9. Captain America: The First Avenger (148 points)
Moving up one space is the first outing for The First Avenger, in Captain America: The First Avenger. The World War II action movie has a lot of great moments, a terrific performance from Chris Evans, and wonderful support from Hayley Atwell and Tommy Lee Jones. Captain America’s movies would only get better from here, but this was a solid start.
8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (170 points)
Easily clearing Captain America: The First Avenger, it’s the first of our new entries into the MCU in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. It’s interesting to see how beloved Guardians of the Galaxy is (it topped this list for the previous two years, remember), but there wasn’t that same spark for its sequel. Even though it features some amazing dramatic moments for Star Lord, Rocket, Gamora, Nebula and Yondu, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 finds itself 72 points behind its predecessor.
7. Spider-Man: Homecoming (185 points)
Next on our list is another new entry in the Sony and Marvel-produced Spider-Man: Homecoming. Tom Holland got off to a great start as Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War and there was a lot of love for his first solo movie Spider-Man: Homecoming. Michael Keaton was fantastic as The Vulture, and there are some wonderful scenes between the two throughout the movie. However a poor marketing campaign and spoiler-filled trailers left a sour taste for some MCU fans, and Spider-Man: Homecoming finds itself in seventh on our list and eight points behind the next entry.
6. Thor: Ragnarok (193 points)
Well would you look at that – it’s the final new entry in our list! Thor: Ragnarok was hailed by some as one of the best movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it didn’t top any of our writer’s lists. In fact it was bottom of one of them! Taiki Waititi’s 80’s synth inspired space movie is a blast and it’s the first movie where Chris Hemsworth has been really allowed to shine in the role, and it was only due to a late surge of votes for the next entry that meant it just missed out on a top five position.
5. Iron Man (215 points)
Once again finding itself in fifth place is our very first step into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jon Favreau’s Iron Man. Everyone remembers seeing this in the cinema the very first time, and that exciting moment Samuel L. Jackson walks on screen to talk about The Avengers, and it seems that moment has stuck with many of our writers. That late surge of votes actually saw Iron Man top two writer’s lists!
4. Captain America: The Winter Solider (223 points)
Despite topping four writer’s lists (one less than the number one spot), Captain America: The Winter Solider has still somehow dropped two places in this year’s rankings. During the voting period, it seemed a lock that Captain America: The Winter Solider would retain its number two position, but found itself slip as time went on. Which is surprising as it’s a beloved movie in the franchise, and a flag bearer for, ‘see – the MCU isn’t just about quips and CGI!’.
3. Captain America: Civil War (231 points)
Climbing one place this year is Captain America: Civil War, which only topped one of our writer’s lists. What’s interesting about that is, as mentioned above, Captain America: The Winter Solider topped four. However Captain America: Civil War (or Avengers 2.5 as some like to call it) rated so highly among other lists, while The Winter Solider sometimes fell down the pecking order. The film is a wonderful piece of comic book theatre and it’s so cool to see all of these heroes collide on screen. It also features, arguably, the best MCU villain since Loki.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy (242 points)
Well it’s finally happened – Guardians of the Galaxy has been dethroned from its perch in Flickering Myth’s MCU rankings! But it was very, very close, and James Gunn’s space opera was holding onto the number spot for quite some time. Interestingly, Guardians of the Galaxy topped three of our writer’s lists, which is a lot less than previous years.
1. The Avengers (246 points)
Topping Flickering Myth’s MCU Rankings for the first time ever, Joss Whedon’s The Avengers grabbed the top spot by just four points. As we said, it was very close. Topping five of our individual lists, one has to wonder if the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League made our writers reappraise the accomplishments of Whedon’s efforts, the balancing act he achieves with such a large cast of colourful characters. Whatever the reason, congratulations The Avengers for topping the 2017 rankings!
Originally published December 26, 2017. Updated November 30, 2022.
