Every movie and TV show in Marvel’s Phase 5, ranked
September 5, 20240
Emilia Clarke in “Secret Invasion.”
Gareth Gatrell/Marvel
This show remains baffling a year after its release.
Why did the powers-that-be decide to make Rhodey a Skrull (a body-switching alien), potentially negating his heartbreaking goodbye to Tony Stark? Why did the finale end with G’iah (Emilia Clarke) becoming the most powerful being in the entire MCU when you know Marvel is going to ignore her in every other project?
Furthermore, why did they waste Clarke, Olivia Colman, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Dermot Mulroney on these lackluster characters?
The “Secret Invasion” arc in the comics is one of the most famous of all time and had a huge effect on the rest of the characters throughout the universe. But this series seems like it’s already been memory-holed.
But the worst movie is “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”
Alaqua Cox in “Echo.”
Disney+
“Echo” is a spinoff of the Disney+ series “Hawkeye,” focusing on the character of Maya Lopez, aka Echo.
This show is OK. Alaqua Cox really inhabits the character of Maya, the supporting cast is talented, and fans got another glimpse of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil before his highly anticipated Disney+ series.
But it doesn’t really justify its existence. Did anyone really come out of “Hawkeye” desperate for a series about Maya reconnecting with her family out in Oklahoma? It was a huge step forward for representation — Echo is the first Native American hero in the MCU — but she deserves a more compelling story.
I hope we continue to see Maya in the MCU, but maybe in the Young Avengers, rather than in a second season of “Echo.”
“The Marvels” is not the huge mess headlines made it out to be.
The Watcher, as voiced by Jeffrey Wright, in “What If…?”
Disney+
You might’ve missed the second season of “What If…?” when it dropped in December 2023 since it was released to little fanfare (but positive reviews).
The release strategy was different from that of other MCU series, which traditionally drop weekly. Instead, a new episode of “What If…?” dropped every day from December 22 to December 30 — a true Christmas miracle.
“What If…?” isn’t essential MCU viewing — its premise is to imagine what if something else happened to our favorite characters besides what we saw in the official Marvel timeline. But it’s certainly not a bad way to spend a few hours.
It’s a shame that not many people seem to have watched this show. The upcoming third season has also been confirmed as its last.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” reunited Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman with hilarious results.
Ke Huy Quan, Wunmi Mosaku, Tom Hiddleston, and Owen Wilson in “Loki.”
Marvel Studios
Tom Hiddleston began playing Loki, Thor’s mischievous brother, in 2011’s “Thor.” Since then, he’s become a fan-favorite character, one we’re always delighted to see pop up on screen.
The first season of “Loki” premiered in 2021 as part of Phase 4 of the MCU. In it, Loki met multiple variants of himself, learned to evolve and trust people, and developed relationships with Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) and Mobius (Owen Wilson).
Season two, which premiered in 2023, took that foundation and built upon it. It ended with Loki, a character we first met while he was trying to take over Asgard (and eventually who tried to take over the entire world as part of a plot with Thanos), sacrificing himself to save his friends.
The best project from Phase 5 so far is “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.”
Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Chris Pratt, and Karen Gillan in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.”
Jessica Miglio/Marvel Studios
You might remember when I complained that the stakes of “Quantumania” were too high for a man who can control ants. “GOTG Vol. 3” is the exact opposite scenario.
Our final (for now) outing with the Guardians was a love letter to this ragtag found-family, whom we first met in 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” when they were all outlaws who didn’t care about anyone or anything.
Two movies later, the Guardians have established a community that they need to protect — and when Rocket (voiced impeccably as always by Bradley Cooper) is attacked, they come together to save his life.
That’s it! There’s no universe-ending Infinity Stone or a megalomaniacal god threatening to take over the galaxy. Our team just needs to help save their friend, and it’s more emotionally affecting than almost anything else in Phase 5.
If this really is our last outing with this version of the Guardians, it was a fitting end.
