Every TV Series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ranked

Inspired by the arrival of 'Secret Invasion,' we took a look back to rank all eight of the series Marvel has released so far.

Marvel

It’s no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has left an indelible imprint on Hollywood, creating an interconnected universe that dates all the way back to 2008 and spans 32 separate films. Love them or hate them, the MCU has pushed the boundaries of what was previously thought possible and created new opportunities for countless franchises. 


But it was on Jan. 15, 2021, that Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios, and Disney+ really took things to new heights, with the debut of the first MCU television program, Wandavision. The show presented a slew of new opportunities for Feige and Marvel as it offered a brand-new way to tie new heroes, villains, complex ideas that require episodic storytelling, and more into the greater MCU timeline. 


Eight TV series have been released on Disney+ since, with three of them being named after brand-new characters that likely would not have been able to carry their own full-length feature films. On top of that, it gives Marvel the chance to spread out its content, have characters’ stories told by different kinds of writers (television as opposed to film), and develop heroes and villains in a more in-depth and detailed way.  


So with the release of the newest Disney+ series, Secret Invasion starring Samuel L. Jackson, we took a look back to rank all eight of the series Marvel has released so far. Only time will tell where Secret Invasion falls on this list when it’s all said and done.

9. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

View this video on YouTube

Disney+

She-Hulk was trying to do too much at once. The fourth-wall-breaking cousin of Bruce Banner, Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) is a compelling character with fun quips and indomitable strength that is portrayed in an accurate way. But the actual storyline that the series attempts to follow is too much, yet the show still felt empty. 

The reintroduction of Matt Murdock’s Daredevil, bringing back The Abomination, and the weird CGI reveal of Hulk’s son, Skaar, all in the same season made no sense for She-Hulk. That’s not to mention the literal fourth-wall break of the character going into Marvel Studios and requesting alterations to the season finale. She-Hulk’s brief light patches can’t compensate for the lack of solid plot, making it one of the worst Disney+ series to come out thus far. —Jordan Rose

8. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

View this video on YouTube

Disney+

Easily one of the most disappointing of Marvel’s Disney+ shows yet, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier attempts to tackle one of the tallest tasks yet in the MCU—replacing Captain America. Where Malcolm Spellman, the show’s creator, gets it right is in the way we see the show’s titular characters attempt to deal with the loss of their mentor and their best friend, Steve Rogers. 

Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Sam Wilson (​​Anthony Mackie) have a complicated relationship that was really held together by Captain America, and they begin to resent each other for the way they each deal with Cap being out of the picture. 

The way they put that behind them and persevered, combined with great on-screen chemistry shared between Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, is easily the best thing this series has to offer. Beyond that, it’s a bit of a jumbled mess—with a slew of antagonists ranging from a group of terrorists named the Flag Smashers, John Walker or U.S. Agent (played by Wyatt Russell, who, to be fair, is one of the best-casted characters in any MCU show), and Sharon Carter as the elusive Power Broker, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what was trying to be achieved here. 

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier attempted to tackle a number of political topics, with nearly all of them falling flat due to pacing issues and disappointing payoffs. At the end of the day, the show really just felt shallow and seemed more like a six-hour movie than it did a six-part television series. —Ben Felderstein 

7. Secret Invasion

6. Hawkeye

View this video on YouTube

Disney+

Hawkeye had some of the lowest stakes of any of the MCU television projects, and that’s part of what helped it the most in my eyes. While it introduced some new characters, it really never tried to do too much and felt very self-contained. Combine that with the fact that it was basically a six-episode holiday special that carried the joyful vibes of Christmas in New York, and there really isn’t too much complaining to be done here. Cleverly written, the show’s central theme focuses around Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye character attempting to atone for his time as Ronin, while introducing the MCU to Kate Bishop, Echo, and Vincent D’Onofrio’s revered Wilson Fisk. 

Like we’ve seen a number of times now throughout Marvel’s many projects, a lot of this season was used for Renner to pass the proverbial torch to Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop, the second Hawkeye in the comics. The two have great chemistry on-screen. Their duo dynamic leads to a number of captivating scenes, most of them anchored by Hawkeye’s bounty of trick arrows. Renner is one of the longest-standing members of the MCU now, and for fans of his and his character, it was rewarding to see him get his own project. —Ben Felderstein 

5. Ms. Marvel

View this video on YouTube

Disney+

Ms. Marvel did everything it was supposed to do. It’s the introduction and origin story of Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American superhero from Jersey City who grew up with the Avengers, and specifically Captain Marvel, as her idols. The series plays into the childlike motifs of a kid who suddenly gets imbued with cosmic powers and now tries to live up to the lofty expectations she sets for herself, while simultaneously trying to balance being a good friend and daughter to her loved ones. 

The central conflict is a bit convoluted, and there aren’t any major world-building ramifications for the greater MCU at large, but that’s not what Ms. Marvel set out to do. Instead it delivered a fresh and new culturally accurate representation of an inspiring hero that will eventually be playing a larger role in The Marvels later this year. —Jordan Rose

4. Moon Knight

View this video on YouTube

Disney+

Easily one of the most unique pieces of content that Marvel Studios has produced, Moon Knight does an impressive job of tying together a lesser known comic book story with real-life history. Ancient Egypt and its many gods are on full display during this six-episode miniseries starring Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight. This Disney+ series has a pretty tall task, as it has to introduce the world to a protagonist with a lot of depth to him and one that hasn’t previously made its way into the broader public eye. The aforementioned Isaac works very well with his counterpart, Ethan Hawke, whose Arthur Harrow character is certainly in my MCU villain top half. 

Moon Knight is a character who suffers from severe dissociative personality disorder, and the show’s creators cleverly depicted the power struggle between Marc Spector and Steven Grant. One of the biggest downfalls this show has is a bit of a lackluster ending, and it leaves us wondering what exactly is next for the character. We know he’s set to return (we’re even introduced to a third personality in Jake Lockley during the final end credit scenes), but we’re not entirely sure when he’ll be back, or whether it be on the silver screen or on TV. —Ben Felderstein

3. What If…?

View this video on YouTube

Disney+

The question of “What if?” has plagued comic book nerds and superhero historians alike for generations. What if Tony Stark never escaped that desert? What if Peggy Carter was given the super soldier serum? What if Ultron won? What If…? breathes life into these different hypothetical questions and actualizes them in one of the most creative ways the multiverse has been utilized in the MCU thus far. 

Thanks to a unique animation style, and different and compelling storylines in each episode like Marvel Zombies and a crew of multiversal Avengers becoming real, the series was able to create compelling worlds in each episode that kept viewers engaged while also building on the larger MCU. 

What If…? has also been able to bleed into the live-action MCU as well, like Peggy Carter’s Captain America making an appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Jeffrey Wright’s voice-acting performance as the ever-looming Uatu the Watcher plays into the themes of the show perfectly and delivers more of that mystique surrounding the multiverse. What If…? was so great because of how imaginative it was, and that creativity is something that the MCU needs more of. —Jordan Rose

2. WandaVision

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

Longing is one of the most challenging emotions to navigate, and WandaVision captures the pain and anguish that yearning mixed with grief creates. It is because of these two feelings that Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) creates a world of her own, one where she and her slain android lover Vision (Paul Bettany) can live peacefully and start a family. This world—modeled by different eras of sitcom television, dating back to the 1960s Dick Van Dyke Show—captures what Wanda wished her life with Vision looked like, and ensnares the innocent people of Westview, New Jersey, in the hex as well. 

But beyond the magical battles, unnerving fourth-wall breaks, and Wanda fully embracing her mantle as The Scarlet Witch, WandaVision is a show about dealing with grief and how that process looks different for everyone. That makes it special for a Disney+ show because it doesn’t need to overly rely on CGI and source material to make it compelling. WandaVision doesn’t just showcase how powerful Wanda is as a witch, but the emotional fortitude she has to persevere despite losing everything she’s ever loved, from her brother to her husband, and even her children. Even after losing it all, she carries on. —Jordan Rose

1. Loki

View this video on YouTube

Disney+

Already featuring one of the most beloved characters in the MCU, Loki had a bit of an easier task than some of the other shows on this list. Sign me up for virtually any content that involves Tom Hiddleston doing his thing as Thor’s mischievous younger brother. Now take Hiddleston and pair him up with Mobius, played by Owen Wilson, and you have a charismatic duo that can carry just about any plot, let alone the complex one developed by Michael Waldron and his team. Loki does a fantastic job of feeling like a self-contained six-episode television series while simultaneously pushing the MCU timeline forward and setting up a ton for eventual Kang-heavy Phase 5 (unless of course, things change now). 

The show introduces us to the Time Variance Authority, a group of monitors that live outside the normal construct of time in the MCU, aiming to protect the integrity of the timeline and the multiverse. It seems convoluted at times, but the work that it does to prove integral to Phase 4 and the rest of the MCU while setting itself up nicely for a second season helps find it at the top of our list of Marvel’s Disney+ programs. —Ben Felderstein

Latest in Pop Culture