worthy appetizer for "Avengers: Endgame."

14. "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018) Marvel Studios Directed by Peyton Reed While it's not necessarily an "essential" MCU movie, it improves on the first "Ant-Man" in nearly every way, with plenty of heart and humor. Reed came back to direct after replacing Edgar Wright at the last minute on the first movie, and "Ant-Man and the Wasp" feels as if he was more adjusted to the job, with some well-polished action sequences and a great handle on the characters.

13. "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011) Disney/Marvel Directed by Joe Johnston "The First Avenger" is arguably the first movie that "mattered" in the MCU. While "Iron Man" is better, "The First Avenger" sets up "The Avengers" better than "Iron Man," which basically acts as a prequel to the big team-up movie. "The First Avenger" would prove essential to the movies that came after - even "Infinity War" with the unexpected return of a character thought to be dead. And Steve Rogers' story comes full circle in "Endgame."

12. "Spider-Man: Far From Home" (2019) Sony Directed by Jon Watts "Spider-Man: Far From Home" picks up the pieces of "Avengers: Endgame," and in doing so, makes this "Spider-Man: Homecoming" sequel a more ambitious spectacle. But it still has to ground the web-slinging superhero to be an average high schooler. It succeeds in balancing those things for the most part, but the second half of "Far From Home" is far superior than its first half, which is comparable to a bad network sitcom (I'm surprised it didn't include a laughtrack). I admire the back-to-basics approach to Spider-Man and how the MCU has managed to differentiate actor Tom Holland's version from past interpretations. But I'm also looking forward to this Peter Parker finally growing up. At any rate, "Far From Home" is a fun experience that sets up some interesting scenarios for the MCU's future. And Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio steals the show.

11. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" (2017) Marvel Directed by James Gunn Though "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" is a step back from the first movie, it's still the most underrated MCU movie. The "Guardians" movies are unique entries in the franchise, and it's for the best that James Gunn is back in the director's seat.

10. "Spider-Man: Homecoming" (2017) Marvel Studios Directed by Jon Watts I didn't have a strong positive reaction to "Homecoming" when I first saw it, but it's grown on me. Peter Parker's motivations throughout the movie to be a hero - impressing Tony Stark - rubbed me the wrong way at first. But it's hard not to like Tom Holland's spot-on portrayal of the character, and the movie knows exactly what it wants to be: high-school '80s classic meets modern superhero flick. And Michael Keaton is truly menacing as Adrian Toomes/Vulture in what began a hot streak for villains in the MCU.

9. "Iron Man" (2008) Marvel Studios Directed by Jon Favreau The first movie - and still among the best - "Iron Man" kicked off what has become the most lucrative movie franchise of all time. But in 2008, it was just a fun superhero origin movie that defied the odds. Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark, and it's hard to think of anyone else who could have embodied the role with so much of the necessary charisma to sell a character who casual audiences hadn't cared about.

8. "The Avengers" (2012) Marvel Studios Directed by Joss Whedon Four years after "Iron Man," "The Avengers" proved that Marvel had what it takes to pull off a connected universe of movies. It's even more impressive considering that the early MCU movies, like "Thor," "Iron Man 2," and "The Incredible Hulk," are some of the worst in the franchise. But "The Avengers" course corrected, delivering a bona fide blockbuster that hadn't been achieved before.

7. "Captain America: Civil War" (2016) Marvel Studios Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo "Civil War" is loosely based on a 2007 comic-book event of the same name that pits Marvel's superheroes against one another over the ethics of a registration act making it illegal for any superpowered person to not register their identities with the government. The MCU version is obviously more contained, but that's what makes it so good. It takes a huge storyline and successfully tells it through Captain America's perspective, making it even more personal.

6. "Avengers: Endgame" (2019) Marvel Studios Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo "Avengers: Endgame" is almost too surreal of an experience to properly critique. I do have some nitpicks - notably when it comes to Black Widow's arc - but it's a satisfying conclusion to the franchise's "Infinity Saga" with an epic payoff that's worth the 11-year wait. It's an emotional tribute not just to the characters, but to the franchise itself.

5. "Thor: Ragnarok" (2017) Disney/Marvel Studios Directed by Taika Waititi "Thor: Ragnarok" is the most absurd movie in the MCU, but that's only part of what makes it so good. This is when Marvel finally realized that Chris Hemsworth is an extremely funny guy with loads of charm and built a movie around that. It's also probably the closest thing we'll get to another Hulk movie in the MCU.

4. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014) Disney/Marvel Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo 2014 marks the point when the MCU really got it together. There have been minimal low points since, and it's because Kevin Feige and crew finally had the machine running smoothly with low-profile directors who could deliver surprising superhero movies. Among those filmmakers were the Russos, who have become somewhat of the architects of the universe. After "The Winter Soldier," an expertly crafted espionage thriller posing as a superhero movie, they went on to direct "Civil War," "Infinity War," and "Endgame."

3. "Black Panther" (2018) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Directed by Ryan Coogler "Black Panther" is a lot of firsts: the first superhero movie to be nominated for best picture, the first movie to win Oscars for Marvel Studios, the first superhero movie with a predominantly black cast. It was more than just an MCU movie - it was a cultural event. And its box office reflects that. It was the highest-grossing movie in the US in 2018, breaking barriers and riding its success all the way to Oscar gold.

2. "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018) Disney Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo "Infinity War" is an order of magnitude bigger than "Avengers" or "Civil War." With a cast of over 20 characters, "Infinity War" was the culmination of 10 years of universe-building. The Russos pulled it off. While "Endgame" feels "bigger" and has moments that outweigh "Infinity War," the latter as a whole is still a more rewatchable and well-paced experience. "Infinity War" is an impressive balancing act, and Josh Brolin's Thanos lives up to the hype.