Every non-MCU Marvel film, ranked from worst to best
Before the MCU became an interconnected multiverse of box office behemoths, Marvel movies were a hodgepodge of failures and successes
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The Marvel Cinematic Universe has dominated the superhero film landscape for 15 years and changed the blockbuster business for better and for worse. With Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 currently burning up the box office, now’s a good time to reflect upon how far Marvel has come. Before the House of Ideas took matters into their own hands and created Marvel Studios, various production entities took a shot at adapting Marvel characters for the big screen. Unlike the MCU films, which have maintained an astounding level of consistency and quality considering there are 34 of them, the non-MCU films have been a mixed bag. For every Spider-Man 2, it seems, there’s a Howard The Duck in Marvel’s past. The A.V. Club decided to look back at the theatrically released live-action films that fall outside the MCU canon, a simpler time when there was no universe to interconnect and you weren’t the shame of your family if you missed the seventh Ant-Man film (there have been seven of them, right?). From forgotten oddities to hidden gems to films that paved the way for the MCU, here’s a look at most of the theatrical films Marvel has had a hand in, ranked from worst to best.
[Editor’s Note: Like most moviegoers, we forgot 2015's Fantastic Four. The film has now been added]
24 Comments
Howard the Duck in the very last position is too easy. I’ve heard for years how awful it is because of the duck nipples and honestly that sure as hell beats the crime of showing Galactus as a giant purple cloud or anything in Elektra. It is dumb and even when I saw it as a kid I knew it wasn’t very good but to always trot this out as the worst comic book ever is a stretch when you’ve got far worse offenders out there. Howard knew what kind of movie it was and leaned into it, but camp is always underappreciated.
“Howard the Duck” has more than enough going for it to keep it out of last place, including but not limited to Lea Thompson (yowza), and a terrific go-motion Dark Overlord sequence. I have always loved the Cajun Sushi diner scene, with Jeffrey Jones hamming away as the possessed Dr. Jenning while everyone else fails to notice. “She took my eggs!”
Take spiderman 3 out of the top 10 and put deadpool 2 in its place and I can live with this list.
Venom should be near the bottom of the list. Its just such a badly put together film. Honestly the sequel is the better of the two and thats saying something.