2021 was a milestone year for Marvel, with movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home and the premiere of many new shows on Disney Plus, beginning with WandaVision and ending with Hawkeye. The shows have done extremely well for themselves and were met with high praise from fans and critics alike. Some even won awards for the work done both on camera and behind the scenes.
Fans have argued over which series ranks first and which ranks last, but with so many things to consider, we’ve decided that a tiered approach is the best way to rank Marvel’s newest super-heroic installments. There will be different tiers that each movie can fall into, including superior, close to perfection, above average, and just average. Let’s start with the shows that come in at the bottom.
Just average
None of the series that Marvel has put out were bad by any means, which is why the lowest tier on the list is called “just average.” In this section, we have Loki and What If…?, both of which are here for different reasons. Loki found itself in the bottom tier due to its self-centered plot. It was weird and made for uncomfortable viewing, not to mention Miss Minutes was creepy AF. Of course, without Loki, the multiverse wouldn’t have been opened, so it’s not a bad show, but it’s definitely not great either.
As for What If…?, this show had a different format than the other Disney Plus shows and offered a different storyline for each episode rather than one cohesive plot laced throughout the series. It also didn’t add anything to the MCU the way the other shows did given that it’s not really MCU canon. This made it underwhelming, hence why it’s in the bottom tier.
Above average
The next show on the list is The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This series was action-packed and had many intertwining storylines, which made it exciting. However, the focus seemed to be more on the action and, like What If…?, it didn’t have much of an effect on the MCU as a whole. Of course we got lots of character development for both Sam and Bucky, leading to Sam finally accepting his new role as Captain America, but when compared to the other shows Marvel put out this year, it just doesn’t measure up. It was a great show but not as great as the top two.
Close to perfection
The most recent MCU series is Hawkeye, which dropped in Nov. 2021 and aired its last episode the day before Christmas Eve. It had an exciting finale featuring many fan-favorites, and not only did it tie in Black Widow and reintroduce us to Yelena Belova, but it also introduced us to new characters like Kate Bishop, an archery prodigy who idolizes Hawkeye. It was a fun show that explored Hawkeye’s character and his grieving over the loss of his pal Natasha, something we hadn’t seen any of the other Avengers go through. Because of the different themes, characters, and action scenes, Hawkeye is near perfection.
Superior
No one should be surprised that the top series spot belongs to WandaVision. It’s won multiple awards and continues to be nominated for more, proving that not only do fans love it, but critics do, too. WandaVision is the perfect mix of nostalgia, action, and fun and really started 2021 off with a bang. It had a lot riding on it as the first Disney Plus Marvel series and it delivered more than expected. WandaVision deserves all of the praise, as it’s truly the best Marvel series so far.
