Each Marvel TV present within the Cinematic Universe, ranked

The debut of WandaVision on Disney Plus in 2021 marked a brand new period for Marvel-branded TV sequence: one the place Marvel Studios extra expressly began controlling and integrating these reveals into the overarching story of its films. It additionally marked an period the place Marvel Cinematic Universe reveals began enjoying precisely like MCU films, with the identical mix of humor, drama, and motion.

That’s a really totally different strategy from the pre-Disney Plus days, when Marvel Studios was nonetheless licensing its characters to different studios and networks, which all tried to crack the Marvel system in numerous methods. And it’s additionally a special strategy from the 2022 experiments in MCU “specials,” one-off tales that bend the Marvel system in way more director-driven, idiosyncratic methods. How do all these approaches evaluate? We put each installment of MCU-integrated TV on the identical scale to rank them and discover out.

[Ed. note: Shows are included on this list if they were MCU-compliant in their day, regardless of whether they’ve since been or will later be retconned out of existence. Not included on this list are pre-MCU Marvel shows like Blade, or never-MCU-canon Marvel shows like the excellent mind game Legion, the X-Men spinoff The Gifted, or the animated series Guardians of the Galaxy. Latest update: November 2022, to include The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Werewolf by Night, and She-Hulk.]

22. Helstrom (2020)

2020’s Helstrom was the final of the live-action MCU reveals launched on Hulu earlier than the launch of Disney Plus, and it was canceled after one practically universally panned season. The present is borderline unwatchable, a dour procession of exorcist and paranormal tropes with solely the loosest connection to the comedian guide characters it’s primarily based on. Following a pair of siblings with demonic blood that offers them superpowers, it lacks likable characters, significant stakes, nuanced performances, and even spectacular particular results. In case you’re in search of a spooky supernatural story about preventing demons, take a look at Evil on Paramount Plus. In order for you superheroics, you’re higher off watching the rest on this listing. —Samantha Nelson

21. Inhumans (2017)

Initially deliberate as an MCU film and its personal MCU sub-franchise, Inhumans suffered partly from the identical factor that gave it a lot potential: It’s constructed round a complete society hidden from the remainder of the world, the place separatist superpowered folks reside in line with their very own legal guidelines. However a sequence about supers who aren’t connected to human society has not one of the relatable elements that make MCU characters fascinating. And the story, a couple of coup that may flip the Inhumans’ terrible, oppressive oligarchy into a special form of terrible, oppressive oligarchy, doesn’t have lots of stakes for the common viewer.

When an alternate model of Inhumans’ Black Bolt (nonetheless performed by Anson Mount) ultimately turns up in Physician Unusual within the Multiverse of Insanity, that gave MCU followers much more rooting curiosity within the character. Nevertheless it nonetheless doesn’t make Inhumans any extra fascinating or watchable. The appearing is stiff, the writing is clunky, dangerous man Maximus (Iwan Rheon, well-known for enjoying Recreation of Thrones sadist Ramsay Bolton) is ridiculously apparent in his clumsy evil, and even as soon as the motion strikes from the moon to Earth, the story by no means feels prefer it’s about precise individuals. Technically, it’s all there within the sequence title, so we are able to’t say we weren’t warned. —Tasha Robinson

20. The Guardians of the Galaxy Vacation Particular (2022)

James Gunn’s Christmas particular that includes his tackle Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy group is consciously tacky, however the self-awareness doesn’t make it any much less grating. At function size, Gunn has way more house to veer between motion, foolish character bits, and sentiment, however the roughly 40-minute run time right here makes all these twists really feel rushed and clumsy, and the humor is especially compelled.

Marvel rounded up a lot of the GOTG regulars (aside from Zoe Saldaña as Gamora, for story-continuity causes) for this outing, however the story facilities on Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) attempting to offer their buddy Peter “Star-Lord” Quill (Chris Pratt) a conventional Earth Christmas by giving him a human current: his favourite film star, Kevin Bacon (Kevin Bacon). So the story immediately facilities the form of shallow “non-humans attempting to grasp human stuff” that’s often extra of a welcome facet word in GOTG tales, and the outcomes are fairly dire. All of the broad, flat conversations about The That means of Christmas, meant as retro callbacks to an earlier period of vacation specials, are in all probability meant to really feel playful and nostalgic, however they aren’t intelligent sufficient to really feel like commentary as an alternative of copycatting. —TR

19. Runaways (2017-2019)

Frankly, Runaways would in all probability be a number of notches larger on this listing if the titular runaways had run away earlier. Brian Okay. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona’s authentic comics sequence, which launched in 2003, let the younger protagonists discover out early that their mother and father have been highly effective supervillains, and run off collectively out of concern and frustration, resulting in loads of plots in regards to the difficulties dealing with homeless youngsters coming to phrases with their powers and preventing villains with out grownup help. However the 2017 TV adaptation spends its total first season with the youngsters wheel-spinning about what to do after they see proof their mother and father are murderers. As they dither in uninteresting methods, the sequence dilutes the give attention to their characters additional by giving equal display screen time to their mother and father’ soap-operatic energy struggles and relationship dramas.

Subsequent seasons lastly put somewhat extra give attention to the younger heroes, however the present actually by no means overcomes the issue of its overcrowded forged, or its baffling try and make the mother and father personable and sympathetic, at the same time as they’re systematically exploiting and murdering younger individuals. And its give attention to short-term, rapidly resolved subplots, like a trying-to-be-current plot about thoughts management unfold by way of cell telephones, prevented the present from build up sequence stakes or significant power. —TR

18. Cloak & Dagger (2018-2019)

The Freeform present Cloak & Dagger began off sturdy, pushed by the highly effective chemistry between Tandy Bowen, aka Dagger (Olivia Holt) and Tyrone Johnson, aka Cloak (Aubrey Joseph), youngsters attempting to grasp their new powers and the character of the accident that sparked them. As a result of the writers have been specializing in extraordinarily minor Marvel characters, they didn’t want to stick to comics canon — they have been free to ship a mixture of heady surprise and romance, mixed with sharp examinations of police brutality, dependancy, and company malfeasance.

That early appeal wore away because the present’s stakes elevated and the comics tropes piled up. A twist on fridging meant to be edgy nonetheless got here off as unnecessarily brutal, the writers tried to make the present’s least fascinating character work by giving her an evil character, and each seasons resulted in near-apocalyptic conflicts. It isn’t a horrible YA journey, but it surely’s a textbook case of diminishing returns. —SN

17. Iron Fist (2017-2018)

The primary season of Iron Fist was rightly maligned for its wealthy, white man-child hero Danny Rand (Finn Jones) utilizing his Chosen One powers to point out up the individuals of colour who are supposed to be his loyal buddies. However when Raven Metzner took over as showrunner for season 2, he oversaw a outstanding course-correction by shifting the main target away from Danny and build up the supporting forged.

Sacha Dhawan does a outstanding job as Danny’s brother-in-arms-turned-bitter-rival Davos, and Luke Cage cop Misty Knight (Simone Missick) is simply as dismissive of Danny’s skills as a vigilante as she works to give you higher options to Chinatown’s issues. The writers nonetheless didn’t appear to know what to do with among the supporting forged, and the present continued to undergo from having too many subplots and villains, but it surely resulted in an odd and shocking place in comparison with the place it started. It’s virtually unhappy that there wasn’t a 3rd season or spinoff that would have actually embraced the potential to discover the MCU’s deep effectively of mystic kung-fu weirdness. —SN

16. Brokers of SHIELD (2013-2020)

ABC’s Brokers of SHIELD was the present most intently tied to the MCU earlier than Disney Plus got here alongside. It stars recurring MCU movie character Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), who’s mysteriously resurrected after being killed by Loki in The Avengers, then tasked with main a gaggle of brokers investigating every little thing from rogue Asgardians to cyborgs. The present’s first season was written to enrich the Captain America: The Winter Soldier revelation that SHIELD had been infiltrated by Hydra, which supplies the story a wonderful twist as a number of essential characters present their true loyalties.

However that connective tissue wore skinny over time, and later seasons noticed the characters despatched to house or totally totally different timelines so they may keep away from intersecting with the MCU movies. When the present is firing on all cylinders, Brokers of SHIELD is among the many prime Marvel sequence, embracing the genre-bending sensibilities of comedian guide tales and a heavy dose of meta humor. Sadly, it spends lots of time foundering, taking a number of seasons to turn into a real ensemble present, and even then, scuffling with separated characters and a rotating forged of various high quality. —SN

15. The Punisher (2017-2019)

Jon Bernthal’s gruff, fierce portrayal of Marine-turned-vigilante Frank Fort is the true spotlight of Daredevil season 2, and the primary season of The Punisher is among the many greatest tales within the Netflix MCU. Whereas the character’s legacy is extremely problematic, showrunner Steve Lightfoot manages to maintain the present from being only a brutal revenge fantasy by delivering plots that study PTSD, the army industrial advanced, and moral hacking. The present can also be buoyed by a improbable supporting forged, with Ben Barnes enjoying an all-too-charming villain, and Fort’s sidekick, Micro (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), giving the sequence some desperately wanted levity.

The second season fails to recapture that magic, although, with Micro’s absence keenly felt and DHS agent Dinah Madani (Amber Rose Revah) going from fierce foil to sufferer. That season’s plot additionally seems like a retread of the identical conflicts introduced in season 1, with little new to say. A lot of the Netflix MCU reveals skilled a high quality dip after their first season, however The Punisher’s second and ultimate outing was the worst offender. —SN

14. The Defenders (2017)

Netflix’s single-season crossover sequence tried to be a form of miniature TV model of The Avengers, one-upping Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist by bringing all of the heroes collectively in a single massive plot line. It lacks Avengers’ impression or scope, but it surely does share a few of its strengths: Bringing these 4 heroes collectively in numerous combos lets the writers discover their personalities and skills in new contexts. As they banter and snark at one another, they spotlight among the particular person faults that bugged followers of their solo reveals. And as they be taught to work collectively, the methods their skills and personalities synergize injects some recent power into their particular person tales. The overplot right here is disappointing, however the characters themselves are typically each funnier and extra thrilling than they have been on their very own. —TR

13. Werewolf by Evening (2022)

Cheeky in the identical method as The Guardians of the Galaxy Vacation Particular however much more nuanced in its sense of play, the one-off (to date) Halloween particular Werewolf by Evening leans closely on basic Hollywood horror and Hammer Movie Productions films for its specific model of self-aware cheese. Nevertheless it additionally tells a stable (although abbreviated) story about misfits dealing with off and teaming as much as handle an influence shift in a household of monster-hunters. It doesn’t really feel like part of MCU continuity — the tone and look are radically totally different from any earlier MCU story, which is a breath of recent air — however longtime Disney composer turned director Michael Giacchino confirms that it’s a part of the MCU narrative, which raises a ton of enjoyable questions in regards to the implication of this bizarre, gleefully ghoulish little facet story. —TR

12. Luke Cage (2016-2018)

The primary half of the primary season of Luke Cage is almost excellent, with Mike Colter’s titular hero with unbreakable pores and skin nonetheless struggling to make an actual distinction when preventing towards the formidable mixture of felony and political energy wielded by Mahershala Ali’s Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes. But the sequence takes a tough flip when Stokes is changed by the generic psychopath Diamondback (Erik LaRay Harvey), and it turns into borderline unwatchable. Season 2 is extra constant, although it by no means actually reaches the highs of season 1.

It’s too dangerous that the Netflix MCU ended earlier than showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker may actually develop the examination of ethical compromises he was clearly organising with Luke strolling dangerously near Stokes’ path by the tip of season 2. However despite these flaws, Luke Cage is a vibrant portrait of Harlem, with an impeccable soundtrack and improbable performances that decision on the numerous charisma of Colter, Ali, and Theo Rossi, who performs Stokes’ opportunistic underling Shades. Whereas the opposite Netflix MCU reveals largely give attention to withdrawn, brooding heroes, Luke Cage revels in his powers and fame, which supplies the present a uniquely bombastic high quality. —SN

11. Hawkeye (2021)

It’s cheap that so most of the Marvel reveals following Avengers: Endgame cope with that film’s world-changing aftermath and the characters who’re mourning, coming to phrases with loss, and reflecting on their identities. However coming after a number of extra dynamic reveals coping with the identical points, Hawkeye feels unusually small and low-key, with minimal ambitions and a notable lack of authentic distinctive components. It will get somewhat borrowed power by bringing in a dangling plot thread from Black Widow and a villain from Netflix’s Daredevil, however principally it seems like an try and introduce a brand new hero (Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop) and to MCU-ify another relative Marvel Comics obscurities. The present isn’t dangerous, it simply isn’t a lot. —TR

10. Jessica Jones (2015-2019)

Jessica Jones had the blended blessing of a stellar first season with a near-unbeatable villain in Kilgrave (former Physician Who star David Tennant), whose voice is inescapably mesmeric, to the purpose the place individuals kill one another or themselves at his informal verbal command. Krysten Ritter provides a constantly layered efficiency because the superhumanly highly effective title character, a detective attempting to disregard the deep traumas Kilgrave inflicted on her prior to now, whereas coping with his return. If the following two seasons had been as focused and intense as the primary one, this sequence would in all probability prime this listing. As an alternative, Jessica Jones suffers from the best way its second and third seasons lose focus, pressure, and private stakes by comparability. Nonetheless, it’s effectively price sitting all the way down to that first season, a street-level superhero sequence, crime procedural, and private story about abuse and restoration all rolled into one. —TR

9. Moon Knight (2022)

Is Moon Knight a canon a part of the MCU? Government producer Grant Curtis says it’s, however aside from the tiniest references — a point out of Black Panther’s Ancestral Airplane, one other of Madripoor — the hyperlinks are minimal, tenuous, and simply defined away, given Marvel Studios’ new give attention to multiverses. Nonetheless, Disney Plus consists of the present on its “MCU in timeline order” listing, inserting it proper after Hawkeye.

However Moon Knight’s lack of seen MCU tie-ins additionally leaves it mild on the standard burdens of forwarding a large franchise’s narrative agenda. That provides creator Jeremy Slater and his group loads of room to inform their very own thrilling weird-adventure story, constructed closely across the thriller of what’s happening with Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac), whose visions of a supernatural world generally coincide with blackouts that go away him with blood on his arms and a contemptuous voice in his ears. The ending is rushed per standard in an MCU sequence, however most of what occurs on the best way there’s partaking, thrilling, and really fairly bizarre and daring for an MCU present. It’s all boosted by Isaac’s clear enjoyment of his wild twin position, a relentless sequence of unusual reveals, and motion that takes place each on a worldwide scale and a really private one. It’s one of many stronger MCU sequence, marred principally by an inclination to zip previous essential plot factors with out letting them breathe and to spend an excessive amount of time on largely irrelevant pink herrings. —TR

8. She-Hulk (2022)

Jessica Gao’s sequence She-Hulk has an entire lot happening in its first season — an excessive amount of to completely cohere by the tip, although its week-to-week makes an attempt to stability a authorized drama, a fourth-wall-breaking comedy, and a wry operating commentary on societal sexism are nonetheless lots of enjoyable to look at. Because the title character, Jen Walters/She-Hulk, Tatiana Maslany carries lots of weight on her shoulders as she tries to maintain the present’s feelings relatable and practical, even when she’s turning on to the digicam and mocking her present’s construction or the newest plot improvement. The primary season fizzles out a bit by the ending, leaving Jen in a bizarre state of “Is something right here actual, and does any of it matter?”, however the journey to get there’s mild, ethereal, and sometimes sharp as hell in its observations in regards to the day-to-day flak skilled girls need to navigate over their gender. —TR

7. Loki (2021)

Loki appears prone to climb the rating charts as soon as the sequence finds its method nearer to an precise conclusion. Score it after the closing of season 1 seems like ranking it in the course of its story, given the cliffhanger ending that’s way more about organising the subsequent wave of Marvel films than about really respecting the characters or themes on deck all through the present. Season 1 is a mind-bending whirl by way of a game-changing sequence of reveals for the MCU, and particularly for Loki, who’s been by way of so many modifications over the course of a decade within the films, even accounting for what number of of these modifications have been retracted or reversed. Tom Hiddleston stays a standout within the MCU, an expressive, electrical presence who’d make this sequence stand out it doesn’t matter what. However whereas Loki is artistic, colourful, and sometimes lots of enjoyable, season 1 perpetually feels prefer it’s been edited all the way down to the bone, with no time for the stronger character improvement or emotional exploration of among the different reveals on this listing. It’s Disney Plus’ most purely enjoyable MCU present to date, however in the mean time, it’s nonetheless a narrative half-told. —TR

6. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)

As a narrative about how former Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes offers together with his many MCU traumas and the way Sam Wilson decides to take up the Captain America mantle, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is fairly rushed, and in the long run, clumsy. As a narrative a couple of community of secret super-soldiers who might be labeled terrorists or freedom fighters, relying in your perspective, it’s well-meaning, however typically simply graceless. However as a narrative about two males attempting to individually cope with shedding their mentor and inspiration, every resenting the opposite for doing it fallacious till they lastly bond over what they realized from him, it’s resonant and considerate in a method MCU tales hardly ever might be.

Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, because the titular essential characters, convey a significant mixture of heat and prickliness to their roles, which helps make their generally broadly drawn characters really feel susceptible, human, and fascinating. At its very best, this motion bromance is so good that it’s actively irritating when it blows a few of its narrative potential by zipping previous essential plot factors with a hand-wave or a stuffy speech. —TR

5. WandaVision (2021)

WandaVision takes fairly some time to disclose its agenda as one more post-Avengers: Endgame story about navigating grief and loss. It begins with its central character, Wanda Maximoff, in full denial, having created her personal cheery sitcom actuality with a re-creation of her useless love, Imaginative and prescient. The sequence creators mess around with that fake actuality, leaping by way of a long time of sitcom kinds and usually having extra enjoyable with design, route, and general fashion than any MCU present to date.

That freedom to creatively discover her character whereas being outright bizarre is without doubt one of the two greatest issues that makes WandaVision a standout. The opposite is the depth of the sequence’ feelings, as Wanda navigates her personal rage, guilt, and selfishness on prime of every little thing else. The sequence wraps up messily, with loads of unfastened ends that it means to arrange future films, so it by no means seems like a completely self-contained story, but it surely definitely is a wild experience whereas it lasts. —TR

4. What If…? (2021)

Nonetheless a lock for Most Underrated MCU Present, the What If…? sequence could have been a sufferer of MCU fatigue, of prejudice towards animation, or of followers’ feeling {that a} sequence of speculative multiverse tales don’t actually matter to the general MCU continuity. A technique or one other, followers of the franchise don’t appear to have engaged with the present practically as a lot as they did with among the sequence on this listing. They’re lacking out. The nine-episode opening season begins out easy, in a universe the place Peggy Carter received the super-soldier therapy as an alternative of Steve Rogers, however occasions in any other case principally performed out in a well-known sample. However as soon as the AU coaching wheels are off, subsequent episodes escalate the stakes and the gap from acquainted canon, both heading in a lot darker and extra brutal instructions than the mainstream films ever may, or having way more enjoyable with the characters, as Black Panther’s T’Challa heads to house (and proves the universe is healthier off with out Peter Quill) or Thor throws a worldwide social gathering.

However what actually locks What If…?’s place on this listing is the ultimate two episodes of the season, which combine all these earlier episodes in shocking methods, paying off some plot strains that didn’t appear to be they have been designed to be resolved. The present will get massive and cosmic in thrilling methods, but it surely’s additionally meticulous in regards to the particulars, from in-jokes like a number of Howard the Duck cameos to the best way all of the seemingly stand-alone tales line up in the long run. The person episodes are uneven, however this season is extra in regards to the built-in bundle and the place all of it leads in the long run. —TR

3. Ms. Marvel (2022)

In a world inundated with superhero properties (the 19 on this listing are only a drop within the bucket of the broader slate), Ms. Marvel really managed to make an origin story really feel like a deal with. Credit score any variety of artistic selections, together with the present’s vibrant, Into the Spider-Verse-esque visible identification, or the best way it provides protagonist Kamala Khan an precise life past the bounds of superherodom. However some acclaim ought to definitely be reserved for Iman Vellani, absolutely the star on the middle of all of it. She makes Kamala really feel alive whether or not she’s staring down a giant dangerous or a giant crush.

In her arms, Ms. Marvel is the all-too-rare MCU property that feels prefer it has the engine to run for some time, even when it’s nonetheless finding out deal with Ms. Marvel’s villains or cultural identification. At six episodes, its weakest hyperlink (hopefully) is that it’s solely simply getting began. —Zosha Millman

2. Agent Carter (2015-2016)

The place WandaVision explores what occurs when an immensely highly effective superhero loses the love of her life, Agent Carter flips the system by exploring the identical form of grief, however steeping it in powerlessness. After the occasions of Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America’s “greatest lady” Peggy Carter is mourning his supposed demise, but in addition attempting to hold on as a hero in an setting that more and more doesn’t need feminine heroes.

Mimicking the real-life societal shift that moved girls into conventional males’s work throughout World Struggle II then sidelined them once more when the troopers got here residence, Agent Carter offers intently with the sexism and condescension Peggy (performed fiercely by Hayley Atwell) faces on the job on the FBI-like Strategic Scientific Reserve. When her sexist fellow brokers contemptuously deal with her like a side-piece Captain America foolishly allowed somewhat equality, she’s compelled to chase down America’s enemies on the sly alongside Howard Stark’s butler Jarvis (James D’Arcy). The sequence is sharp, with significant battle, a satisfying Marvel-movie overplot, and a noir-movie idea of each the gender wars and the job of a personal investigator. Atwell and D’Arcy make a terrific group. And the present even seems spectacular, with a Technicolor-style sense for fashion. It’s unquestionably MCU-modern quite than a interval piece, but it surely takes all probably the most beloved concepts about costuming, cinematography, humor, and storytelling from the interval it’s evoking. —TR

1. Daredevil (2015-2018)

The primary of the Netflix MCU reveals, Daredevil established the darker, street-level tone of the enterprise whereas nonetheless feeling very very similar to a superhero story, full with costumes, secret identities, and spectacular fights. The one-shot hallway combat scene proved that Marvel didn’t want a movie-sized price range to create epic set items, whereas the battle between Daredevil (Charlie Cox) and Bullseye (Wilson Bethel), which weaponizes each stray object present in a newsroom supplies an odd mixture of excessive stakes and whimsy.

However much more astounding than the combats are the performances. Cox is totally plausible in his portrayal of a hero pushed by a mixture of rage and Catholic guilt as he tries to make the world higher, each as a lawyer and as a vigilante. Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin is a examine in make a compelling villain. The present can also be a launchpad for The Punisher, with Frank Fort serving as an ideal cautionary story of what Matt Murdock may turn into if his buddies don’t maintain him in examine. Daredevil isn’t excellent: The again half of the second season descends into an countless onslaught of ninja to arrange The Defenders, and the writers by no means appeared to know what to do with among the supporting forged. However the present by no means did not be artistic and impressive, and its finale supplied a satisfying and hopeful conclusion to a significant chapter in superhero tv. —SN