Marvel Released A Lot Of Films And Shows Last Year, So I Ranked Them All

2021 was a Marvel-lous year for fans! 😉

Marvel blessed us in 2021. Between the debut of five Disney+ shows and four movies, we were very spoiled.

Marvel Studios

Being a huge Marvel fan myself, I decided to rank all of the releases from last year.

🚨SPOILER WARNING for every Marvel 2021 release, in case you haven't watched any yet!🚨

9. Eternals

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Plot: The story moved along well, but there were some unanswered questions – how often do the Eternals just watch humans die? Why couldn’t Arishem recall the Deviants himself? Director Chloe Zhao chose a different style to other Marvel movies, which paid off in some ways, but not others. The aesthetics were great, but there were some plot holes (like the Eternals travelling all over the world super quickly before they even had Kingo's jet or the Domo) that took away from the story. 6/10

New Characters: Honestly, Ikaris seemed really arrogant and unlikeable even before he turned on his team. I liked Kingo's playfulness and Phastos' comebacks. I wish we'd seen more of the wonderful Makkari, and Karun deserves the world, tbh. 5/10

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Fight scenes: The final fight between the Eternals themselves was the best one. Phastos using his tech know-how to take down a powerhouse like Ikaris was really satisfying to watch. The gold energy that gives the Eternals their powers made for really cool visuals, too. 7/10

Ending: The ending was pretty good, although it created more questions rather than answering previous ones. It seemed like everything was wrapped up until Arishem showed up, then all kinds of to-be-continued stuff ensued in the post-credits scenes. Eros Styles has some explaining to do. 7/10

Total: 25/40

8. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Disney+

Plot: I wanted to like it more than I did, but one thing I'm very glad about is that they didn't shy away from was the conversation about being Black in America, and how it influenced Sam's decision to become Captain America. It was also really interesting to see the effects of the Blip on everyday people. 6/10

New Characters: Other than Sam’s sister and veteran super solider, Isaiah Bradley, the new characters weren’t all that interesting. I honestly hated John Walker from the moment he arrived (he tried too hard to be a copycat, there's only one Steve Rogers), so I felt no sympathy when his life fell apart. And the Flag Smashers were one of those “I get their point but they’re going about it wrong” type villains. 5/10

Disney+

Fight scenes: These also weren't very memorable, although Walker beating someone to death with THE shield was a haunting image. It was nice to see Sam and Bucky fighting alongside each other, since they never really had one-on-one time when Steve was around. Also, seeing the Dora Milaje subdue Walker and Hoskins so easily was very satisfying. 6/10

Ending: Sam absolutely deserved the shield AND the title – nothing but respect for my Captain America. And I’m glad Walker got taken down, even though Valentina’s intervention suggests he’ll be back to cause trouble. 9/10

Total: 26/40

7. Hawkeye

Disney+

Plot: Just like Black Widow, there probably could've been a Hawkeye movie any time in the MCU, but tbh, he never had as much backstory as Natasha. We also barely got to see Ronin in Avengers: Endgame. So, a series where he deals with his past once and for all because he's Tired™ is a great premise. 7/10

New Characters: Kate Bishop has very chaotic good energy and I'm here for it. Pizza Dog might just be THE cutest MCU character we've ever had. Not a new character per se, but it's really great they included Clint's hearing aid from the comics. 7/10

Disney+

Fight scenes: Some say archery isn't as impressive as the literal superpowers in the MCU. But I disagree: the fights show how skilled Clint is, even without his arrows. 8/10

Ending: You might feel like Wilson Fisk was taken down too easily, but I get the feeling he'll be back with a bullet wound (maybe in the Echo series). It was really sweet seeing Kate spend Christmas with Clint's family and (probably) becoming the next Hawkeye. 7/10

Total: 29/40

6. Black Widow

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Plot: A Black Widow film was long overdue and Marvel kinda limited themselves by waiting until she died before finally going into her backstory. However, that unexplained time when Nat was on the run was the perfect place to squeeze in a story. I liked learning about Nat’s childhood, especially the Red Room, and seeing that she had a family unit for a short time. 8/10

New Characters: Yelena was the breakout star here, and she really boosted this score. I've loved David Harbour since Stranger Things and his depiction of Red Guardian was great. However, Nat's mum was forgettable, and let's be honest, Taskmaster wasn't as cool as her comic counterpart. 8/10

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Fight scenes: Natasha is usually the only one with her skillset in the Avengers movies, so seeing multiple Black Widows all trained in the same way made for some really cool parallels in fighting technique. 7/10

Ending: It was a great idea to tie Nat to the Avengers' breakout and fill in an old plot hole, but I really didn't get why a highly trained assassin like Yelena immediately believed Valentina's claims about Hawkeye without doing any research herself. 7/10

Total: 30/40

5. What If...?

Disney+

Plot: The concept is great – who wouldn't want to see alternate possibilities for MCU moments? People have been making fanfic about this kind of thing for years! 8/10

New Characters: The Watcher was really compelling and got the best line: "I have seen everything that has ever happened. Ever will happen. Ever could happen. And yet, what the hell is this?" The alternate versions of characters were really cool (T'Challa makes a great Star-Lord), although Party Thor felt a bit too silly. 7/10

Disney+

Fight scenes: There are fights in every single MCU movie and show, which meant there were loads of alternate possibilities to work with. I particularly enjoyed Loki-Fury taking down Yellowjacket and the Watcher's epic multiversal battle with Ultron. 8/10

Ending: The MCU loves a good tie-in. The ending left the possibility that Zola-Ultron and Multiverse Killmonger could return, while Strange Supreme's return has already been hinted at in the Multiverse of Madness trailer. 7/10

Total: 30/40

4. Loki

Disney+

Plot: Loki is my favourite MCU character and I was so excited for him to get his own show. I'm so glad they introduced the multiverse, as it opens up tons of possibilities in the MCU. Loki’s character development seemed kinda rushed – I mean he’d only just tried to kill his brother and take over a planet. But since he's died three times already, we'll take what we can get. 7/10

New Characters: My brother knows I loved all the different Loki variants because I spent 20 minutes explaining their comic book origins to him. Mobius was the first person to hug Loki onscreen! Bless his snowy-haired heart. Sylvie has been polarising among fans, mostly because the romantic subplot was... Weird, but overall she was pretty cool and I look forward to hearing more of her backstory. 9/10

Disney+

Fight scenes: Where else would you see an alligator vs a president? The fight scenes all looked really cool because the cinematography was amazing. We got to see a lot more of Loki's powers than usual, plus the variants' abilities gave us a glimpse of what else he could do. 8/10

Ending: Should Sylvie have killed He Who Remains? Yes and no – he was selfish for destroying every timeline but his own, but they also could've gotten way more info out of him. Loki turning up in an alternate TVA where no one recognised him was very clever. I NEED season two sharpish. 7/10

Total: 31/40

3. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Plot: This movie introduced a whole bunch of new concepts to the MCU, like the hidden village of Ta Lo and all its creatures, the powerful but cryptic ten rings, and the Ten Rings organisation who've been causing trouble in the background for thousands of years. 9/10

New Characters: The titular Shang-Chi is a lesser-known comic character, but this movie definitely made him a main player in the MCU. Wenwu was a compelling villain, even if he is one of the shittiest dads I've ever seen. I wish we'd seen more of Ying Li before she died because she seemed like a badass. I'm glad they resolved the Trevor/Mandarin stuff too. 8/10

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Fight scenes: The bus fight alone was iconic. The big final battle in Ta Lo was very cool, although it was a bit too coincidental for Katy to hit her target first time around, just hours after picking up archery. 9/10

Ending: I didn't feel much sympathy when Wenwu died – how can you study powerful magic for thousands of years but immediately believe a random mysterious voice is your wife?? But the ending was pretty good and I'm glad that they suggested there's more to the rings instead of leaving them completely unexplained. 8/10

Total: 34/40

2. Spider-Man: No Way Home

Sony Pictures Releasing

Plot: There was always gonna be drama after Mysterio's video in Far From Home. However, the multiverse went in a very different direction than expected (in a good way). Fans guessing the plot early on kinda ruined the surprise, but that's not the writers' fault! 10/10

New Characters: All the Spider-Men! Even with the rumours, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's appearances weren't confirmed until they actually turned up onscreen. Seeing Willem Dafoe, Jamie Foxx, Alfred Molina, and more reprise their roles was amazing too. 9/10

Sony Pictures Releasing

Fight scenes: Trippy Dr Strange graphics = amazing visuals. I didn't quite get why geometry was the answer to the Mirror Dimension but it was fun to watch nonetheless. It was nice that they went with healing all the villains instead of kiliing them. 8/10

Ending: Peter probably could've found another way (everyone forgetting Mysterio's video or Spider-Man's identity, for example), but obviously hindsight is 20/20 and my heart breaks for him either way. 8/10

Total 35/40

1. WandaVision

Disney+

Plot: The sitcom framing was great for suspense and making everything feel slightly off as the story built to its climax. This show was the highest viewed of the Marvel Disney+ offerings, which says a lot. 10/10

New Characters: Agatha became so popular she’s getting her own show, and her theme tune was the absolute best thing I’ve ever heard (but killing the twins’ dog was horrible). Marvel didn't have to do us dirty with the fake Pietro/Ralph Bohner joke though. 8/10

Disney+

Fight scenes: There aren't any big fights until the finale, but it all goes off in the last episode. I love how casually Wanda says, "Boys, handle the military. Mommy will be right back.". And Vision ending a fight with a philosophical discussion was very him. 8/10

Ending: Seeing Wanda have to destroy Vision and her kids was devastating, but I can't wait to see how her newfound power plays out. She's also set to appear in Multiverse of Madness, so there are all kinds of magical possibilities. 9/10

Total: 35/40

Do you agree with my scores? What would your Marvel 2021 ranking be? Let me know in the comments!

Don't miss Sam Claflin in the new rom-com Book of Love from BuzzFeed Studios, available on Sky Cinema.

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