Ranking All The Marvel Cinematic Universe Franchises From Worst To Best

Movies: Thor, Thor: The Dark World

Upcoming: Thor: Ragnarok

Thor was the most out-there of the Phase 1 heroes; this was full-on fantasy crossed with Shakespearian sensibilities, requiring a deft hand to explain it in a world defined by Iron Man's realism. Kenneth Branagh did it well, letting Chris Hemsworth's fish-out-of-water and, much more importantly, Tom Hiddleston's Loki lead the charge, but it wasn't quite enough to make a standout film. Things were even iffier with The Dark World, which failed to capitalise on the franchise's growth care of The Avengers and delivered a rather bland outing that tread formulaic water (with plenty of forced jokes).

It's not that Thor's bad or the movies have failed outright to bring the Asgardian Gods to the big screen, it's just that they're the most generic of the Marvel lot, boosted by having the series' standout villain at their core.

This is the series most primed for a Phase 3 revival, however. Doubling down on what works and throwing Hulk into the mix, Ragnarok is really upping the ante for Thor, and with Taika Waititi at the helm, you can expect a bit better balance between humour and action (that man is an expert at tone flipping).