Record low revenue, The Marvels is still not the worst project in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

While The Marvels may not be some people’s favorite Marvel movies, there are still many movies that it is far better than.

The Marvels is tracking to be one of the lowest-grossing movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it is certainly not the worst Marvel project ever made. From the Fox Marvel movies to the Marvel Cinematic Universe itself, there have been live-action Marvel entries way worse than the fun and lighthearted movie The Marvels.

The Marvels is currently sitting at 62% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it has an 83% audience score, proving that many Marvel fans are quick to come to the aid of The Marvels against critics and other fans who did not like the movie. It does have problems with balancing emotional beats and comedy, as well as struggling with a sub-par villain. Yet, The Marvels is still a pretty solid movie, far surpassing some Marvel projects released in the last couple of decades.

Rotten Tomatoes: 77%

She-Hulk was released to mixed reviews from Marvel fans. While a lot of fun with exciting cameos from characters like Daredevil and Smart Hulk, She-Hulk had a shaky plot and an underused villain in Titania. She-Hulk also got a lot of criticism for its questionable CGI, but that has been a recurring theme with recent Marvel projects.

She-Hulk has a lot of fun with its fourth-wall breaking, though it may take things too far in its finale with a robotic version of Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel Studios. She-Hulk is a pretty fun ride overall, and many of its bad reviews are only due to prejudiced views from some viewers. However, Ms. Marvel rates higher than She-Hulk at a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score, and The Marvels is able to put Kamala Khan’s energy to good use.

Rotten Tomatoes: 67%

As one of the earliest entries in the MCU, The Incredible Hulk did not yet have the patented Marvel Studios formula to follow, and it overwhelmed audiences after the release of the iconic Iron Man in the same year. It is also the only MCU movie to feature Edward Norton as the Hulk instead of Mark Ruffalo, and many Marvel fans prefer Ruffalo.

Because of these factors, The Incredible Hulk feels disjointed from the rest of the MCU and many consider it to be one of the least relevant movies to the overarching storylines of the MCU. In contrast, The Marvels features three heroines all from different corners of the MCU and has suprise cameos from Valkryie and Kate Bishop as well as an exciting post credit scene with the X-Men from another universe.

Rotten Tomatoes: 67%

Thor: The Dark World has a flat villain, similar to what many reviewers are saying about The Marvels, but The Dark World did not have the same consistent upbeat tone or Kamala Khan’s energy to save it from mediocrity. The Dark World also features Thor before Taika Watiti’s reimagining of the character. This means Thor has less humor and the movie as a whole has less vibrancy (but perhaps that was to be expected in a Dark World).

With Malekith as a forgettable antagonist, and a lack of potent connection between some of the characters, there are few bright spots in this film. Darcy’s humor and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki seem to carry the movie. At least Dar-Benn, the villain of The Marvels, brings the reveal of Captain Marvel as the Annihilator, and the three leads have great chemistry, especially when they swap places in the middle of a fight sequence.

Rotten Tomatoes: 63%

Thor: Love and Thunder is a fun, colorful film with plenty of solid comedic beats. However, it suffers from an underused villain and perhaps overuses the screaming goat humor. Marvel fans had high hopes for Love and Thunder because of the success of Thor: Ragnarok, but the second Taika Waititi film was not able to live up to the first.

A lot of the love for this Thor film is because of the villain. Gorr the God Butcher had a lot of potential to be a menacing villain, especially with Christain Bale’s casting. Yet, the movie does not actually show Gorr butchering many gods, and the playful tone of the movie downplays his ability to instill fear. Love and Thunder also suffers from the same substandard CGI that has plagued many Marvel movies in Phases 4 and 5 of the MCU. The Marvels struggles with a lot of the same problems as Love and Thunder, but it is a little faster-paced and is not held back by comparisons like Love and Thunder is with Ragnarok.

Rotten Tomatoes: 53%

From the first episode with the death of Maria Hill, fans were upset about the quality of Secret Invasion. The Skrull infiltration plotline had a lot of potential, but unfortunately, the show could not quite deliver. Not even Nick Fury’s inherent powerful presence could save the show from bad writing.

Though Secret Invasion has a star-studded cast, including Olivia Coleman, Ben Mendelsohn, Emilia Clarke, and Samuel L. Jackson , the show was not quite able to balance its characters and is riddled with plot holes. Its dark and gritty tone sets the spy-thriller apart from many other Marvel entries, but Secret Invasion fails to live up to its potential. It was also not significant enough in the MCU to have any effect on The Marvels, despite both projects featuring Nick Fury in the same year.

Rotten Tomatoes: 47%

While visually stunning and packed with a stellar cast, Eternals is a bit of a mixed bag. The majority of the movie is a scavenger hunt to gather characters together, leaving less time for the final fight sequence. It is also a little too on the nose with the character of Ikaris literally flying into the sun, an overly obvious nod to the Greek myth of Icarus.

The movie takes itself a little too seriously and doesn’t allow much time for comedy. The relationship between the characters is heartfelt at times, but often gets lost with the sheer number of characters. Also, Marvel fans have poked fun at the fact that the ending of Eternals left a giant Celestial head and hand sticking out of the ocean, but no other MCU movies have even really addressed it.

Rotten Tomatoes: 46%

Ant-Man: Quantumania is another Marvel movie that had a lot of potential that it could not quite measure up to. With Kang the Conqueror as its main villain, Quantumania should have been much more thrilling and Kang should have displayed more power than he did. After Kang’s haunting introduction as He Who Remains in Loki season one, he should have been more of a threat to Ant-Man. Yet, Jonathan Majors’ Kang continued to fall short of audience expectations.

Quantumania also had some oddities in the Quantum Realm that were hard to take seriously. One of these oddities was MODOK. The introduction of this character was exciting at first, but the terrifying visage of the cyborg left fans haunted by his goofy appearance. Ant-Man is a lovable character, but Quantumania felt disjointed and underwhelming, especially when Kang was overrun by a team of ants, considering he’s supposed to be the next major Thanos-level threat to the MCU. The Marvels never pretended to boast an unbeatable villain, and its comedic beats landed better than many in Quantumania.

Rotten Tomatoes: 22%

Dark Phoenix was one of the last movies from the Fox-produced X-Men series before the Disney-Fox merger. The movie suffered from a lack of spirit and an apathetic cast. Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Mystique, was likelyvtired of sitting in the make-up chair for hours, and her character’s appearance Dark Phoenix shows just that. The entire film lacks passion and a desire to excite audiences. This is fully on display when Mystique nonsensically dies in the early stages of the film, despite appearing later in the X-Men timeline.

Many fans did not believe that Dark Phoenix really did Jean Grey justice. The movie overall is not very memorable, and it struggles to create a satisfying conclusion to two decades of X-Men films. The Marvels certainly does a better job of handling its characters and the actors clearly had more passion for the project.

Rotten Tomatoes: 15%

Morbius had a lot of issues, from its nonsensical narrative and uneven pacing. Audiences also found the movie bland and lacking any depth. Morbius is also absurd enough to have inspired a wealth of internet memes mocking it, such as “It’s Morbin’ Time.” It is hard to take Dr. Michael Morbuis seriously when the movie became such a well-known flop.

The Marvels is nowhere near as laughable as Morbius, but that is not a very high bar. Many fans joined in on the Morbin’ memes without even seeing the movie beacuse its catastrophe became so popular online. The Marvels is more enjoyable than Morbius in nearly every way and does not have the wide variety of inconsistencies and let-downs that Morbius does.

Rotten Tomatoes: 9%

One of the worst Marvel projects in recent years is Fantastic Four (2015). Despite hateful backlash for Michael B. Jordan’s casting as The Human Torch, casting is not one of Fantastic Four’s many problems. The movie reboots the 2005 Fantastic Four, but without any of its charm or excitement. The movie does not pay off on its promises and leaves audiences unsatisfied.

Viewers lamented a lack of heart and life in the movie that felt incomplete and messy. It was far from fantastic. Fantastic Four is one of the worst-received Marvel projects of all time, and its Rotten Tomatoes score does not even break double digits. This movie is another low bar, and Marvel fans will have a much more enjoyable time watching The Marvels.