Robert Stewart
Welcome to the MCU Phase Two!
With Phase One in the rear view mirror for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, success was already well in hand for the burgeoning juggernaut. After a stellar start in Iron Man, they may have had a few mid-level follow-ups, but The Avengers proved there was a voracious desire to see more from Marvel.
So how would they fare with their next several offerings? It was time for the second phase of the great MCU experiment. And what we would end up seeing was a nifty little combination of follow-ups to what made Phase One successful along with some new characters that would expand the mythos.
But what was good and what didn’t work? Let’s examine the MCU Phase Two that was and see how it turns out.
6. Iron Man 3
Marvel’s Iron Man 3 Domestic Trailer 2 (OFFICIAL)
Tony faces his toughest challenge yet in the second full trailer for Marvel’s “Iron Man 3,” hitting theaters and IMAX 3D May 3!
One of the most divisive movies in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe clocks in for me not just as the worst of the phase, but as the worst movie in the entire MCU. I do know several folks who really like this entry, but for me, it was a big miss. Fortunately (or not?), as of this writing, I’ll be rewatching this in the near future for an episode of the Stew World Order podcast. So I’ll get to re-evaluate this in the coming days.
Iron Man 3, is a movie with a promising comic book-inspired storyline (Extremis) that it badly botches. It also takes Tony out of the Iron Man costume for a large stretch of the film because Robert Downey Jr. was making a lot more cash by this outing, and you don’t want to cover up that moneymaker, I guess. Oh, and they pair Stark up with a precocious kid sidekick for… reasons, I guess.
Given what comes next on this ranking for the MCU Phase Two, I could understand folks not putting Iron Man 3 as the worst of this phase, but I definitely did not care for it.
5. Thor: The Dark World
Thor: The Dark World Official Trailer HD
Thor, the Mighty Avenger, returns to the big screen in Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World” on November 8, and here is the official trailer, presented first on YouTube for Geek Week! See Thor, Loki, Jane Foster, Malekith and more in this epic trailer for the film!
Conversely to Iron Man 3, I actually somehow managed to really like Thor: The Dark World when it came out, and I watched it for the first time in a theater. I’ve since been bullied by the popular consensus of society into remembering it as not as good as I thought.
Like with the previous Thor movie, you’ve still got Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston just playing their roles impeccably and playing off of each other laudably. Then there is the emotional death of their mother, Freya. And you have a brand new villain in Christopher Eccleston’s Malekith.
But yeah, folks really don’t dig this one, so I will keep it low here. Also, even for as much as I didn’t hate it, it’s really hard to see it topping any of the movies in front of it.
4. Avengers: Age Of Ultron
Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” – Teaser Trailer (OFFICIAL)
Get your first look at Ultron trying to tear apart Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and the rest of the world in the first official teaser trailer for Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” in theaters May 1, 2015!
James Spader is certainly playing an iteration of Ultron in this one. I’m not sure it’s an iteration based on any comic book reality, but it sure is something.
You don’t hire James Spader and not let his charisma and personality shine through, though. So we got Spader cracking jokes and being sarcastic while playing the usually cold and analytical Ultron. I’d complain, but I am a big Spader fan dating back to when I discovered Boston Legal. He’s such a fun performer.
What I CAN knock this effort for, though, is how not well it measures up to the other three Avengers movies. It just lacks the imperative tone and importance of The Avengers, Infinity War, and Endgame. This is just the most throwaway of the Avengers’ joint stories.
And you know what? That’s fine. It’s serialized storytelling, so sometimes you have lesser stories as you build to other events. And I overall think Avengers: Age Of Ultron is a perfectly entertaining offering from the MCU.
For more in-depth analysis, click here.
3. Ant-Man
Marvel’s Ant-Man – Trailer 1
Heroes don’t get any bigger with the new trailer for Marvel’s “Ant-Man,” in theaters July 17!
The first of two entries on this list that starred characters who weren’t already introduced in Phase One is Ant-Man. What was the other, and where will it finish? We’ll get there!
This movie was initially known for being the MCU film that Edgar Wright walked away from when he decided he did not want to be subject to the whims of the Marvel overlords, who wanted to dictate every aspect of their dynasty. Which, while unfortunate, was absolutely fair on everyone’s part. Wright still did enough pre-filming work to retain a partial writing credit, but the directing duties were passed on to Peyton Reed.
Despite the loss of Wright, what Ant-Man had in its back pocket was the eminently likable and talented Paul Rudd in the titular role. Rudd ended up being a very solid addition to the MCU going forward, and he’s just such a joy to watch in this one. It ended up being a great decision to go with the Scott Lang version of the character instead of Hank Pym because it let Rudd really own the character and put his imprint on it.
Don’t sleep on the supporting cast in this one, though! Even past Michael Douglas as Pam and Evangeline Lilly as Hank’s daughter, Hope, you’ve got the highly appreciated Judy Greer as Scott’s ex-wife, and rising star Abby Ryder Forston as his daughter. Oh, and there is Michael Pena playing Luis, one of the MCU’s most meme-able characters.
For more in-depth analysis, click here.
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Trailer 2 (OFFICIAL)
The First Avenger returns for an all-new cinematic adventure April 4 in Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”!
It’s shocking to me–and this is my list!–that Captain America: The Winter Soldier is not number one in its own phase!
Winter Soldier is highly regarded as one of the MCU’s high-water mark movies. It takes the superhero formula and asks, “But what if it was also a spy thriller?”. And then it just goes and makes a hybrid film that perfectly utilizes both flavors.
Scarlett Johansson is back from The Avengers as The Black Widow, and she certainly helps cultivate the espionage elements. Samuel L. Jackson has a big role as Nick Fury. And the legendary Robert Redford is cast as Alexander Pierce! Winter Soldier is a perfect blend of carrying on the story from Captain America: The First Avenger while also building from what was established in The Avengers AND creating elements that would matter going forward in the franchise.
There’s really nothing “wrong” with The Winter Soldier, and its placement at #2 here is more about the movie in front of it than about any flaws in itself.
For more in-depth analysis, click here.
1. Guardians Of The Galaxy
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy – Trailer 1 (OFFICIAL)
Get your first look at the spacefaring adventure in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” coming to theaters August 1!
Probably no movie in the entirety of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the MCU Phase Two was as big a surprise as the very first Guardians Of The Galaxy.
I remember watching this flick in theaters and being shocked that the entire theater was embracing the movie as much as they were. There are no training wheels on this one. This is a space opera movie that just throws a lot of alien cultures and terminology at the viewer and expects them to keep up. And audiences did! They just accepted things like the Kree and the Nova Corps and the Infinity Stones, and they ate up what the Guardians served them.
The reason for that is that the movie is brilliantly produced by James Gunn. Guardians of the Galaxy is funny and action-packed, and emotional, and Gunn was setting himself up as a talent who is among the best ever at blending tones and moods. He really knows how to take a viewer on a ride through the entire spectrum of feelings.
This is one of the greatest science fiction films ever, in my opinion, too. Like Winter Soldier was a beautiful blending of superheroics and a spy thriller, Guardians is a perfect combination of bombastic heroes and science fiction flair.
For more in-depth analysis, click here.
And that’s it for the MCU Phase Two. It, like with Phase One, is a relatively short stretch of movies, but that will all change dramatically when we reconvene for Phase Three!
In the meantime, how do YOU rank Marvel’s second phase? Give us your ranking in the comments!
Until next time… take care!
