The Marvel Cinematic Universe evolved with the beginning of its Multiverse Saga to introduce us all to a brand new era. While that new chapter started in Phase Four, it still involved all of the attributes that we loved from the Infinity Saga: Origin stories, big-budget sequels, and some jaw-dropping moments. The biggest difference, however, was the franchise's decision to incorporate Disney Plus shows into the mix. It was a mostly successful experiment, producing some gems like WandaVision, Loki, and Hawkeye, but the general increase in content did lead to the beginnings of a decline in overall franchise quality.
That said, Phase Five is where the quality truly began to decline as it is now easily the MCU's most infamous phase, with many regarding some of its titles among the lower tier of the MCU in general. And that's a real shame, because some of the projects in here are also among the all-time best that we've seen from the franchise.
There is no doubt that there have been some ups and downs throughout the MCU's fifth phase, and with the franchise's focus now being on Phase Six (which kicked off with The Fantastic Four: First Steps), we now have an opportunity to reflect on all of them. Let's see which of movies and TV shows are truly the best and worst that the MCU has to offer as we rank Phase Five from worst to best.
15. Secret Invasion
It pains us to say that Secret Invasion is the worst title in Phase Five, but it was also an easy choice for this position as the six-part Disney Plus series is one of the worst titles in the entire MCU franchise. Bringing Samuel L. Jackson back as Nick Fury for a thriller series should have been a homerun but it dropped the ball entirely, resulting in a huge missed opportunity.
The pacing of the show was off, with early episodes moving too slowly and the finale ending up rushed. It also suffered from some downright senselessness as the idea of Fury not reaching out to his superhero buddies when a mass invasion was taking place was - quite simply - ridiculous. Avengers or no Avengers, there were people who could have helped him. A Skrull invasion was an Avengers-level threat, after all.
The show also featured some of the worst creative decisions Marvel Studios has ever made, with the loss of a major beloved character having no necessity and that big Rhodey twist that retroactively harmed some of the franchise's best titles. Both of those decisions were reviled, as was the CGI-heavy finale that has gone down in history as the lowest-scoring offering from the whole MCU.
Secret Invasion was at its best when focused on its actors, with Jackson and Olivia Colman producing some truly great performances, but its lows undermined any potential that this project had.
14. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Sometimes going to the well again and again is a good thing. After all, if you're good at it, why change it? Unfortunately that is a lesson that the Ant-Man franchise learned the hard way, for the film series that is normally considered the MCU's fun palate-cleanser after more serious movies decided to produce a more general "important" MCU outing with its third installment and it backfired completely.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania sees the beloved Ant-Fam dragged into the Quantum Realm, where they encounter the man originally handpicked to be the Big Bad of the Multiverse Saga, Kang the Conqueror. The stakes were higher than ever before but at the cost of what made the Ant-Man franchise so special, and as a result, the film was a bland CGI-heavy spectacle that ultimately underperformed at the box office due to poor word-of-mouth and an overly large budget.
The Ant-Man movies are known for being light-hearted fun all wrapped up into an adventurous heist movie. That's everything that Quantumania was not. And the only real silver lining is that Michelle Pfeiffer's performance as Janet van Dyne was easily among the best of the entire Multiverse Saga.
13. What If...? season 3
The beauty of Marvel Animation's What If...? is that it could take the stars and situations of the MCU and literally reimagine them in anyway it wants to. However, one constant criticism of the show is that it constantly stuck too close to the source material, rarely ever doing anything overly outlandish or unique. The third and final season unfortunately fell into the same trap and the few times that it did try to do something original, it was just so random that it didn't land like it should have.
There are some brilliant episodes in the final season (The Winter Soldier and Red Guardian working together? Ironheart trying to save the world? Shang-Chi and Hawkeye as law enforcement in the Old West? All brilliant!) but rarely did this season feel like a final chapter of what should have been Marvel's most innovative show.
A show like What If...? could have run for many more seasons, delivering high octane, exciting, and wholly wacky concepts that the MCU's Sacred Timeline couldn't, but it stayed too close to its inspiration in a run that was far, far too short.
12. The Marvels
Unfortunately The Marvels is probably the most infamous MCU movie of them all. The film underperformed so significantly at the box office that it is widely considered the franchise's first and only outright flop - something that was made that much worse by the fact that the first Captain Marvel movie surpassed $1 billion. And yet, the film doesn't deserve that kind of reputation.
Let's be honest, The Marvels' weakest aspect is its villain, Dar-Benn, who feels like she belongs to the franchise's first phase of underdeveloped, perpetually-angry bad guys who don't really have that much to say. She's serviceable to the plot but her story is more important to Captain Marvel's character arc than her own and that's a bit of an issue.
When The Marvels is good, though, it's great. The chemistry between Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, and Teyonah Parris is nothing short of divine. And overall, the movie is a damn good time. It doesn't have too much to say, and honestly, it probably would have benefitted if it had been released on Disney Plus instead (the film does often feel like an extended episode of television) but it is so much fun, and it honestly deserves better.
11. Captain America: Brave New World
Captain America: Brave New World is at a unique disadvantage in that it belongs to the Captain America movie series - Marvel Studios' crown jewel and a truly spectacular series of films. The first three movies are widely regarded as some of the very best in the MCU - so how could the fourth installment, as a part of the hit-and-miss Multiverse Saga, ever hope to compete with that.
That's the thing with Brave New World; it has too many issues to do that. But if you overlook the sub-franchise that it belongs to, you can appreciate it for the damn good time that it is. And honestly, given that this is Anthony Mackie's solo debut in the role of the new Star-Spangled Man, that's how we should be watching it.
The film sees Captain America contend with a thrilling plot to discredit President Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, even playing in the sandbox of oft-overlooked 2008 movie The Incredible Hulk to do that. It struggles on occasion due to the extensive reshoots that it endured and spoiling the big Red Hulk twist in the trailers took some wind out the film's sails (as we knew it was coming), but Brave New World does deserve praise for being a competent, enjoyable thriller of a movie at a time when the MCU ran the risk of descending into silliness.
Mackie is fantastic (as is Harrison Ford), and that's the main thing here. We can't wait to see what Captain America does next.
10. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Although the events of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man aren't canon to the MCU itself, they are considered part of the franchise's overall multiverse. And since we're in the midst of the Multiverse Saga, the animated series is more relevant than you might think.
Much of Peter Parker's story plays out to how it goes down for Tom Holland's iteration of the character in the movies, but the animated series has one key difference: It reimagines that story with Norman Osborn in the role of Tony Stark. And with that, the webslinger's journey takes some unexpected twists and turns.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a delight, setting itself apart from a multitude of previous Spidey animated shows to position itself in the MCU's multiverse while also holding up when compared to them. It's inherently fun and ambitious, featuring engaging characters - both new and old - with the dynamic voice performances (particularly that of Hudson Thames) making it all so very compelling.
Undoubtedly one of the best first chapters in any Spider-Man's story, this was an excellent debut season. We can't wait to see where this Spidey's story goes next.
9. What If...? season 2
After a solid first season (which took place as part of Phase Four), What If...? returned for its second season in Christmas 2023. It also decided to change things up, adding the element of a daily drop across the holidays; all because it had a Christmas episode in there. Suffice to say: It worked.
What If...? season 2 saw the show get a bit more adventurous in its standalone episodes while also offering up some much-needed backstory to its overarching storyline involving The Watcher and Captain Carter. Although the finale didn't quite land in the way that it should have, earlier episodes to feature the pair were among the season's best (including "What If... Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?" and "What If... the Avengers Assembled in 1602?", which provided the season with its most original installments). That being said, another standout was the season's most original episode of all.
"What If... Kahhori Reshaped the World?" was a major moment for the MCU as a whole as it introduced wholly original character Kahhori to the franchise. A young Mohawk woman who stands up to invaders, she does whatever it takes to protect her brother and becomes one of the show's most important characters as a result.
8. Ironheart
Now this one came as a surprise to many. Ironheart had been held back for almost three years, making fans wonder if it would ever see the light of day. It's clear that its creation as part of the studio's early days of TV for everybody made them unsure of where to put it as they began to dial things back. The oversaturation of MCU TV has led to some misfires, so there was perhaps some reluctance to release Ironheart at a time when its reputation began to recover. There irony here is that the show ended up being really good.
Dominique Thorne returned as Riri Williams for the first time since her 2022 debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in a story that really delved into the character's backstory. Not only did this give us the opportunity to get to see that Riri is one of the most interesting new characters within the MCU, it featured some unexpectedly powerful storytelling, highlighting the decisions that the grieving process can lead somebody to make.
The show was billed as a spiritual successor to the Iron Man movies and it lived up to that reputation, featuring plenty of enjoyable action sequences as Riri battles new dangers in her larger-than-life iron suits, but it also complements the MCU's journey into the world of magic. That leads it down some surprising avenues, all of which ultimately make it one of the most deveptively important titles in the Multiverse Saga.
Ironheart was a welcome surprise - and a reminder that the original era of Marvel TV was capable of greatness too.
7. Echo
To call Echo a pleasant surprise would be an understatement. The series is notable for being Disney Plus / Marvel's first ever binge-drop as all episodes were released at once, meaning we could watch them all in one sitting. It clearly worked, for the show ended up in the Nielsen Top 10 for its week of release - an impressive feat for a character not all that well-known to mainstream audiences.
Echo is a spinoff of Hawkeye and focuses on Maya Lopez. Alaqua Cox returns as the character who was nothing short of a badass in her previous appearance. She's still a badass here, but the show adds some welcome character development along the way, allowing for a more emotional journey. It feels like a five-hour movie and I mean that in the best way possible, for the story doesn't lose sight of its focus and the show balances that story with its action very well.
The show is also Marvel Studios' first ever TV-MA project, which allowed it to take a more hard-hitting and violent approach (opening the door for the return of the characters from the Marvel Netflix shows). Although it didn't take full advantage of that, it offered up scintillating action scenes and brought the MCU into a more mature territory. Seeing Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio back as Daredevil and Kingpin was the icing on the cake.
6. Daredevil: Born Again
After some welcome cameo appearances throughout other MCU properties, The Devil of Hell's Kitchen made his long-awaited return to the spotlight in Daredevil: Born Again. The Disney Plus series is a sequel / continuation of the Netflix show, which was a pivot from the MCU franchise's original plans to have the characters be alternate variants instead. It was all the better for making that last-minute decision that ultimately resulted in a creative reboot taking place halfway through production on the first season.
Daredevil: Born Again is a bit of a tale of two halves because of that. Some of the earlier episodes (which were filmed prior to the creative reboot) don't quite get the pacing right (although Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio offer up thrilling performances) and the newer characters lack the gravitas of the original characters. The second half, however, produces some of the best outings from the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole, once again finding that groove that made the original Daredevil series so gripping.
It hasn't quite reached the highs of the Netflix show, but after those final few episodes of season 1, it's on track to becoming one of the finest shows Marvel has ever produced. Look for season 2 to earn itself a high position in Phase Six when it arrives on screens in March 2026.
5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
There was a lot of intrigue to see how Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would wrap up its titular heroes' arcs. After all, it had no choice but to be the final installment in the trilogy due to director James Gunn's impending move to DC Studios. But how could it serve as the finale to a selection of characters who had now firmly established themselves as part of the wider MCU franchise in the previous two Avengers movies. Pretty darn well, it seems.
Guardians 3 had a lot to juggle, attempting to wrap up each of its characters' storylines, find a way to write Peter Quill out of the franchise for now, and deal with the aftermath of both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame (which saw the original Gamora killed by Thanos before a younger version of the character, who had never met the Guardians, joined up with them instead). Yep, a lot.
The film balances it all very well, producing a story that is very James Gunn and very Guardians of the Galaxy while also finding a way to be the most emotional of the trilogy too. As we've come to expect from these films, it's heart-wrenching and side-splitting at the same time. And that, perhaps more than anything, allowed for it to send the franchise out on a high.
4. Deadpool and Wolverine
You talk about a movie decades in the making. Deadpool and Wolverine is a real anomaly here because it single-handedly managed to make the whole X-Men universe canon to the MCU (albeit in a parallel dimension) in just one movie, using the MCU's pre-established Multiverse Saga lore to pull it off. And they did pull it off - significantly so.
The third movie in the Deadpool franchise, Ryan Reynolds' Merc With A Mouth made his official debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe here, but he also brought with him the most iconic character from the X-Men franchise to do it: Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. The melee and chaos that resulted from this team-up was nothing short of spectacular.
Deadpool and Wolverine is a nostalgic trip down memory lane, revisiting some of the greatest aspects of the X-Men movie series, that also sets up the future of the MCU. That marriage of these two iconic, established worlds is so seamless that it feels like fans of either franchise could just watch this movie and understand both of them.
A truly insane movie that leans on genuinely witty humor and still manages to pack an emotional punch, Deadpool and Wolverine is Phase Five's biggest success story (a $1.3 billion kind of success) while also being one of its most competent outings at the same time.
LFG!
3. Loki season 2
The first season of Loki was extremely well-regarded but it wasn't without its shortcomings. The Disney Plus series may have been an adventure for the ages, but it did occasionally drag. This was particularly true for the first episode (which was essentially an exposition device) and the finale (which was just one big, long conversation). Thankfully, none of those issues were present for the second season.
Loki made history as the first live-action MCU series to receive a second season and it earned it! This time around the adventure was bigger and better, as the God of Mischief had to contend with the potential destruction of the MCU's Sacred Timeline, all while preventing the deaths of the other timelines in the multiverse too. Sylvie had set all of this in motion in the previous season and it was up to Loki to stop it, and do something he was pretty unfamiliar with: Save everyone.
The show juggles its larger-than-life stakes with an unexpectedly complex character study on who Loki is and what he wants; the result is a gripping six-episode run that serves as a fitting finale to one of Marvel's greatest accomplishments. Well, two if we want to include the character there too.
That series finale, man; a work of art.
2. Thunderbolts*
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Deadpool and Wolverine aside, Marvel Studios was having a pretty rough run of things when it came to movies in Phase Five. Each and every one of them received a pretty lukewarm response at best and a very, very negative response at worst. That all changed when it came to Thunderbolts*.
Comprised of characters we met during the early days of the Multiverse Saga (along with one or two MCU veterans), on the surface this was Marvel's answer to the Suicide Squad. This was a good sign, for it meant that the misadventures of Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, John Walker, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster, and Bob were going to make for a ridiculously fun cinematic adventure at the very least. It was all of that... but it was also so much more.
What Thunderbolts* offered up was a surprisingly thoughtful look at mental health, as well as the importance of the support that anyone struggling needs. Bob doesn't find a bunch of super-powered teammates in the Thunderbolts; he finds a family. A highly dysfunctional one, but a family through and through.
Thunderbolts* is a triumph that showcases the MCU at its very best, and a heartfelt reminder that the franchise still very much has that special ingredient that made so many of those earlier movies the forces of nature that they are.
1. Agatha All Along
When Agatha All Along was announced, there was a small fraction of people who wondered if it was necessary. Agatha Harkness was a thrilling aspect of WandaVision and Kathryn Hahn was fantastic in the role, but did the character need her own spinoff? Agatha All Along gave us all those answers (and many more). As its placement on this list showcases, that answer was a definitive: Yes.
Like its predecessor, Agatha All Along works extremely well because it approaches streaming television as, well, television. It's not designed to be a multi-part movie and it doesn't get lost in the idea of bringing the MCU to the small screen. It's very much self-contained, while also finding more subtle ways to service the larger MCU story.
This show isn't just one of the best examples of the creativity that the Multiverse Saga is capable of, it's an exquisite example of the creativity that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is capable of. From the beautifully designed sets on the Witches' Road to the innovative ways that the show would find to reinvent itself with each episode, Agatha All Along was nothing short of magic.
Better yet, it continues to hold up on a rewatch for, even when you know the big twist is coming, the effortless wit, creative charm, and the captivating performance of Kathryn Hahn makes every watch feel like you're experiencing it for the first time all over again.
Absolute perfection, and the very best that the Multiverse Saga has to offer.