# Marvel Cinematic Universe: Rank from your Favorite to your Least Favorite
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 20, 2013, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308 "2013-11-20T00:43:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/1 "2013-11-20T00:43:50Z")
There’s some dispute in the _Thor: The Dark World_ Thread about how to rank the entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The discussion has arisen as to which one is the worst, but let’s just rank them all from favorite to least favorite.
Note: Some people on this board argue whether or not Ang Lee’s _Hulk_ is part of this continuity. There 2008 _The Incredible Hulk_ was conceived to be _compatible_ with 2003’s _Hulk_ but the 2008 film is not officially a sequel to the 2003 film.
[The 2003 Film is NOT listed as being an official entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Cinematic_Universe)
My list:[ol]
[li]Iron Man[/li][li]The Avengers[/li][li]Captain America[/li][li]Iron Man 2[/li][li]Thor: The Dark World[/li][li]Thor[/li][li]The Incredible Hulk[/li][li]Iron Man 3[/li][/ol]
Your list?
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### Author:  [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/2 "2013-11-20T01:30:42Z")
Iron Man
Avengers
Thor
Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 2
Captain America
Thor 2
Iron Man 3
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### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/3 "2013-11-20T01:31:42Z")
The Avengers
Captain America
Iron Man
Thor: The Dark World
Thor
Iron Man 3
Iron Man 2
The Incredible Hulk
I’m _thiiiis_ close to giving CAP the top spot, but Ruffalo’s so good that AVENGERS edges out the win. And my opinion of DARK WORLD might be partly due to freshness; my answer might be different in a month. But as of right now, yeah, that looks right.
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### Author:  [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/4 "2013-11-20T02:05:48Z")
Does Howard the Duck count?
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### Author:  [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/5 "2013-11-20T02:07:36Z")
Captain America
Iron Man
The Incredible Hulk
The Avengers
Thor
Iron Man 2
Haven’t seen:
Thor: The Dark World
Iron Man 3
I know I’m in a small minority, but I really didn’t enjoy Avengers very much at all. Except for the Hulk parts. I loved those.
I guess the jokier Marvel’s movies have become, the less I enjoy them. Which is why I haven’t yet seen the last two. When half the praise is about how great the humor is, it gives me pause.
I’m the target audience for the super-serious Dark Knight/Man of Steel stuff, i guess.
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### Author:  [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/6 "2013-11-20T02:39:48Z")
1. The Avengers
2. Captain America
3. Iron Man
4. Thor: The Dark World
5. Iron Man 3
6. Iron Man 2
7. Thor
8. The Incredible Hulk
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### Author:  [@ChrisM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisM)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/7 "2013-11-20T02:41:23Z")
1. Captain America
2. Avengers
3. Thor
4. Iron Man 3
5. Iron Man
6. Iron Man 2
Haven’t seen The Incredible Hulk or Thor: The Dark World.
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### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/8 "2013-11-20T02:45:48Z")
> [@Trinopus](#):
>
> Does Howard the Duck count?
If so, then my list would be:
Iron Man
Iron Man 2/Iron Man 3 (tie)
The Avengers
Howard The Duck
The Incredible Hulk
Captain America
Thor
(haven’t seen The Dark World)
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### Author:  [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/9 "2013-11-20T03:06:34Z")
My tiers:
GREAT
Iron Man
Avengers
GOOD
Thor: The Dark World
Thor
FLAWED
Iron Man 3
Iron Man 2
WE HAD A SERIOUS DISCUSSION ABOUT WHETHER IT WAS BETTER OR WORSE THAN _TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON_
Captain America
(It’s been too long since I’ve seen Hulk, but it’d probably be near the lower end of the list)
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### Author:  [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/10 "2013-11-20T03:10:27Z")
Reading everyone else’s lists, I’m surprised to see Captain America so highly regarded.
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/11 "2013-11-20T03:40:06Z")
1. Iron Man 3 - Easily the best one. Shane Black deserves huge credit. It’s just fun and hilarious.
2. Avengers
3. Iron Man
4. Thor
5. Incredible Hulk
6. Captain America - truly a boring movie
7. Iron Man 2 - Obviously a rushed sequel
I have not seen Thor 2. I would rank Ang Lee’s Hulk about 4th(ahead of Thor 1) if it counted. I liked it.
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### Author:  [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/12 "2013-11-20T03:53:40Z")
I haven’t seen The Avengers or Iron Man 3, but of the others I’d put Iron Man at the top and Captain America at the bottom. They all have their moments, but Iron Man is the only one I bought on DVD, while Captain America is let down by the way they seemed to be ashamed to have Captain America beat up Nazis and put Hydra in instead.
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### Author:  [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/13 "2013-11-20T04:07:03Z")
Superheroes need supervillains to fight. Just fighting Nazis would have held no drama. Indiana Jones can do that, without super powers. It would be like watching the U.S. Marines beat up the local boy scout troop.
(Okay, some amusement value…but not a whole lot…)
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### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/14 "2013-11-20T04:08:44Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#):
>
> Reading everyone else’s lists, I’m surprised to see Captain America so highly regarded.
Chris Evans was perfect. Stanley Tucci was also perfect – as was Tommy Lee Jones, and Dominic Cooper, and Sebastian Stan, and Hayley Atwell, and – honestly, I’m having a hard time imagining a way to improve the movie by recasting _anyone_.
And against the retro backdrop of vintage clothes and antique cars and newsreel footage, there was something I can’t remember seeing before in a superhero movie: the story of a guy who’s _already ready already,_ mentally. The guy struggling to get that 4F classification lifted for to gut it out in boot camp before throwing himself on a grenade? That’s the _same guy_ who volunteers wholeheartedly for the serum and parachutes behind enemy lines to liberate POWs before crashing the plane to save New York; this ain’t no _learning-to-become-a-hero_ story, it’s just a kid from Brooklyn who (a) wants to help the Allies during WWII, and (b) gets the chance to do his part.
He takes out a sniper with a well-thrown shield! He punches out a submarine! He leads a handpicked team of soldiers, guns blazing! Thrilling stuff, but you’re also watching him do what he always wanted; every time he opens his mouth, that same straightforward voice is moving the plot along.
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### Author:  [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/15 "2013-11-20T04:35:54Z")
> [@Trinopus](#):
>
> Superheroes need supervillains to fight. Just fighting Nazis would have held no drama.
Captain America is not Superman. The Nazis had plenty of conventional weapons that would pose a threat to a man like Captain America, even without getting into the Wunderwaffe.
But you’re missing the point. Red Skull the loyal Nazi is capable of just as much as Red Skull the Hydra leader. The difference is that Red Skull the loyal Nazi draws from a bunch of real life supervillains who built rocket fighters and trans-Channel cannons in their bid to take over all of Europe, if not the world, while Red Skull the Hydra leader is just part of some made up organisation that has achieved nothing.
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### Author:  [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky_the_Wonder_Spirit)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/16 "2013-11-20T04:48:02Z")
1. Avengers
2. Captain America (Loved it a lot, am really looking forward to the Winter Soldier.)
3. Thor/Thor TDW
4. Iron Man
5. Iron Man 2
Haven’t seen Iron Man 3 yet. I really like all of them; the only weak spot for me so far was IM2, and even still had Robert Downey Jr. so how bad could it be?
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/17 "2013-11-20T05:08:01Z")
Haven’t seen the latest _Thor_ yet. So at the moment, I’d say:
_The Avengers
Iron Man
Iron Man 3
Thor
Iron Man 2
Captain America
The Incredible Hulk_
Glad to see _The Avengers_ getting so much love from others: [I was an Avengers extra - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=650920)
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### Author:  [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/18 "2013-11-20T06:53:42Z")
_The Avengers
Iron Man
Captain America
Iron Man 3
Thor 2
Thor
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 2_
_The Avengers_ is tops for its all-out comic-book action. \*Iron Man \*and _Captain America_ are the most complete films, telling a story with a plot and some character development along with the action. Iron Man 3 does this too, but not as well as the prior two.
The Thor films have decent action but both have been weak on story, feel rushed, and have almost no real character development. The “romance” with Jane Foster is pasted on in both films and Thor himself gets none of the character development of Tony and Cap, even though the first film’s nominal b-story was supposed to be all about Thor learning humility during his exile (for all of two days). Having him live on Earth with Jane a year, getting a job, being in a real relationship, dealing with not being both royalty and superhuman, would have taken maybe 15 minutes of screen time and invested us in his character and his relationship with Jane. Her pining for two years over a guy she knew for a weekend is weird; pining for her last long-term relationship is sensible.
And I actually sorta like Norton’s _Hulk_, despite the movie’s flaws. _Iron Man 2_ is the weakest Marvel if you’re leaving out the previous two Spider-Man films, which I rank below even _Daredevil_ and _Elektra_.
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### Author:  [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/19 "2013-11-20T11:09:25Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#):
>
> Reading everyone else’s lists, I’m surprised to see Captain America so highly regarded.
Why? It was a very good movie.
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### Author:  [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2013, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-cinematic-universe-rank-from-your-favorite-to-your-least-favorite/674308/20 "2013-11-20T11:21:06Z")
Liked:
-Iron Man 1,3
- Thor 1,2
Meh
-Avengers
- Hulk
Didn’t like:
- Iron Man2
- Captain America
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