The MCU isn’t really known for its restraint. In a franchise that now officially includes well over 30 movies and an ever-increasing number of TV series, Marvel Studios is clearly a believer in the old adage that “bigger is better,” something the Hulk would probably approve of, too.
That’s why the vast majority of Marvel films clock in at comfortably more than two hours in length, as each installment in the never-ending saga often has so many plates to spin, from originating or sequelizing its heroes to setting up other corners of the MCU. That said, there are a handful of entries in the franchise that are a little on the trimmer side and are perfect for a revisit if you’re in the mood for some MCU action but only have about 120 minutes of free time. Forget about the Marvel movies with the longest runtimes ⏤ here are those with the shortest.
13. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) — 2 hours, 4 minutes
Sometimes, a shorter runtime is a mercy. Although it’s easily the longest of the Ant-Man trilogy — which is no surprise, given that it has the all-important job of establishing Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror — Quantumania remains one of the swiftest entries in the MCU. As we’ll soon learn, Marvel Studios has a bizarre addiction to a 124-minute runtime. Conspiracy theorists, feel free to go crazy on the significance of that number.
12. Iron Man 2 (2010) — 2 hours, 4 minutes
While a lean runtime can work in a movie’s favor, that’s not the case with Iron Man 2. Wildly agreed to be an early stumble for the then-nascent franchise, this Robert Downey Jr. sequel is a bit of a mess, jamming together the threat of Justin Hammer (a great Sam Rockwell) and Whiplash (a not-so-great Mickey Rourke) with awkward Avengers set-up involving Nick Fury and Black Widow.
11. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) — 2 hours, 4 minutes
Once the Russo brothers took over Steve Rogers’ storyline, every one of his outings started becoming giant-sized, but Joe Johnston started Captain America’s adventures out as skinny as a pre-serum Steve with The First Avenger. Thanks to its trim runtime, this homage to war movies and pulp fiction storytelling, with lashes of Indiana Jones, charges forward at a brisk, zippy pace.
10. Captain Marvel (2019) — 2 hours, 4 minutes
From The First Avenger, we come to the real first “Avenger,” as was her call sign, Carol Danvers. Captain Marvel harkened back to Phase One with its more straightforward origin story for a new hero, so fittingly it sported a very Phase One-style runtime. Unfortunately, this is another instance of a short length resulting in fans with a short fuse, as Brie Larson’s MCU debut is one of the most divisive of the lot.
9. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) — 2 hours, 2 minutes
While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is among the longest MCU films of them all, the 2014 ensemble cosmic caper that started it all for Star-Lord and his crew is only just over two hours long. Leave it to James Gunn to introduce us to this wild new team of heroes — changing the MCU forever in the process — and bow out before the energy dissipates. With any luck, it’s a sign that his DCU will be bladder-friendly.
8. Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) — 1 hour, 59 minutes
Fun fact: Love and Thunder is the only Phase Four movie to finish under 120 minutes, as the rest of its compatriots were mostly on the bloated side. Ironically, it’s probably the one film that could’ve done with some more meat on its bones. While most would agree that Eternals could have done with shaving off several minutes, in this case Thor 4‘s shorter runtime may have contributed to its poor reputation.
7. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) — 1 hour, 58 minutes
Ant-Man 2 might have expanded its title to include Evangeline Lilly’s Hope Van Dyne, but even that didn’t ensure the runtime went up too much. Scott Lang’s second astonishing adventure still kept things nice and tight at under two hours and enjoyed an equally solid reception to boot. Clearly, crossing the 120-minute threshold let loose some kind of curse on Quantumania.
6. Ant-Man (2015) — 1 hour, 57 minutes
Given the short stature of its protagonist, it’s no surprise that the original Ant-Man finds a place among the shortest Marvel films. The joy of Paul Rudd’s first outing in the MCU is that it feels like a welcome break from the lore-heavy films that were released around it, instead delivering a lighthearted superhero heist comedy, so naturally it didn’t need to be a 180-minute epic.
5. Thor (2011) — 1 hour, 55 minutes
You’d expect all the world-building that 2011’s Thor origins story had to do — introducing a literal mythology full of alien gods into the mix as well as telling a “fish out of water” story — would knock it past the two-hour mark, but director Kenneth Branagh actually managed to keep things as neatly trimmed as Chris Hemsworth’s designer stubble.
4. Doctor Strange (2016) — 1 hour, 55 minutes
The same goes for 2016’s Doctor Strange, another film with a lot of heavy-lifting to do in terms of bringing magic and mysticism into the MCU for the first time. And yet director Scott Derrickson ensured that his only Marvel offering to date didn’t overstay its welcome, unlike the much lengthier Multiverse of Madness from Sam Raimi, which sadly didn’t live up to expectations.
3. Thor: The Dark World (2013) — 1 hour, 52 minutes
Yes, every Thor movie barring Ragnarok is among the shortest Marvel films ever made. Surprising, right? The Dark World, which showcases Thor’s fight with Christopher Eccleston’s Malekith and the Dark Elves, continues the recurring trend on this list that the least-liked MCU movies are those on the shorter side of things. Not that anyone was really asking for more of the God of Thunder’s threadbare second outing.
2. The Incredible Hulk (2010) — 1 hour, 52 minutes
It’s not surprising that many of the films on this ranking hail from Phase One, as things got more complex and cumbersome as the franchise went on. Case in point, The Incredible Hulk is a relatively straightforward movie detailing Edward Norton’s Bruce Banner battle against Tim Roth’s Abomination (back when he wasn’t She-Hulk’s buddy), so it didn’t need a bloated runtime to tell its tale.
1. The Marvels (2023) — 1 hour, 45 minutes
Shaving off almost a full 20 minutes from its predecessor, The Marvels is the surprise winner of the race to reach the end credits the fastest. Although we hardly believed it at first when rumors pointed to this being the case, the Brie Larson sequel is indeed the shortest MCU movie of them all by a significant margin thanks to its streamlined 105-minute runtime.
