Personally, my most anticipated comic-book film of 2017, Thor: Ragnarok - the third of Marvels' 3 MCU releases this year - is finally out so, in honour, let's rank all of the MCU films thus far.

 Superhero films have been at the top of their game this year - with the likes of Logan, Wonder Woman, Guardians Vol. 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming all proving to be pretty damn good. And, as the year winds down, Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League are stepping up to play ball. The former, especially, was one that I was anticipating greatly - the 16th entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon. That's a lot of films. Kicking off in 2008, with Iron Man, the MCU has built up quite the reputation over the last 9 years, so I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane and rank the entirety of the MCU thus far from best to worst.

 So, let's dive into my ranking:

 17. IRON MAN 2
Let's not kid ourselves, Iron Man 2 is one of the worst comic-book films ever made. It's a piping hot mess and, not to mention, utterly boring and forgettable. Sure, it has some cool scenes but, overall, it is the MCU's unarguable weakest link.

 16. THE INCREDIBLE HULK
Now, The Incredible Hulk can certainly be fun at times. But stop trying to make solo Hulk happen, Marvel. This film was so lacklustre that it made the case for Edward Norton being replaced as Bruce Banner in The Avengers.

 15. THOR: THE DARK WORLD
What a bore. Thor can be fun. We've seen that before. This was not fun. It was all over the place and just so... pointless? And SO BORING!!!

 14. DOCTOR STRANGE
Doctor Strange is overrated, admit it. Yes, it's visually gorgeous. But, as a film, it's formulaic and conventional and quite unimaginative - shocking for a film that deals with such new and cool concepts and worlds for the MCU.

 13. THOR
Say what you will about how cheesy and over-the-top this film is, it's a lot of fun. Sure, the writing is not great but it's just a pretty entertaining introduction to a pretty cool character.

 12. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER
The First Avenger is very long and quite poorly paced but it is just such a fascinating character-drama. As far as superhero origins go, Steve Rogers has one of the most fascinating and I think this film did it justice: a good ol' fashioned war drama in the body of a superhero smackdown.

11. ANT-MAN
When you are the sixth superhero to get an origin film in the MCU, you have to bring something different to the table. And Ant-Man did just that. But it also didn't. Sure, this is perhaps the most unusual hero in the canon and it's a fairly entertaining film but it does hit the MCU beats of conventional, been-there-done-that origin story fare.

10. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
Emotional and epic, and I'm not just talking about the Barnes-Rogers dynamic. Civil War brought maturity and grit to the MCU in a colossal blockbuster. It's overlong, sure, but it is a mighty fine (without the mighty Thor, though) culmination of the whole proceedings thus far.

9. AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
This is just fun. Age of Ultron is big and loud and messy. But it's The Avengers kicking ass, facing an over-the-top global threat. What more do you want?

8. SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING
This is definitely the best Spider-Man film since Spider-Man 2. Tom Holland made a scene-stealing debut in Civil War and it carried over to Homecoming. THIS is how the character should be done. Sure, the film felt formulaic at times but it was just so damn charming, nonetheless.

7. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2
The first Guardians was amazing (but we'll get to that soon) and Volume 2 was also so fantastic. This was bigger, bolder, more epic and it paid off. The Guardians are easily the MCU's strongest, most versatile aspect and this film proved that beyond a doubt - as if anyone ever doubted James Gunn, though.

 6. IRON MAN
The one that birthed this whole cinematic universe in the first place. For such a troubled production (the script was written as filming was happening), it's pretty good. I think it's certainly overhyped but it's a pretty great comic-book film, nonetheless, and RDJ KILLED it in the role.

 5. THOR: RAGNAROK
The film may have just recently come out but, in my opinion, it's far superior to most of the films the studio have released thus far. Not only is it hilarious and pulpy, but director Taika Waititi really brings his distinctive voice and personality to the table and it makes for a riot of a film.

 4. THE AVENGERS
There is just something so exciting about seeing beloved heroes, the likes of Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Captain America all come together for an epic ensemble film. And The Avengers couldn't have been a more fitting culmination that saw these heroes collide. It was spectacular and just ever so exciting.

 3. IRON MAN 3
Now, here's the controversial choice. Iron Man 3 was received with a lot of mixed-negative reviews and most people find it too different from the rest of the MCU. But that's just what makes it one of my favourite MCU films. It's so different. I love Shane Black and Iron Man 3 is typical Shane Black; it's hilarious, heartfelt and very personal and so brilliant as a result.

 2. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Ah, the film that took the world by storm. Who knew that a group of heroes no one had heard of - featuring a sentient tree and talking racoon - would "oocka-chaacka" its way into our hearts. This film did just that and it's undeniably awesome.

 1. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
This made Captain America cool. Part espionage-thriller, part-neo noir comic-book flick, The Winter Soldier is a blast. It's different from all other MCU films and it's slick and takes a pretty mediocre superhero, puts him in the spotlight, and gives him a visceral shaking-up. This film is everything a superhero film should be and, whilst it's definitely flawed, it is, in my opinion, the MCU's finest affair.

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About the Author

Awais Irfan
Founder of Oasis Awais, and avid lover of life, Awais Irfan's love of writing and film is unequivocal. Ever since he was a little kid, he has loved the cinematic experience; so much so, he is studying Film Production in Glasgow and hopes to be the next "big thing" in directing.

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