My Five* Favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies (2025)

My M.C.U. fandom did not really begin until around 2016, so I had a few movies to catch up on when I first found interest in it. Guardians of the Galaxy was a movie I heard positive things about, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it when I finally got to watch it.

Today, the film is remembered for being a successful gamble that Marvel Studios took. The Guardians of the Galaxy were a group of characters that were not largely known by the average fan, so for this movie to be a success, the studio needed to find a way to get the viewers to fall in love with the characters. They successfully did that by making each character uniquely hilarious and relatable.

At the start of the movie, I felt bad for each of the Guardians. It was clear that loneliness had overtaken them to the point that they lost the essential emotion of empathy; at the same time, they were still admirably badass. When the team came together in the final battle, put aside their egos, and defeated both Ronan and their individual senses of isolation, it felt like an emotional payoff for the viewer. It honestly reminded me of the importance my closest friend groups play in my life.

Guardians of the Galaxy makes its way into my top five M.C.U. films because it is simultaneously funny, thematical, and relatable. It also introduced me to my favorite M.C..U. character to date, Rocket Racoon. The soundtrack and space scenes capitalize add to the list of things that make this movie great. The ultimate cherry on top is that this movie led to the creation of my favorite theme park ride of all-time, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

Captain America: Civil War is a movie that has aged like fine wine for me. At the time of its release, it was enjoyable for its introduction of iconic characters into the M.C.U. (Spider-Man and Black Panther), its ability to follow up the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the epic showdown between Captain America and Iron Man. Today, it remains rewatchable for the same reasons; however, I appreciate this film even more post-release because it sets up the conflict of Avengers: Infinity War so seamlessly. If this movie did not exist, the Avengers losing to Thanos in the fashion that they did would not have carried the emotional and logical weight that it did.

Captain America: Civil War is a delight to watch every time. It successfully connects characters from across the M.C.U. while not deviating away from the main conflict of the movie. Baron Zemo is the most human character in all of the M.C.U., both in ability and morality. His role as a two-faced antagonist clearly takes inspiration from Iago in The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. As an English Language Arts teacher who teaches Shakespeare's plays, it makes me appreciate Zemo as a villain even more.

The thing I appreciate most in this movie is the action. The car garage scene with Black Panther pursuing Bucky Barnes is an enjoyable change of pace for a M.C.U. fight. The airport battle between Team Captain America and Team Iron Man is nothing short of an epic, cinematic delight for the fans. Lastly, the one-on-one fight between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, both in their most vulnerable states, is an emotional roller-coaster that left me, probably for the first time in my life at the time, rooting for both characters on the screen to win. This movie accomplishes so many great things in it, and the M.C.U. probably not have made it this far without it.

Out of all the movies on this list, The Avengers is the one that is most influenced by nostalgia. Overall, the movie itself is not deep in terms of theme or character development, but it was a groundbreaking movie for its time. Never before had there existed a superhero team-up movie that had multiple movies of build-up preceding it. For that reason alone, this movie will go down in history as a classic.

The Avengers holds a special place in my heart because it is the first time that I can remember being blown away by a movie. I was twelve years old at the time of this movie's release; I had been to see movies before then, but I do not think I ever felt a "wow" sensation in a theatre until I watched this movie. It is the first time I remember being in a sold-out theatre, and I will never forget the laughs and gasps that rang through that room. Each of the Avengers had great chemistry with each other, and when they finally came together in the epic team-up scene, it truly felt like a years-in-the-making moment. Every scene that featured the Hulk smashing things was awesome, and this was the movie where he seemed to be his most serious and dangerous self.

Overall, I would probably not be an M.C.U. fan today without the great experience I had seeing this film in theatres. I will never forget the first time I watched this film, and I will especially never forget how 12-year-old me held in my piss for the movie's post-credits scene.

As mentioned, The Avengers was on my list for nostalgia purposes, and not because it was thematically deep. On the flip side, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is among my favorite M.C.U. films because of the way that it blatantly explores real-life themes. As a grown man, I do not cry much, but I have no shame in admitting this movie was emotionally difficult to watch. Learning about Rocket's backstory, as heartbreaking as it was, felt like something I needed to see to fully understand his character. Of course, the theme of animal abuse was at the forefront of this movie, and any viewer who has empathy and love for animals left the theatre pissed off; it made me think about how animals are wrongfully tested on and treated in captivity.

Not only was animal abuse a major theme, but so was the power of friendship. This is a common theme in M.C.U. films, but I think it is best explored in this movie through the way the Guardians fight so valiantly while trying to save Rocket. Somehow, even in a movie that explores deep and emotional themes, this movie was still able to deliver awesome fight scenes and hilarious humor, both of which are necessities for a good Guardians of the Galaxy film. Finally, one of my favorite parts about this film was the villain. The High Evolutionary is the easiest M.C.U. villain to hate because of his ignorance and devilish nature. Other than Ramsey Bolton and Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones, he is the only antagonist in fictional media that made me so angry to the point I wanted to personally join in on the fight. The final battle was epic because the team got to complete their revenge arc. Overall, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is among my favorite movies because of how well it attacked each of my inner emotions and delivered a satisfying conclusion.

Some may consider putting two movies at the number one slot cheating, but in my opinion, the third and fourth Avengers films are one long, two-part story. Obviously, Avengers: Endgame could not stand alone without Avengers: Infinity War, which is why I have such difficulty differentiating the two.

Avengers: Infinity War is so great because it accomplished three things that, at the time, felt impossible: it gave dozens of main characters a chance to shine in a single film, it made the audience empathize with Thanos, and it killed characters that felt immortal. I remember being blown away in the theatre by how well the writers were able to being together so many characters from across an entire cinematic universe. I will never forget how shocked I was when Thanos finally completed the gauntlet and snapped away half of the universe. At that time, it felt impossible that the heroes could lose, but they straight up did. Of course, they were able to avenge their loss in Avengers: Endgame, but that does not change how starstruck and eerie my theatre was at the end of the film.

I will not argue that Avengers: Endgame topped Avengers: Infinity War, but I will say that it is just as good of a movie for its own reasons. All of the setup in the first half of the movie felt necessary to the story, and the second half of the movie features one of the best battle scenes in cinematic history. Additionally, each main character feels important and gets their own moment. Some of my favorite characters, like Ant-Man and Hawkeye, feel essential to the team's success; in previous films, they really only felt like sidekicks. Lastly, I appreciate this movie because of the risks it took. The screenwriters centered their plot around time travel, and it paid off. The directors completely changed Thor's demeanor and appearance, and it paid off. Overall, it was a movie that gambled on itself, and it paid off at the box office.

This movie truly felt like the end of a great era for the M.C.U.v At the time, it also sparked great anticipation for the future of the franchise. While most of the projects have not lived up to the hype that this movie created, Avengers: Doomsday has a chance to rewrite the narrative once again.