Written By Krish Lukha and Charlie Bourne

The Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been highly criticized by fans and journalists alike for numerous reasons. However, there have been some of the best series and movies to date, including the extremely laudable Spider Man No Way Home but also the most poorly received Marvel film to date; Eternals (directed by Chloe Zhao). In this article we will rank all of these titles, including the first horror entry, Werewolf by Night, and the first animated entry, What if?…

18. She Hulk: Attorney at Law: 4/10

To begin with, we have arguably the worst entry in not just Phase 4 of the MCU, but the entirety of MCU. This highly anticipated series turned out to be quite anti-climactic. However, it started brightly. The first episode, although a little dull in places, successfully introduced us to the character of She-Hulk and this was followed up by a strong Episode 2. However, it was all downhill after then (with the exception of Episode 8), with questionable CGI, half-baked jokes and the highly unlikable protagonist completely ruining a series which showed promise in the beginning. The appearance of Daredevil in Episode 8, seemed to have set up an exciting finale, but, in the end, the series was highly underwhelming with no major fight scene and a weak plot that was completely annihilated in the finale. Overall, a highly disappointing addition to the MCU.

17. Eternals: 4.5/10

How to begin? It’s fair to say that this overambitious movie introduced far too many characters (despite killing off half) and included sub-par fight scenes with the exception of the climax and the London scenes. An intriguing project turned out to be criticized by all ages for underwhelming villains, badly developed background characters and plot holes from previous films. Despite introducing the first LGBTQ+ and deaf superheroes (with the latter being played by a deaf actress), our opinion is that this film was not among this phase’s finest.

16. I am Groot: 6/10

There’s not a lot to say about this miniseries, which is aimed at younger viewers. 5 very short episodes give the viewer an insight into what Groot did between the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films. That’s it. Not bad, but not a must-watch.

15. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: 6/10

This series provides a valuable insight into the private post-blip lives of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, with the latter facing the issues caused by his time as the mercenary known as the Winter Soldier. This emotional rollercoaster had its good moments, but unfortunately was not as good as it should have been. Only about half the series lived up to our expectations and the main reason we rated this series so low was because it was upstaged by its competitors. Furthermore, it was difficult for Anthony Mackie to live up to the expectations of his predecessor Chris Evans.

14. Guardians of the Galaxy: Christmas Special: 6.5/10

This special presentation was the first MCU project of its kind; it was the first to not have a villain. Focusing on Drax and Mantis trying to get a Christmas present for Peter (who was depressed due to losing Gamora in Avengers: Endgame), this was a funny and heart-warming instalment which focused on a family. However, it was slightly underwhelming as there was little action and it was quite short with a slow start, bringing down the score to what it is. Despite its flaws, it was better than some other projects. You can read more about this project in the Christmas Edition article.

13. Black Widow: 7/10

The first film of Phase 4 gave viewers an insight into the aftermath of Civil War. This prequel story introduced us to Black Widow’s likeable sister, Yelena, who later appeared in Hawkeye. The film started strongly with a chase scene through the streets of Budapest and an escape mission from a high security prison. However, a disappointing third act with some obvious greenscreens left us a bit deflated at the end.

12. Ms Marvel: 7.5/10

Ms Marvel is a Captain Marvel superfan who gained the ability to create hard light constructs from her mysterious bangle, which shares its similarities with Shang Chi’s rings. This series had less action and fights and the main villain appeared hardly at all until the season finale. However, the plotline of this series and the characters (with the exception of the substandard villain) were good enough to earn it its solid 7.5/10. It explored new corners of the world and set up the highly anticipated ‘The Marvels’ movie, set to release in July 2023.

11. Thor: Love and Thunder: 7.5/10

This movie is an interesting one. The film has many positive aspects, with the performance of Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher being one of them. However, his character was highly underdeveloped and was eventually killed off, disappointing many fans. The film also couldn’t decide whether it was aimed at kids or adults with many jokes being a bit inappropriate or too immature. Having said that, the film was decently enjoyable with King Valkyrie getting more screen time and the introduction of Thor/Gorr’s daughter and the all-powerful Eternity (who raised a lot of questions).

10. WandaVision: 8/10

The first entry into Phase 4 of the MCU was a strong one. This series follows the unusual everyday life of Wanda and Vision through the representation of old TV sitcoms. The first 7 episodes built up a nice storyline with flashbacks to just after ‘Endgame’ and brings back fan favorite Agent Jimmy Woo. Unfortunately, the last two episodes fell short of our expectations, although it did nicely set up Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (which is yet to appear in this list).

9. What If…?: 8/10

The first animated series of the MCU focused on the multiverse; it explores possible outcomes of major scenarios, such as “what if Thor were an only child?” or “what if Ultron won?”; playing on the idea that a small change can alter (or destroy) a whole universe. Whilst this brought interesting takes on famous events in the history of the MCU, the series was a little inconsistent and there were episodes better than others. Overall, the finale was satisfying enough to get this series and 8/10.

8. Moon Knight: 8/10

Moon Knight was a standalone entry with little references to the rest of the MCU. It explored various parts of Egyptian mythology and the condition of dissociative identity disorder. The first two episodes of this series were amazing, with suspense building as they finally introduced ‘Marvel’s Batman.’ However, episodes 3 and 4 were more lacklustre and episode 6 was divisive with both incredible and slightly underwhelming scenes. All in all this was a good series.

7. Werewolf by Night: 8/10

This was the first of Marvel’s experimental ‘Special presentations’ and it appears to have been very popular. The first true horror entry of the MCU is filmed almost entirely in black and white and introduces us to Jack Russell and the mythical relic known as the Bloodstone. This special has been generally praised by critics although has been criticised for its short runtime, leaving bits of it feeling a little rushed, but despite this, it is a great addition to the MCU and introduces many characters with potential.

6. Hawkeye: 8.5/10

‘Hawkeye’ was another entry in the MCU that focused on an original Avenger and their replacement. This series introduces the likeable, but ignorant character of Kate Bishop, who teams up with Hawkeye to take down a villain before Christmas. Within the series there is great chemistry between the two characters whose contrasting personalities intertwine. A slow second episode and a questionable ‘Avengers’ play are the only major criticisms of this series which sets up future MCU entries such as ‘Echo’ and potentially ‘Daredevil: Born Again’.

5. Spider-Man: No Way Home: 9.5/10

The most anticipated Marvel film of 2021 lived up to its expectations with the entry of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men. With thrilling action scenes and a great plotline, this movie completely deserves its high rating. The reintroduction of the mirror dimension was an example of one of our favourite scenes and the inclusion of Doctor Strange in the plot nicely set up a number of future films. The slow beginning and the unnecessary overuse of green screens are bringing this down slightly, but the positives of this film outweigh the negatives. Many people agree that this is one of the best MCU entries to date.

4. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: 9.5/10

This entry is more divisive, although we believe it is one of the better films. It gives us our first major view of the multiverse in the MCU and marks the return of many fan-favourite characters (albeit from another multiverse) such as Professor X and Reed Richards (Mr Fantastic). The film also has a brilliant plot and stunning visual effects. Although some scenes were a bit cliché, the movie was highly enjoyable and we believe it is the most underrated entry of Phase 4.

3. Loki: 10/10

The return of Loki in his own series proved to be one of the most successful moves from Marvel during this phase. As well as setting up the multiverse, this introduced the overarching villain for Phases 5 and 6 as well as Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania: Kang and his variants. As well as its comedic moments, the characters introduced in this series were incredible, including Sylvie and Agent Mobius. The plotline for this series was exceptional and even the last episode, which was slightly dull, was not enough to bring down this stellar series.

2. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: 10/10

This movie is arguably the best movie of 2021 from all genres. This is because it is incredible. It begins with an iconic fight scene on a San Francisco bus, followed up by another stunning fight scene in Macau. Only Marvel is able to pull of something like this. The film has a fantastic cast featuring the return of fan favourite character Trevor, who hadn’t appeared for 8 years. This film is a perfect addition to the MCU, although it is not the best entry of Phase 4…

1. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: 10/10

The latest and greatest blockbuster entry in Phase 4 of the MCU is the sequel to Black Panther (2018), which people believe to be one of the best Marvel films out there today. This film includes many tributes to Chadwick Boseman, who sadly passed away, and at the same time includes both emotional scenes and a faultless plotline which tells the story of Shuri, grieving after the death of her brother and trying to move forward. With the appearances of the Wakandans and Everitt Ross as well as the introduction of Namor, there was nothing to critique about this supreme entry to close off the main part of Phase 4.