I don't know about you, but three years on, and I'm still crying over Avengers: Endgame and what that meant for the MCU we all know and love. Fortunately for us, Disney+ streaming service launched at the end of 2019, providing the opportunity to re-watch existing MCU shows and dabble in new originals.
1. WandaVision
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The plot: Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprise their Marvel roles as Wanda Maximoff and Vision. Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, it follows Wanda and Vision in their idyllic suburban life in the town of Westview, New Jersey. However, all is not seems, and as the show begins to unfold, so does their reality.
The series offers a blended style of MCU and classic sitcoms as it flips through the different decades with a multitude of television homages.
Ranking reasoning: WandaVision is my favorite MCU series on Disney+ so far! The storytelling and aesthetics were really refreshing and differed from Marvel’s usual style. I also loved Olsen’s performance and found the deeper meaning behind the series really quite sad and moving.
IMDb rating: 7.9
2. Daredevil
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The plot: Lawyer by day and masked vigilante by night, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) uses his heightened senses (from being blinded as a young boy) to fight the criminals of Hell’s Kitchen, New York. All the while, there’s a criminal underworld being led by Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio).
Ranking reasoning: Daredevil is a close tie with WandaVision for me! It’s such a dark, moody series and doesn’t shy away from onscreen brutalities, which makes it a really thrilling and gripping show. Plus, it’s got a great cast, and you’ll see appearances from other MCU familiars Elektra and the Punisher. Also, D'Onofrio's scary portrayal of Fisk brings a lot of realism to his character, ranking him up there with my top villains of all time.
IMDb rating: 8.6
3. Loki
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The plot: Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame in which Loki stole the tesseract, an alternate version of Loki is taken to the Time Variance Authority (TVA), a mysterious bureaucratic organization that exists outside of time and space, monitoring the “timeline.” In fear of being erased from existence, Loki is tasked with helping to fix the timeline to stop a greater threat.
Ranking reasoning: Who doesn’t find Tom Hiddleston’s fickle and charming villain just insanely lovable?! It’s a great series and a brilliant way for Marvel fans to get some more Loki time in!
IMDb rating: 8.2
4. The Punisher
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The plot: After appearing in the Daredevil TV series, Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) is back on screen with his own series. The series sees the veteran become the vigilante known as the Punisher, after the murder of his family leads him to uncover a larger conspiracy beyond what was done to him and his family.
Ranking reasoning: I thought Bernthal’s portrayal of the Punisher when I first saw him in Daredevil was brilliant. He’s a brutal character with a deeper back story, and I loved getting to know more about his character in his own gritty, violent, and dark series. I think there’s a theme here with me and the darker series to be fair!
IMDb rating: 8.5
5. Hawkeye
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The plot: Another series set after the events of Endgame. Clint Barton aka Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) partners with a young girl, Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), who took on her own role as an Avenger. The two must confront enemies from Clint’s past in order to be with his family in time for Christmas.
Ranking reasoning: I mean, I’m still crying over Endgame, so any series that lets me see the aftereffects of certain characters is up there for me! Hawkeye is one of my favorite Avengers, so it was nice to have him back onscreen; plus, I really enjoyed the relationship between Barton and Bishop, which brought a good bit of comedy into the show. Plus, Yelena (Florence Pugh) is always a welcome addition!
IMDb rating: 7.5
6. Jessica Jones
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The plot: After her brief superhero career was ended thanks to an incident with the villainous Kilgrave, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) tries to rebuild her life as a private investigator, choosing to deal with cases involving people with remarkable abilities in NYC.
Ranking reasoning: Whilst it’s not quite as good as Daredevil or The Punisher (for me), this one is still well worth a watch! Season 1 was much stronger than season 2, though, but what did we expect with David Tennant delivering a chilling portrayal of a controlling and traumatizing supervillain.
IMDb rating: 7.9
7. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
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The plot: The MCU organization, S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division), are the peacekeeping and spy agency in a world full of superheroes. Offering an ensemble cast, including Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson who reprises his role from the film series, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are on hand to deal with unusual cases and life-threatening enemies.
Ranking reasoning: If you persevere past the pilot episode, you’ll be thankful you did. Whilst it got off to a slow start, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is full of twists and turns and is a great series for giving characters depth. Quite a few episodes also directly crossover with MCU films or other MCU series, and the way S.H.I.E.L.D. is affected by the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier is really clever and cool to watch.
IMDb rating: 7.5
8. Agent Carter
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The plot: In 1946, Peggy Carter balances her secretarial duties in the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) alongside secretly helping Howard Stark clear his name of treason after being framed for supplying deadly weapons to enemies of the United States. Carter, with the help of Stark’s butler, Edwin Jarvis, must find those responsible and dispose of the weapons.
Ranking reasoning: Thanks to the events in the Captain America films, many will agree that Peggy Carter is an inspirational and resilient character. Hayley Atwell is brilliant, and the production and costume design are admirable. Well worth a watch for fans of Peggy!
IMDb rating: 7.9
9. Moon Knight
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The plot: Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) is a mild-mannered British gift-shop employee who discovers he’s been granted the powers of an Egyptian moon god. But his newfound powers are both a blessing and a curse to his life, and he learns more about himself than he may want to.
Ranking reasoning: Without giving away the big twist for those who haven’t seen it, Moon Knight was really fresh and quite a surprising watch. Isaac was brilliant and incredibly believable at performing what he was tasked with, and the show had some quirky and funny moments. Sure, there were some scenes that threw me off a bit (don’t mention Ethan Hawke…), but at just six episodes short, who can complain?!
IMDB rating: 7.3
10. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
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The plot: Just six months after Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) was handed the mantle of Captain America in Endgame, he must team up with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) to stop anti-patriots who believe the world was better during the blip.
Ranking reasoning: I really enjoyed aspects of the show when it came to seeing more of Wilson and Barnes' relationship and how it has developed over the years. Plus, I could watch their witty back and forth banter all day. I love Mackie and Stan in their respective roles, but the reason why this show didn’t rank higher up for me was down to the fact that I, for some reason, couldn't gel with John Walker (Wyatt Russell) as the ‘new’ Captain America, and I found the overall storyline and Karli’s (Erin Kellyman) character a bit underwhelming.
IMDB rating: 7.2
11. What If...?
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The plot: This animated anthology series explores alternate timelines in the multiverse and looks at what would happen if major moments from the MCU films were turned on their head and occurred differently.
Ranking reasoning: This one is a really interesting one because whilst it doesn’t bring much value to the MCU narrative as a whole, it is a really fun and engaging watch, letting audiences think about the impact of whether those ‘big’ moments (from Peggy receiving the serum instead of Steve Rogers to Ultron winning and defeating all of the Avengers) didn’t happen as they were supposed to. Bonus points for Jeffrey Wright starring as the Watcher, narrating the series.
IMDb rating: 7.4
12. The Defenders
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The plot: Vigilantes Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist team up in NYC to fight a common enemy; the order of evil mystical ninjas, the Hand.
Ranking reasoning: Any chance to see Daredevil again, and I’m sold. Though, this round up of Vigilantes isn’t as good as some of the original shows in the universe! Daredevil and Jessica Jones' contrasting personalities carry the show, in my opinion.
IMDb rating: 7.2
13. Luke Cage
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The plot: When a sabotaged experiment gives Luke Cage (Mike Colter) super strength and unbreakable skin, he becomes a fugitive attempting to rebuild his life in Harlem, but must confront his past and fight for his city.
Ranking reasoning: Luke Cage is another action-packed addition into the MCU TV series offerings, and Mike Colter is a charming and engaging lead. Sometimes, the show struggled to keep its pace, and after getting cancelled after two seasons, there wasn’t enough of it to get my teeth sunk into and rank it higher up on the list!
IMDb rating: 7.3
14. Ms. Marvel
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The plot: 16 year old Avengers fangirl, Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) struggles to fit in at school and, sometimes, her home. That is until she gains her own powers like the heroes she’s admired.
Ranking reasoning: My personal preference for some of the MCU TV shows is the dark and gritty ones, so I never expected to love Ms. Marvel all that much. That said, it’s really charismatic and quite a warming watch. The show has been very unfairly review bombed since its release because it focuses on a Pakistani Muslim protagonist with a showcasing of Islam (without stereotypes), and sadly, a lot of people have taken to IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and other reviewing sites to complain about Ms. Marvel not being portrayed by a white female lead, due to the comics portraying Ms. Marvel as a white female.
IMDb rating: 6.2
15. I Am Groot
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The plot: Follow Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) in this animated short series as he goes on various adventures with new and unusual characters that get him into trouble between the events of Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's mid-credits scenes.
Ranking reasoning: Baby Groot is always going to be cute, and this fun and goofy show is what it says on the tin. For me, though, it didn’t have a strong impact in my overall MCU watching journey.
IMDb rating: 6.8
16. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
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The plot: Meet Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), a 30-something attorney with a complicated and single life, who also happens to be a green, 6-foot-7, super-powered Hulk.
Ranking reasoning: She-Hulk is okay, but it didn’t grip me or pull me into the main character as much as I’d hoped; plus, the CGI feels quite off the mark for the MCU. Again, this is one of the series that got a hefty amount of review bombing across various sites before the series was released in full, with the negative conversations centering on the show’s “attempts” at humor, the CGI, and many being unimpressed with She-Hulk’s story. These reviews came so early on that many were overly harsh and a little unfair on the show, so if She-Hulk sounds like your cup of tea, then don’t be put off too much.
IMDb rating: 5
17. Iron Fist
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The plot: Danny Rand, a billionaire Buddhist monk, is bestowed with incredible martial art skills and a mystical force known as the Iron Fist.
Ranking reasoning: I just couldn’t get on with the character of Danny Rand; he didn’t feel fleshed out enough to me, and I also didn’t really care about what happened to him in the season (which is kind of something you should be invested in when starting a series). Plus, his senseless decision-making as a character actually nearly put me off wanting to watch the rest of the episodes. I couldn’t cope!
IMDb rating: 6.4
18. Runaways
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The plot: A group of teenagers discover their parents are supervillains in disguise, and decide to run away from their homes to discover more about the Pride organization, and figure out how to stop it.
Ranking reasoning: This is one of the least engaging MCU shows for me! It’s really slow paced, and it doesn’t actually feel like a lot of stuff happens, and for a series with just three seasons, there were a lot of filler moments!
IMDb rating: 6.9
19. Inhumans
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The plot: Mostly centered on Black Bolt (Anson Mount) and other members of the Inhuman Royal Family, the show is set after a military coup forces the family to escape to Hawaii. There, they must save both themselves and the world.
Ranking reasoning: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. introduced the concept of inhumans into the MCU, and it could have been left there for all I care. The series feels like a low-budget effort, lacking much originality but not forfeiting poorly done CGI. I was even more disappointed as I think Iwan Rheon is a great actor, and even he couldn’t save this for me.
IMDb rating: 4.9