Comic book movies may have made their modern resurgence with 2008's Iron Man and the debut of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but that wasn't the first appearance of a Marvel character on the big screen. In fact, these superheroes have been getting their own movies for decades—with varying results. Now that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is in theaters (and getting some of the worst reviews in MCU history), we're ranking every single movie based on a Marvel comic book by Rotten Tomatoes score. Wondering where your favorite falls on the list? Read on to find out.
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70 | Fantastic Four (2015)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 9 percent
"Fantastic Four is a profound mess," writes Kristy Puchko for CBR. "It's not fun. It's not exciting. It's far from action-packed. And it's most certainly not fantastic."
69 | Elektra (2005)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 11 percent
"It's shockingly dull for a popcorn flick, and only ardent fans of the comic are likely to enjoy it," writes Paul Arendt for the BBC.
68 | Captain America (1990)
MGMRotten Tomatoes score: 12 percent
"The biggest flaw isn’t so much the acting, the directing, or the screenwriting (all of which deserve demerits) but that the movie’s meager budget doesn’t allow it to look cinematic," writes James Berardinelli for ReelViews.
67 | Howard the Duck (1986)
Universal PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 14 percent
"Sound the horns, light the speakers, and cue the marching band, because Howard the Duck is here—and bad movie historians could not ask for a more mallard-droit venture than this," writes Michael Burkett for The Orange County Register.
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66 | Morbius (2022)
Sony Pictures ReleasingRotten Tomatoes score: 16 percent
"Like most April Fools' Day jokes, Morbius is not actually funny," writes Esther Zuckerman for Thrillist. "It’s not bad in the ha ha you have to see this it’s so ridiculous kind of way. It just feels underbaked and lame—and, sadly, not weird enough to be any kind of fun."
65 | Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)
Columbia PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 18 percent
"Spirit of Vengeance is weighted down for long stretches in the middle, as it starts to treat its own religious hokum plotline with undue seriousness," writes Andrew Barker for Variety (via Rotten Tomatoes).
64 | Dark Phoenix (2019)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 22 percent
"Outgunned on the action front by box-office rivals and too nervous to tell a more intimate story, Dark Phoenix leaves the franchise running on empty," writes Michael Hale for Sight & Sound.
63 | Blade: Trinity (2004)
New Line CinemaRotten Tomatoes score: 24 percent
"Sometimes bloody, sometimes bloody awful," writes Jamie Russell for the BBC.
62 | The Punisher (1989)
LionsgateRotten Tomatoes score: 25 percent
"Marred by cheeseball sets and special effects, lame fight sequences, and some of the worst acting ever to disgrace the screen," writes Christopher Null for Filmcritic.com (via Rotten Tomatoes).
61 | Ghost Rider (2007)
Sony Pictures ReleasingRotten Tomatoes score: 27 percent
"Grand, empty gestures and loads of CGI effects can't cover up pure schlock," writes Joshua Rothkopf for Time Out (via Rotten Tomatoes). "Even the character's iconically cool trademarks—a flaming skull and a fiery chopper—are reduced to Velveeta slices."
60 | Fantastic Four (2005)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 28 percent
"A fantastic bore," writes Olly Richards for Empire (via Rotten Tomatoes).
59 | Punisher: War Zone (2008)
LionsgateRotten Tomatoes score: 29 percent
"You couldn't call it shoddy, exactly, and the actors take it painfully seriously; it's just dispiriting to see all this endeavour in the service of something so humourless and disgusting," writes Andrew Pulver for The Guardian.
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58 | The Punisher (2004)
LionsgateRotten Tomatoes score: 29 percent
"There isn't a moment in The Punisher that isn't borrowed or stolen from another movie," writes Rex Reed for The New York Observer (via Rotten Tomatoes).
57 | Venom (2018)
Sony Pictures ReleasingRotten Tomatoes score: 30 percent
"A tone-deaf, uneven and maddeningly dumb clunker that never settles on an identity, all the way to the closing credits," writes Richard Roeper for the Chicago Sun-Times.
56 | The New Mutants (2020)
20th Century StudiosRotten Tomatoes score: 35 percent
"An idiotic, nonsensical, and weirdly cheap attempt to take the stories in a new direction," writes Richard Whittaker for The Austin Chronicle.
55 | Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 37 percent
"An off-brand superhero movie, the cinematic equivalent of one of those generic breakfast cereals with a badly drawn squirrel for a mascot," writes Dana Stevens for Slate.
54 | X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 38 percent
"Is there anything to enjoy in X-Men Origins: Wolverine? Sure. Some of the fights are cool," writes Jordan Hoffman for UGO (via Rotten Tomatoes). "But for every solid moment there is an equivalent of pure suck."
53 | Daredevil (2003)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 43 percent
"Daredevil has a brooding dark and dank air about it, much like Batman," writes Namrata Joshi for Outlook. "That's about the only element that lends the movie any character."
52 | X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 47 percent
"It's basically a closing chapter to a feeble trilogy that started out pretty well and then ran out of gas, and now must serve as a prequel to shadowy X-related endeavors yet to come," writes Andrew O'Hehir for Salon.
51 | Eternals (2021)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 47 percent
"In many ways, what it means to be human is the central question that drives Eternals," writes Kylie Chung for Salon. "But the movie's dizzying star power and twisty backstories render it too clunky and overstuffed to concisely answer said central question."
50 | Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 48 percent
"The post-Endgame MCU continues to be a slog," writes Jake Cole for Little White Lies.
49 | The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Sony Pictures ReleasingRotten Tomatoes score: 51 percent
"Despite the efforts of Electro, the franchise is running shockingly low on juice," writes Anthony Lane for The New Yorker.
48 | Blade (1998)
New Line CinemaRotten Tomatoes score: 57 percent
"Has the comic-book movie reached the end of the line?" writes Dave Kehr for the New York Daily News. "The glumly familiar, been-there-done-that aspect of Blade certainly suggests so."
47 | Blade II (2002)
New Line CinemaRotten Tomatoes score: 57 percent
"[Guillermo] del Toro is a stylish horrormeister, and he has created an evocative, foreboding atmosphere," writes Jack Mathews for the New York Daily News (via Rotten Tomatoes). "But only a fan of this kind of mayhem could find a way into the story. And only a critic, sworn to serve, could stick it out to the end."
46 | X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 57 percent
"The Last Stand is a hugely ambitious picture, and it would have been far more successful if [Brett] Ratner had scaled it down to focus more on the interaction between the characters," writes Stephanie Zacharek for Salon (via Rotten Tomatoes).
45 | Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
Sony Pictures ReleasingRotten Tomatoes score: 57 percent
"At a tight 90 minutes, [Andy] Serkis' sequel doesn't feel long, but it is exhausting," writes Esther Zuckerman for Thrillist. "It's an entire movie pitched at 11 that screams in your face, 'YOU SHOULD BE HAVING FUN.'"
44 | Hulk (2003)
Universal PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 62 percent
"Even if [Ang] Lee would have wanted to rise above the simple two-dimensional universe of the comic books, his portrayal remains just as flat," writes Namrata Joshi for Outlook.
43 | Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Sony Pictures ReleasingRotten Tomatoes score: 63 percent
"A hollow shell of a saga devoid of both thrilling action and rousing passion," writes Nick Schager for Lessons of Darkness.
42 | Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 64 percent
"You may feel as if [Taika] Waititi’s hammer is hitting you over the head," writes Jordan Hoffman for The Times of Israel.
41 | Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 66 percent
"Save for [Tom] Hiddleston's too-brief supporting turn, this is mighty forgettable stuff, a by-the-numbers sequel to what was already the slightest and least entertaining of the Avengers components," writes Jason Bailey for Flavorwire.
40 | The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Universal PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 67 percent
"What Hulk smash most? Hulk smash all hope of interesting time in cinema," writes Peter Bradshaw for The Guardian.
39 | The Wolverine (2013)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 71 percent
"It's a relief to come across a blockbuster that finds a location and stays there, rather than hopping desperately from one place to the next," writes Anthony Lane for The New Yorker (via Rotten Tomatoes).
38 | Iron Man 2 (2010)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 71 percent
"It's enjoyable to see a quality superhero dynamically and enthusiastically rendered," writes Laremy Legel for Film.com (via Rotten Tomatoes).
37 | The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Sony Pictures ReleasingRotten Tomatoes score: 71 percent
"This umphundredth origin story of a nerdy outsider turned unlikely crime fighter is surprisingly enjoyable," writes Scott Foundas for Film Comment.
36 | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 74 percent
"If Marvel directors are often merely first among hired hands, [Sam] Raimi is allowed a creative signature, delivering a family-friendly take on the chills that first made his name with 1981 cult favourite The Evil Dead," writes Danny Leigh for the Financial Times.
35 | Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 76 percent
"Joss Whedon set a higher bar with the first Avengers (2012) and tried, in many ways, to top it here," writes Leonard Maltin for IndieWire (via Rotten Tomatoes). "He got close."
34 | Thor (2011)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 77 percent
"Director Kenneth Branagh, for all the Shakespearean fruitiness he imbues into some of his A-list performers, never forgets that Thor is ultimately an FX-driven film designed to sell popcorn," writes Jim Schembri for The Age.
33 | Iron Man 3 (2013)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 79 percent
"With Jon Favreau, director of the previous Iron Man films, still around in his sidekick role as Happy Hogan, continuity is maintained, but [Shane] Black does bring his own, mostly comic chops to the saga," writes Kim Newman for Sight & Sound.
32 | Black Widow (2021)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 79 percent
"In all the ways that matter to an MCU fan, Black Widow the film meets or exceeds all expectations," writes Melanie McFarland for Salon. "It is a killer action flick, and a unique viewing experience."
31 | Captain Marvel (2019)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 79 percent
"Captain Marvel has things going for it that elevate it a bit above the pack and provide more cultural oomph and import," writes Brent McKnight for The Seattle Times (via Rotten Tomatoes). "Despite that, this is also a Marvel movie that feels like another Marvel movie."
30 | Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 80 percent
"It doesn't try too hard for irony or style; the comic-book sensibility remains pure, square, and happily stupid," writes David Denby for The New Yorker (via Rotten Tomatoes).
29 | X-Men (2000)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 82 percent
"The movie is respectful of its source material without being the least bit self-important," writes Ann Hornaday for The Baltimore Sun. "X-Men may have hit the Platonic ideal of comic-book movies, coming across as lightweight, sophisticated, wacky and straightforward all at the same time."
28 | Ant-Man (2015)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 83 percent
"Ant-Man is a surprisingly nimble, enjoyable origin story with a little-guy-saves-the-day quality that will particularly appeal to younger viewers," writes Max Weiss for Baltimore.
27 | Deadpool 2 (2018)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 84 percent
"No grand satire here, just self-awareness—and enough surprises, solid jokes and well-crafted action sequences to be entertaining," writes Adam Kempenaar for Filmspotting.
26 | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 84 percent
"The first Black Panther ... set a bar Wakanda Forever didn't come close to matching," writes Albert Samaha for BuzzFeed News. "But taken on its own terms, as a superhero sequel tasked with serving an unusually wide range of needs, it stands as a different kind of accomplishment."
25 | X2 (2003)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 85 percent
"Fortunately, bigger usually equals better here, and when it doesn't, it equals just as good," writes Keith Phipps for The A.V. Club.
24 | Deadpool (2016)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 85 percent
"Flamboyantly vulgar and determinedly self-referential, Deadpool has the shape of a superhero movie but the soul of a Danny McBride flick," writes Christopher Orr for The Atlantic.
23 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 85 percent
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 also serves as a reminder of why it is we keep coming back to these movies, even as we know every single time that the heroes will prevail and the world will not end: it's the characters, stupid," writes Angie Han for Mashable.
22 | Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 85 percent
"This chaotic but surprisingly nimble installment, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, brings together an eye-popping ensemble cast of A-listers (imagine the table read!) and pushes them into playful new configurations," writes Simran Hans for The Observer.
21 | X-Men: First Class (2011)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 86 percent
"For reasons arising from the way the X-Men film franchise has developed, this is the first Marvel movie set in the period when the characters were created, and thus able to embrace the Rat Pack cool that was part of their original charm," writes Kim Newman for Sight & Sound (via Rotten Tomatoes).
20 | Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 87 percent
"It's featherweight fun that won't change your life, but that's perfectly OK," writes Kambole Campbell for One Room With A View.
19 | Doctor Strange (2016)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 89 percent
"[Benedict] Cumberbatch, both a natural comedian and a subtle one, knows how to get a big laugh from nothing more than an arched eyebrow," writes Stephanie Zacharek for Time.
18 | Big Hero 6 (2014)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 90 percent
"The Scooby-Doo-ish central plot is forgivable in a movie with so much visual verve, energetic action and a character so wondrously designed as Baymax," writes Dan Jolin for Empire (via Rotten Tomatoes).
17 | Spider-Man (2002)
Sony Pictures ReleasingRotten Tomatoes score: 90 percent
"It's the unexpectedness of finding a genuine couple of young lovers caught in its web that turns spectacle into sympathy and restores life-size emotion to outside imagination," writes Alexander Walker for the Evening Standard.
16 | Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 90 percent
"It knocks down a lot of the infrastructure the previous films had created, and it does so in a way that feels organic and refreshing for the Marvel world at large," writes David Sims for The Atlantic.
15 | X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 90 percent
"Here's the thing about comic book heroes. Despite all the noble talk about metaphors, idealism, truth and justice, they're basically just bully-boy fantasies of limitless male aggression," writes Kevin Maher for The Times. "The X-Men, however, have always aspired to something different."
14 | Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 90 percent
"It is one of the best movies to ever come out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, balancing engaging action set pieces and witty dialogue with intelligent character studies and ethical debates," writes Matthew Rozsa for Salon.
13 | Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Sony Pictures ReleasingRotten Tomatoes score: 90 percent
"The stakes this time turn out to be considerably lower, and your friendly neighborhood Spider-Teen is arguably just the guy to bring things down to Earth and reestablish a human scale," writes Bob Mondello for NPR.
12 | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 91 percent
"It's a good movie," writes K. Austin Collins for Rolling Stone. "It's got a plausibly fearsome villain by way of [Tony] Leung, a nice ensemble of heroic personalities, and a dose of actually-poignant family drama undergirding all the rest."
11 | Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 91 percent
"If you are a Marvel fan, then The Avengers will feel like Christmas," writes Anthony Lane for The New Yorker. "Thanks to the merry doings of the director, Joss Whedon, all your favorite characters are here, as shiny and as tempting as presents under the tree."
10 | Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 92 percent
"Guardians bounces with the energy of pure invention," writes Richard Lawson for Vanity Fair.
9 | Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Sony Pictures ReleasingRotten Tomatoes score: 92 percent
"If Spider-Man: Homecoming is to be judged solely on its ability to unite a diverse audience behind a fun motion picture, it seems to have succeeded wildly," writes Matthew Rozsa for Salon.
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8 | Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Sony Pictures ReleasingRotten Tomatoes score: 93 percent
"The web-slinging sequences are bigger-better-brighter-faster than the already spectacular ones in 2002's Spider-Man, and at the same time, the film's smaller emotional moments are denser, richer and more resonant than those in the first," writes Christy Lemire for the Associated Press (via Rotten Tomatoes).
7 | Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Sony Pictures ReleasingRotten Tomatoes score: 93 percent
"Throughout all of it, the weird and complex history of Spider-Man as a cinematic icon isn't a hindrance to the story," writes Liz Shannon Miller for Consequence. "Instead, it's an enhancement, using the quirks of the character's legacy as a source of illumination into why he has endured so long."
6 | Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 93 percent
"Tessa [Thompson]'s got the comedic timing to match Taika Waititi's Thor humor, and the physicality to lead the movie's pack of superheroes," writes Hunter Harris for Vulture. "She's not trying to outdo the boys; she's just trying to sip her drink and mind her own business."
5 | Iron Man (2008)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 94 percent
"Led by [Robert] Downey [Jr.]'s career-resurrecting performance as billionaire weapons peddler Tony Stark, it proves just as indispensable to the movie's giddy escapist appeal as the seamless CGI effects and eye-popping pyrotechnics," writes Craig Outhier for The Orange County Register.
4 | Logan (2017)
20th Century FoxRotten Tomatoes score: 94 percent
"Logan is a melancholic paen to the Western with enough blood and gore to redefine what a comic book movie can and should be," writes Kristen Lopez for Culturess.
3 | Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 94 percent
"Eleven years of Universe building, and this is the crescendo," says James Luxford for the BBC. "It really pays off, I've never seen anything quite like it."
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2 | Black Panther (2018)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesRotten Tomatoes score: 96 percent
"Black Panther was a moment, not just for Marvel fans and Disney stans, but it was the rare instance of a film purporting itself to be a cultural movement, and succeeding," writes Robert Daniels for 812filmreviews.
1 | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Sony Pictures ReleasingRotten Tomatoes score: 97 percent
"The delights of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse bring a newfound sense of joy and playfulness to the beloved character," writes Katie Walsh for the Tribune News Service.
