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All 5 Marvel phases ranked from worst to best

Each phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had its ups and downs, but there is no denying certain phases in the MCU were stronger than others.

By Cody Schultz

Marvel Studios' AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR L to R: Okoye (Danai Gurira), Black Panther/T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlet Johansson) and Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) Photo: Chuck Zlotnick ©Marvel Studios 2018
Marvel Studios' AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR L to R: Okoye (Danai Gurira), Black Panther/T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlet Johansson) and Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) Photo: Chuck Zlotnick ©Marvel Studios 2018 /
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"Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier"..L to R: Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) & Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) ..Ph: Zade Rosenthal..© 2014 Marvel. All Rights Reserved. /

4. Phase 2 (2013 to 2015)

Iron Man 3
Thor: The Dark World
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ant-Man

While many of Marvel's sequels managed to evade the dreaded sophomore slump, the same can't be said of Phase 2 of the MCU.

Phase 2 was a major building stage for the MCU paving the way for what would come in Phase 3. There were some true standouts in the second phase, but there were also some underwhelming entries that left fans wanting a bit more.

This phase brought us a disappointing Iron Man movie, the worst Thor movie in the franchise, and arguably the least successful overall Avengers movie. It also saw Marvel take some of its biggest risks by betting big on new and lesser-known characters in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man. These heroes' respective debuts were true standouts with Marvel delivering compelling origin stories that captivated audiences.

The true standout of Phase 2 though was without a doubt Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The sequel to Captain America was one of Marvel's finest sequels, ranking as one of the best Marvel movies of all-time. That film's inclusion in Phase 2 alone gave us reason to consider ranking it higher on this list, but sadly Thor: The Dark World tipped the scale back in the other direction,