The time is nearly here….Twenty-one films, over the course of eleven years, have all been leading up to this moment… Avengers: Endgame is just days away now. So, in order to pass away the last few days I thought I would rank my top ten favourite MCU films.

10. Black Panther (2018)

I’ll admit that perhaps this film doesn’t necessarily deserve to be so far down the list but Black Panther came out at  time where I was getting a little bit bored of the whole superhero genre, and it took a couple of viewings before I could actually say that I enjoyed watching it.

That being said, the film is visually beautiful, with a lot of care and attention given to world building and diversity, and it does offer a strong yet relatable villain, something that I feel a lot of the MCU films lack.

9. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Depending on how you want to look at it, arguments can be made for Captain America being the starting point for the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe, and whilst I may not be Steve Rogers’ biggest fan, I can’t deny that this film is a cracking origin story; not just for Captain America but also, in a way, the Winter Soldier and SHIELD too.

8. Iron Man (2008)

It would be wrong to do a write up on the top ten MCU films and not include the film that started it all and saved Marvel’s ass (source). This film is packed full of action and humour; and starts Marvel’s trend for perfect casting. Whilst, there may be some stronger films out there, in terms of nostalgia and entertainment value, this film  will always hold a place in my heart. Plus, Iron Man is my favourite MCU superhero so it would be wrong not to include his origin story.

7. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

I actually like all of the Thor films (yes, Dark World too!) and have a particular fascination with Norse mythology (although not as much as Mark :)). The reason why Ragnarok is the one to make it into my top ten is because I feel that this is the film that finally embraces Hemsworth’s comedic strengths and offers a thoroughly entertaining ride from start to finish.

6. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

I believe that the direction that Thor: Ragnarok took was largely influenced by the style and success of the Guardians films, which is why both of them have made it into my top ten. Although I love GotG Vol.2, it doesn’t add a huge amount to the overall MCU storyline, although I may be proven wrong in the post-endgame phases (Adam Warlock, anyone?). That being said, it took everything that was great in GotG and built upon it. And *spoiler* Yondu’s funeral, gets me every single time.

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 (2014)

Guardians of the Galaxy absolutely has to be in everyone’s top ten favourite MCU films, just for the sheer boldness that Marvel Studios would have the balls to take a relatively unknown motley crew of intergalactic characters, that includes a tree and a talking raccoon, and offer it alongside ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’. The best bit is not only that it worked, but that it did so with such a bold, colourful and comedic style set to a soundtrack that is, without a doubt, awesome.

4. Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)

Winter Soldier is a special kind of film because it works so well within the fabric of the MCU but it also would not be out of place as a good ol’ standalone spy thriller. This movie sucks you in and grabs you from the opening scenes and it doesn’t let go until the very end. As a bonus, if you couple Winter Soldier with the first season of Agents of Shield it just adds to the scale of the film and takes it to a whole other level.

3. The Avengers (2012)

Now the MCU as whole may have been leading up to Endgame but Phase One was all about the beginning of the Avengers, with, as I like to call it, Avengers Assemble as Marvel Studios’ first major collaborative film. If the satisfaction of seeing all the Avengers working together for the first time wasn’t enough; this film also offers some brilliantly edited battle sequences, arguably the best villain of the MCU and the oh-so-charming and lovable, Agent Coulson. All in all, this film was an absolute treat to watch.

2. Iron Man 3 (2013)

I know a lot of people will probably not agree with this film being so high up on the list but, personally, I absolutely bloody love this film. As I have mentioned before, Iron Man/Tony Stark is my favourite character and this film is probably want truly cemented that for me. We see an early example of Tony as a mentor and/or father figure, as well as the vulnerability that his somewhat arrogant personality tries to hide, oh, and a f**k tonne of new suits.

Admittedly, I don’t remember the story or villain all too well, but more often than not, films become favourites not because of the cinematography, editing or what type of colour palate was used; but because of good old fashioned entertainment value and this film makes me smile. Every. Single. Time.

1. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with Infinity War, so much so , that it was originally all the way down at number 8 when I first started this post. I think it all stems from my the first viewing; I absolutely loved the first 2 hours and 20 minutes of the film, but then the Snap happened… That was expected I know, but what really frustrated me (correction: angered me) was that a lot of the people who were turned to dust have confirmed sequels in the works; Spider-Man, Guardians, Dr Strange. For me, that ruined the whole shock value because I knew they would be coming back, and my words to Mark as the credits rolled were “What the f**k was that?!?”.

However, that was a year ago and having re-watched the film with only a few days to go before Endgame, and the knowledge that I am going to get answers soon, this fact does not bother me so much now and therefore I can truly appreciate this film for its brilliance, particularly the clever little ways that they managed to bring such a vast number of characters all together.

And so, there you have it, my ten favourite MCU films. Regardless of which one is your favourite, I think we can all agree that what Marvel has done is nothing short of incredible and I have everything crossed that Avengers: Endgame will deliver.