The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had some masterpieces over the past ten years, and they have achieved that status for a variety of reasons, with some coming from the franchise’s theatrical side, while a few are TV releases. Despite recent woes, a reasonable share of the MCU’s best movies comes from Marvel’s past ten years of releases, with crossovers and more.
However, a couple of the MCU’s best TV shows, which come from the creation of Disney+, have also managed to achieve masterpiece status. Emotional moments, kinetic action scenes, gorgeous visuals, a balance of different tones, and more help these projects in the MCU’s timeline become some of the franchise’s very best. Here are the greatest MCU masterpieces of the past ten years.
10
Captain America: Civil War
It is important to note that the list is in release order. That said, first up is Captain America: Civil War. The movie is the only solo entry starring Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers to gross over $1 billion. Civil War worked well as an Avengers-like movie with Captain America firmly as its main character. It felt very fitting for Steve.
All the crossovers certainly add to the excitement, with the movie being the MCU entry that pits heroes against each other. Spider-Man and Black Panther made their MCU debuts here. Besides explosive action, Civil War‘s other biggest element comes from its emotional component. Captain America knowing that Bucky killed Iron Man’s parents and the final battle were intimate and devastating.
9
Thor: Ragnarok
Thor: Ragnarok is, without a doubt, the best solo movie for Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. After some time, the character had grown stale, with Thor’s solo movies failing to excite and Hemsworth not getting as much to do as Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. in the Avengers movies. Then came Thor: Ragnarok, which revitalized the Marvel hero and his franchise.
The Thor movie is heavy on the comedy, courtesy of director Taika Waiтιтi, which lands for the most part. Hela was a formidable villain who made Thor question who he was, with the hero ultimately realizing it was not his hammer that made him who he was. Thor and Loki’s bond was at its best, and Ragnarok changed Asgard forever.
8
Black Panther
Black Panther could not be absent. To this day, the movie remains the only MCU entry to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Black Panther was a cultural phenomenon, more so than just another superhero movie. Chadwick Boseman and the film’s star-studded cast helped make it one of Marvel’s most compelling entries, with well-rounded characters and intriguing dynamics.
Director Ryan Coogler crafted such a rich world with the MCU’s Wakanda that the franchise continues to find new ways to explore it, such as the recently released Eyes of Wakanda, which connected to Killmonger’s story in 2018’s Black Panther. The movie is a unique entry in the MCU, and it has a strong message that resonates beyond the usual superhero antics.
7
Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Infinity War is the most epic MCU movie in terms of action. The film feels like a non-stop action sequence, with the Avengers and other Marvel heroes desperately racing against time to stop Thanos from getting all the Infinity Stones. The Avengers movie puts Thanos, its villain, at the center of its story, with the audience following his quest.
It is widely regarded that Avengers: Infinity War‘s ending is the best in an MCU project, with the shocking nature of Thanos winning and killing half of the universe making it one of the best movie endings of all time. While humor is present, the Avengers film knows how to balance tone well, being incredibly dark. The action and visuals deliver.
6
Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame is probably the biggest cinematic achievement to date. The movie had the near-impossible task of not only being great, but delivering a finale to the Infinity Saga that felt satisfying for the journey that had started in 2008’s Iron Man up to its release in 2019. Marvel Studios deserves a lot of praise for how Avengers: Endgame sticks the landing.
Pretty much every important hero in the MCU up to the film’s release is in Avengers: Endgame. Somehow, Marvel manages to give almost everyone time to shine while making the film a victory lap over the MCU through time travel. Endgame is one of the MCU’s most emotional movies, delivering spectacle, but focusing on ending key characters’ journeys.
5
WandaVision
The first MCU TV show on the list is WandaVision, which was also the first series to come from Marvel Studios on Disney+. Well, Marvel hit a home run from the start, as the MCU series managed to elevate Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch to one of Marvel’s most popular characters. WandaVision‘s success has led to multiple spinoff series.
WandaVision is a unique entry, as director Matt Shakman perfectly adapted several episodes to different eras of beloved sitcoms. On the technical side, the MCU series is impeccable. Story-wise, WandaVision is a gripping tale about grief and family. It is deeply emotional. The show’s many mysteries led to it becoming one of Marvel’s entries with the most theories to date.
4
Loki
The other MCU show on the list is Loki. One thing that has disappointed me in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga is how few projects actually focus on the multiverse. Well, Loki breaks apart from that, as it is perhaps the most important project for the multiverse yet. It did a phenomenal job of setting up Kang the Conqueror’s debut.
While that did not work on the movie side, Loki also set up the TVA, the Void, and more for the Multiverse Saga to explore. The series made Tom Hiddleston’s new Loki variant well-rounded in little time and sent him on a journey that included absolutely stunning visuals, shocking plot twists, and an ending that made him the protector of the multiverse.
3
Spider-Man: No Way Home
It is a miracle that Spider-Man: No Way Home exists. Tom Holland’s two Spider-Man movies before it were exciting. However, No Way Home is a generational event, as its nearly $2 billion box office showcases. Uniting the three live-action movie versions of Spider-Man — Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland — was inspired, and the fun chemistry they had only made it better.
Spider-Man: No Way Home also brought back several villains from the past Spider-Man movies, with Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin performance easily turning him into one of the best villains in the MCU. While its multiverse elements were the biggest attractions, they were there to ᴀssist the MCU Peter Parker’s journey, and the film completely altered Spider-Man’s life in a heartfelt way.
2
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
James Gunn’s final Guardians of the Galaxy movie before he moved to DC had to deliver a poignant finale to the team. It did so and much more. As Gunn is known for, the humor in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is pretty much always on point, with many hilarious sequences. The Guardians truly feel like a family.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is easily the darkest in the cosmic team’s trilogy. The idea to focus the story on Rocket Raccoon was the right one. The character’s backstory made for one of the saddest in the MCU, and having the team band together in the present to save one of their own added urgency to the movie.
1
ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine
Finally, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine is the first MCU movie to star characters that came from Fox being folded into Disney. After the actors worked together on the disappointing X-Men Origins: Wolverine, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine allowed Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman to share the screen as the best versions of their Marvel characters. Wolverine finally wore his yellow and blue costume.
As with any ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool movie, the R-rated MCU film was as bloody and hilarious as one would expect. However, it was also incredibly heartfelt, with Jackman’s Wolverine shouldering a lot of the film’s emotional weight. The leads’ chemistry was on point, and the various multiverse cameos and supporting characters kept the action-packed movie exciting at all turns. It’s an MCU masterpiece.
