MCU: Every Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie Ranked Worst To Best

5. The Avengers (2012)

Even with Iron Man and Captain America making a lot of money and mostly delighting critics, the idea of a superhero ensemble on the scale of The Avengers was a gamble for Marvel Studios. Not only would it be costly, given the talent involved, but it would also require balance and restraint the likes of which the comic book genre had never really seen.

Luckily, Joss Whedon proved himself more than capable of the job, and his restraint in using Loki as the main villain and allowing the Avengers the space to grow as a team (rather than pulling the trigger on a Thanos-sized bad guy too early) was an inspired move.

Crucially, Whedon convinced everyone that there was a justification for the Avengers existing even without a cartoonish villain and while the third act introduction of the Chitauri was a little uneven, the film is the perfect blend of spectacle and depth otherwise.