The Marvel Universe Phase 5 Ranking: From “Well that didn’t work” to “Top 5 Movie of All Time”

With the completion of Marvel Television’s Ironheart over the Independence Day Weekend, Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come to an end. Looking back at all 15 movies, television, and animated series, I’ve found that I enjoyed them a lot more than the internet did. 

With that being said, I want to revisit Phase 5 and rank them, starting from my least favorite to my absolute top tier, in my Top 5 MCU movies of all time.

Let’s get started.

15 – Secret Invasion

When announced, this series was my most anticipated Marvel event in 2023. I had let my mind race with the possibilities for the overall Marvel story. But at last, it was the most disappointing thing of the year. I’m not sure what happened. All the ingredients were there for an amazing show, but it fell short in every way. After it was over, it felt as if they had removed a major story element from the series, cutting its teeth out of it. Makes me sad for Sam Jackson and Emila Clark. They deserved better.

14 -Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

To say Marvel missed a great opportunity with Quantumania would be an understatement. I will never fault filmmakers for taking a wild swing; sometimes those swings miss. I like the idea of Kang being the next Big Bad in the MCU. His story was compelling, but the rest of the story didn’t hit for me. The reliance on a mostly CG set put them behind the eight ball from jump. The CG looked rushed, which it was. If anything, Quantumania was a learning tool for Disney and Marvel to take their time and make sure the movie looks right and the story is fully fleshed out.

13 – I Am Groot

Baby Groot is always a win! I will be honest, however, I haven’t rewatched this series since it came out. That says a lot.

12 – What If…? Season 3

Although season 3 gave us Avenger Mechs, most of this season felt like an attempt to rush to a finish line. Red Guardian and Winter Soldier were a great time to watch. I could have watched 5 seasons of this series. But it felt like Marvel decided to end the series about halfway through the making of this third season.

11 – What if…? Season 2

Season 2 gave us a Kahhori, a redemption for Supreme Strange, and it was fun overall. But like I Am Groot, I haven’t rewatched any of the What if…? series. I have been one who has said since they announced the first season that this series was important to introduce new concepts to the MCU and should be watched by everyone, at least once. After the success of season one, there was a steady decline in good storytelling.

10 – The Marvels

I love this movie! Full stop. The dynamic between the three leading ladies was worth the admission alone. Having Carol deal with the consequences of her actions gave her a depth we didn’t get in the first Captain Marvel movie. Each set piece was so well done, including the dance number. The only reason this movie isn’t higher on my list is the villain. She was too much of a one-note baddie, and although her intentions were noble, she was not given enough screen time to make you feel anything for her, one way or another.

9 – Echo

Like the Ms Marvel series in Phase 4, I learned so much about the native American culture in Oklahoma. Casting Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez was a great choice. For this being her first acting role, she showed that she has a bright future if she wishes to continue in Hollywood. And, introducing Daredevil and Kingpin within the series, seeing that Echo was introduced in a Daredevil comic, broadens the scope of the series within a small, self-contained story. I so want more Echo in the MCU.

8 – Captain America: Brave New World

Sam Wilson is our new Captain. The more I think about this movie, the more I love it. Sure, I don’t know why we needed to introduce the Red Hulk in the marketing. I love the idea that Sam showed he is capable of defeating a Hulk as just a human. No Super Soldier Serum, no super abilities, just a man. (With some help from Wakanda.) Isiah Bradley’s character and what he went through make my heart sick. I want more Isiah in the MCU. And… Adamantium was the McGuffin and only leads to one thing in the future.

7 – Ironheart

When they introduced Riri Williams in Wakanda Forever, I was excited to see where they were going to take her character. Since the beginning of the MCU, science and magic have been running next to each other as ways to explain the impossible. Mixing them into each other in this series finally gave us the crossover we have been missing. I don’t want to go too deep into the series since it just finished this last weekend. All I will say at this point is, this was only season 1… Right, Marvel? Right?

6 – Daredevil: Born Again, Season 1

Matt Murdock is back! So are Wilson Fisk, Karen Page, and Foggy… umm… (LOL!) I ever thought that after the Daredevil series was canceled by Netflix, we would never going to get more of Charlie, Vincent, Debra, Jon, and the rest of the cast on-screen together. Then here came Born Again. A heavy legal drama with all the action we crave in a Daredevil series. I can’t wait for season 2. Again, this would have been higher on my list if I didn’t know about the changes they made to the story, and only getting a partial story in season one.

5 – Agatha All Along

You’re singing the song in your head. Tell me I’m wrong. This series was a great continuation of Wandvision. Walking down the Witches Road with a coven of amazing actresses was everything I wanted. Each week, we were given another great episode with depth and loss, and we ate it up. We got Billy Maximoff! Joe Locke coming into the MCU was the cherry on top of this amazing sundae. And then we got Aubrey Plaza as Death, which was the extra chocolate we got for free. We need another season with Agatha and Billy looking for Tommy, like now!

4 – Deadpool and Wolverine

I was not a comic book kid growing up. My introduction to comic book characters was the 90s X-Men. After Marvel bought back the rights to the X-Men, I thought they were going to sweep all those movies under the rug. But no, Marvel gave us an amazing send-off to that universe by seeing Ketchup and Mustard on the screen together. We knew after Hugh Jackman retired from Wolverine, it was never going to happen. Then, Ryan Reynolds pulled some magic out of a buddy road trip movie. I laughed uncontrollably, cried, and was hit in the feels up to today. I am here to watch them together on screen til they are 90!

3 – Thunderbolt*

Six characters, with questionable backgrounds and morals, come together to save the world, but more importantly, each other. I didn’t know I was going to a therapy session when I walked into the theater the day I saw Thunderbolts*. Ever since that day, I have thought about this movie. Florence Pugh is everything! Sure, David Harbour’s Red Guardian is the comedic relief, but he gives one of the best speeches in any MCU movie. I’m going to rewatch this movie over and over again. One question, though, how are the Thunderbolts* and the Avengers going to work together in Doomsday? Asking for a friend.

2 – Loki, Season 2

What can I say about the Loki series that hasn’t already been said by everyone else? His redemption arc, his sacrifice, and everything he went through for his friends, chef’s kiss. I wonder what the MCU has planned for this character they have killed off, more than once. I don’t care, I want more.

1 – Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3

When the first trailer dropped, James Gunn made it feel like we were going to lose one or more of our pukey heroes. Nope. What we got was the evolution of some of the best characters we have in the MCU. Each character has depth and an arc that we don’t get in many other movies. This movie showed that the Guardians have huge hearts, but maybe they aren’t the smartest. Guardians Vol. 3 is in my Top 5 MCU movies ever. I was sad to see this iteration of the Guardians come fitting end, but it ended nonetheless. I will miss this group of Guardians and James Gunn.

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This list will change with each rewatch. I’m not a person who makes a list and then never changes it. With each new watch of Phase 5, I will be taking something new from each entry.

Now on to Phase 6, starting with The Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 25, 2025.

Do tell us what your ranking of Phase 5 is in the comments down below.

Author: Sean Miley

I’d rather find the things that I like about a story, movie, or tv show, than lead with negativity. I love Star Wars, Doctor Who, MCU, comic book and conventions.

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