Ranking the 2021 MCU Projects

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown a lot since the beginning of 2021 with 9 new projects released this year.

Disclaimer #1: Venom: Let Their Be Carnage is not part of the MCU, so it will not be ranked on this list. The director of Venom: Let Their Be Carnage said in an interview with IGN:

Obviously, there are links between Venom and Spider-Man and the Marvel Universe and the Spider-Man story. We’re treating this very much as it’s his own world. The Venom story is his own world. There are nods and little moments, of course, but on the whole he’s unaware. They are unaware, at this point, of other characters like Spider-Man. So, that’s the way we’ve chosen to play this particular episode of the movie, but, well, we’ll wait and see. We’ll see what little things you can pick out of it.

Disclaimer #2: This is a subjective list. This is based on my own opinions, which I am aware many will disagree with. I am doing this for fun, and of course, everyone is entitled to having their own opinions.

Disclaimer #3: THIS WILL HAVE SPOILERS! Spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home, for Hawkeye, for every piece of MCU cinema that has been released this year. If you do not want spoilers for any of it, then I advise you to click away.

With all of that said, let's begin the list by going from least favorite to favorite.

9. What if?

Just because it is last, doesn't mean it wasn't enjoyable. I especially loved episode 2, "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?" and episode 5, "What If... Zombies?!" It was fun to watch characters we know interact in a whole new way alongside different characters. Of course, it was also wonderful to experience Chadwick Boseman's last performance as T'challa.

I wasn't as enticed with this series as I was with the other Marvel projects, and I believe this show has great potential to explore possibilities. There are so many possible concepts that this show could discuss and many of the choices they made left me unsatisfied. Some episodes felt unnecessary, and I would love to see them explore more concepts fans have actually wondered about because a few episodes in the series felt totally random.

8. The Eternals

Again, just because it is ranked low does not mean I didn't enjoy it. I was actually fairly entertained by this movie and loved meeting the plethora of new characters.

I felt that some of the character work felt a bit underdeveloped (due to the large number of characters that were introduced), and there were pieces of the story that had the potential to be further worked into the story. An example of an aspect of the film that felt a bit unnecessary was introducing Kro, the evolved and sentient deviant. He was barely used and introduced just to be killed with little to no purpose. Another bit that could have had more detail was Thena's Mahd W'yry illness. Although it was important to the plot earlier and helped to further the reveal about the loss of the eternals' memories, it seemed to have mostly gone away by the end even after Gilgamesh died. Perhaps she overcame it or learned to control it, but it is barely discussed after Gilgamesh's death.

7. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier

I actually really enjoyed The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Sam and Bucky are two great characters and watching Sam overcome the implications of carrying the Captain America shield was fantastic to watch. John Walker is an easily hateable character and Wyatt Russell plays him so well, and seeing what the shield and the serum can do to someone so arrogant was an interestingly fascinating subject I'm glad future projects will discuss.

I felt the Flagsmashers were more of an antagonist than the villain, making the show villianless. They felt more like an obstacle with an unclear method to reaching their goal who were fighting for a cause felt destined to lose.

I talk more about this series in my piece: Why The Falcon and The Winter Solider was Necessary For the MCU to move Forward

6. Black Widow

Black Widow is a film that was long overdue. As the character has made several appearances in Iron Man and Captain America trilogies, it's about time she got her solo movie.

It was an interesting decision to have her solo movie not be her origin story, yet still explain a bit of her origin. Meeting her family and meeting people from her past gives an interesting insight into the character and the things she stands for.

Also, the movie gave us Yelena Belova, one of my favorite characters of all time. Her sense of humor combined with her fighting ability makes her character quite enjoyable and I am excited to see her again in the future.

5. WandaVision

I know what some of you are going to say. Yes, I am aware that this is pretty low on the list and I know there was a lot of obsession around this show when it was still doing its weekly release.

This show is a crazy experience. The mystery is enticing and the way Wanda dealt with her grief made for a thrilling story. I was dying to know what happened next at the end of each episode and it was fun to see how the events of the show would turn out. And watching her come into her own was incredible.

I did like the show and enjoyed all of its bits and pieces. It is simply number five because I enjoyed other projects a lot more, not because I didn't like the show.

Something that I feel the need to note is having Evan Peters play Wanda's brother just to make a boner joke bothered me just a bit. Personally, that was the most interesting part of the mystery and it was just played off like that wasn't a significant aspect of the story for a silly joke.

I talked more about WandaVision in my piece: Why WandaVision was Necessary for the MCU to Move Forward

*******THIS IS ALSO YOUR LAST REMINDER THAT THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD!*******

4. Hawkeye

Perhaps it is a recency effect, but this show is so good. Just like Natasha, Clint's solo project has been long overdue. Watching him get sucked into some mafia drama just because a college student stole a suit from a black market auction is just genius. The dynamic between Kate and Clint, watching everything unfold as they keep discovering new information, and Yelena's role in all of it is just so enjoyable.

Hawkeye is a sleeper show. It's an underestimated and underrated masterpiece that just kept getting better and better.

Although some aspects of the show's ending felt unsatisfyingly rushed, the finale was still emotional and I enjoyed watching Clint and Yelena bond over the loss of Natasha after she was so set on killing him. Clint doing Natasha and Yelena's secret whistle was a stroke of genius.

3. Loki

Loki is a wonderfully mystical show. The events of Avengers: Endgame leading to Loki and Sylvie messing with time and space just played out phenomenally. Learning about the TVA and the sacred timeline and different variants were so riveting and I was on the edge of my seat after the characters discovered another big secret at the end of each episode.

Tom Hiddleston is incredible playing Loki and Owen Wilson did a fantastic job. Both characters are so easy to love and that made the show extra good.

It was lovely to see the way Loki changed throughout the show. Although I still find it slightly odd, I guess it makes sense for someone as arrogant as Loki to fall in love with a variant of himself.

The final episode just being a tense monologue with Sylvie making a decision that only created more chaos and confusion with no resolved ending has me excited to see what comes next.

2. Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings

I absolutely adore Shang-Chi. I love the fight sequences (especially the bus scene), the interactions between Shang and Katy, the family dynamic, and so on. This movie is epic. There is no other word I can think of to describe it, just epic.

Wenwu's determination and undying belief that his wife is trapped make it so stressful to watch. Shang's father was so convinced of this that he lets out a soul-sucking demon that ends up taking down countless lives. Shang having to fight his own father after the years of torment that he brought upon him, and still showing him mercy, made Wenwu's death so much more impactful.

Shang and Katy's friendship was perfectly platonic. They have great chemistry and just looked like they were having so much fun.

Of course, every movie has its flaws. The movie seemed to have been getting a bit out of hand when it became fantastical. The demons and dragon that came out of nowhere felt like a reach. It became a bit much, and I very much preferred it before it became about fantastical creatures.

By far, my favorite bits of this film were the combat scenes. The scenes where Shang and Xu Xialing were showing their fighting skills were just incredibly fun to watch.

1. Spider-Man: No Way Home

Of course, I have to put Spider-Man first. I could talk about this film for hours upon hours. Seeing villains from the other universes interact with each other and interact with Peter was super fun.

What was even more fun was seeing Tobey, Andrew, and Tom all playing Peter Parker in the same film. Their conversations, the way they all understood each other, and seeing them in action together was so exciting.

Aunt May's death was so important to Peter's character development and also so important to motivating him to work with the other Spider-Men. Peter carried on May's legacy of kindness by fixing the villains and, although seeking vengeance, instead chose to help.

Ending the film on such a sad note shows how Peter gained a lot of maturity through this experience. He watches as his friends bond without any memory of him and instead of intruding and explaining his side of the story, watches them. He sees how happy they are and decides to walk away.

Also, Willem Defoe was just terrifying in this movie and his performance was top-notch.

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