The M6P: Recent Episodes
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http://www.them6p.com/podcast/episodes/m6p137.mp3Let’s play this one straight, okay? Look, we want to do this right. We want to record, we want to be there for our listeners, and we want to be there for each other. We are going to be hitting the hard issues in life. (Like hair.) …like…hair? (Yeah, hair. I mean, I’ve got great hair, and you’ve got great hair, and that’s something we have in common with this movie.) I don’t understand what you are talking about. We are supposed to be serious podcasters now. (I am serious. If you watch this movie as closely as I did, you can really see how William Hurt’s hair changes when he Rulks Out.) There is so much wrong with what you just said; I don’t know where to start. (Just you watch it again, you’ll see that there is something different about Ross, Hurt, and Rulk. I’m pretty sure it’s the hair.) You’re ridiculous. I thought this time was going to be different.Now seems like a good time to talk about our sponsors. We are sponsored by Community Retail Partnership. Sign up to get discounts on all your Office Depot supplies. It’s like a Sam’s Club card for Office Depot! Go to crpsavings.com and sign up today for a lifetime membership! Moreover, our second sponsor is michaelwebsolutions.com ! And remember, until next time, this is The M6P!http://www.them6p.com/podcast/episodes/m6p137.mp3
*Editor’s note, Jarid is still an idiot and found another podcast he didn’t post. And there are more coming. He’s now on probation. This was recorded in February.http://www.them6p.com/podcast/episodes/m6p132.mp3The bad news is that we never find the microphones for the show. The good news is that we bought BRAND NEW MICS!! That’s right! Brand SPANKING new mics. Hmm…I thought there would be more applause than that. But no worries! We got what you want. You want to know about comics? We got that. You want to know about the new number 1 issues? We got that. You want to know how old we feel? We got that. You want to know what is the best length of men’s hair? We got that. You want to know about our dietary restrictions and favorite singers and why we hate ice cream…and flying…and water? We got that! Just like Wolverine’s semi-working healing factor, we are back up and at you with a new episode that will take your monkey cheeks, turn them upside down, and blow your socks off. (What…?) You heard me! Stay tuned for our next riveting adventure of the cataclysmic duo from Dayton…area! Drop those pretenses and gird up your loins! We are going big and taking charge and smashing names! (…I just…nevermind.)Now seems like a good time to talk about our sponsors. We are sponsored by Community Retail Partnership. Sign up to get discounts on all your Office Depot supplies. It’s like a Sam’s Club card for Office Depot! Go to crpsavings.com and sign up today for a lifetime membership! Moreover, our third sponsor is michaelwebsolutions.com and 5 O’Clock Collectibles on YouTube. And remember, until next time, make yours The M6P!http://www.them6p.com/podcast/episodes/m6p132.mp3
*Editor’s note, Jarid is an idiot and just realized he never posted this. He has been severely reprimanded. This was recorded AWHILE ago…http://www.them6p.com/podcast/episodes/m6p130.mp3There comes a time in everyone’s life where they have to reassess and figure out if it is really worth it to keep going or to hang it up. For Marvel, it was after Endgame. For The M6P, that time is now. Yes, we need to be circumspect and think about how different our lives are from when we started this podcast 13 years ago. We need to consider the time commitment and the effort that it takes to set aside the other parts of our lives to deliver a quality–(Well, I mean, the audio on this one is pretty terrible.) I mean quality as far as discussion and insight–(Are you kidding me? Are you really going to claim that the ramblings of a nearly 40 year old mad man living in the jungles of West Africa counts as intelligent insight and commentary on where the MCU stands right now?) Well, yeah, I mean…it’s been a while, but we give the fans what they want. (And what is that?) At this point, it may just really be an episode. To hear us talk again after a yearlong hiatus. (So let me get this straight. You think that at this point you can just phone it in–literally–and the fans will all adore you because they are somehow clamoring for just anything at all that even slightly resembles what the show was like in its hay day?) I mean…I wouldn’t say “clamoring.” (You’re a bum.) How dare you! I come in here every single time to write an episode synopsis and every single time you interrupt me and give me a hard time. You hired me for goodness sake! (That was my FIRST mistake!) Well, that’s it! I’m leaving! I was about to say that the show was going to reevaluate and decide that it was NOT time to hang it up. I was going to do this big surprise that the hosts still love each other and love the fans and love Marvel and are going to do this until they just keel over and die. But no! You had to go and ruin it! Oh don’t give me that look! It IS time to reevaluate. That’s right! I swear on the grave of the last major character that died in that big crossover event that I will NEVER…WRITE for you…AGAIN!!!(Hmm…he just…he just left. Uhhhh….Well, I’ve never really had to do this part on my own. I guess…now seems like a good time to talk about our sponsors. We are sponsored by Community Retail Partnership. Sign up to get discounts on all your Office Depot supplies. It’s like a Sam’s Club card for Office Depot! Go to crpsavings.com and sign up today for a lifetime membership! Moreover, our third sponsor is michaelwebsolutions.com and 5 O’Clock Collectibles on YouTube.http://www.them6p.com/podcast/episodes/m6p130.mp3
http://www.them6p.com/podcast/episodes/m6p131.mp3It’s taken us a while to find the laptops, the microphones–I don’t think we actually found those–find the duct tape and the glitter and the cosplay outfits with the black and the white and the booty flaps that SWORD has…but somehow, we did it! That’s right. A brand-spankin’-new episode coming right at your earholes for the first time in over a year! You could even call it our annual show!!! But please don’t call it that. It makes us sad in our hearts to think that it took over a year to make up from the fight we had last time while writing the episode synopsis. (Check out the episode synopsis from our October 3rd 2022 show! That’ll tell you right there why it’s taken so long to get back in the saddle! And what a saddle it is! This episode we fly further, and higher, and faster, and holding hands, and switching places, with light, and glitter, and French braids, and black girl magic to really get to the heart of the cinematic masterpiece that is “The Marvels.” Now, I know what you are thinking…could those guys ever do justice to such a tremendous piece of art and culture and history? Let me assure you, we are actually cultured now. We took the last 12 to 14 months with our pinkies raised and our noses stuck firmly in the upward direction. We CAN evaluate this cinematic adventure. And boy, do we!!Now seems like a good time to talk about our sponsors. We are sponsored by Community Retail Partnership. Sign up to get discounts on all your Office Depot supplies. It’s like a Sam’s Club card for Office Depot! Go to crpsavings.com and sign up today for a lifetime membership! Moreover, our third sponsor is michaelwebsolutions.com and 5 O’Clock Collectibles on YouTube. Lastly, sign up at themarvelousbox.com to get your $100 worth of Marvel tpbs for $25 bucks! And remember, until next time, make yours The M6P!http://www.them6p.com/podcast/episodes/m6p131.mp3
What is the best and worst Marvel film of all time? Well, I’m sure we all have our opinions on that subject, but I wanted to know what the consensus was. To figure that out I gathered data from three major websites for rating movies and calculated the results. I gathered the average user ratings from IMDB, Letterboxd, and Rotten Tomatoes, along with the critics rating from the latter. I used those values to create an average score (a percentage) and ranked the movies. The films are ranked first by their average score and then by release date (newest to oldest). Average scores for this list are not weighted based on number of reviews, and the formula is modified in the case of missing ratings (generally critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes). While this list will include my own personal thoughts and opinions on each entry, the ranking is based entirely on the average score, along with sections highly plagiarized from Wikipedia.
Before I did that, I had another question though: what movies? For this list I gathered all the live action feature length films using Marvel properties as the protagonists or antagonist (legally or not, this is important for one entry). This is not the MCU only or only theatrical releases. If you notice any movie missing, please let us know and we will update the list.
The list is up to date as of Thor: Love and Thunder as I did not want to include any films not readily available to a large audience (on Disney+ for at least a month). With that in mind, supplemental addendums may be published listing where future releases fall in this list.
*48 – Ant-Man and Wasp: Quantumania (2023) – 59% – Before we start with the top ten, let’s add the latest and last addendum to this massive list of movies. By the time we’re finishing up this list, this movie has been on Disney+ for two months now, so I thought it only fair to include it. While this film is considered by some fans to be a fun sci-fi action-adventure film, the movie suffers from several things. First, it creates an interesting and diverse environment and does very little to actually explore that world. We’re met with a few as a team other than Janet discover and are introduced to the world, but with the myriad of interesting and weird characters and figures that are quickly introduced we don’t really get to know any of them. And then to top that off the movie doesn’t really give us enough details to work on filling in the rest ourselves. Next, Wasp seems like an afterthought to the entire script. This movie is really about Scott Lang and his daughter, which is fine, but generally when you announce multiple characters in the title, they usually get their own arcs and character growth. I forgot she was in the movie until she was reintroduced for plot convenience at one point. Another issue that I’ve commonly heard is that Ant-Man takes out Kang fairly easily, even though Kang killed Thor in his universe. For what it’s worth, this isn’t a bad movie, but like many of the modern MCU entries it is middling at best and mired in obvious studio mandates to include characters and set up future plot threads. This film was written and directed by humans apparently and stars humans doing their best to pretend to be other humans.
10 – Avengers (2012) – 84% – [By John Coughlin] –While the MCU may have started with 2008’s Iron Man, it wasn’t until 2012’s Avengers that we finally got to see all of our heroes together on the big screen. Aside from bringing everyone together, The Avengers is a funny, action packed movie with great character interaction. Director Joss Whedon was able to bring the stars of four separate franchises together, in a fun cohesive story that ensured the future of the Marvel cinematic universe.
9 – Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) – 84% – This film is a taut political thriller which also manages to aptly introduce moments of spectacle in the third act that don’t feel overindulgent and unnecessarily chaotic the way many recent blockbusters (including MCU films) feel. This movie has some of the best-grounded action of the entire MCU with the amazing freeway chase which turns into a street fight that rounds out the second act of the film. This sequel introduced us to the brothers Joe and Anthony Russo as the directors. Along with screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely writing their third entry for the MCU, this team would end up delivering what many consider to be the high points of Phases 2 and 3 of the MCU with this movie, Captain America: Civil War, Avenger: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame with those four movies delivering a combined box office of 6.718 billion dollars (off a combined budget of 1.227 billion dollars). This film uses mostly existing characters/actors from the MCU but adds Anthony Mackie (8 Mile and Pain & Gain), Emily VanCamp (Revenge), Frank Grillo (Boss Level and The Grey), Robert Redford (Barefoot in the Park… this is my wife’s favorite movie so I had to reference it), Toby Jones (The Mist and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy), and Jenny Agutter (Logan’s Run and An American Werewolf in London). This is personally my favorite film in the entire MCU.
8 – Thor: Ragnarok (2017) – 84% – If you disregard the comic and the previous film entries, this is a real people pleaser of a film. It is whimsical and fantastical and brings a lot of energy to a film series that a lot of people found uninteresting and lifeless. For those of us that disagree with that statement, this is seen as a joke-filled entry which undercuts the severity of the events happening. Odin dies and we don’t feel anything. Most of the population of Asgard dies and again we don’t feel anything. Asgard is destroyed and we barely feel anything. While I think this movie is still a good time and if watched through the eyes of a general audience, I can see why it rated so highly. But this movie also taught the studio and filmmaker lessons that maybe it shouldn’t have learned, which is why we got what we got with Thor: Love and Thunder. This movie was directed by Taika Waititi and written by Eric Pearson (Black Widow), Craig Kyle (X-Men: Evolution), and Christopher Yost (Thor: The Dark World). The previous cast is joined by Cate Blanchett (Lord of the Rings films), Jeff Goldblum (The Fly), Tessa Thompson (Annihilation), and Karl Urban (Dredd and Star Trek).
7 – Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) – 84% – I don’t hate this movie (I’m not actually sure I hate any movies on this list… sure some are bad, but they are offensively bad to the point I hate them like the movie Jack and Jill), but this movie does not deserve to be ranked as high as it is. This movie isn’t bad and deserves to be in the top half of the films on this entire list, but not in the top 10. As martial arts movies go this film suffers from exceedingly modern American filmmaking and editing choices. They use quick shots, CGI melding, and excessive cuts to mask a tightened filming schedule and the lack of extensive choreography training. While the tricks above can be used to intensify a fight sequence, they often show sloppy and untrained individuals behind the camera (producers, directors, and editors typically… I am not talking about the stunt crew). This film is ultimately about the master of Kung Fu in the Marvel universe (the character is based on Bruce Lee) and there are three fight sequences that I remember, and none are remarkable. The best (the bus fight) is the first one with the final one being boring CGI blast fighting. The film was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Just Mercy and The Glass Castle), who based on his previous films is a good director when it comes to drama, but this should’ve been a martial arts film first with a director who knows how to handle that material. This feels like a film where the character moments were directed by the director, but everything else was pre-visualized before he was signed on to the project (which is in no way unique to this MCU film… see: 26, 42, and 44). The director is co-credited as writer along with his common collaborator Andrew Lanham (The Shack), but was also written by David Callaham (Doom, The Expendables, & Wonder Woman 1984). The film featured Simu Liu (Kim’s Convenience) in the lead role as a breakout star, and he really is one of the best things about the film. The film also has an amazing pedigree of co-stars with the lead actor with Tony Leung (Hard Boiled, Infernal Affairs, & Lust, Caution), Michelle Yeoh (Police Story 3: Supercop, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, & Everything Everywhere All at Once), Yuen Wah (Enter the Dragon, Fist of Fury, & Kung Fu Hustle), and then it also stars Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s 8).
6 – Iron Man (2008) – 85% – Fifteen years ago, this film wrote the blueprint for the MCU in more ways than one. While it started the MCU, it also developed a template for a plot which has be regurgitated multiple times inside the MCU: Our hero is introduced, struggles, gets to a low point, overcomes the odds, and becomes the hero we know, and finally must defeat a mirror image of themselves to save the day. It could be argued that this is also kind of the plot of Superman II, but as this is a Marvel website, we don’t know what you’re talking about. But also, that is kind of the plot of Blade, Blade II, X-Men, and the 90s Captain America movie. Hey, it makes for a good origin story, but like with Uncle Ben getting shot, I’m ok if I never see it again. This movie was directed by Jon Favreau and written by Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby (The Expanse), Art Marcum & Matt Holloway (Kraven the Hunter). It stars Robert Downey Jr (Tropic Thunder) as the titular character along with Terrence Howard (Prisoners), Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski), Gwyneth Paltrow (Seven), Leslie Bibb (Law Abiding Citizen), and Shaun Toub (The Kite Runner).
5 – Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) – 85% – [By John Coughlin] – When Marvel announced that they would be making a movie about the Guardians of the Galaxy many fans and critics predicted Marvel was about to have its first flop. After all this wasn’t the semi popular Guardians team from the future. These Guardians had a tree who knew 3 words, a talking racoon and Star-Lord. To quote Korath the Pursuer, “Who?” Upon its release in 2014 GotG was far from a flop. James Gunn had written and directed a film that made fans and critics fall in love with characters we hardly knew. This movie had heart, humor, and an amazing soundtrack. Many consider this film to be one of the MCU’s best, which is why it ranks so high on our list.
4 – Avengers: Infinity War (2018) – 85% – [By Andrew Burbage] While ambitious and overdue, this movie has no right to be anything other than absolute chaos. Numerous story lines for both heroes and villains, crammed into two and a half hours, is typically a recipe for a box office bomb. And yet, this movie felt like one of the shortest in the franchise. Directed by the Russo brothers (Captain America: Winter Soldier and Civil War), and starring everybody but Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), this was the decade-long culmination of the MCU. Yes, everyone knew Avengers: Endgame was around the corner, but Infinity War was finally going to give us the true threat to the galaxy we had all been waiting for. Somehow, Marvel was able to develop Thanos into a much more complex character than in the comics, while still giving our heroes plenty of meaningful screen time. When interviewed, Joss Whedon expressed that he loved Thanos from the comic books, but that he “hung him out to dry” when introducing him to the MCU. Whedon couldn’t see how to work in Thanos’s nihilism or love of death. He was impressed with how the Russos were able to make him his own, from so little to work with. From beginning to end, every emotion can be felt, without any of them feeling unearned or forced. In many ways this feels like the peak of the MCU, and something Disney is longing to replicate.
3 – Avengers: Endgame (2019) – 87% – The culmination of eleven years and 21 films gave us an epic time traveling heist film that explores previous films and moments in a different light while also giving us the completion of several different character arcs. A lot of people talk about the epic moments in this movie (Avengers Assemble) which are great, but the core of this movie (and of any great movie) are the characters. And this movie took characters we loved and gave them extremely satisfactory completions to their stories. Ok, maybe not as much for Black Widow, but we got it for Captain America and Iron Man. This movie also features virtually every superhero character from the MCU that was introduced and still alive by the time this movie started. Is it a perfect film? No. Is it still fairly great and worthy of this high of a spot on this list.
2 – Logan (2017) – 87% – A lot of the problems that I have with the “Snyderverse” and why I don’t think it works, for some reason work here. My few moments of actual pearl clutching are when I think about how superheroes, designed for children, are conscripted by adults and turned dark and grim. I really do worry that kids don’t have the same pathways I had as a child to fall in love with these characters. And if they do, because they aren’t really getting into the stories, just the visual images, they are getting a very shallow and temporary infatuation with the character. I fear some of the films and shows are developing fair-weather fans instead of true, lifelong fans. But with that said, I really love this dark and gritty take on a dark and gritty character. This film wants to be an old Western and wears that on its sleeve. And the genre fits perfectly. The violence is bloody. The drama is emotional. And the action is mostly really good. While this may not be a feel-good movie you put on in the background while cleaning your house, it is one of the few works on this list that I think reaches to the level of cinema that Martin Scorsese was misunderstood when referencing. This is not merely a rollercoaster ride of action with mindless CGI capitalizing the main moments. This movie is a true character driven piece with characters who happen to have extraordinary powers. That can’t be said for many of the movies on this list. But it is also why it has resonated so much with fans of the source materials, lovers of cinema, and film critics alike.
1 – Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) – 88% – While the argument could and has been made that every comic book related film is nostalgia bait due to our longstanding pre-existing relationship and love for the characters that appear in these films, this movie is the Ouroboros of “member berries” (I recently heard them referred to as “Nerd Nods” and I think that’s an appropriate term also). I don’t believe this movie is bad in any way shape or form, and the nostalgia factors worked for me to a certain degree, but I have a hard time believing that a similar plot without those elements would’ve been rated as high especially by the audience. This movie’s gimmick (and it is a gimmick) is to shove as many Spider-Man related images in your face to elicit the desired effect of making you think the whole is equal to the high points of single moments. And it all feels obvious which is what shocks me about the overall rating. And again, don’t take this as me saying this is a bad movie. I generally try to determine the thesis or point of a movie and figure out if that was achieved or not to determine if a movie is truly bad, and I think in the case of this movie I think the point was to be nostalgia bait. And I have read a few critiques of this film online which call it manipulative, but I think that’s unfair. Every movie is manipulative because none are completely factual and organic scenarios. The trick a movie must accomplish is not make us notice that it is manipulating our emotions. But did I get choked up when Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man saved Mary Jane there by fulfilling his character arc after his Gwen Stacey died? Yeah. And did I feel for Tom Hollands’ Spider-Man at the end of the film as he discovered the true cost of being a superhero? Yeah. And was I thrilled at the amazing cost savings when the CGI heavy characters all hung out in a box truck to remain unseen while the rest of the characters were in the apartment? I guess. This movie was directed by Jon Watts (Clown and Cop Car) and written by Chris McKenna (Community and Ghosted) and Erik Sommers (Community and Crank Yankers). It stars everyone from all the other Spider-Man movies on this list that aren’t from the 70s or 80s.
Unlike their distinguished competitor, Marvel isn’t really known for their animated features. They’ve tried multiple times to dip their toes into it with extremely mixed results. In fact, based on the calculation of the average score across multiple sites only 2 out of the 19 entries that counted towards this list could be considered “certified fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes (28 of the top 80 live action films would be considered “fresh”).
If you saw the Top 80 films list, the calculations to come up with this list are the same. This list is not in order of my opinions but rather the average across three major websites that provide audiences and critics scores. All of these entries were above the 70 minutes mark, and I did not include any of the motion comics (maybe another list, one day).
The bottom nine are listed as honorable mentions:
Iron Man: Rise of Technovore (2013) – 47.3%
Iron Man and Hulk: Heroes United (2013) – 50.7%
Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and Punisher (2014) – 52.7%
Invincible Iron Man (2007) – 52.7%
Thor: Tales of Asgard (2011) – 54.3%
The Tomb of Dracula (aka Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned or Yami no teiô kyuketsuki dorakyura) (1980) – 56%
Marvel Super Hero Adventures: Frost Fight! (2015) – 57.7%
Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow (2008) – 57.7%
Ultimate Avengers 2: The Rise of the Panther (2006) – 58%
10 – Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell (2016) – 58% – This film is the second film to spin out of the Avengers Assemble television show (Marvel Super Hero Adventures: Frost Fight being the first). In this Hulk and Doctor Strange team up with the Howling Commandos to fight monsters rampaging on Halloween. The movie is was directed by Mitch Schauer who was the supervising director for the entire run of The Super Hero Squad Show.
9 – Ultimate Avengers: The Movie (2006) – 61% – This was the first film in the Marvel Animated Features (MAF) direct-to-video films, which had Craig Kyle (writer of the X-Force comic series and Thor: Ragnarok movie) as the supervising producer over all 8 films. The films varied in quality with 3 being on the top ten in the list and the other five being honorable mentions. This movie was directly based on The Ultimates comic series by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. While at the time we were in the fledgling days of the now superhero movie boom, it felt extremely unlikely we would ever see an Avengers film. I remember at the time thinking this was the best we would ever get. Luckily, I was very wrong.
8 – Doctor Strange (2007) – 61.3% – Also part of the MAF direct-to-video films, this was the fourth release. This is a basic origin story for the character with Baron Mordo and Dormammu being the ultimate antagonists, so not too far off from the movie that would come out nine years later. This film, like many on this list, features the voice talent of Kevin Michael Richardson, Fred Tatasciore, Tara Strong, and Phil LaMarr who, if you have ever watched anything animated or played any video games, you’ve heard their voice. They each have over 500 acting credits on IMDB (with Tatasciore having close to 1000).
7 – Planet Hulk (2010) – 61.7% – This was the seventh release as part of the MAF direct-to-video films. This film is an adaptation of the comic storyline of the same name. This film is directed by Sam Liu who is probably one of the most prolific directors of animated features today, doing most of his work for Marvel’s distinguished competitor, but has also done three of the films on this list (one an honorable mention and another to come on this list).
6 – Iron Man and Captain America: Heroes United (2014) – 62% – This is part of the Heroes United direct to video releases. Only two films were made as part of this series with the first being Iron Man and Hulk: Heroes United (second to the bottom on this list). This film features Iron Man and Captain America taking on the Red Skull and Taskmaster. This movie does feature Red Skull brain washing Captain America into becoming Captain Hydra, so maybe this had a small influence on what would become that controversial comic book story. Most notable for this is Clancy Brown voicing the Taskmaster.
5 – Monster of Frankenstein (aka Frankenstein Legend of Terror or Kyoufu Densetsu Kaiki! Frankenstein) (1981) – 62.5% – This was a Japanese animated adult-oriented film loosely based on the Marvel Comic of the same name as was The Tomb of Dracula. The English dubbing for both movies is notoriously bad. The Japanese translation of the title is Horror Legend Return! Both films are easy enough to find on YouTube, but are relatively slow.
4 – Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors (2018) – 72% – The only release in the Marvel Rising that was long enough to make this list, it is also the first entry from this franchise. The film, series, and comic releases under the Marvel Rising banner were focused on a younger audience than most of the entries on this list by having younger and less established characters as the focus of the stories. They were fairly well regarded by critics. This release was still when Marvel was pushing the Inhumans line as they did not own the rights to the X-Men yet, so it does focus on those characters, mainly the two newer ones to the comics Ms. Marvel and Inferno. This also tied into the Agents of SHIELD television series with Chloe Bennet reprising her role as Quake. Milana Vayntrub portrayed Squirrel Girl in this release and was set to reprise that role in the unaired and now defunct New Warriors television series which was to release that same year.
3 – Hulk Vs (2009) – 74.5% – This is the final entry on this list from the MAF direct-to-video films. It almost did not make to this list as it is technically not a single film but rather two shorter stories. The first short is Hulk vs Thor which features Hulk being manipulated by Loki into laying siege to Asgard and fighting his way through the pantheon of heroes in their ranks until he gets to Thor. The second short is Hulk vs Wolverine which is a loose retelling of their first battle in the comics. It also features Wolverine’s origin, and Hulk and Wolverine fighting Sabertooth, Lady Deathstrike, Omega Red, and Deadpool. Both features are short on plot and heavy on action which make them fun to watch.
2- Big Hero 6 (2014) – 83.3% – It only took seventeen previous entries to finally find a movie that generally audiences may have heard of. This is based on the comic by Man of Action studios (Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Reouleau specifically but also the great Joe Kelly and Joe Casey) who are probably best known for writing the Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes cartoon series. This is a loose adaptation as the original comic which featured Sunfire, Viper, and Silver Samurai. The main characters of Hiro and Baymax do appear in the comics although Baymax is dramatically different as he is a robotic dragon instead of the balloon robot in the movie. The movie itself was also marketed as a Disney production rather than a Marvel production being that this comic line was relatively unknown. This won Best Animated Feature at the 87th Academy Awards.
1 – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) – 91% – At the time of writing this, the sequel to the film has been released for a few weeks now and may be one of the largest films of 2023. But that’s not a huge surprise because this movie was huge when it came out as well. Often lauded as the best Spider-Man film, this movie made Spider-Ham a household name. I remember reading Peter Porker the Spectacular Spider-Ham comics as a little kid from Marvel’s Star Comics imprint (along with Heathcliff and Planet Terry). It was and is a bit surreal to see him in this movie. But even with astonishing visuals and amazing voice acting, this movie most importantly understands the character of Spider-Man and what that means regardless of the individual behind the mask. Sadly as we are starting to see a gluttony of “multiverse” style comic book movies (which is just an excuse for nostalgia baiting) that don’t understand that isn’t what is special about this movie. It understands the character. It understands what the mask means.
My kids and I were somewhere near the intersection of state routes 66 and 47 in western Ohio when I had the epiphany – Ms. Marvel isn’t that bad.
We’ll get to what caused such a Marvel milestone in a second.
It’s been quite some time since I’ve written any articles for The M6P (years in fact). After the realization that I may have been completely wrong about one of the Marvel characters I have loathed since her inception, I had to take a cold hard long look in the bathroom mirror when we finally got home that day and question everything I have ever known about myself:
Who am I?
Where am I going in life to lead me to this failure as a father?
Am I a terrible human being for now thinking Ms. Marvel isn’t all that bad, just mostly bad?
In the past, I’ve been quite vocal both on the various social media platforms The M6P can be found on (as well as our Youtube shows) regarding my disdain for Ms. Marvel’s character in both the comics and film. I realize there are many who aren’t fans of the character and who are fans of her but for me, I just always have viewed her as sort of a “forced creation” for the sake of providing more diversity into the Marvel Universe. I have felt this way about other. more recent Marvel character creations as well. While ultimately a number of factors contribute to my feelings about these types of forced characters, it really comes down to the simple fact that I’m just old school and don’t like change just for the sake of change.
So now that that is all out of the way on to why I Darrin J. Michael, now at 40 years of age, have finally decided that Ms. Marvel isn’t a complete steaming pile of unnecessariness as a superhero character.
As I had originally mentioned, I had been out traveling with my kids when this epiphany hit me harder than the time the Hulk smashed that Chitauri spaceship with a single punch in the first Avengers movie. (Best Hulk scene in any MCU movie ever by the way.)
Prior to the Ms. Marvel epiphany, the kids and I had been hanging out at the beach at a nearby state park doing some sweet cannonballs and writing very deep-meaning Haiku’s in the goose-poo-covered sand. We eventually saw storm clouds on the horizon so we packed up our towels along with what spicy pork rinds, Capri Suns, and Little Debbie snacks we had left and hit the road to head back home on State Route 66. It was as we were approaching the intersection of State Route 47 when things started getting interesting.
“Dad LOOK! It’s Ms. Marvel,” my son suddenly yelled with glee from the back seat.
At first, I didn’t know what he was referencing but was immediately appalled nonetheless. The nerve of him. How dare my 4-year-old son speak of a Marvel character I have not introduced him to or even mentioned in his presence.
“How do you know who Ms. Marvel even is? I raised you better than this!”
“On the sign look,” he said pointing.
I then noticed he was pointing at a billboard on the side of the road we were getting ready to pass. However, this was no billboard for Ms. Marvel. No, no, no…it was a billboard for an insurance agency that featured an African American lady wearing a blue pants suit with a superhero mask and cap flying towards outer space with text that read “We’re here for you anytime – 24/7!” on it.
In my son’s defense, the cartoon insurance lady did bare a striking resemblance to Miss Kamala Khan, so he genuinely thought it was her. And while I was proud he took the initiative to make a random Marvel reference while we were out driving in the middle of nowhere, I still couldn’t but help be disappointed in myself that I had let him down. Somewhere along the line I taught him it was ok to like Ms. Marvel as a character and failed him as father along the way.
I finally asked him, “Where have you seen Ms. Marvel from?”
“Spidey and His Amazing Friends,” he quickly and as matter-of-factly responded without missing a beat.
It started to make sense now. You see, my son is a HUGE fan of the “Spidey and His Amazing Friends” cartoon on Disney Plus. He watches at least one episode every day before bed and it just so happens Ms. Marvel is a recurring guest on the series. I was so relieved to know that it wasn’t me who had led my son on such a reckless path.
Then I started thinking even more about my own upbringing and introduction to the comic characters I grew up loving and WHY I loved them. For myself, I enjoyed waking up every Saturday morning knowing there was a new episode of X-Men: The Animated Series that was going to air. I even remember fighting with my parents about having to go to my little league soccer games on Saturdays instead of getting to stay home and watch X-Men. I LIVED AND BREATHED that universe when it came out and loved all of the characters.
As I continued the drive home from the lake, I began to realize that feeling of absolute love and admiration I had for watching the X-Men show is the same feeling my son has towards watching his “Spidey and His Amazing Friends” characters. They are his version of my X-Men cartoon in a weird way. The show is also one of the ways he’s began to learn about and love the Marvel Universe. If Ms. Marvel is part of the reason why then that’s just fine by me.
It can be quite easy for comic fans (myself included) to say, “That’s not my Marvel character so I don’t like them!” I think what’s important to remember is that not all Marvel characters are for everyone and that’s ok. We live in a time where everyone is quick to attack everyone else’s views or opinions (on literally any topic) as wrong rather than having a simple, educated discussion.
I don’t like Ms. Marvel but I guess she’s not that bad and my son likes her.
And besides, the Hulk’s still his favorite.
What is the best and worst Marvel film of all time? Well, I’m sure we all have our opinions on that subject, but I wanted to know what the consensus was. To figure that out I gathered data from three major websites for rating movies and calculated the results. I gathered the average user ratings from IMDB, Letterboxd, and Rotten Tomatoes, along with the critics rating from the latter. I used those values to create an average score (a percentage) and ranked the movies. The films are ranked first by their average score and then by release date (newest to oldest). Average scores for this list are not weighted based on number of reviews, and the formula is modified in the case of missing ratings (generally critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes). While this list will include my own personal thoughts and opinions on each entry along with sections highly plagiarized from Wikipedia, the ranking is based entirely on the average score.
Before I did that, I had another question though: what movies? For this list I gathered all the live action feature length films using Marvel properties as the protagonists or antagonist (legally or not, this is important for one entry). This is not the MCU only or only theatrical releases. If you notice any movie missing, please let us know and we will update the list.
The list is up to date as of Thor: Love and Thunder as I did not want to include any films not readily available to a large audience (on Disney+ for at least a month). With that in mind, supplemental addendums may be published listing where future releases fall in this list. Edit: I’ve been writing this piece for so long that I’ve added in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as an addendum, and by the time this is published Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania will have been on Disney for a month. But I think I’m done with Wakanda Forever.
20 – Doctor Strange (2016) – 80% – It may be a bit controversial to say, but this was the last MCU film (at the time of writing this) to have new, fun, and interesting visuals. Even when it came out though, it was just Inception on steroids. Now the effects and style of this movie have been copied at least once a year, with the recent Shazam sequel being the latest that I have seen to borrow heavily from the CGI style of Doctor Strange. Directed and co-written by modern horror master Scott Derrickson (Sinister and The Black Phone) and co-written by Jon Spaihts (Dune and Prometheus) and C. Robert Cargill (Sinister and The Black Phone), this film starred Benedict Cumberbatch (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Imitation Game) in the lead role. The film also co-stars Rachel McAdams (The Notebook), Benedict Wong (Sunshine), Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal and Riders of Justice), Tilda Swinton (3000 Years of Longing), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Children of Men) who probably should’ve been Doctor Strange.
19 – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (2017) – 80% – [By John Coughlin] – The second installment of James Gunn’s space faring trilogy brings back the original cast of characters, and adds Kurt Russell as Ego, and Pom Klementieff as Mantis. It is apparent that Marvel has given Gunn more freedom to make his own kind of movie following the success of the first film. That freedom comes with positives and negatives depending on how much you like James Gunn. This is a film about fathers and imperfect relationships told with the same fun style that is Gunn’s signature. It is a fun, funny, and heartwarming movie that can be over the top at times.
18 – X-Men: First Class (2011) – 81% – This reboot which was latter retconned into being soft-reboot-retcon (see entry #11 on this list) is the start of the series that appears to add a new secondary mutation to all the mutants: anti-aging. This movie was directed and co-written by Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman: The Secret Service) and written by Ashley Edward Miller (Thor), Zack Stentz (Thor), and Jane Goldman (Stardust and Kingsman: The Secret Service). The film stars James McAvoy (Wanted & It Chapter Two), Michael Fassbender (300 and Inglorious Basterds), Rose Byrne (Sunshine and 28 Weeks Later), Jennifer Lawrence (House at the End of the Street), Oliver Platt (Executive Decision and Lake Placid), and Kevin Bacon (Friday the 13th and Tremors). For the way this movie treats the character Darwin (Edi Gathegi) alone, this movie should not be in the top twenty.
17 – Black Panther (2018) – 81% – Based on its budget, this is one of the most profitable films (percentage wise) on this list. Whether you liked this movie or not, it is hard not to recognize the huge cultural impact this film had. While this film also follows the typical MCU formal (the main character comes into being, falls, and then must defeat a mirror version of themselves to rise and complete the hero’s journey) it is still praised for having possibly one of the most compelling and well-acted villains in the MCU. The movie was directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler (Creed and Fruitvale Station) and co-written by Joe Robert Cole (The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story). It stars Chadwick Boseman (Get On Up and 42) as the titular character. It also stars Michael B. Jordan (Creed and Fruitvale Station), Lupita Nyong’o (Us and 12 Years a Slave), Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead), Martin Freeman (Love Actually and Shaun of the Dead), Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out and Nope), Letitia Wright (Death on the Nile), Winston Duke (Us), Angela Bassett (What’s Love Got to Do With It), Forest Whitaker (Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai), and Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings trilogy and Planet of the Apes trilogy).
16 – Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) – 81% – The second reboot to this series seemed to finally get the character of Spider-Man correct: awkward nerdy but also quippy hero. This movie was also able to take the thesis of Spider-Man (With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility) and turn that into the plot and theme of the film without ever saying it out loud. This movie also learned long before Batman movies that we don’t have to always see the death of loved ones that spawned the character’s motivations in the first place. The movie was directed by Jon Watts (Clown and Cop Car) and written by Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and Game Night), Christ McKenna & Erik Sommers (Ghosted and the Lego Batman Movie), and Christopher Ford (Clown and Cop Car). The film stars Tom Holland (In the Heart of the Sea), Michael Keaton (Mr. Mom and Batman), Jon Favreau (PCU), Zendaya (Dune), Donald Glover (The Martian), Marisa Tomei (Only You and Chaplin), Bokeem Woodbine (Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies), and Robert Downey Jr (Only You and Chaplin). This film also features one of my personal favorite scenes from all the movies on this list which is the drive to the prom sequence. It is a classically suspenseful scene expertly directed and the way Keaton is able to convey so much information with just his eyes in the rearview mirror is a testament to him as an actor.
15 – Spider-Man 2 (2004) – 82% – This film’s placement is a dead giveaway that this list is not based upon my personal opinion. This is, in my estimation, not only the best Marvel comic book movie, but in my top 5 greatest films based on the medium (visit the YouTube channel: Hydro Man Ran which features fellow M6P columnist Andrew Burbage and myself, as this subject will be the topic of a future episode there). In one aspect, this film has moments that perfectly capture Sam Raimi’s manic filmmaking style, but also features moments of compelling drama, intense action, and inspiring heroics. The melding of all these factors along with CGI which has aged shockingly well and wonderful performances from all the actors solidifies this as a top-notch summer blockbuster. To top it off, the expanded edition of the film doesn’t just add scenes of boring dialogue that stutters the pacing set with the original edit but extends the train fight sequence by a substantial portion. And let us not forget the amazing transition shot of Spider-Man swing which zooms out from Doc Ock’s sunglasses, which is the only moment in these movies I don’t agree with Martin Scorsese. This movie adds to the previously established and fantastic cast with Alfred Molina (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Donna Murphy (Star Trek: Insurrection), and Aasif Mandvi (Die Hard with a Vengeance).
14 – Deadpool (2016) – 82% – While the humor of the film may not have been for everyone (especially the dumb parents who don’t understand how movie ratings work and took their children to see this), the way this movie was able to stretch its meager budget (meager for the type of film) was impressive. To me two things were crystal clear at the end of this movie: one, all the money was on screen without a doubt, and two, everyone seemed committed and passionate about the movie they were making. Again, it may not be your cup of tea, but it’s hard to hate a movie when you realize that (unless, again, you’re a dumb parent). This movie was directed by Tim Miller (Terminator: Dark Fate and Love, Death & Robots) and was written by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick (G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Zombieland, and 6 Underground). The film stars Ryan Reynolds playing the same character he’s played since Two Guys, A Girl, and A Pizza Place. Co-starring are Morena Baccarin (Serenity), Ed Skrein (Alita: Battle Angel), T. J. Miller (The Emoji Movie and a literal bomb threat), Gina Carano (My Son Hunter, which was its own kind of a bomb threat), and Brianna Hildebrand (Playing with Fire).
13 – Captain America: Civil War (2016) – 82% – [By John Coughlin] – Directed by brothers Joe and Anthony Russo, Captain America: Civil War is much more than a sequel in the Captain America trilogy. This film brings back most of the Avengers and even adds two more. Tom Holland and Chadwick Boseman make their MCU debuts as Spider-Man and Black Panther. We are also introduced to Daniel Bruhl as the villainous Baron Zemo. The plot is loosely based on the Marvel Comics event, “Civil War” by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, and carries forward elements from The Winter Soldier. Captain America Civil War is a memorable film on its own, and it has lasting ramifications for the Avengers through Endgame.
12 – Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) – 82% – While I’m slightly shocked that this film rates higher than its predecessor (even if it is only a single percentage point) this is another great Spider-Man entry. One sequence I’ll always remember from this film is the great fight between Spider-Man and Mysterio that actually feels like it is capturing and translating those fights from the comics. Mysterio can’t go toe-to-toe with Spidey, so the “special effects” and psychological manipulation that he does is great. This film also does an interesting job of making Mysterio’s abilities seem grounded and realistic at least as far as the MCU is concerned (not real world realistic). The film was directed by Jon Watts (Clown and Cop Car) and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers (Community, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Spider-Man: No Way Home). The film stars the same cast as the previous film adding Jake Gyllenhaal (Jarhead and Zodiac), Samuel L. Jackson (Deep Blue Sea), Colbie Smulders (Stumptown), and J. B. Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm).
11 – X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) – 83% – A time traveler from the future traveled to the past and undid the blurb written for this entry in the present. Sorry.
What is the best and worst Marvel film of all time? Well, I’m sure we all have our opinions on that subject, but I wanted to know what the consensus was. To figure that out I gathered data from three major websites for rating movies and calculated the results. I gathered the average user ratings from IMDB, Letterboxd, and Rotten Tomatoes, along with the critics rating from the latter. I used those values to create an average score (a percentage) and ranked the movies. The films are ranked first by their average score and then by release date (newest to oldest). Average scores for this list are not weighted based on number of reviews, and the formula is modified in the case of missing ratings (generally critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes). While this list will include my own personal thoughts and opinions on each entry along with sections highly plagiarized from Wikipedia, the ranking is based entirely on the average score.
Before I did that, I had another question though: what movies? For this list I gathered all the live action feature length films using Marvel properties as the protagonists or antagonist (legally or not, this is important for one entry). This is not the MCU only or only theatrical releases. If you notice any movie missing, please let us know and we will update the list.
The list is up to date as of Thor: Love and Thunder as I did not want to include any films not readily available to a large audience (on Disney+ for at least a month). With that in mind, supplemental addendums may be published listing where future releases fall in this list. Edit: I’ve been writing this piece for so long that I’ve added in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as an addendum, and by the time this is published Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania will have been on Disney for a month. But I think I’m done with Wakanda Forever.
30 – Iron Man 3 (2013) – 73% – Written and Directed by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and The Nice Guys) and co-written by Drew Pearce (Hotel Artemis and Hobbs & Shaw) this film finished out the Iron Man trilogy. This film stars Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Don Cheadle, but adds Guy Pearce (Memento and The Proposition), Rebecca Hall (The Gift and The Night House), and Ben Kingsley (Ghandi and Shutter Island). This movie was loosely based on Warren Ellis’ Extremis storyline in the comics. The President in the film is also named after the comic writer. The film strips down the character of Iron Man by causing Tony Stark to lose his suit for the middle of the movie, even delving deeply into the character’s PTSD from the events in The Avengers. This forces Tony Stark to use his wit and intelligence to attempt to overcome the main villain. While I like this part of the film, ultimately this trope is ignored to an extreme as approximately 50 Iron Man suits show up at the end of the film to fight in the final confrontation. I am a bit shocked this movie ranks as high as it does given the online hate this movie received at the time of its release for its take on The Mandarin.
29 – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) – 73% – Directed by Sam Raimi (Evil Dead & Spider-Man) this movie was originally supposed to be directed by Scott Derrickson with the intent of making a horror movie set inside of the MCU. The old phrase “due to creative differences” was thrown out along with Derrickson who went on to make The Black Phone instead. The movie was written by Michael Waldron (Rick & Morty and Loki) but originally Jade Halley Bartlett, a person with barely any IMDB credits, was supposed to write. And then the movie was delayed due to Covid. Luckily Benedict Cumberbatch came back for the titular role. The movie co-starred Elizabeth Olsen (Wind River and Martha Marcy May Marlene), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Children of Men and The Martian), Benedict Wong (Sunshine and The Martian), and Xochitl Gomez (The Baby-Sitters Club). What ultimately seemed a promising and thrilling romp through the multiverse limits the number of ‘verses to about 3 other than the main line continuity universe of the MCU which was a bit disappointing. But it also didn’t feel like other MCU entries which seem to be trying to be comedies before comic book adventure films, and that was a bit refreshing.
28 – Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) – 74% – This may be the first film in the MCU where the constraints of the end goal and need for continuity first showed signs of negatively meddling with promising stories. Written and directed by Joss Whedon (the man whose quip-a-minute writing style may be the death of cinema) this sequel to the beloved and classic first Avengers movie didn’t work with everyone. Starring the same cast with Robert Downey Jr, Christ Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, and Samuel L. Jackson, the roster was expanded on with Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Godzilla), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla), Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), Paul Bettany (Creation and all the other MCU films before this but just as a voice) and James Spader (Crash and Secretary). The movie expanded the Avengers by three but then only by two by the end of the film in what many consider to be the most pointless and frustrating death of a main character to that point in the MCU. The nicest scenes in the film are probably the moments at the farm where we get some quiet character moments and some interpersonal dialogue that isn’t too quippy. Lucky for us, Joss Whedon left the MCU after this, ruined a DC movie, and now we know who to mute and block on social media based on the simple phrase #releasethesnydercut. This movie also has my favorite Stan Lee cameo.
27 – Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) – 75% – One of the few MCU films coming in at under 2 hours long, this movie at least doesn’t overstay its welcome. This sequel was once again directed by Peyton Reed, and was written by Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers (The MCU Spider-Man trilogy), Paul Rudd (Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers), Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari (No Exit). The movie starred Pail Rudd (Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers), Evangeline Lilly (Lost), Hannah John-Kamen (Game of Thrones), Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns), Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix and Hannibal), and Michael Douglas (The Game and Fatal Attraction). This is the second film in the MCU to have a scene which relied heavily on digital de-aging actors. Lucky for us, this process has improved since X-Men Origins: Wolverine. While this movie was a fairly light and enjoyable MCU movie, it did feel something was lacking. This may have been the fun heist element from the first film. But with that said, the action and special effects were all serviceable and fun. This is a nice movie to put on in the background while cleaning your house on a rainy day.
26 – Black Widow (2021) – 76% – The genus Latrodectus from the class arachnida consists of the species Latrodectus mactans, or the black widow. This spider has an incredibly potent venom containing the neurotoxin latrotoxin which causes latrodectism. The bites of these spiders are rarely fatal to humans, but a full-grown female of the species is still dangerous. The females are best known for their sexual cannibalism, where in they eat the male after mating which is where they received the moniker of “widow.” Oops, wrong Wikipedia article. This is a film directed by Cate Shortland (Berlin Syndrome) and written by Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok and the upcoming Thunderbolts film). This movie stars Scarlett Johansson as the titular character, and co-stars Florence Pugh (Midsommar), David Harbour (Hellboy), Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace), Ray Winstone (The Proposition), and Rachel Weisz (The Mummy). This movie started with an amazing opening sequence, but it just went downhill after that. There are no stakes when we know Black Widow won’t die and we don’t care about anyone else except for maybe the actress we already knew was signed to a multiple movie deal with Marvel. In this movie we learn that Yelena Belova is explosion proof. It is far, far too high on this list.
25 – X-Men (2000) – 76% – In an age where the only good Marvel movie was Blade, we didn’t know what to expect when going to see this movie. The excitement for this film was palpable. Directed by Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) and written by David Hayter (the voice of Solid Snake in the Metal Gear games) this movie started the modern comic book film tradition still going today after twenty-three years. The film starred Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: TNG), Hugh Jackman (Prisoners), Ian McKellen (Gods and Monsters), Halle Berry (Die Another Day), Famke Janssen (GoldenEye), James Marsden, Bruce Davidson (Willard), Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (The Punisher), Ray Park (Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace), and Anna Paquin (True Blood). Originally Dougray Scott was signed on for the role of Wolverine but was injured in a motorcycle accident during the filming of Mission: Impossible 2, and so the unknown Hugh Jackman was brought in for the role (Viggo Mortensen also turned down the role). This movie was so exciting at the time it was until the third or fourth viewing that I realized that Halle Berry slowly slips out of her African accent as the movie progresses, until her final line, which might be the worst in the film, about frogs and lightning is spoken completely in her normal accent. Michael Jackson, yes, the singer, actively campaigned to play Xavier, but luckily for everyone the ultimate fan choice won the role in this scenario.
24 – Spider-Man (2002) – 76% – Another film, just like the previous entry, which was a celebrated event in geekdom back in the day. Adjusted for inflation this movie had a box office return of 1.5 billion dollars. Also adjusted for inflation, the average ticket to the theater would still have been almost $5 cheaper than the average today. I’m trying to drive home how big this movie was, not how much more expensive things are today, sorry. Directed by Sam Raimi (The Quick and the Dead) and written by David Koepp (Jurassic Park and Mission: Impossible), this film did what was considered impossible, which was bring Spider-Man to the big screen. Starring Tobey Maguire (Wonder Boys) as the titular character, the film co-starred Willem Dafoe (Platoon), Kristen Dunst (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), James Franco (127 Hours), Cliff Robertson (Midway and Gidget), and Rosemary Harris (The Gift). While some of the CGI modeling doesn’t hold up too well, this is still an expertly told comic book film and origin story.
23 – Ant-Man (2015) – 77% – Originally set to be directed by the acclaimed director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) and co-written by him along with his often-writing partner Joe Cornish (The Adventures of Tintin), this film ended up being directed by Peyton Reed (Bring It On and The Break-Up). This is what is referred to as a “downgrade.” Edgar Wright left the project for “creative differences” which basically means that Marvel was more interested in moving pawns on a chess board than creating a great movie. What we ended up with was a good movie. It isn’t anything groundbreaking. There are moments of great levity, and the third act heist aspect is a lot of fun. But overall, the film lacks a consistent energy and could’ve used a tighter edit with a slightly shorter runtime. The film stars Paul Rudd (Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers) as the titular character and is supported by Evangeline Lilly (Lost), Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris), Michael Peña (Fury), and Michael Douglas (Fatal Attraction and Falling Down).
22 – X2 (2003) – 78% – The sequel to the 2000 hit film, this film was also directed by Bryan Singer (part of Bohemian Rhapsody) and was written by Michael Dougherty (Superman Returns and X-Men: Apocalypse), Dan Harris (Superman Returns and X-Men: Apocalypse), and David Hayter (X-Men and Watchmen). While including much of the same cast as the last movie, this film added Brian Cox (Manhunter and The Autopsy of Jane Doe), Alan Cumming (GoldenEye and Spice World), Kelly Hu (Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan), and Aaron Stanford (The Hills Have Eyes). The plot and story borrow heavily from the Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills. The film still has one of the greatest opening sequences of any film on this list with the assault on the White House, and left the viewers at the time with the teasing of an epic potential for follow up film (sadly not delivered). For its time, this was one of the greatest comic book movies ever produced and I would argue is much better than many of the films ranked higher in this list.
21 – Deadpool 2 (2018) – 79% – This film directed by David Leitch and starring Ryan Reynolds as the titular character, brings back the crass, fourth-wall-breaking humor that made the first film a hit. The movie features an ensemble cast including Josh Brolin as Cable, Zazie Beetz as Domino, and Julian Dennison as Firefist. The supporting cast is just as strong, with T.J. Miller, Morena Baccarin, and Brianna Hildebrand reprising their roles from the first film. While the film falls into some of the sequel pitfalls of repeating too many of the jokes and losing some of the charm of the original, it still manages to be an enjoyable and entertaining ride. Overall, Deadpool 2 delivers on the action and humor fans were expecting and does a great job expanding the Deadpool universe while setting up potential future films. I barely remember this film, so I had ChatGPT write all of that.
21* – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) – 79% – I took so long writing the rest of the entries for this article series that I had to add this film. This sequel directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler and also co-written by Joe Robert Cole has a devastating and heart-breaking history. If you’re reading this list, you’re probably aware of the untimely demise of Chadwick Boseman to colon cancer. Somehow, what this film does wonderfully is pay tribute to his short but powerful legacy as an actor, while also moving forward and finding a future for the character in the MCU. This film is also important in the MCU by having Angel Bassett be the first Oscar nomination for acting in this series of movies. This movie has much of the same cast as the previous film but adds Tenoch Huerta Mejía (Sin Nombre), Dominique Thorne (Judas and the Black Messiah), Mabel Cadena, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld and Veep) in her first role in the MCU that feels more than just a cameo. As a fan of Namor from the comic books, I still like what they did with the character in this movie in terms of rewriting the history of Atlantis. For me, the film is bogged down by the requirement to introduce the Ironheart character as in multiple sequences this seems to stall the pacing of the film. Without that character (mandate from on-high?) I strongly believe, even with the loss of Chadwick Boseman, this film might’ve been considered better than the first.
Stan Lee (Mr. Cameo himself) is one of, if not the, most well known names in comics. He is responsible for so many of our favorite heroes and stories, and has spent a lot of time on the screen in their movies. But superhero films are not the only genre he’s appeared in. I’ve gathered ten of his greatest cameos across film and television.
10. Captain America: Civil War
There’s something about Stan’s seemingly innocent presence on camera that lends itself to hilarity whenever he has something to say. This appearance is no exception. While I often critique breaking up serious moments with humor, a major flaw of many Marvel movies, this moment fits in well with Tony trying to lift War Machine’s spirits. Stan, the mail man’s prescription is apparently out of date, but James rightfully respects his elders and allows the misspeak to go unnoticed, at Tony’s expense. This seems fair, given that the only people who would side with Iron Man in this movie are commies.
9. Big Hero 6
Revealed appropriately in a post-credit scene, Stan voices the father of Fred, one of the allies of the main hero, Hiro. Seen earlier in a portrait, Fred accidentally comes across a secret basement, while lamenting never being able to share his accomplishments with his father. As he searches the secret lair, his father reveals himself, much to Fred’s shock, before declaring that he knows everything. Fred embraces his father, who tells Fred that they have “a lot to talk about.” During interviews for this movie, Stan revealed that Walt Disney was a hero of his growing up, and that he was so excited to be a part of an actual Disney movie (as opposed to a Marvel movie owned by Disney).
8. Fantastic 4: Silver Surfer
This cameo is humorous but forgettable, in a forgettable, but not very humorous sequel. Stan’s cameo in this scene is relevant because of the call back to the comic scene this wedding is showing us. In The Fantastic Four: Issue #3, both Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are attempting to enter the wedding of Reed and Sue Richards. Shockingly, the men responsible for the bride and groom’s very existence are rudely denied entry. The final panel shows the writer duo walking into the night as they break the fourth wall, venting their frustration.
7. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Following the death of the home universe’s Spider Man, Miles Morales mourns along with the rest of New York City. Picking up a costume from a shop owned by Stan himself, they both talk about how they will miss Spiderman, with Stan revealing that he and Spiderman were friends. Miles asks if he can bring the costume back if it doesn’t fit, to which Stan replies “It always fits…eventually.” Honestly, this started out much higher on my list, due to the sentimentality and seriousness of the moment, but I had to lower it due to the “No returns or refunds” sign next to Stan, ruining a serious moment with an unnecessary joke. Editor’s Note: I strongly disagree with the joke undercutting the cameo, as it felt entirely in style for Stan Lee.
6. Avengers: Age of Ultron
Thor’s liquor may have been aged for a millennium in barrels built from the wreckage of Brunhilde’s fleet, but Omaha Beach is not impressed. Stan’s ability to survive this drink will play a role later in this list, but for now let’s enjoy Stan slurring, “Excelsior” and giving every surviving member of “The Greatest Generation” one more reason to feel proud.
5. X Men: Apocalypse
This is one of the most forgettable cameos on Stan’s resume, let alone on this list. There’s really only one factor that makes it stand out, and it’s one you have to wait until the credits to understand. Stan is seen amongst a cookie cutter neighborhood, holding his wife close to him as numerous nukes are seen up above. But it just so happens to be his actual wife. As a benefactor of nepotism myself, this is an ‘Andrew approved’ cameo.
4. Teen Titans Go To the Movies
There is no cameo Stan Lee won’t take on, even if it involves enemy territory! His ability to poke fun at himself is on full display, as is his very apparent love for all things comics. While Teen Titans Go only serves to make me miss the previous Teen Titans series, Stan still makes it humorous in a way that only he can.
3. The Simpsons
In addition to being in a title tag, Stan voiced himself in an episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season titled: ‘I Am Furious (Yellow)’ From making Comic-Book Guy lose all respect for him, to attempting to transform into the Hulk after seeing a raging Homer (covered in green paint) get a healthy dose of police brutality, this is an episode Marvel fans will love.
2. Mallrats
Stan’s cameo days started long before the MCU. In this Kevin Smith film about a couple of college slackers trying to get their lives together, Stan Lee makes his own appearance while the main character is staring at lingerie (and apparently not being dragged away by security). Despite Brodie’s peculiar focus on superhero reproductive organs, Stan Lee is able to pass along some wisdom by referencing his own “one that got away” Unlike the comical “throw away” lines from many of his MCU cameos, this cameo carries actual weight for Brodie in his struggle with his own romantic interest. The humor is still there, as we see shortly thereafter, that it was made up at the request of Brodie’s best friend. Fun Fact: Kevin Smith revealed in an interview that it was Stan’s idea to reveal that it was a made up story, as he didn’t want his wife to believe she was not the love of his life. You’re a good man, Stan.
1. Guardians of the Galaxy 2
Why is Stan’s Guardians 2 ranked number one? To put it simply, this scene makes it clear that Stan Lee is the One Above. Stan telling stories referencing various cameos makes this quite clear. The title of being the most powerful being in Marvel (and several other non-Marvel universes, as far as this list is concerned) honestly couldn’t be given to a more deserving figure. This also explains how he was able to survive Thor’s drink. Is his status official as far as Marvel is concerned? Probably not. However, they gave us screaming goats, therefore they have lost their right to have the final say.
What is the best and worst Marvel film of all time? Well, I’m sure we all have our opinions on that subject, but I wanted to know what the consensus was. To figure that out I gathered data from three major websites for rating movies and calculated the results. I gathered the average user ratings from IMDB, Letterboxd, and Rotten Tomatoes, along with the critics rating from the latter. I used those values to create an average score (a percentage) and ranked the movies. The films are ranked first by their average score and then by release date (newest to oldest). Average scores for this list are not weighted based on number of reviews, and the formula is modified in the case of missing ratings (generally critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes). While this list will include my own personal thoughts and opinions on each entry along with sections highly plagiarized from Wikipedia, the ranking is based entirely on the average score.
Before I did that, I had another question though: what movies? For this list I gathered all the live action feature length films using Marvel properties as the protagonists or antagonist (legally or not, this is important for one entry). This is not the MCU only or only theatrical releases. If you notice any movie missing, please let us know and we will update the list.
The list is up to date as of Thor: Love and Thunder as I did not want to include any films not readily available to a large audience (on Disney+ for at least a month). With that in mind, supplemental addendums may be published listing where future releases fall in this list. Edit: I’ve been writing this piece for so long that I’ve added in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as an addendum, and by the time this is published Ant-Man and Wasp Quantumania will have been on Disney for a month. But I think I’m done with Wakanda Forever.
Entries 80 – 61
Entries 60 – 51
Entries 50 – 41
40 – Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) – 64% – Directed by Andy Serkis (yes, Golum) and written by Kelly Marcel who co-wrote this previous entry, this was one of those Covid movies postponed several times as well all waited for theaters to open back up and us not have to sit for two or more hours with a mask on. It ended up being the third highest grossing film of 2021 as it was a fan favorite, but that’s also like being the third strongest boy on the cancer ward. The film starred much of the same as the previous entry with the addition of Naomie Harris (28 Days Later, Skyfall, & No Time to Die) and Woody Harrelson (some pothead). Unburdened by the need for an origin story, this movie is slightly better than the first, and doesn’t get as bogged down in introducing characters. Still, compared to the comics, Carnage and Shriek are slightly one-dimensional characters and aren’t properly fleshed out possibly due to the PG-13 rating and possibly due to the short runtime for this movie (97 minutes… no time for a second act nap for old man McVicker). I do remember noticing the visuals at the beginning of the film, and how nice they appeared, but that could’ve very well just been a good Blu-ray transfer compared to other films. This movie doesn’t feel as large as other comic book related films which makes it nice and quaint.
39 – Blade II (2002) – 64% – The true travesty of this list is Blade II being ranked as low as it is. This Guillermo del Toro directed (Shape of Water, The Devil’s Backbone, Pinocchio, Pan’s Labyrinth, & Nightmare Alley) and written by David S. Goyer (Dark City, The Dark Knight, & Hellraiser) is a fantastic horror film. It stars Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson from the first film, but adds Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), Thomas Kretschmann (Baron von Strucker in Avengers: Age of Ultron), Luke Goss (Hellboy II: The Golden Army), Donnie Yen (John Wick: Chapter 4 & Rogue One), and Tony Curran (Bor in Thor: The Dark World). In this movie Blade has to team up with vampires to fight something worse than vampires. It is bloody, and action packed, and full of obvious but fun twists and double crosses. This is what genre films should strive to be, and this being out of the top twenty in this list is a crime. Roger Ebert wrote on this movie that it is a “brilliant vomitorium of viscera, a comic book with dreams of becoming a textbook for mad surgeons.” He gets it.
38 – Thor: The Dark World (2013) – 65% – Directed by Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones and Sopranos) and written by Christopher Yost (Thor: Ragnarök, The Manalorian, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and many, many great comic books) and Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Captain America: Winter Soldier), this is a film that I think is generally misunderstood. This film adds from the previous cast with Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who and G.I. Joes: The Rise of Cobra) and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Suicide Squad and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra). Zachary Levi (Shazam) also replaced Josh Dallas as Fandral. This movie is apparently so forgotten that the writers of this film took time in Avengers: Endgame to explain the events from this movie. This is probably the last time in a film that Thor acted like Thor from the comics. The film was so difficult to work on that the director thought about quitting directing, and after the release of the Zak Snyder cut of Justice League said he wished he could do something similar with this film. The final cut of the film was not something he liked and much of this was apparently due to studio meddling. But we seem glimpses of genius in this film, whether it is Loki’s dialogue while imprisoned or the final battle, which yes, involved a blue beam in the sky, but also did something interesting and different with portal jumping and how that affected the battle (which appears to possibly being mimicked in The Marvels [2023]).
37 – Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) – 65% – This is the second Thor movie directed by Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit, What We Do in the Shadows, and Thor: Ragnarok) and was co-written by him and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (writer/director of Do Revenge). The film stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor & A Cabin in the Woods), Christian Bale (Reign of Fire, The Machinist, and Ford v Ferrari… he might have also played a superhero at some other point), Natalie Portman (Thor, Léon: The Professional, & V for Vendetta), Tessa Thompson (Thor: Ragnarok & Annihilation), and Russell Crowe (Gladiator, 3:10 to Yuma, & Romper Stomper). This movie takes elements from Jason Aaron’s Thor: God of Thunder and Mighty Thor comic storylines that were impactful and interesting and somehow manages to make them seem trite and uninteresting. I was always a fan of Jane Foster’s Thor for mainly the reason of her dealing with cancer and what transforming into Thor did to the chemotherapy in her body. Her being Thor killed her and it made her a truly heroic and compelling character. This movie did not properly flesh out that story and the motivations of the character. Instead, we just get a female Thor who has cancer and is going to die anyways. There are always constraints and limiting factors when translating a serialized story into a two-hour long film, and sometimes that’s why certain serialized stories just need to not be turned into films.
36 – The Wolverine (2013) – 66% – Off the heels of the previous Wolverine stand-alone film, almost anything was destined to be better. This film was directed by James Mangold (Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, and Logan) and was written by Mark Bomback (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Ware for the Planet of the Apes) and Scott Frank (Logan, Out of Sight, and Minority Report). An interesting bit of trivia is that Darren Aronofsky was originally hired to direct this movie based on a screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie. It starred Hugh Jackman (Kate & Leopold, Australia, and The Greatest Showman) and the titular The Wolverine. The movie also starred Hiroyuki Sanada (The Last Samurai, Sunshine, and John Wick: Chapter 4), Tao Okamoto (Hannibal and Westworld series), Rila Fukushima (Arrow and Game of Thrones series), Will Yun Lee (Die Another Day & Elektra), and Svetlana Khodchenkova (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). This movie is loosely based on the Chris Claremont and Frank Miller limited Wolverine series. While this movie was fairly somber and character driven especially for a comic book film at the time, that ended up working in its favor as it is generally well received by audiences and critics especially after the bombastic and comically bad X-Men Origins: Wolverine. This borrowed a more stripped-down approach that was used in the X-Men: First Class film. While the third act does drift into the ridiculous, it is still at least character focused and doesn’t engage in an unnecessary world end catastrophe.
35 – Iron Man 2 (2010) – 68% – This sequel was directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man, The Jungle Book, & Chef) and was written by Justin Theroux (writer of Tropic Thunder and played the main character in The Leftovers). It once again stars Robert Downey Jr (Tropic Thunder) and Gwyneth Paltrow (The Royal Tenenbaums) and adds to the cast with Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda), Scarlett Johansson (Ghost World), Sam Rockwell (Seven Psychopaths and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), and Mickey Rourke (Immortals and Body Heat). Don Cheadle replaced Terence Howard in this film as James Rhodes after Terence Howard (reported the highest paid actor in the first film) was offered a pay cut (reportedly up to 50 to 80 percent) and either left the project or was fired. While for most this film is not as good as the original, it does a great job at one thing: Sam Rockwell. And in terms of trying to find someone to play against the charisma magnet that is Robert Downey Jr, I’m not sure they could’ve found someone better. One of the biggest crimes the MCU has committed is not bringing his character back in a larger role. This movie is also considered to have the first appearance of Peter Parker, as it has been retroactively established that the child wearing the Iron Man toys and standing up to the drones in the third act is him.
34 – Blade (1998) – 69% – The second R-Rated Marvel movie released was directed by the man who is often attributed with convincing Sean Connery to quit acting: Stephen Norrington (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). This movie was written by comic movie staple David S. Goyer (responsible for four other entries on this list). This movie stars Wesley Snipes in the titular role of the Daywalker. Co-starring are Stephen Dorff as the least threatening villain of all time, Kris Kristofferson presumably playing himself, Donal Logue having the time of his life, Udo Kier in one of his least weird films, and N’Bushe Wright giving probably the best performance of the entire film. While some… most of the CGI in this film does not stand the test of time, this film proves to be a fun, bloody action flick which set a fairly definitive bar for any Blade movies to come. I personally think the sequel is a far better film, and even though it is only 5 places below this film on this list, it does deserve to be above this entry in my (correct) opinion. This film is responsible for teaching us that apparently some people try to ice skate uphill.
33 – Thor (2011) – 70% – Shakespearean and Christopher Nolan staple Kenneth Branagh directed this entry in this list. This movie was also written by Ashley Miller & Zack Stentz (Andromeda and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), and Don Payne (The Simpsons, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Thor: The Dark World). The story for the film is credited to Thor comic scribe J. Michael Straczynski (who also has a cameo in the film) and Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend). It introduced us to Chris Hemsworth as the titular character who had only been in three films prior (Star Trek, A Perfect Getaway, and Ca$h). The film rounded out its cast with Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, and Anthony Hopkins, giving us possibly the strongest supporting cast of any MCU film series. The film loosely borrows from JMS’ storyline, doing away with the Dr. Donald Blake human persona (although the name is referenced in the film). As a MCU film goes, it may have one of the best character arcs for the hero as Thor goes from an arrogant and immature man to the selfless hero deserving of wielding Mjölnir. Sadly, all of this was undone in future entries of the film series in service of comedy. But the other thing I’m happy they changed in later films is Thor’s eyebrows.
32 – The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) – 71% – This reboot was written by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac), Alvin Sargent (Spider-Man 2), and Steve Kloves (Wonder Boys) and was directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer). It stars Andrew Garfield as a potentially too handsome Peter Parker. Emma Stone (Birdman and La La Land), Rhys Ifans (the guy in Notting Hill that everyone used to say reminded them of me), Dennis Leary (Rescue Me), Martin Sheen (Badlands, Apocalypse Now, and The Departed), and Sally Field (Smokey and the Bandit, Soapdish, and 80 for Brady) round out the cast. This film is another origin story for Spider-Man where we all get to cry when Uncle Ben dies and Spider-Man learns his most valuable lesson. We also get the death of Captain Stacy storyline which is basically immediately ignored in the second film and leads to the death of Gwen Stacy. So impactful stories which spanned the first 150 issues of the series about a relatable character are now compacted into two movies which makes it difficult to understand how a quippy and fun-loving character isn’t a morose and depressed cynic. Also the Lizard, the villain of the story, has very unclear and convenient motives. But the scene where all the cranes turn towards the street so Spider-Man can swing on them is a great moment in Spider-Man on the big screen.
31 – Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) – 72% – Directed by Joe Johnston (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer, and Jumanji) and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (Captain America: Winter Soldier and Civil War & Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame), this WWII throwback is first movie to watch if you’re watching all the MCU movies in chronological order. Starring Chris Evans (The Fantastic Four), Tommy Lee Jones (Batman Forever), Hugo Weaving (The Matrix), Hayley Atwell (Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning), Sebastian Stan (Pam & Tommy), Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), and Stanley Tucci (Road to Perdition). While this movie may not be the best in terms of action especially with the unimpressive shield throwing scenes, the movie makes up for this with a fantastic cast and a classic and compelling story. Although slightly different from the comics (Bucky and Steve being friends from before and “vita-rays” being the main differences), this (and Iron Man) may be the most comic accurate films in the MCU.
By Joseph Martin Marvel recently released an exclusive look at a variant cover for the upcoming crossover comic “Hulk vs Thor: Banner of War.” The variant cover for the first issue will feature a wraparound design with art and color...
By Joseph Martin Marvel Comics will celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the first appearance of Spider-Man by releasing a plethora of comics featuring variant covers of the web-slinger for not only the line of Spider-Man comics, but also for some...
By Joseph Martin When viewers go to see Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania next summer, they will have the pleasure to witness some of the most state-of-the-art video production as the film will feature StageCraft VFX technology that was...
By Joseph Martin It’s a fair statement that the lightsaber created by George Lucas for the Star Wars universe, is firmly in the Top 10 Greatest Fantasy/Sci-fi Weapons ever created! Almost any comic book fan has wondered what would happen...
Sometimes you just run out of things to say. Well…now is NOT one of those times. (Oh, no.) That’s right, we are back with a vengeance! (Please don’t.) And we are all dressed to kill, going to the Hellfire Gala....
Sometimes you just have to sit back and wonder what is going on in the world. I mean, who do you trust? What is true and what is really true? Do we even know? Can we tell anymore? That’s what...
Has it really come to this? I gotta say, I wasn’t ever expecting this type of conundrum during my lifetime. Growing up, I always heard that we have to be kind to Mother Nature and that we really should make...
By Nick Taylor Anytime The M6P team has something to say, it’s about Marvel! Jarid and I got to talking and he brought up the Silver Surfer. I told him “I’m not sure if I’ve ever told you this, but...
This is a PUBIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT to everyone listening. (And reading.) What? (Everyone listening to our podcast, but also everyone reading what you have typed here.) Listen, man, this is not the time to correct me, alright? I’m trying to be serious here! It is not a time to joke! (I’m not joking. I’m trying to help you. Listen, people are going to look at this and say, “wow, he wasn’t allowed to leave the house and he had so much time to write this and he STILL messed up on it.”) I am too allowed to go out of the house. I’m not even in America! (Gotta be honest, bro, you’re not helping your case. Maybe they kicked you out of the country, because you wouldn’t stay indoors.) Have you lost your mind? Are you crazy? Are you one of those people with those big Dr. Suess hats sitting on mountains of toilet paper rolls with a carnival-themed plastic scepter in your hand–just laughing and laughing and laughing until you get the hiccups? (I think you’ve lost the point of what you are talking about.) No, sir! No! I know I have a point! We are here to talk about the X-Men and the Legacy Virus…and Africa. (I don’t think that’s right.) I DON’T THINK YOU’RE RIGHT!!! (You misspelled “public”.)
P.S. This episode was recorded almost 2 weeks ago and a LOT has changed since!
Now seems like a good time to talk about our sponsors. We are sponsored by DCBService.com. Get all your Marvel pre-orders for 40% off cover price. They even have specials and clearance issues for up to 70% off! And don’t forget their sister site, InStockTrades.com. All orders over $60 are free shipping. We are also sponsored by Community Retail Partnership. Sign up to get discounts on all your Office Depot supplies. It’s like a Sam’s Club card for Office Depot! Go to crpsavings.com and sign up today for a lifetime membership! Moreover, our third sponsor is michaelwebsolutions.com. Do you need web solutions? Call Darrin!!! Lastly, sign up at themarvelousbox.com to get your $100 worth of Marvel TPBs for $25 bucks! And remember, until next time, make yours The M6P!
http://www.them6p.com/podcast/episodes/m6p126.mp3
By Nick Taylor
You might be looking over the title and thinking “Did I misread something?” No, but the title is misleading (or is it?) as currently this is just a heavily discussed rumor right now. We’re not here to talk about rumors or in the rumor business but we are here to discuss the CREDIBILITY of said rumor. Get ready – cause this one is wild!
According to the Black Knight, a fairly accurate scooper at Lords of the Long Box, suggests there is more to the current news about Dan DiDio than what the average gossip site is saying. In case you are unfamiliar with Dan DiDio, he is the former Publisher for DC Comics or as they are called at The M6P, the Distinguished Competition. Recently he “resigned” but it isn’t really clear as to whether he was fired or he left on his own. Numerous outlets like Variety and Deadline are making these reports along with the usual gossip comic book sites. Now things are about to get crazy.
Marvel doesn’t always claim the number one spot each month for highest selling comic book. Many times, DC has the honor of being on top. A Batman or Superman title is often the top monthly selling comic. However, do you know what publisher typically dominates the rest of the top ten selling comics for the month? Marvel. If DC isn’t number one, it’s usually, say it with me, Marvel. Here comes the rumor – stay with me. We’re hearing AT&T (the owner of DC Comics) is not very impressed with recent DC output, and they were really unimpressed by 5G (the next big DC reboot). AT&T considered getting movie and tv writers to take over writing DC Comics to ensure more compelling stories were being told, using JJ Abrams as a prime example of a movie and tv writer being able to write a very interesting fresh take on Spider-Man. However for reasons unknown, they decided not to do so because a better idea came to them. What if we have Marvel take over DC Comics?
Are you are losing your collective minds right now? AT&T would sell the comic rights over to Disney while AT&T/ Warner Bros. would retain film and tv rights for the DC properties. Marvel would be writing DC Comics. This would be insane. Said scooper also adds that this negotiation is still in the works but has been going for months. Further adding flame to the fire is Marvel characters being teased in Doomsday Clock and DC characters being teased in Thor. DC and Marvel would remain separate from each other but there’d be a much larger chance of crossovers and characters jumping from one universe to the other. Think Miles Morales jumping from Ultimate Universe to the 616, or Angela from Image Comics Spawn to showing up in Marvel titles like Guardians of The Galaxy and Thor.
I said it was crazy!
Nick Taylor enjoys all things Marvel and like many got his first taste from Pryde of the X-Men which changed his life forever. He’s written for Rotten Tomatoes, Comic Booked, Gaming History 101, and was part of the short lived Rotten Tomatoes Show.
Now is the season to start looking to the future. However…it seems like 80 years in the future is a bit much. Am I right? (Well, see, it’s figurative. Like it’s 80 years in the future and it’s been 80 years since the first Marvel comics came out…so…) Exactly! I’m glad you know what I’m talking about. I resolve to never let my social score drop more than 238 points in a single act of violence. (…I don’t think we are on the same page. What exactly are you doing?) I’m making my New Year’s Resolution. I resolve to never let a magical wizard that’s a girl take up residence in my head for all the rest of my years. (I’m seriously trying to bite my tongue, but I can’t–not anymore. Do you think that Marvel’s 2099 current storyline is–like–the company’s New Year’s Resolutions or something?) That’s what I was told, yes. (By whom?) What? (Who told you that?) OH! I that you said “Buy Broom.” (No, no. “By whom?”) I see…it’s like a metaphor. (Yeah, it is…but who told you that it was a New Year’s Resolution?) I hereby solemnly swear that I resolve to “Buy Broom” for the next 80 years. I will continue to clean up my life. I will not let the dust and dirt of my kitchen floors sully the soul of my feet. (Holy cow….forget it.)
Now seems like a good time to talk about our sponsors. We are sponsored by DCBService.com. Get all your Marvel pre-orders for 40% off cover price. They even have specials and clearance issues for up to 70% off! And don’t forget their sister site, InStockTrades.com. All orders over $60 are free shipping. We are also sponsored by Community Retail Partnership. Sign up to get discounts on all your Office Depot supplies. It’s like a Sam’s Club card for Office Depot! Go to crpsavings.com and sign up today for a lifetime membership! Moreover, our third sponsor is michaelwebsolutions.com. Do you need web solutions? Call Darrin!!! Lastly, sign up at themarvelousbox.com to get your $100 worth of Marvel tpbs for $25 bucks! And remember, until next time, make yours The M6P!
http://www.them6p.com/podcast/episodes/m6p125.mp3
It’s been a while. (Yes, it has.) So…You forgive me? (Nothing to forgive, my friend.) Well, good….because I’m moving to Africa. (WHAT?!?!?!) Yes, there’s a missionary hospital over in a country called Togo. I’m (Andy) going over there to be a teacher in a one-room school house. (Wait, stop. Are you serious?) Yeah, man. (Why didn’t you tell me?!?! Did you think I’d be mad?) No, no!! Nothing like that. I was afraid you would want to come with me. (WHAT!!!) No offense, but I’m just so tired of you outshining me all the time. I mean, you know way more about comics and the X-Men than I do. (True.) And you are just so good looking. (Also true.) And you just smell soooo good. (Ummm….) And your hair is really soft. (Okay, okay…you can stop.) And your backrubs are amazing. At least I assume they are with those strong hands. (STOP!! STOP!!….You know, maybe you going to Africa really isn’t that bad of an idea for a while.)
Now seems like a good time to talk about our sponsors. We are sponsored by DCBService.com. Get all your Marvel pre-orders for 40% off cover price. They even have specials and clearance issues for up to 70% off! And don’t forget their sister site, InStockTrades.com. All orders over $60 are free shipping. We are also sponsored by Community Retail Partnership. Sign up to get discounts on all your Office Depot supplies. It’s like a Sam’s Club card for Office Depot! Go to crpsavings.com and sign up today for a lifetime membership! Moreover, our third sponsor is michaelwebsolutions.com. Do you need web solutions? Call Darrin!!! Lastly, sign up at themarvelousbox.com to get your $100 worth of Marvel tpbs for $25 bucks! And remember, until next time, make yours The M6P!
http://www.them6p.com/podcast/episodes/m6p124.mp3