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Marvel had a loaded 2022 between movie and show releases, but it is time to give every one of them a ranking. We have had multiverse craziness, origin stories for new characters, and holiday specials. While Phase 4 has been divisive, I have had a good time this year as we end the Phase and move on to Phase 5 next year.
Like Phase 4, this ranking of every Marvel movie and show in 2022 will likely be divisive. There is no science to ranking entertainment; it is all subjective, so let’s be civil. We have had fun, but now it is time to roll up our sleeves to see what was the bottom of the barrel and what came out on top.
Thor: Love and Thunder
Ragnarok catapulted director Taika Waititi’s status in the filmmaking business but also reinvented Thor to keep what people liked while leaning into Chris Hemsworth’s comedic strengths. It worked wonderfully well while telling a powerful story that affected the MCU. Love and Thunder was a bit more divisive as it leaned more into the comedy that sidelines the story and the drama.
It certainly has its weaknesses compared to Ragnarok. Still, it was a fun romp with some moving moments (although they could have been more moving if there had been more of a balance with the tone). Love and Thunder does deliver on Christian Bale playing an intimidating foe for one of the most powerful heroes, more time with lovable characters, and the return of Natalie Portman as she becomes Lady Thor. Her arms alone were worth watching the movie.
Moon Knight
Oscar Isaac has proven to be one of the best working actors from roles in Star Wars to Dune and Ex Machina to Moon Knight. His debut as a man with dissociative personality disorder created one of the most emotional stories Marvel has told. Seeing this journey of identity gave him a great arc to create a foundation to jump in many exciting directions for the future.
The show may have lacked the exciting action from the movies, putting it on the lower end of our ranking of the year Marvel had, but what it had were a nuanced story and great characters. It was largely carried by its themes of mental illness, Isaac’s captivating performance, the Egyptian culture, and Ethan Hawke playing one of the MCU’s top villains as the terrifying cult leader, Arthur Harrow.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness may not have been as wild of a multiverse story as Everything Everywhere All at Once or even what we got from Loki season 1, but it delivered on a modern superhero horror movie by Sam Raimi. We got his cheesy, spooky, Dutch-angled style with brutal deaths and thrilling moments like anything in the MCU.
Benedict Cumberbatch continues to rock it as Doctor Strange, Benedict Wong continues to be a fan favorite as Wong, and we got the exciting debut of Xochitl Gomez as universe-traveling America Chavez. As wonderful as the cast was, the real star was Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch. She succumbed to her grief, and the power of the Darkhold put her in a villainous position, and it was far scarier than what we got in the first half of Age of Ultron. She is easily one of the best villains in the MCU and one of the scariest.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
We got a breath of fresh air in Phase 4 as Marvel tried to experiment with different genres and formats. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law delivered a fun courtroom sitcom that posed an interesting angle on the legality of superpowered beings roaming around in the world. It was filled with goofy fourth wall-breaking beats and serious reality checks when it comes to being a superhero woman.
Tatiana Maslany was infectious with her cuteness and cheery attitude while still delivering on those dramatic moments as the world feels overwhelming for her lawyer-turned-superhero. She almost carries this to its position in our ranking of every Marvel movie and show of the year, but she was accompanied by thoughtful, funny writing and a great supporting cast, with moments of Wong and Daredevil (Charlie Cox).
Werewolf By Night
Michael Giacchino is one of the best composers of our lifetime with his work at Pixar (Up, Coco, The Incredibles) and Marvel (Doctor Strange, Spider-Man trilogy) and Matt Reeves’ films (The Batman, Let Me In, Planet of the Apes). He turned to make his directorial debut for Marvel, creating one of the most special projects out this year to put it in this position in this ranking.
The Special Presentation format allows for short films on Disney+, and Giacchino swung hard for an old-school black-and-white horror film with Werewolf By Night. As the studio focuses on the supernatural side of the MCU, we got a look at the monsters that lurk in the shadows of the universe. We got terror, gore, and a new corner of the MCU, all in about 50 minutes.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
The other Special Presentations project we received was James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. If you have not seen it, it is as funny and emotionally devastating as you would expect from the filmmaker.
Leading into the third film next year with [redacted] reveal at the end, we got a fun holiday adventure with a focus on Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista) as they kidnap Kevin Bacon to cheer up Peter Quill (Chris Pratt). We also get the introduction of Cosmo the Spacedog (Maria Bakalova). The Christmas special works great as a one-off but also as a connection to what will be the final outing with this group.
Ms. Marvel
A complaint people rightfully had with Marvel prior to Endgame was the lack of diverse casting. Post-Endgame, we have gotten new demographics to enter the superhero universe. Ms. Marvel wonderfully tells the story of a Pakistani American family in New Jersey. We get a deep sense of Islam without dumbing it down for the audience who don’t know much about the religion and culture. Like Black Panther and Shang-Chi, South Asian and Muslim communities got a spotlight in the MCU.
When it comes to ranking a Marvel show, this was the strongest of the year. Still, the superhero elements could be stronger, but it worked far better than Moon Knight or She-Hulk. The balance of something different and a Marvel story could be challenging, but Iman Vellani and her fellow co-stars delivered a heartfelt coming-of-age story that works for the whole family.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The champion of Marvel in our ranking of every movie and show is easily Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It delivered a complex look at a nation at its weakest point without a leader against the rest of the world and a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. It served as a beautiful film in the crowded superhero genre while having those big spectacle sequences.
The Black Panther cast shined as they carried this tribute to their fallen co-star. We also got a new world, the underwater city of Talokan. The long-awaited character, Namor, made his debut as the kingdom’s leader with a powerful performance by Tenoch Huerta. Ryan Coogler and the team managed their vision of expanding the world of Wakanda and its characters while exploring a new group of people and serving the memory of Boseman.