In the last thirty days, the trailer for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 dropped. This means two things: I’ll be spending the next few months obsessing over the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and their sacred timeline, and Marvel fans all around the world are absolutely freaking out.
The trailers showcased some pretty serious stuff, too. At any rate, our beloved heroes have some insane villains stepping out of the comics and coming their way, and I have a lot to think about. You see, every time a Marvel film gets announced, or a new trailer drops, I drop everything and hop onto Youtube to hear the latest conspiracy theories, Reddit to bond with my fellow fandom, and Disney+ to rewatch any piece of cinema that even slightly corresponds with the new movie in any way.
So, in honour of my recent watching spree, and inability to stop talking about the MCU, here are my top favourite Marvel films of all time.
- Avengers: Infinity War
I had to kick it off with this heart-wrencher. We all knew Thanos was collecting the Infinity Stones, so he could “correct the world,” and we all figured he’d come really close. I did not, however, realize that the film would end with my jaw dropped and face tear-stained, as Thanos did exactly what he said he would, and we got left with the biggest cliff-hanger in Hollywood history. Our heroes reached rock bottom, Wanda Maximoff suffered some serious trauma, and we lost four important characters before the snap even occurred. So, why is this my number one? After 21 films of separate stories slowly intertwining, this is the central point where everyone meets and finally realizes what they’re really up against. We get crossovers that we’ve been waiting years for, and we get to cheer on our favourite heroes as they rally harder than they ever have before. Plus, the humour in this one is stellar; I can’t think of another movie that has made me laugh and cry so equally. Despite the hugely unexpected, shocking loss, the plot still delivered 110%, and kept me up at night for a long time.
- Avengers: Engame
I can’t express my love for this movie, and I really debated putting it first. Years of comics, films, laughs and tears brought us to this point, and the ultimate climax of the third Avengers movie did not disappoint. The thing I love most about this film is that it gives us closure. After years of holding our breaths we finally get the finale: the one that bands the Avengers back together again and gives our heroes hope once more, the one that comes full circle with Tony Stark’s tear-jerking “I am Iron Man,” and the one that delivers the best fight scene of all time when Captain America leads the heroes into battle and answers the most anticipated question since Avengers: Ultron — is he worthy enough to wield Mjolnir? I still get chills when everyone steps out of the portals onto the battlefield and waits for Steve Roger’s “Avengers Assemble!”, proving that he really is the Captain. This is the movie that made it all worth it, as every fan realized “holy crap, this is the ending I’ve waited decades for,” and we all sat through the credits to learn that, for the first time ever, there was no special teaser waiting for us at the end.
- Thor: Ragnarok
I was honestly so impressed with this movie that within the first few minutes I knew it’d make my top five list. What made this one so great was that it wasn’t just a bounce back from the average to below-average first two films; it went above and beyond 90% of MCU movies, and exceeded all expectations. We got an answer to where the hell Hulk has been all these years, and we see something that not many Marvel films, aside from Infinity War, have done well — we see our heroes crumble. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a happy ending, but it makes it that much better when we see the human side of an all-powerful Norse God. He cries over losing his dad, bickers with his brother and his “friend from work,” and is forced to fight in some sort of space-gladiator arena; and even though he defeats the villain in the end, he still loses his home that he spent the whole movie fighting for. These sorts of defeats set our heroes up for major character growth, and it doesn’t hurt that Thor’s humorous personality and hilarious side-kicks deliver memorable punch-lines in almost every scene. Plus, we breach the topic of strongest avenger once more, and I have to side with Thor — he definitely won that fight.
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
Possibly the most anticipated film of 2021, No Way Home brought all kinds of surprises and heartfelt moments to the screen. This is my most recent rewatch, so it’s fresh in my mind — and let me say, the emotions this film induces are over the top, and I cry every time I watch it. The best part is that the first two actors to take on Marvel’s Spider-Man make appearances, along with the villains from their universes, and they bond with our current Peter Parker in some hilarious, and also tear-jerking moments. Not only did this hit heavy on the nostalgia, and have people screaming and clapping in the theatres, but it also introduced the first phase of the multiverse, the key plot in all Marvel films to come. There’s also a lot of growth. We see our youngest hero try to do the right thing, and fail. Hard. Peter Parker goes through way too much that anyone his age should experience, and he makes the heroic choice every single time; because that’s what the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man does. While this is the only phase four film to make it onto my list, I’m hoping Quantumania and Guardians 3 will change that.
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Two words: elevator scene. This Captain America sequel did what not all movies can: it blew the first one out of the water, delivered an exhilarating fight scene in which Steve Rogers single-handedly takes down an entire elevator full of enemies, and it pretty much brought someone back from the dead. Overall, it’s an interesting take, because the first film painted Steve as such a hero, yet he spends much of this one being framed as a villain, as he attempts to uncover dark truths and becomes a badass in the process. This movie also touches a lot on S.H.I.E.L.D., which I enjoyed a lot, since they basically oversee all superhero activities and should probably be way more involved than they’ve been so far. Plus, he spends a lot of one-on-one time with Black Widow, and considering the both of them make up 2/3 of my favourite Avengers, I was bound to love this movie from the start.
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1
This band of outlaws is opposite to the Avengers in almost every way, which is what makes them so great. As much as I love Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, the Guardians are definitely a fresher addition to the Marvel heroes, and a much-needed one. For starters, their group forms because they all escape jail together, after being individually thrown in for chasing down the same infinity stone. They’re also responsible for delivering what might be the funniest lines in the MCU, with the constant bickering between Rocket and Peter Quill, and the hilarious comments from Drax. An unexpected group of saviours, they end up winning some pretty great battles, and slowly transform from criminals to sort-of heroes.
- Captain America: Civil War
This is like the teaser to Infinity War, because it’s the first time we see all of our favourite heroes together. Mind you, they’re fighting one another and not the bad guys, but I like to think of that battle as a little family feud. The fighting in this one does rank in my top favourites though, because while I’m all for reconciliation, we have to admit we’d all wondered who would win between Cap or Tony. Plus, Nat asking Barton if they’re “still friends” halfway through their fight just makes me laugh every time.
It’s also the first time we see things really crack. We’d watched our Avengers for years at that point, and while things definitely hadn’t been perfect, the endings always remained largely peaceful. This one, however, due to the aftermath of the Battle of Sokovia, ended with half the Avengers labelled as fugitives, and left the future looking a little bleak. The fallout in this one is also largely attributed to being the reason that Thanos won that first battle in Infinity War. Despite the negative parts of the third and final instalment of Captain America, I love anything that has to do with Steve Rogers or awesome fight scenes, and it was great to finally see Spider-Man and Ant-Man join the group.
- Avengers
As you can tell, I really love the Avengers films. I basically love anything where the whole gang’s together, because their group dynamic is unmatchable, and they bring a whole lot of laughs. This one’s pretty special though, because it kicks things off for the original six. It really is the beginning of the war, and while the Battle of New York goes down to be a big one, it shows how insignificant it was when you remember that their biggest enemy was Loki, Thor’s brother — who gets beaten up by Hulk so easily, it’s not even funny (just kidding, it was hilarious). Overall, this was a great start to the Avengers and it showed how well they could really work together.
- Captain America: The First Avenger
Did you really think I wouldn’t circle back to Steve again? While Avengers might’ve kicked things off for the whole group, nothing says “this is the beginning” more than the literal, first Avenger. This was the first Marvel movie I ever watched, and it’s stuck with me since — Rogers’ story is incredibly unique, and you realize he’s not a cheesy good guy because it’s the right thing to do, but he’s truly just a hero right down to his core. While it doesn’t have the same type of fast-paced action as the rest of the Marvel films, being set in the 1940s, it still holds its ground and offers a very separate story from the main plot, one that makes sense years later. Iron Man’s movie might’ve come out first, but Captain America will always be the first Avenger.
- Black Panther
People usually rank this one higher, but Black Panther came in a little too late for me to put it anywhere above ten. That being said, it still made the cut, so let’s talk about it. The representation is what really got me with this one; it’s not every day you have an almost entirely Black cast leading a film in the biggest franchise in cinematic history. This movie was just so different from the others, focusing heavily on African culture, familial bonds — a breath of fresh air from Loki’s constant attempts of murdering Thor — and a rich history that had hardly been mentioned throughout the first 17 films, aside from the occasional word vibranium. Speaking of vibranium, their technology made Stark’s suits look like a middle-schooler’s arts and crafts project, and they definitely blew all of our minds with their advanced tech.
Well, there you have it: I am a nerd. And a proud one, at that. If you think my list is off, then I’m afraid you’re actually wrong, and if you’ve never watched any Marvel films and have no idea what a Thanos is, then what are you still doing here? Go watch!