MCU ranking: Infinity War edges Endgame, She-Hulk is last

I've ranked the MCU, 52 projects in all, and Avengers: Infinity War takes my top spot, beating Avengers: Endgame by a smidgen. She-Hulk sits at the bottom. This is my personal list, not built on audience scores, Rotten Tomatoes or anyone else's ranking. It's what I love and what I've enjoyed most, so it probably won't match yours.

Putting something near the bottom doesn't mean I'd knock anyone for liking it. I wish I liked everything. Unfortunately, I don't.

She-Hulk ranks last, with Secret Invasion and The Marvels just above it

At 52, She-Hulk wasn't for me. I didn't like how they made her better than the Hulk automatically, and there wasn't much character development. I thought the first episode was okay and hoped it would be a good show, but I hated the ending and some of what they did with Daredevil. I understand parts are meant to be light-hearted, but mixed in with the silliness was a serious message, and that didn't work for me.

Secret Invasion, at 51, was so far from what the comic story was supposed to be. I didn't mind it being a show, since it's a big event that takes time to tell. The first couple of episodes were pretty great, with cool spy espionage around the scroll, but it ended up bad with Nick Fury's character development and some characters who had died.

The Marvels, at 50, felt like it went through a lot, and we heard it did. I don't know how true it is, but much of what we heard was that the director wasn't familiar with many other Marvel projects. The villain wasn't enticing, there were weird scenes like the dancing and singing planet, and I didn't feel the chemistry, even though I like the actresses individually. Kamala Khan was the best part.

Echo, Ironheart and Thor: Love and Thunder disappointed me

Echo, at 49, didn't need to be a solo project. Some of it was cool, but I don't think it was done well. She was better in Hawkeye.

Ironheart, at 48, bored me. I texted people asking if they were as bored as I was, and many said they were. The best part was the ending with Mephisto. I didn't like Ironheart in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever either, and despite an open mind I got the same feeling from her the whole time.

Thor: Love and Thunder, at 47, is perhaps one of the biggest disappointments ever. After Thor: Ragnarok was amazing, it should have improved on that movie rather than adding more jokes and silliness. It went way too far with the jokes and weird premises like the Zeus material, and Christian Bale was wasted. It should have been a masterpiece. Instead they turned it into a joke, which I hate.

Quantumania, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow wasted their potential

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was tough to put at 46. I don't like the story. You show Kang the Conqueror obliterating people and planets, and then he loses to ants? It also focused on too many characters when it should have centered on Ant-Man and the Wasp, and I didn't like how the quantum realm was depicted. Bill Murray, whom I always love, felt wasted. The Kang acting was good, like when he asks "Have I killed you before?" because they all blur together. Overall, it wasn't put together well.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, at 45, started okay for an episode or two, then turned weird and ended terribly to me. I love those characters, who have been around since the beginning. I just didn't think this was good.

Black Widow, at 44, should probably have happened in phase two, maybe even phase one. Her introduction in the Iron Man movies was done well, and I think she could have carried her own movie, or they could have paired her with Hawkeye. There were good parts, but the CGI was bad, I didn't like the retconning of Taskmaster, and they waited too long.

Captain Marvel, Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: Brave New World fall short

Captain Marvel, at 43, made a lot of money, but I think that's because it arrived before Avengers: Endgame, at the all-time high of hype for Marvel Studios. I don't hate it. I like the character and I've always been a Brie Larson fan, but I'm not a fan of how she portrayed her, though that could have been the direction. I feel we could eventually get a good Captain Marvel.

Thor: The Dark World is at 42. Thor and the Scarlet Witch are my favorite MCU characters, so I'm a sucker for Thor. The movie has flaws, but I liked Loki and Thor coming together over their mother, fueled by revenge, with Loki saying "Trust my rage."

Captain America: Brave New World, at 41, had potential. I wish they'd put Sam in more of a leadership position for the New Avengers. You could tell it was chopped up, and from what I understand it's been confirmed the script changed multiple times. It isn't Anthony Mackie's fault it didn't perform well; I think he did the best job he could. By the end I didn't feel Sam led the team. They only hinted at it.

Wakanda Forever, Ant-Man and the Iron Man sequels open the okay tier

From 40, we're in the zone of movies that are okay, not bad. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever made me shed tears the first time because of Chadwick Boseman. On a second watch, without wondering how they'd handle his absence, I was pretty bored. I think they should have recast T'Challa. No disrespect to Boseman, a phenomenal actor, and I understand why they didn't.

Ant-Man is at 39. I'm a big Paul Rudd fan, and his likability bleeds into the movie. It's not the best, but I enjoy it, and it connected to the wider MCU with the scene featuring Falcon.

Iron Man 3 is at 38 and Iron Man 2 at 37. Iron Man 3 detaches Tony Stark from the suit. I see the point, but it's an Iron Man movie, and we want him in the suit, though seeing his mind work on makeshift gear was cool. I didn't like some decisions, like the Mandarin. Iron Man 2 has the cool suitcase suit-up scene, but there were interesting choices with Whiplash and Hammer. From here on, it's good to great to fantastic.

The Eternals, The Incredible Hulk, Ms. Marvel and Werewolf by Night won me over

The Eternals, at 36, is slow, and the pacing could have been better, but I found it interesting and enjoyed it. The cast is huge, and they could have gone deeper into individual characters. The ending, with the Celestial Arishem saying he'll return for judgment, was cool. I wish Galactus had been portrayed like that, bigger than the Earth; I didn't love him in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

The Incredible Hulk, at 35, with Edward Norton, is an MCU project even if many forget it. It's a pretty decent Hulk movie and a good watch.

Ms. Marvel, at 34, was fun, and I love Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, but the writing fell apart in the later episodes. She shined in The Marvels, and I definitely think she survives the MCU reboot.

Werewolf by Night, at 33, was a big surprise. I don't like horror, gore, ghosts or monsters, but I thought it was good, and I hope more of the characters return in something like Midnight Sons.

Hawkeye, Agatha All Along, Daredevil: Born Again and Moon Knight

Hawkeye, at 32, was fun. Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop was fun, it was funny seeing Hawkeye forced into everything, Echo was good in it, the Kingpin story was good, and it opened by connecting to the Avengers film with him saving Kate. It also has a good Christmas spirit, which I'm a sucker for.

Agatha All Along, at 31, pleasantly surprised me. I love Kathryn Hahn. I'm not into the witch thing, but the Witches' Road song got stuck in my head, and the Scarlet Witch and Billy material was great.

I preferred Daredevil: Born Again, at 30, a bit more. It was cool to see the same Daredevil with the same story return, connected to Kingpin, with the Punisher too. Some episodes got slow, but the opening two were insane.

Moon Knight, at 29, isn't popular, I've learned, but I like Oscar Isaac and where the show went. It's not perfect and has goofy moments, and I wish Marvel would explore that mythological side, like the Egyptian gods.

Ant-Man and the Wasp, Thor, the Holiday Special and Spider-Man: Homecoming

Ant-Man and the Wasp, at 28, is better than the first, and funny, with Luis and the gang, Ghost, Paul Rudd with his daughter, and Jimmy Woo. I probably like it more than most.

Thor, at 27, gets criticism, but I liked it. I grew up reading comics and watching the animated shows, and I was so looking forward to this. It didn't disappoint, and I can still rewatch it. I liked Odin, Thor's character development, Loki and the Bifrost.

I'm not ranking the animated shows, only projects that connect to the MCU. I loved X-Men '97, thought Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man was okay, and have never been a big fan of What If. The exception is The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special at 26, because it's in the MCU. It's fun and feel-good, and the Kevin Bacon bit is funny because of the previous Guardians film.

Spider-Man: Homecoming, at 25, is my least favorite of the three, but I still love it: Tom Holland as Peter Parker, Vulture and Tony Stark.

Multiverse of Madness, Age of Ultron, Thunderbolts and Far From Home

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, at 24, has problems: the Illuminati got destroyed, Wanda was underestimated, and there's the spaghettification of Mr. Fantastic. People like me hyped it up expecting 20-plus cameos and many more worlds, but it was mostly 838, our main universe and Sinister Strange's destroyed one. I didn't like this development for Wanda, and I found out the actress playing her didn't know she was the villain until about three weeks before filming, which isn't cool. Visually, it's a cool movie.

Avengers: Age of Ultron, at 23, was a good movie when I saw it in theaters, and I still think so. I love Bruce Banner and Tony Stark creating Ultron and the hammer-lifting scene; it has since been said Steve could have lifted it and chose not to. We got Vision, Ultron, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, though I wish they hadn't killed Quicksilver. I don't get the hate. Ultron shouldn't be killable, and it looks like he's not.

Thunderbolts, at 22, got deep and its final scene wasn't action-packed, but I love Yelena getting vulnerable, Red Guardian as comic relief, Bucky and John Walker. They probably should have kept Taskmaster, who died so soon. If the finale had matched the Sentry scene where he beats everybody, with Sentry physically fighting the Void, it would rank higher. I appreciate the found-family message; I just think the ending needed more action.

Spider-Man: Far From Home, at 21, has Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio, whom I loved. It was emotional after Tony Stark's death, with the murals and Peter struggling. They teased the multiverse with Mysterio claiming to be from another universe, which wasn't the case. It's the last project of the Infinity Saga.

The top 20: Captain America: The First Avenger, The Fantastic Four, Black Panther and the Guardians sequels

Captain America: The First Avenger, at 20, is fantastic, and so is Chris Evans. When I made this list, it was a rumor, but one that looked pretty legit, that he was coming back in Avengers: Doomsday.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps, at 19, has incredible space scenes. I love Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm. I'm okay with Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards; I'd have preferred John Krasinski, but Pedro did a great job. I like that Johnny got something to do, though they could have gone deeper with the Thing. Galactus was powerful and scary early on, and the Silver Surfer chase was incredible. The ending could have been stronger; I'd have preferred an Ultimate Nullifier story like the comics.

Black Panther, at 18, is amazing. Boseman was perfect, and the world of Wakanda and the ancestral plane are so cool. I wish they hadn't killed Killmonger or Klaw.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is 17 and Vol. 2 is 16. Many think Vol. 3 is the best, but things that are half living organism, half cyborg freak me out. It's still great, and Rocket and Lylla's story was emotional. Vol. 2 has Yondu, who isn't Peter's father but is, the Mary Poppins scene, Mantis and Ego.

Doctor Strange, Shang-Chi, WandaVision and my favorite MCU show, Loki

Doctor Strange, at 15, is a great origin. I can't picture anyone but Benedict Cumberbatch, just like Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, and the Dormammu bargaining scene is still used in memes.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, at 14, would be in my top 10 without shows. On a recent rewatch it was amazing: incredible action and real sentiment with his mother and Wenwu, plus Trevor Slattery. I wish the ending was more martial arts than CGI battle. It probably deserves higher.

WandaVision, at 13, is kind of House of M, and I want a real House of M once the X-Men arrive. I pushed the Mephisto theory hard because he fits the plot and is tied to her children's souls in the comics. It didn't happen. Paul Bettany saying he'd worked with an actor he always admired, who turned out to be himself, earned my respect.

Loki season 2 is 12 and season 1 is 11. It's my favorite MCU show. Loki's arc runs from Thor's villain to the Avengers' main villain, to sacrificing himself and dying at Thanos's hands, and then his variant ends up making the Yggdrasil tree. He Who Remains was epic, which is why I'm still sad Kang became the main villain. I love Loki spending centuries going back through time to save his friends and give people free will, and the TVA calling the Infinity Stones paperweights.

The top 10 opens with Iron Man, Deadpool and Wolverine and Civil War

Iron Man, at 10, is incredible. Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark, the origin is done well, and visually it's one of the best from the MCU. It launched everything, and when I made this list he was set to return as Doom. He keeps the swagger even as he becomes humble.

Deadpool & Wolverine, at nine, goes over Iron Man because it has action and comedy, my two favorite things. The story could have been deeper, but I laughed the entire time, it got emotional with Wolverine, and Blade, Elektra and Gambit arrived. Ryan Reynolds' humor is my humor, and I've watched it close to 10 times.

Captain America: Civil War, at eight, feels like another Avengers movie, gave us Black Panther and Spider-Man, and has that ending fight. It's not like the comics, but the Russo brothers did it exceptionally well.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Avengers round out six and seven

Captain America: The Winter Soldier, at seven, has phenomenal action. For grounded hand-to-hand and shooting combat, I think it's the best in the MCU. With Hydra, the Black Widow twist and Bucky's return, it's what I think of first among non-team-up films.

The Avengers, at six, thrilled me from its first trailer, and for months it was all I could think about. It didn't disappoint. I saw it at least six times in theaters. It brought together everything from Iron Man, Captain America and Thor in a way no universe had done before.

Thor: Ragnarok, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Guardians of the Galaxy make my top five

Thor: Ragnarok, at five, kept the humor but had seriousness. Loki's arc, Heimdall, Hela and the Hulk's comedy and acting all worked, and they killed the Warriors Three right away. I left the theater thinking it was one of the best movies I'd ever seen, and I still do.

Spider-Man: No Way Home, at four, was for a while my pick for best superhero movie. Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man movies were mine, and I love Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland too. I had 1% of doubt they'd all appear, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. Even without them, the story is emotional: he loses Aunt May and everyone forgets him.

Guardians of the Galaxy, at three, was the last Marvel movie I watched with my father before he died. We loved it. He was big into movies and Star Trek. The film is my type of humor, a ragtag group of crooks who come together to save Xandar, and it introduced the Power Stone. Peter's mother dying at the start, then "Peter, take my hand" returning with Gamora, gets me emotional. It's one of my favorites of all time.

Why Avengers: Infinity War beats Avengers: Endgame for number one

Endgame is number two by a smidgen, which is hard to say because it's the culmination of everything. Natasha's death is part of why Infinity War is ahead; it would have been nice to see her in the scene where the women come together, which felt forced, though I still like it. I treat the two as one story, everything superhero fans could have asked for, from the portal scene to Captain America wielding Thor's hammer and shield.

Infinity War has slightly better scenes: Doctor Strange teaming with Iron Man, Spider-Man and the Guardians, the battle in Wakanda with Chadwick still there and "Get this man a shield," and Thanos dominating with "All that for a drop of blood." He wins. The Avengers lose.

Even the projects I didn't find good gave me a cool feeling, because of the joy the MCU has brought. With three movies and a handful of projects left in the Multiverse Saga when I made this list, I thought the best was yet to come, with the X-Men, the Avengers and the Fantastic Four in one universe after Secret Wars.