Robert Downey Jr. Marvel movies, ranked
Robert Downey Jr. is the most important star of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He’s been in 10 Marvel movies so far, and he starred as Tony Stark/Iron Man in nine of those movies, more than any other actor or actress so far.
Unfortunately, it looks like RDJ’s time in the MCU is officially over. We thought it’d be a good opportunity to rank all of Robert Downey Jr.’s Marvel movies from worst to best. The good news is that there are only a few iffy RDJ Marvel movies. Most of the movies he appeared in were really good movies!
Here are Robert Downey Jr.’s Marvel movies in order:
- Iron Man (2008)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- The Avengers (2012)
- Iron Man 3 (2013)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
For the purpose of this ranking, we’ve only included the movies where RDJ has a major role. He’s involved and mentioned in many of the MCU movies, but those don’t count. These are the movies where RDJ is featured in a starring or main role in the film.
Let’s get the list started with Iron Man 2.
9. Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2 is unfortunately the worst of Robert Downey Jr.’s MCU Movies and it’s the worst of the Iron Man movies. I’m so sorry if you love this movie, but there’s really no debate to be had. It’s a step down from the first Iron Man movie, which is considered by many to be one of the best MCU movies to date. It’s the first official MCU movie.
In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark tries to find a cure for the palladium in his Arc Reactor that is keeping him alive. He’s also trying to decide if he needs to turn this technology over to the government. Because he’s revealed himself to be Iron Man, he also finds himself at odds with a supervillain with a history with the Stark family.
Downey Jr. is great in Iron Man 2, no question. Overall, the movie just wasn’t up to the level of some of the others on the list. The movie premiered in 2010, just before The Avengers in 2012. Once the Avengers team-up happened in that movie, it was much easier to see the potential of all of these characters working together. If Marvel would have waited a little bit and included or introduced some more heroes in Iron Man 2, the movie could have been better, but it’s still an incredible performance from RDJ.
8. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Avengers: Age of Ultron is another rough one, although it has big repercussions for Tony Stark and Iron Man that leads to the big showdown with Captain America and the gang in Captain America: Civil War.
In the movie, Tony Stark uses Loki’s scepter to bring his Ultron defense system to life. It works a little too well, and Ultron becomes sentient and makes its mission to wipe out humanity. Tony rallies the Avengers and pretty much anyone with powers to come together to stop Ultron before it’s too late and Earth is destroyed.
Ultron nearly defeats the heroes, but they are able to thwart Ultron’s plan at the last moment and at a great cost to civilization.
Age of Ultron, in my opinion, is one of the weaker Marvel movies to date. There are just some big flaws with Ultron, the story, and the overall vibe. Age of Ultron is the second of the four Avengers movies, and it’s easily the worst of the bunch. The Avengers, Infinity War, and Endgame are much better and feature much better versions of Tony Stark, too.
Up next is the final movie of the Iron Man trilogy.
7. Iron Man 3
Iron Man 3 is obviously the third and final movie of the Iron Man trilogy. It was released in theaters in 2013 after The Avengers, which was released in 2012. You’ll also find that movie on this list, in addition to Iron Man. Iron Man 3 gets back on course after Iron Man 2 was a bit of a letdown on the heels of the first Iron Man movie, which is universally loved.
In the film, Tony is dealing with a lot of issues following Loki’s attack on New York, which sets up a lot of what Tony tries to achieve in future MCU movies. As he deals with that anxiety, he also faces a new enemy, a terrorist known as The Mandarin, played by Sir Ben Kingsley. The Mandarin is responsible for a series of bombings, and Tony sets out to stop him.
There were a lot of questions about what was going to happen with Iron Man after Iron Man 3. It makes sense to stop the film series here, as Tony Stark and Iron Man were such integral parts of the MCU in future installments. I know there are a lot of people out there who would have loved to see Iron Man 4, though. Based on what happens to Tony in Endgame, I’m sure there are a lot of fans out there that wish Marvel would have greenlighted that fourth Iron Man movie.
On to the next movie on the list, RDJ’s only Spider-Man movie.
6. Spider-Man: Homecoming
Based on how important he is in Spider-Man’s story, Tony Stark is only in one of Tom Holland’s Marvel movies. That movie is Homecoming, the origin story of Peter Parker. It’s also Tom Holland’s second MCU movie following his introduction in Captain America: Civil War.
Overall, Tony Stark doesn’t have a huge role in the movie, but it’s impactful. Tony gives Peter a new suit in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and he also acts as a mentor of sorts in the movie. It’s interesting because their relationship actually ramps up the danger as Peter tries to prove over and over that he’s ready for more power and responsibility, but Tony has the training wheels on him for good reason. He’s just a kid after all!
Of course, Peter does prove himself worthy in the end after many, many mistakes. Tony is the thread that connects Spider-Man to the rest of the Avengers. It sets up Spider-Man to have a much bigger role when the time comes in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. This is just the beginning of a great relationship between Tony and Peter.
We’ll get into this a little more later! Up next is Captain America: Civil War.
5. Captain America: Civil War
Captain America: Civil War is Robert Downey Jr.’s seventh MCU movie overall, but that includes The Incredible Hulk, which is just a little cameo and not included on this list. Civil War is the Captain America movie where the big showdown between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.
Following the events of Age of Ultron, which almost resulted in Tony’s defense system destroying humanity, there’s an international push to rein in the powers of the Avengers and bring some control and limits to their powers and abilities. Obviously, Tony believes we should be ramping up the powers and abilities to make sure that nothing like Loki’s attack happens again, but he also understands that there should be limits. And, Steve, is on the other side of the argument, and he wants to unlimited powers to do what he thinks he should.
There’s a big epic battle sequence with lots of newer Avengers joining the fray. We also see a huge battle between Iron Man vs. Captain America and Winter Soldier. It’s nearly fatal.
It’s amazing that the pair were able to reconcile and work together again after the events of Civil War.
Up next is one of the biggest MCU movies we’ve seen so far!
4. Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Infinity War is Robert Downey Jr.’s penultimate MCU movie. Everything changes in Infinity War for Tony Stark, which sets up the most heartbreaking arc in the MCU that we’ve see so far.
In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos and his forces attack Earth to steal the Time Stone from Doctor Strange, which is something Tony has long foreseen as a possibility. . Tony Stark is aided by a group of heroes, including Peter Parker/Spider-Man, to stop Thanos’s forces, but they end up leaving Earth with Doctor Strange in tow. Iron Man and Spider-Man work together to try to save Doctor Strange, but ultimately, their quest comes up short and Tony suffers a devastating loss: Peter Parker, his mentee and friend.
The movie sets the stage for Tony’s big moves in Avengers: Endgame, which was released one year later.
The only reason, and I’ve mentioned this before in the rankings of the Avengers movies, that Infinity War is a little bit lower on the list for me is because it acts as a setup, mainly, for Endgame. Everything that happens in Infinity War, for the most part, is wiped out after Endgame, which makes sense for the MCU, and everything had to happen for Endgame to happen. But, it just feels like the stakes shouldn’t have been undone in the way that they were. This is all in hindsight, obviously.
3. The Avengers
The Avengers is the first big team-up of the MCU. The movie premiered in 2012 and brought Tony Stark/Iron Man, Steve Rogers/Captain America, Bruce Banner/Hulk, Thor, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, and Clint Barton/Hawkeye together for the first time. In the movie, the whole gang comes together (eventually) to try to stop Thor’s brother, Loki, from taking over Earth. Using the Tesseract, which keeps popping up throughout the Avengers and MCU movies, Loki opens a portal to Earth and allows the Chitauri forces into New York City. It’s a massive battle, but eventually, the Avengers win… for now.
The Avengers is an incredible movie, and Robert Downey Jr. is a key figure in the film. His character, Tony Stark, tends to rub a lot of people the wrong way, but he’s incredibly important in keeping the team together.
From a story perspective, The Avengers is almost perfect, and the later MCU movies do such a good job staying in the lanes created in this movie. There’s a reason it’s Tony Stark at the end of this saving everyone.
Up next is Robert Downey Jr.’s first MCU movie!
2. Iron Man
Iron Man is officially the first movie of the MCU. The movie was released in theaters in 2008, and it’s easily one of the best MCU movies we’ve so far.
In the movie, billionaire inventor and head of Stark Industries, Tony Stark, is captured while visiting Afghanistan on a business trip. Instead of building a weapon for his captors, Tony events the tech that leads to him becoming Iron Man and fights his way out.
Even more than how good this movie is, it’s shocking how Iron Man and its success made the next wave of MCU movies possible. Yes, there were a few projects in development at the time of Iron Man’s release. It’s possible that, eventually, Marvel would have achieved worldwide success, but it’s safe to say that Iron Man expedited that process. And, I think a large part of that is because of Robert Downey Jr. and how suited he was for this role of Tony Stark. He was likable and funny enough to entertain but arrogant and overconfident enough to cause drama.
Okay, next is the best Marvel movie starring Robert Downey Jr.!
1. Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame is the final movie of Robert Downey Jr. Marvel movies for obvious reasons. In the film, which is set five years after the events of Infinity War, Tony Stark and Pepper Potts have a daughter together. While the world has ended for half the popular and the remaining half struggles to move on, Tony is content. He’s begged by the rest of the Avengers to do something to save everyone, and because he’s Tony, he finds away.
The rest of the story follows the Avengers on their quest through time to stop Thanos from acquiring the Infinity Stones. It ends with a massive battle against Thanos and his forces on Earth. In the process, Tony Stark and the rest of the Avengers crew are able to undo the Snap and bring everyone back. Just when it looks like Tony Stark and the whole Avengers crew will lose again to Thanos, Tony dons Thanos’s glove and snaps his fingers, which eliminates Thanos and his forces, but it kills Tony in the process.
Endgame is Tony’s moment, and that’s why it gets the top spot in the rankings of RDJ’s best Marvel movies. Tony’s sacrifice is such a heartbreaking moment. He leaves behind a wife, a daughter, and dozens of people who knew him and cared about him, and he did it for them.
That’s the list of the best of Robert Downey Jr.’s Marvel movies. Share your favorites in the comments below!