As always, I put the movies into tiers along with ranking them, because it's easier to separate them out that way. Also, as always, these rankings are just for movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU. "Logan," "Deadpool," any other Wolverine, X-Men or Spider-Man movies, those are not included here as they aren't MCU movies.
Tier Four
These are the bad MCU movies. Well, "bad" in terms of MCU movies, as these are still better than a lot of other superhero movies.
18. Iron Man 2: Every time I watch it, I like it less.
17. The Incredible Hulk: That General Ross behaves the way he does throughout this movie and then ascends to Secretary of State by "Civil War" feels very Trump-ian.
16. Thor: The Dark World: Bumps up a little because the Thor-Loki banter is just so good.
Tier Three
Tier 3 is for movies that are fine. Not great, not bad, just fine.
15. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2: Just totally outclassed by the last few Marvel movies.
14. Dr. Strange: There's nothing wrong with this movie, and Dr. Strange is an important Marvel character, but I just don't really think he's a character that needed his own movie. I would have been much happier if this was the slot that had gone to the Black Widow movie.
13. Iron Man 3: It's still enjoyable.
12. Thor: I still have a soft spot for Thor, but it's sliding like many of the rest.
11. Avengers: Age of Ultron: It's growing on me, but I think this is as far as it can go.
Tier Two
Here, we have the movies that I really enjoyed, but at the end of the movie, I didn't say, "wow, that was the best one yet."
10. Ant-Man: I saw this one just recently, and was blown away by the attention to detail. This movie must have been a bear to edit.
9. Guardians of the Galaxy: It's here where you realize that the quality of these movies has really gone up a notch. This movie was really fun when it came out, a marked turn for the MCU. But it doesn't feel as special now, and Ronan was a pretty non-descript villain.
8. Captain America: Civil War: This movie is outstanding, and it did so much heavy lifting. But all of those disparate plots make it feel like longer than it is. It's the longest Marvel movie at 147 minutes. That's only four more minutes than "The Avengers," but that movie's plot was a lot more focused. Still, I do love this movie. Ranking these is like splitting hairs.
7. Thor: Ragnarok: Most people weren't clamoring for this movie, and it proved all the doubters wrong. I can't wait to watch it again.
Tier One
These are movies that I have, at one time or another, either considered the best in the MCU, or I could make the case for them as the best ever. The proverbial cream of the crop.
6. Captain America: The First Avenger: I can't believe it's been pushed down so far.
5. Iron Man: The movie that kicked it all off really doesn't deserve to be this low either, but a five-way tie for second place seems like it'd be a cop out.
4. Spider-Man: Homecoming: It really was the perfect Spider-Man movie, and Tom Holland really is the perfect Spider-Man. Equal parts cocky and vulnerable, but in a way that doesn't seem as hang-doggy as Tobey Maguire's Spidey.
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier: I definitely have ranked this one No. 1 at certain points in my mind. I may yet again!
2. Black Panther: Just...wow. Ryan Coogler forever. This movie has such a great cast, and Coogler put together such a tight movie that also has a smoldering and complex moral dilemma. I can't wait to watch this a million times.
1. The Avengers: Still the best, but just barely. These movies are getting so good now. The Phase One movies almost seem old-fashioned by comparison, but this one still wins out. For now.