Extracurricular: My Official In-Depth Ranking Of The MCU's Phase Four (SPOILERS!)

    As of writing this, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special just came out and I just watched it. And with it, phase four of the MCU just came to its official close. So, I thought, why not take the time to officially rank every installment in this phase of Marvel? I'll be going from what I think was the worst to what I think was the best. So let's just jump into it!

18. Eternals (2021)

      The third movie of phase four was one of the MCU's worst. While it is still enjoyable and has its moments, and is overall worth the watch, it's just not the greatest. It's too long; and they tried to pack too much new lore and characters into one movie. This would've worked much better as a Disney+ show. Would've given them much more time to flesh out the characters and plot instead of trying to cram everything into a movie. They should've made this a show, and could've made a show like Moon Knight or TFATWS into a movie instead. My sister also pointed out that her friend says Eternals feels like Marvel tried to make a DC movie. Which I agree with. This movie feels too much like gods trying to save their human underlings than the Marvel heroes we've grown to love.

17. Ms. Marvel (2022)

      This show had a very promising start. They were presenting themselves as a quirky teen superhero show about a girl trying to balance teen life while also having superpowers. But they threw that away in a flash. They keep the cool animations and antics, but all the sudden their traveling and going back in time?? It's like they had a bunch of ideas for like three seasons and said "screw it, we don't know if we'll even get a second, so let's just do it all now". Plus, I don't get why Ms. Marvel idolizes Captain Marvel so much. She acts like she carried the team in Endgame. If you actually watch the movie, Captain Marvel did like the bare minimum in helping stop Thanos.

16. Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

      This movie is very polarizing. I remember it coming out and people acting like it was horrible and subsequently bullying Taika Waititi for it. But, I'm gonna say it: Love and Thunder isn't that bad. In my opinion, it's better than the first two Thor movies but worse than Ragnarok. What I think the main issues with this movie were were that Taika Waititi saw that people liked the infused humor in Ragnarok and decided to ramp it up exponentially for this one, which was a mistake. It also seems to make Thor into a parody of himself. I also didn't like that they made Jane Foster Lady Thor and acted like she was gonna be a hero in the MCU moving forward just to kill her in the same movie. But, the movie had a great story, character dynamics, and an awesome villain in Christian Bale's Gorr the God-Butcher. 

      

15. Black Widow (2021)

      What I was expecting from this movie was a Captain America/TFATWS-esque fist-to-fist melee, combat movie. I always liked that corner of the MCU because it focused less on flying and shooting stuff out of your hands and more on being able to fight. And for most of this movie, that is what we got. But in culminates in a mid-air aircraft debris battle and gets a lot more super than I was expecting. Plus I really don't like how they handled Taskmaster. But other than that it was a decent movie, but phase four did better. This movie also just feels out of place, as when it came out, her character had already died in Endgame. This movie should've been part of phase three.

14. What If...? (2021-)

      An animated show exploring alternate universes of the Marvel multiverse where things happened a little differently. Each episode is a different scenario. The problem with doing an anthology show (just ask The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror) is that it's very hit-or-miss. Some episodes definitely hit, but some of them definitely miss (looking at you, the one where Thor is an only child). The good ones are good enough to warrant this show being higher than the things below it.

13. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)

      Lmao, people hate this show. But the thing is, most of the people who hate this show are exactly the kind of people this show was making fun of. This show does a great job calling out toxic fanboys and sexist internet trolls. But the problem is, it tries too hard to be a "gotcha" show, at the expense of story. We spend too much time dunking on Redditors and girlbossing that we forget that the writers forgot to write well. I do appreciate the message, and I do like the She-Hulk character. And I do really like the whole "sitcom set in the MCU" vibe. Plus, it was really nice to see Daredevil again for not one but two episodes.

12. I Am Groot (2022)

      I debated whether or not I would even include this one, as it's just as handful of fun shorts that add up to just about half an hour in total. So the entire thing is just the length of one episode of She-Hulk. But, it was new content in phase four and thus must be ranked. However, they are fun shorts. They're cute. There's nothing wrong with them. So I have a pretty positive image of I Am Groot.

11. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)

      One of my favorite elements in storytelling is when characters deal with legacy. And that's what the brunt of this story is. Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, the two best friends of Captain America, now have to keep fighting without him. Sam feels like he hasn't earned the mantle of Captain America, even though Steve chose him to succeed him. By the end of the story, Sam finds himself ready and becomes the new Captain America. I love the story and the vibes it has that I talked about in the ranking of #15. However, the plot can be kinda choppy and the villains are underwhelming. But I'm excited for how this is gonna set up Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts, especially now that the infamous John Walker is now officially US Agent.

10. WandaVision (2021)

      Ah yes, mental breakdowns! What happens when a super powerful person is so griefstricken and angry at the world that she uses her powers to hold a town captive and force them to enact a happy sitcom life so she can pretend she hasn't lost everything? Well, WandaVision happens. In this show, Wanda Maximoff starts to realize her full potential as the Scarlet Witch and starts to turn a little bit to villainy, which we see much more of in the next ranked thing. I love the character depth and fallout we get to explore in this show.

9. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

      The closest there is to an MCU horror film yet. When the guy who directed the Evil Dead trilogy as well as the original Spider-Man trilogy signs on to do an MCU film, you know it's gonna be good. And it was. I loved the scares, the high-stakes fighting, getting to see Scarlet Witch as a full-blown villain, and getting to see cameos from Professor X, Mister Fantastic, and Black Bolt. I loved to see Doctor Strange possess the corpse of an alternate universe version of himself in order to summon demons and use dark magic to save the multiverse. An all-around great movie but I wish there was a little more madness of the multiverse explored as the title guarantees.

8. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

    After phase four giving us several darker experiences in No Way Home, Moon Knight, Multiverse of Madness, and Werewolf by Night, we needed some festive cheer. And this delivered. It's a short little story that brings so much pure joking and joy and that I literally almost cried. What a good thing to start Christmas season on this year! As much as I love it, the fact that it was a short, one-time thing makes it have to be lower than the top seven. But I love that Star-Lord got Kevin Bacon for Christmas and Rocket finally got Bucky's arm.

7. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

    When this movie was announced, I didn't really know what to expect. Shang-Chi wasn't that big of a pop culture character. Even I, as a huge fan of comics, barely knew who Shang-Chi was. He was as familiar to me as a guy I met once a few years ago and could still vaguely place. But, I know I'm not alone in having been pretty blown away by this movie. The exploration of Chinese culture and martial arts was awesome. The villain, Wenwu, was one of my favorites of the MCU, as he was simply overtaken by a huge misunderstanding and genuinely thought he was doing the right thing. The fight choreography is definitely a treat and Simu Liu is an icon.

6. Hawkeye (2021)

    The MCU had an alarming lack of street-level superheroics before this show, and it did a great job welcoming that facet of the Marvel universe. Even Spider-Man, who's very street level in the comics, was a big-timer from the get-go. I loved to see an OG Avenger who just wants to retire deal with mobs and street crime. Plus, he got to train his successor, Kate Bishop, who is played by Hailee Steinfeld, an actress I have a massive crush on. We also got to see Vincent D'Onofrio reprise his role of Wilson Fisk/Kingpin from the Daredevil series, which marked the beginning of introducing those characters into the MCU. We also get a lot of buddy-cop comedy, a dog who likes pizza, and get to explore a factor of Hawkeye the MCU hadn't really touched before - his hearing disability.

5. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

    This movie went through the ringer just to be made. While it was being written, Chadwick Boseman tragically passed away from cancer, and thus the entire story had to be rewritten to remove T'Challa. And this was all happening during a worldwide pandemic. I liked how TFATWS dealt with legacy, and this did even more so. Not only was Shuri without her brother, Ramonda without her son, and Nakia without her boyfriend, a nation was without its king. The people who wrote this movie did an excellent job weaving a story that dealt with loss and moving forward. It was awesome to see Shuri and the rest of Wakanda's protectors successfully protect their country even through the loss of their beloved king. And I love things that explore culture - Shang-Chi for the Chinese culture, and this for the African culture. And something you'll see later in this ranking for its Egyptian culture.

4. Werewolf by Night (2022)

    This was a thing I didn't know what to expect from, much like Shang-Chi. But, like Shang-Chi, it was a pleasant surprise. This and The GOTG Holiday Special are so far the only two Marvel Disney+ "special presentations", which is just a fancy streaming service way of saying "short film". Werewolf by Night is a tribute to classic installments of the horror genre, being in (mostly) black and white and incorporating all kinds of beloved tropes. It's genuinely scary at times and allows the MCU to finally get into the darker, more occult areas of their Multiverse.

3. Loki (2021-)

    When this show was announced, Loki had just died in Infinity War, and they said that this show would be about Loki's childhood and would be narrated by Tom Hiddleston. That was a straight-up lie. But I understand why they did it. They were hiding the fact that Loki wasn't actually gone from our lives forever. In Endgame, a past version of Loki used the space stone to escape, which got him in trouble with the TVA (Time Variance Authority). Wacky antics ensue. I loved Loki for the fun story, finally seeing the good old god of mischief in the spotlight, and the fact that it was the thing to truly bring in the Multiverse Saga of the MCU. Plus, it and What If...? are the only two Marvel Disney+ shows to get renewed for a second season so far, so I'm excited to see where Loki goes.

2. Moon Knight (2022)

    More mental illness! My aforementioned love of Egyptian culture! Moon Knight had to a lot to love and explore, especially in exploring the mind of a man who has multiple personalities that are drastically different from each other, yet they are all enslaved by the same moon god. Moon Knight is a very violent antihero in the comics, but I do enjoy how the show managed to include that grittiness and darkness while also giving it the familiar MCU treatment. Plus, they got the extremely talented actor that is Oscar Isaac to play the lead role. Moon Knight has not yet been confirmed for a second season, and that's probably what I want most out of the MCU right now that isn't confirmed.

1. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

    Could anything else really be at the top? Really? If you'd have something else at the top, look deep inside yourself and you'll realize you know it to be true: No Way Home was undoubtedly the best part of phase four. I am an absolute sucker for fan service, and this movie delivers it in spades. We get Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield back as alternate universe Spider-Men, plus several of their villains, we get to see Matt Murdock again, a lot of J. Jonah Jameson, a classic and comic-booky new suit, and so much more. Aunt May dies and Spider-Man makes the terrible choice to let the world, including his loved ones, forget who he is. This means that in some ways, Peter Parker has had a whole new origin. Even if not for the loads of fan service, this movie was still awesome for the sheer amount of character development Peter gets. I hope from now on we get to see Spider-Man as the new face of the MCU, and get to see him interact with characters like Daredevil, Hawkeye (Kate), Human Torch, Gwen Stacy, and hopefully even Miles Morales eventually.