The Avengers: Ranking The Marvel Films That Came First
Like many of you, I have indeed purchased The Avengers (Or, apparently Avengers Assemble- because the key demographic are going to get terribly confused with a show theyve never heard of that was last aired over 30 years ago) on DVD, and once again thoroughly enjoyed it. But one of the reasons it was so good and so satisfying is that many of us have been waiting patiently for it, and have investing years in the preceding films. The Avengers stands head and shoulders over the rest of them, in my opinion, but if we pick each one apart on their own individual merits, how do they rack up against each other? Well, like Hulk VS Thor, Iron Man VS Thor VS Cap, or The Avengers VS Loki & The Chitauri, lets pit them against each other and see who comes out on top- in ascending order
5. Iron Man 2
OK, yes, I know this seems an obvious choice for the lowest-ranking film out of the five, but there is a reason pretty much everyone ranks this the lowest. Its not per say an atrocious film, in fact in some respects I think it is superior to its predecessor, but compared to the four higher entries, it is clearly the weakest. The problem is that too much is crammed in- Starks getting poisoned by the arc reactor, AND he has a business rival, AND a crazy Russian is out for revenge, AND Scarlett Johansson rocks up, AND Stark creates a new element, AND S.H.I.E.L.D. are sniffing about you get my point. There is far too much going on. The ending is not particularly exciting, and is basically a rehash of the originals finale, but with more robots. Every criticism people make about it basically being an extended commercial, or prologue for The Avengers is correct, and whilst it has some great moments, it had even more potential than the first one, and wastes it by becoming bogged down in laying foundations for The Avengers. So, sadly, whilst its worth a few repeat viewings, those viewing only come as part of an Avengers marathon, because it isnt strong enough on its own merits.