The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) feels bigger than trilogies. But for many movie lovers, the sacred trinity is still an essential movie currency. Over the last two decades, Marvel’s properties have propelled many film series to two or more sequels. So even for the MCU, three remains the gamma-irradiated, super-serumed, and iron-clad magic number.
Marvel trilogies cover the MCU that kicked off in 2008 but also older and parallel properties, like the X-Men juggernaut that was formerly at Fox and the Spider-Man Universe that, despite some fan-pleasing agreements, is sticking to Sony.
The list of heroes, antiheroes, and villains that have stacked up three or more movies will grow rapidly. Over the next year or so, Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man and the Wasp will join the club. Dr. Strange and Black Panther won’t be far behind, and even Deadpool is closing in. At Sony, the animated Spider-Verse trilogy has been lined up, while Venom looks intent on eating its way to a third installment. Their refreshed and most successful screen, Spider-Man, is likely to embark on a whole new trilogy.
That’s a significant number, but it remains to be seen which character can land a perfect trilogy. For this list, a trilogy isn’t a cohesive and wrapped-up storyline with a beginning, middle, and end but a consistent series that has reached three parts. So often, these series have been let down by one installment. If there’s a saga that runs through every phase of the MCU, it’s the quest to land three perfect movies in a row. It’s certainly a hot topic among MCU fans.
We’ll get on with it before we make a case that Howard the Duck is only two movies away from a trilogy. Here is every Marvel trilogy ranked.
10. Wolverine trilogy
Wolverine got off to a ropey start and, to be honest, solo career. Origins was a bland spin-off, obsessed with mythology building, that managed to make Wolvie as dull and Deadpool as uninteresting. The Wolverine was an intelligent and brooding sequel, but it wasn’t the memorable opportunity it should have been.
Hugh Jackman’s more than two-decade run as Experiment X is better regarded for his contributions to the X-Men franchise as a whole. Hell, even his brief and brutal cameo in Apocalypse is one of the most memorable parts of the film. Logan is a noir comic book classic and a tragic end to the Fox continuity, but it came too late.
9. Thor trilogy
Thor followed a similar trajectory to Iron Man, but while most MCU fans will say the thunder god hit it out of the park with Mjolnir with his third installment, Iron Man was a consistently better bench presser.
Thor’s humble roots in a tiny alien invasion film are increasingly hard to understand as the MCU grows. The follow-up, The Dark World, remains one of the MCU’s most forgettable movies. Ragnarok showed how refreshing it was to have a broader vision, a galactic approach, and incorporate character comedy and risk while sticking close to original comic plotlines. It’s a good thing this list doesn’t cover the fourth parts.
8. Iron Man trilogy
Considering Robert Downey Jr’s character made the MCU possible, Iron Man’s solo adventures are divisive. The first Iron Man is a solid but slight adventure that effortlessly sets up a new world. The second installment, only three films into the most successful franchise in Hollywood history, almost blew it. Iron Man 2 is infamous for prioritizing universe-building over plot. It was too much, too quick, and left a long shadow.
When Iron Man soared back for a third installment, he was the first character to gross over $1 billion solo (thanks to The Avengers), but Iron Man 3 split fans. There is lots to love in Shane Black’s Christmas-set 80s throwback, but Iron Man’s destiny was always to be part of the bigger picture.
7. Blade trilogy
Blade is set to return to movie theaters as part of the MCU, but we’re unlikely to forget what this antihero did for comic books. In 1998, Steve Norrington’s Blade was a punchy, vibrant, refreshing movie. Things got even more serious when Guillermo del Toro added his distinctive voice to the sequel.
The concept of Blade: Trinity sounded good, but it felt like it existed to close out the trilogy. At that time, everyone really was obsessed with trilogies.
6. X-Men trilogy
Punching it out with Sony’s original Spider-Man trilogy, X-Men can claim to be one of the elder statesmen of comic book trilogies. 2000’s X-Men was a bit undercooked and lacked a set piece, but its brilliant cast showed promise. X2 lived up to that, flipping the trilogy around and serving up an excellent, engaging, and emotional story with a cliffhanger that promised everything.
Trilogy closer The Last Stand couldn’t do anything but disappoint, and with Brett Ratner taking over from Bryan Singer, it succeeded at that impressively.
5. Spider-Man trilogy
Another trilogy that fell badly in its final third. Spider-Man was a victim of its success. The first movie was bright, well-cast, and tremendously watchable. The only real criticism was that it cheaply killed off one of Spidey’s major foes. That happened again the second time, but that was also when the web crawler started moving.
Spider-Man 2 is one of the greatest comic book movies, where director Sam Raimi perfectly judged horror, action, and comedy. The third part collapsed under its villains, with all the fingers pointing at the studio as the culprit.
4. X-Men First Class trilogy
Rebooting the X-Men was a big task, but Matthew Vaughn’s fresh start hit upon the brilliant idea of a period piece. First Class was steeped in the 60s and brilliantly introduced a mix of old and new mutants to revive the franchise.
Having got away with it, mixing the two timelines was a bold move that Days of Future Past carried off. Again proof that adapting comic arcs pays off. Unfortunately, it was unsustainable as things unraveled as the series reached leotards and sweatbands. That said, the mutant disaster movie Apocalypse is no The Last Stand.
3. Spider-Man Homecoming trilogy
We were so used to Marvel heroes being strung between studios that it was easy to overlook that Spider-Man was ready-made to do just that. The ambition of Sony, paired with the clout of Marvel Studios itching for Tom Holland’s younger Peter Parker to breathe into his role as part an Avenger paid off.
Serving up the Vulture and Mysterio as villains in the solo movies was simple fan service. Both parts were undercooked compared to previous Spidey-sagas but were elevated by the closer that delivered a punchline to the three series of Spider-Man movies. Nostalgia dealt with, Peter Parker is set up for a brand new trilogy.
2. Captain America trilogy
The First Avenger was a steady and reliable oddity in the MCU — a period piece. It was in the present day that Cap proved to be the perfect, solid cornerstone in the MCU that could blow everything we thought we knew to smithereens. The MCU realized that Steve Rogers needed not just to oppose something but to passionately oppose something at all costs.
First, there were the Nazis, then there were the tentacles of Hydra hiding in plain sight (in Winter Soldier, which set the template for the rest of the Infinity Saga). At the end of the trilogy, it was his friends and allies. Civil War is quite rightly called an Avengers 2.5, but it needed Cap to be front and center to work.
1. Avengers trilogy
It feels like a cheat to include this, but Marvel Studios gave us an out when they packaged it up as a Blu-ray box set. Ending the story with Infinity War makes for a curiously bleak trilogy. But it’s also a satisfying arc where the Avengers are brought together, fall apart, then lose half their members.
Assembling wouldn’t mean so much if Marvel’s premier superteam weren’t disassembled so often.