In honor of the new Endgame Trailer dropping today, I thought I’d update my MCU Rankings. I’ve included all the info I find important. For context, the Bechdel test requires that movie has to have at least two women in it, who talk to each other, about something besides a man, in order to pass.
21. The Incredible Hulk
Did I fall asleep watching? Yes.
Do I consistently forget that this movie happened? Yes.
Does Marvel want me to? Yes?
Bechdel test? Fail.
20. Thor: The Dark World
Did I fall asleep watching? Literally multiple times.
Do I forget about this movie? Unfortunately, no.
Bechdel test? Pass
19. Iron Man 2
I’ve never fallen asleep watching this one, but I came pretty close. I tried to rewatch it on Amazon Prime and ended up getting distracted and reading tweets about dogs instead.
Bechdel test? Pass
18. Dr. Strange
I had to try three separate times to finish this movie.
Bechdel test? Fail.
17. Thor
My neck hurts just thinking about this movie. Also, Thor is so unlikable and unengaging in this movie.
Bechdel test? Pass.
16. Ant Man
It’s fine, I guess. I was not excited but there were some cool sequences.
Bechdel test? Pass.
15. Ant Man and the Wasp
This one beat out the original simply because the villian was far more engaging.
Bechdel test? Pass.
14. Avengers: Age of Ultron
This is mostly here because of the sequence where the Avengers try to pick up Thor’s Hammer, I’m not going to lie. I’d argue that the first twenty/thirty minutes is better than the rest of the movie.
Bechdel test? Pass.
13. Captain America: The First Avenger
I’m a sucker for a period piece but I’d argue that this movie could have benefitted from Captain America doing more, you know, superhero-ing.
Bechdel test? Fail
12. Iron Man 3
This is probably a controversial take. I loved this movie, probably because the Iron Man trilogy was the reason I first started watching Marvel movies. I think the plot is interesting and engaging, I think the narration is great, and I think it’s a very satisfying completion to Tony’s arc.
Bechdel test? Pass
11. Captain Marvel
I really debated where to put this one. I definitely need to see it a couple more times before I’m sure.
Bechdel test? Pass. Obviously.
10. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2
Not quite as fun as the original, but still a good time. Ego was an actually interesting, if not really a complex character.
Bechdel test? Not only do they speak to eachother, Nebula and Gamora have an epic fight scene and complex history.
9. Avengers: Infinity War
Others will probably put this higher, but I was really drained after watching this. It was just so long. I kept thinking that I wouldn’t ever put an audience through a play that was that long and ended on such a depressing, yet generally understood to be temporary note. It was really cool getting to see all of our favorite characters interacting and bouncing off of one another though. The character interactions and the complexity of Thanos definitely save this movie.
Bechdel test? I personally think that this movie passes, though other people may disagree. “Why was she up there?” should absolutely count.
8. The Avengers
I see that long shot circling around the Avengers in my dreams.
Bechdel test? Fail.
7. Guardians of the Galaxy
The absolute best soundtrack and the best possible introduction of the cosmic parts of the MCU. We do not deserve James Gunn (and Suicide Squard definitely does not deserve James Gunn).
Bechdel test? Pass.
6. Iron Man
I love it so much, but I absolutely recognize that the third act is kind of a mess, but not as bad as many people claim.
Bechdel test? Fail.
5. Spider-Man: Homecoming
Is this opinion influenced by the fact that the first time I saw this movie, it was the summer after my senior year at a drive-in? Probably, but it reminds me of summer and joy. Also, the Vulture twist was incredibly and I completely bought Tom Holland as Spider-Man.
Bechdel test? Fail. Unfortunately.
4. Black Panther
I remember really vividly thinking that I had never been quite so happy watching a movie. The villian was incredible, the plot made perfect sense, it was an incredible step forward in terms of representation, and the action was really cool. There was a significant section where it did feel a little slow, which is the main reason that this film isn’t any higher.
Bechdel test? Pass, but it’s iffy because most of the conversations are about T’Challa. I would argue that the scene where Shuri and Nakia fight Killmonger should count in this movie’s favor.
3. Thor Ragnarok
I give this movie all of the credit for recovering Thor from the mess that was the first two movies of his trilogy. Loki and Thor felt like real siblings and I’m in love with Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie. Hela was a good villian, but not perfect. I felt that the tone shifts between the darker moments on Asgard and Sakaar worked surprisingly well.
Bechdel test? Fail. I wish Hela and Valkyrie directly fought and tried to kill eachother while talking.
2. Captain America: Winter Soldier
This might have been the first movie to really bust open the “Marvel formula” and established a really compelling tone. Bucky and Steve’s relationship may be the best developed friendship in the MCU (though it was tragically skipped over in Infinity War) and Natasha and Steve’s relationship was so refreshingly platonic.
Bechdel test? Pass, but it’s questionable.
1. Captain America: Civil War
This movie really worked. At this point, I had only seen the Iron Man trilogy, the Avengers, and the First Avenger, and yet, I still understood exactly what was going on and who everyone was. The humor really worked and the action was incredibly cool. The introductions were handled perfectly, with both Spider-Man and Black Panther being masterfully incorporated. Tony and Steve’s fractured relationship made perfect sense and was incredibly cinematic.
Bechdel test? Fail.
Conclusion?
I’m super excited to have to redo this entire list after Endgame.