Finally, the top 5! If you’re looking to catch up, I’ll include the links below:

Monday: MCU Rankings: 18-21

Tuesday: MCU Rankings: 15-17

Wednesday: MCU Rankings: 11 – 14

Thursday: MCU Rankings: 5 – 10

Now let’s get straight to it.

5. Black Panther

Goddamnit this movie is good and Ryan Coogler is quickly becoming one of those directors whose movies I want to see solely because they directed it (off the top of my head, some of the other directors on that list are Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson, and Adam McKay).

Wakanda is surreal and I love how, despite being by far the most technologically advanced civilization, they have kept many of their old traditions. It’s how we end up with things like this

And like this

I find the cast to be the most unique amongst those in the MCU. What I mean by that is that I found T’Challa to be a bit bland as he plays a member of the  royal family. Rather, it is the rest of the cast that truly elevates this movie. Obviously, Michael B. Jordan’s portrayal of Killmonger is where you have to start – just ask CE’s staff writer Conor LeBlanc.

It’s Killmonger that really makes you question everything – including the role of government and to what lengths it should go to ensure the wellbeing not only of its citizens but the people around the globe.

It’s an unbelievable cast and the crew deserves a tremendous amount of respect as well for the script, set designs, costumes, music, choreography, and much much more.

4. Guardians of the Galaxy

I said the same thing for Vol. 2: this is a super fun movie. Before it was released, very few people had heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy. In one fell swoop – one single movie – James Gunn and Kevin Feige turned them into household names. While Marvel was known to combine great action and humor since the MCU began, I think Guardians took it to a new level and set the tone for the MCU going forward. Plus, that soundtrack is hard to beat.

3. Iron Man

It’s tough not having Iron Man as the top spot. It came out the same summer as the Dark Knight which cast a shadow over the inaugural movie. I remember seeing in theaters and absolutely loving it! Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark.

I also loved the fact that he wasn’t physically gifted. He wasn’t super strong, he couldn’t fly, he didn’t have a hammer. He relied on his knowledge, which spanned a number of domains, to turn himself into a superhero. 18 year old me was in awe.  

Jeff Bridges as the villainous Obadiah Slain does not get enough respect. Sure he goes off the rails in the third act by fighting Tony across the city but it’s the build up to that – his portrayal as the concerned friend in the first act and then the more responsible business partner in the second act that kills it.

Plus, what a killer (an improvised!) ending

2. Avengers

The first Avengers movie blew my mind. When I first heard they were trying to build up to this connected movie I thought it was a cool, novel idea but I was skeptical they could pull it off. Well, guess what pal? They pulled it off.

When I talked about Iron Man 2 (#15 for those scoring at home) I said I didn’t love ScarJo as Black Widow. Something wasn’t quite right. Well, with Avengers, she really started to settle into the character.

The Battle of New York was absolutely epic.

Every so often throughout these rankings I’ve talked about what fantastic song selections these movies have had. With Avengers, however, it’s all about the score.

I know not everyone’s a fan of this scene (I’m looking at you, Flynn) but I loved it.

When you first see it, it takes you by surprise and let’s you know that Marvel is trying to eschew certain cliches. In this case it’s the long winded villain speech.

Finally, shout out to Shawarma.

1. Infinity War

I was slightly nervous going into Infinity War. I had high hopes but I also remembered how cramped I thought Age of Ultron was – how could they fit over a dozen heroes plus a dozen or more side characters into one movie? Also, Thanos is your stereotypical big bad, which never really seems to work. 

I have no clue how they did it but, man, did they do it.

It felt like everyone had plenty of screen time and the story was allowed to play out at a natural pace. Honestly, there’s way too much to cover so I’ll give a few quick hits.

Dr. Strange went from sucking in his own movie to being an actual badass.

The new team ups were awesome.

Then there’s Thor’s entrance.

And Thanos was unbelievable. Josh Brolin turned in a superb performance and the CGI that was done on the character made him feel as realistic as possible 

And that’s a wrap! All 21 Marvel movies ranked. We’re in the End Game now.