MCU: All 11 Marvel Phase 3 movies ranked from worst to best

1. Avengers: Infinity War

For a long time now, many people have argued that most MCU movies are built around a “Marvel Formula”. This formula refers mostly to a basic narrative structure also called “The Hero’s Journey” where the main character has a normal life until something terrible happens and then he or she is reluctantly called for an adventure. Then, the hero has to go through a lot of training until they can defeat an antagonist against all odds. Finally, the hero returns home and everything is well once again. Alongside this, the Marvel Formula also refers to MCU movies having a lot of unnecessary quips and a forgettable antagonist that’s an evil version of the main character. While you could say this is true for some MCU movies, there is no bigger exception than Avengers: Infinity War.

There wasn’t one main character, as the movie followed the story of many different established heroes trying to come together to stop an inevitable doom. The antagonist was far from being forgettable, as Thanos proved to be a menace worthy enough of defeating the Avengers themselves. And there was no happy ending, with half of the world being snapped to death in an instant. Avengers: Infinity War was a break from everything we used to know from the MCU, and it was well worth the wait. Besides, it was the first movie in the MCU with real stakes involved where you could worry about the well-being of every hero.

Audiences were on the edge of their seat most of the time. The movie made you feel like anybody could die at any point and that’s huge considering no other Marvel project besides Avengers: Endgame has managed to do this. The final battle was fought on two different fronts, each of them with their own great moments and heartbreaking defeats.

Who can forget how mindbending the fight between Thanos and Doctor Strange was in Titan? And how epic was Thor’s arrival at Wakanda? There were many instances when audiences cheered, laughed, and cried.

No other movie has managed to capture the magic of Avengers: Infinity War as of yet, and it may be a while before an MCU project manages to do so again. Because of this, it finds its spot as the best Phase 3 movie of the MCU, and one of the best Marvel movies overall.