Figuring out which phase in the MCU is best is an interesting concept because of the franchise's consistency. Also, we are not including Phase Six as that one is still ongoing.
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Phase Five
The later phases of the MCU so far have been met with mixed reviews. It seems like the franchise can still deliver great hits, yet it also has a tendency to miss the mark. Phase Five is proof of that, as it has had hit films and some huge flops. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is a fantastic climax for those beloved characters, Deadpool & Wolverine is a fun movie, and Thunderbolts* became a surprise critical darling for the franchise.
However, The Marvels was a massive flop despite being a fun film, and both audiences and critics weren't pleased with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania or Captain America: Brave New World. The TV side of things was also a mixed bag. Loki concluded in epic fashion, Agatha All Along surprised many with its greatness, and Daredevil: Born Again lived up to the hype. However, Secret Invasion is widely seen as a franchise low point, while Echo was also lackluster.
Other projects were solid, yet mostly viewed as forgettable or unimportant. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a great series, yet it doesn't really connect to the rest of the MCU, while Ironheart was fine on its own, yet not many people watched it and it doesn't feel like it matters all that much, which is a shame. Phase Five shows that the MCU has lost its consistency.
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Phase Four
Phase Four really feels like the time when the MCU started to struggle. Instead of consistently putting out well-received projects, this era for the franchise saw it deliver several misfires. Eternals became the first critical flop of the franchise despite having an Oscar-winning director at the helm and a talented and diverse cast. In a lot of ways, Eternals should've been a TV show instead of a movie, allowing more time for the characters to develop.
Thor: Love and Thunder had a ton of hype behind it thanks to Christian Bale's casting, the return of Natalie Portman (this time as Thor), and the success of Thor: Ragnarok. Ultimately, it was a disappointment. Even the likes of Black Widow and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, while solidly received, left a lot to be desired in the eyes of many viewers. Still, when Phase Four hit, it delivered the goods with some of the best films.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is held up as one of the best installments in the MCU, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a blast of a kung-fu movie blended with superhero action, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is an emotional and gripping story. The TV side of things was also a mixed bag, though. WandaVision and Loki were big hits, while The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and What If? came off as disappointing. Many fans were also not pleased with the likes of She-Hulk and Moon Knight either. It made for an up-and-down phase.
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Phase 1
It would be next to impossible for Phase One to be as good as the MCU's peak. The entire point of this phase was to introduce the masses to these important characters. Iron Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, and Thor all got solo films that established who they were and made the audience care about them. Black Widow debuted in Iron Man 2 and Hawkeye had a cameo in Thor that set the table for The Avengers.
It's a good mix of films, yet it's also clear that the franchise hadn't hit its stride. Iron Man features a rockstar performance from Robert Downey Jr., yet the villain is rather lackluster. The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, and Thor are solid, yet forgettable, while Captain America: The First Avenger is very good. The Avengers is a spectacular film, yet it has been surpassed by several of its sequels. Phase One follows that trend as it's good, but the MCU has been better.
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Phase 2
Phase Two feels like the era when the MCU really started to hit its stride. In the aftermath of The Avengers, Phase Two gave us some phenomenal sequels, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which is seen by many as the best movie in the entire MCU. The film helped change the landscape of the MCU with what it revealed about S.H.I.E.L.D., while also bringing characters like Bucky and Sam to the forefront.
This era also gave us great introductions to new and important characters. Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man are the kind of films that nobody really expected to be major hits, yet both worked masterfully and created heroes whom the audience grew to love. Avengers: Age of Ultron and Iron Man 3 might not be the best movies in their respective franchises, yet they're still quality films. Thor: The Dark World is the one misfire in the phase, yet it's still better than a few later phase movies.
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Phase 3
The MCU was on an incredible roll by the time Phase Three arrived. Characters were established, the audience was as locked in as ever, and they were full steam ahead on the Thanos storyline. What makes Phase Three so great is that it doesn't have a single miss in the lineup. The worst entries are probably Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel, which are both good, fun films that shed light on some important characters.
If that's the lowest point, then it's clear just how fantastic Phase Three truly is. Captain America: Civil War is a masterclass in balancing stories, while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is one of the best sequels in the franchise. Black Panther, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Doctor Strange were all fantastic first installments starring some of the best characters ever introduced within the series, as it seemed like the MCU had mastered the origin story formula.
What takes Phase Three over the top are the two tentpole projects, though. Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame are the pinnacle of epic superhero films. Both delivered on the ridiculously high expectations they had and became some of the biggest movies of all time, while also featuring more heroes on screen than ever before. Add in Spider-Man: Far From Home and Phase Three is easily the peak of the MCU.
TV Show(s)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Inhumans, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, What If...?, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Secret Invasion, Marvel's Echo, Agatha All Along, Ironheart, Daredevil: Born Again, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Cast
Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Brie Larson, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Simu Liu, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Gemma Chan, Ma Dong-seok, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Lia McHugh, Jonathan Majors
Upcoming Films
Blade, Avengers: Doomsday (2026), Avengers: Secret Wars
English (US) ·