MCU: Every Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie Ranked Worst To Best

8. Black Panther (2018)

Considering the astronomical hype that met Black Panther's impending release, it's remarkable that Ryan Coogler's stand-alone for T'Challa managed to live up to expectations. The fact that it managed to surpass even some of the most enthusiastic is simply stunning.

Thanks to Coogler's vision and the Oscar-worthy production design, Wakanda legitimately feels like another world, part afro-futurist utopia and part Blade Runner. And it's populated by characters who are mostly just as good, from the slightly aloof T'Challa to his comic side-kick sister, the fiercely bad-ass Okoye and the snivelling malevolence of Ulysses Klaue. The film's real star, though, is Michael B Jordan's Erik Killmonger, who is unquestionably the MCU's best villain thanks to his blend of complexity, pain and passion.

For many, this is the most important film yet released to the MCU, and it is far more political and far more invested in ideas of identity than anything else that's come before it. Impressively, it never preaches and Coogler's ability to marry that message and a traditionally entertaining movie is particularly admirable.