Marvel Phase 5 Ranked: Loki Season 2 Edges Out Deadpool and Wolverine for the Top Spot

With Phase 5 officially wrapped, I have ranked every project, and Loki season 2 takes my number one spot, just ahead of Deadpool and Wolverine. At the bottom sit the two What If seasons, with Secret Invasion not far above them.

This is a personal list based on how I felt about each project. I counted 16 entries, or 16 and a half, because one of them is a special case I will get to further down. There is also a tie in the middle of the list that I did not expect.

What If Seasons 3 and 2 Sit at 16 and 15

Starting at 16, I have What If season 3, and season 2 comes in right above it at 15. I am not the biggest animation fan, and the fact that What If seasons 2 and 3 do not connect to the MCU also threw them off for me. I never really cared too much for What If.

The first season was pretty good. The second declined in value, and I feel the third really declined in the stories we were given. Still, the ending of season 3 was pretty cool, and I hoped it would set something up in the multiverse for the MCU down the line.

Secret Invasion at 14 Wasted One of Marvel's Biggest Comic Events

Setting the What If seasons aside, this might be a fairly normal ranking for most people. I got screeners for the first two episodes of Secret Invasion, and after seeing them I really did think the series was going to be fantastic. The espionage style of filming and story in those first two episodes was good.

From there, though, it went downhill. I do not know how you take one of the biggest events in Marvel comic history and give us what we got on Disney Plus. I am still trying to wrap my head around how Feige let that happen. In my personal opinion, they probably should have just taken the loss and never released it.

Echo at 13 and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man at 12

Secret Invasion was so bad that I put Echo above it at 13. It is not that I thought Echo was terrible; it was just underwhelming for me. I like the premise of her character and I like how they tied it in with Kingpin. Unfortunately, I just was not pulled into it much and did not find it that entertaining.

At 12 is another animated one, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Interestingly, I found this more entertaining than Echo, because it is Spider-Man, and Spider-Man is cool. The opening was pretty cool, Norman Osborn being his mentor is pretty cool, and so is Harry being his friend. There are a lot of places they could go with it, which intrigued me, and there were some pretty cool scenes. Despite it being animated, I thought it was pretty cool.

Ironheart at 11: Riri Caused Her Own Problems

There are a lot of mixed opinions on Ironheart. For me, I was pretty bored through most of it. It does pick up in episode 4, with some cool Strange references, and I think the character's name is Zelma; I actually liked her and would like to know more about her.

My problem is that Riri acted like she had nothing, but she had a full ride to MIT, she had grant money, and she built a suit that was pretty much finished. It did not work when she took off with it, but she was almost there. She got herself in trouble, which is why she got kicked out of MIT. She caused her own problem, then decided to be a criminal, and even after the Hood shot somebody, she kept working with that group.

Spoilers for the ending: Mephisto was the best part of a show that was not about him, despite being in it for maybe ten minutes. Ironheart chose to make a deal with him at the end, making her more of a villain. She just followed in the Hood's footsteps. I did not really like the show that much, so it sits at 11.

At 10.5 is I Am Groot. I do not know if we count it, since it is not really a full series, but it is enjoyable in a playful way. It is not something I take seriously, but it was a fun time and at least it was entertaining.

The Marvels at 10: Kamala Khan Was the Highlight

The Marvels might be a lot lower on some people's lists, and I do not think it is a good movie. There are enjoyable parts, though, mostly involving Kamala Khan as Ms. Marvel. I think she was the highlight of the movie for a lot of people.

They toned Carol Danvers back a little from the first film and Avengers: Endgame, and she was more likable, but a lot of what people did not like about the character was still there. They tried to soften her up. The story was not very good. I think if they had taken more time and thought about a different story to tell, it would have been better. With those characters it had the potential to be really fun, and it did have fun moments, but the storytelling killed it for me. It had a pretty cool post credits scene, which I consider a big plus.

Quantumania at 9: Kang Should Never Have Lost to Ants

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a bummer for me. Jonathan Majors, in my view, is a fantastic actor, and he played Kang, He Who Remains and Victor Timely incredibly well. I was so excited for Kang that seeing him defeated by ants was a huge disappointment. Coming back to it now, knowing Kang is no longer there and Robert Downey Jr. is the main villain as Doom, is a pretty big bummer.

It was also a bummer that the movie was not that good. They tried to make everyone the main character and focused on way too many people when they should have kept Ant-Man, and I guess Hank Pym, at the centre. It should have been a much better fight with Kang, and he should not have been defeated by ants. As I put it: "Hey, we're introducing our big bad for the first time. He's so big. He's so bad. But he can be defeated by ants."

The post credits scene was one of the coolest things I have seen in Phase 5. I was so stoked to see the Council of Kangs, with Immortus, Rama-Tut and Scarlet Centurion. Now I feel nothing is going to happen with it. Ultimate bummer.

Captain America: Brave New World at 8 Had the Potential to Be Great

This is a good movie, not a great one, but it had the potential to be great. You can tell it is really chopped up and that they changed the story, including the Serpent Society. Some of the CGI is legitimately bad. Near the end, when the leader is about to turn himself in, my brother turned to me and asked what that was. It is one very bad part, plus a few other iffy ones.

Overall, though, I think it is pretty good. If they had solidified the story earlier and not made so many changes, we probably could have gotten a B plus movie. Anthony Mackie does a great job playing Sam Wilson as the new Captain America. They should have set him up more as the leader of a new Avengers team; they did that somewhat in the Thunderbolts post credits scene, but it should have happened more here. I enjoyed it, but I wished it was better because I know it could have been.

Daredevil: Born Again and Agatha All Along Tie for Six and Seven

I was really surprised these two tied. I loved Daredevil: Born Again, but the ending felt very anticlimactic. I wanted more from the final episode, because season 2 is basically going to continue the same story. The cliffhanger had Kingpin and the Punisher scene, but Daredevil did not really do anything at the end beyond deciding he had to get the team. I wanted him to go get the team and start a war, and that is not what happened.

Agatha All Along started off pretty boring for me but ended really well. There is a new story now, with Agatha as a ghost going with Billy to find Tommy, but they ended the Witches' Road story. They told us what happened to her child, she had the fight with Death, she died, and the whole thing got wrapped up. Agatha was an unexpected and welcome surprise. I really did love that show, and I really loved Daredevil up until that ending. Daredevil is probably a tiny bit above, but they are pretty much the same for me.

X-Men '97 at 5 Lived Up to My Childhood

This one made me nervous, because part of my love for Marvel comes from the original X-Men animated series. I remember seeing it as a kid with my dad, and it was probably one of the biggest defining moments in my life, one that set me on a course to where I am now, talking about this every day with people who love it.

When it came out, they crushed it. The story with Gambit and the Sentinels was crazy good. I know it contradicts what I said about animation, but my childhood connection and the nostalgia meant I was excited, hoping it would not be like the other animated shows, and it was not. You are super invested in these characters. Although there had been some drama and conflict with the writers, when I put this list together in July 2025 I was genuinely excited for season 2.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 at 4 Despite Making My Skin Crawl

Some people might put this at the very top. I do think it is a great movie: well written, a really good story, and funny. It is very much a James Gunn Guardians film, which to me just does not miss. The action is amazing, and the music and score are fantastic.

But I do not like half android, half human or half cyborg beings. It makes my skin crawl, and there is a lot of that in this film. Fortunately the story is really good, so I was super into it anyway. For me it sits at number four, which is still really high.

Thunderbolts at 3 Felt Like Old School Marvel

I was really surprised by this movie in a good way; it felt like old school Marvel. My only wish is that the Thunderbolts' fight with Sentry in the Watchtower had been longer, because "that was peak MCU to me." He has his golden outfit and dyed blonde hair, and it is an incredible fight scene.

The fighting overall is pretty good, in the vault and in the desert when Bucky comes, and the film has a strong and relatable message. I enjoyed the ending, but I wanted more of the actual Sentry, not the Void, fighting the team or others. I get it: how long can you do that when he is clearly unstoppable at that point? But it was very cool to see.

Deadpool and Wolverine at 2 Was Pretty Much Exactly What I Wanted

Choosing between two and one was so hard. I loved Deadpool and Wolverine. It was packed with action, hilarious, hugely entertaining, and had some cameos and fan service. As I have said before, "I'm a fan. Service me." I love fan service if done right.

I saw it again recently, around my seventh or eighth time, and all the jokes still hit. I cannot really say anything bad about it; I just wanted one more Deadpool and Wolverine fight scene. I still remember the first time: Elektra coming out, then Wesley Snipes around the corner, then Channing Tatum, X-23, and Chris Evans as the Human Torch. I honestly am not sure if it should be tied with number one.

Loki Season 2 Takes Number One

I think it comes down to the journey. We saw Loki as the villain in Thor and the first Avengers, then his growth alongside Thor, then a different variant's growth, and now he is basically the saviour of the multiverse. Where he once wanted to rule and make people bow, now he keeps it alive. When I made this list in July 2025, that path was heading toward Loki as a hero in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, facing Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom. It is completely flipped.

It is a bit of a bummer now because of the Kang situation, but that twist at the end was fantastic, with Loki going back in time and figuring out how to control it. The story with Sylvie, Ke Huy Quan's character Ouroboros, and Mobius is great. Each episode kept me on the edge of my seat, with twists like Victor Timely running out and getting spaghettified, and real emotion. It is really deep.

That depth, and how connected it was to the multiverse plan, is why it is number one. It still holds up, because Loki is still holding the multiverse together even if Kang and He Who Remains are moved out of the way. Both Loki seasons are my favourites: so well written, well done visually, and well acted. It is serious, with funny moments, and very impactful to the MCU.

My Hopes for Phase 6

When I wrote this in July 2025, I was super excited for Phase 6. Fingers crossed, I hoped we were about to enter possibly the best time in the MCU, if Marvel could pull it off. The buildup had not been the same as the Infinity Saga, but I thought what came in Phase 6 could be mind blowing.

So where do you land: should Loki season 2 or Deadpool and Wolverine be number one?